Baba swoje, czart swoje.
Listen
What it means
“The woman does her thing, the devil does his.” Even the devil cannot make her give in. It is said about someone who keeps arguing or doing things their way, whatever the opposition.
Vocabulary
- baba — woman (folk/colloquial)
- swoje — one's own thing (accusative of swój)
- czart — devil (archaic/folk form of diabeł)
Grammar note
Same elliptical 'swoje' construction as the related proverbs. 'Czart' is an older, folk-register word for the devil.
Cultural context
This is the strongest of the 'baba swoje' variants because it puts the woman up against the devil himself.
Beginner
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!
More Polish proverbs
- "A stepmother, even if made of sugar, is always bitter." However kind she may be, a stepmother may …
- "For a wise head, two words are enough." A clever person needs only a short hint to understand. Long …
- "A Pole is wise after the damage is done." Poles, or people in general, often learn from mistakes …
- "The wise will accept advice; the fool will reject it with scorn." Wise people listen to advice, …