• Listen

  What it means

  Literally “to look truth in the eyes.” Means to face reality honestly, to stop avoiding an uncomfortable truth and acknowledge it directly.

  Vocabulary

  • spojrzeć — to look / to glance (perfective)
  • prawda — truth
  • prawdzie — truth (dative)
  • w oczy — in the eyes (accusative plural)

  Grammar note

  'Prawdzie' is the dative of 'prawda' — the indirect object of 'spojrzeć w oczy'. The construction mirrors 'spojrzeć komuś w oczy' (to look someone in the eyes), with 'prawda' personified.

  Cultural context

  The personification of truth as something you can look in the eye is widespread across European languages. In Polish it carries a strong moral connotation of courage and honesty.

  Intermediate

Noticed a typo, a wrong translation, or anything that doesn't look right? We'd love to fix it — just let us know via the contact page. Thank you!