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  What it means

  Literally “to burn up with shame.” Means to feel so embarrassed that you wish the ground would swallow you — an intense expression of mortification.

  Vocabulary

  • spłonąć — to burn up / to go up in flames (perfective)
  • wstyd — shame / embarrassment
  • ze wstydu — with shame / from shame (genitive)

  Grammar note

  'Ze wstydu' is the genitive of cause — the preposition 'z/ze' + genitive expresses the reason or source of the action. 'Spłonąć' is perfective, conveying a sudden, complete event.

  Cultural context

  A vivid hyperbole common in everyday speech. Often used in the past tense: 'Spłonęłam ze wstydu' (I burned up with shame).

  Beginner

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