Gdzie chleb, tam się zęby znajdą
Listen
What it means
“Where there is bread, teeth will be found.” Where there is opportunity or resources, people will appear to take advantage of them. Opportunity attracts takers.
English equivalent
Build it and they will come.
Vocabulary
- chleb — bread
- zęby — teeth (plural of ząb)
- znaleźć się — to be found, to turn up
Grammar note
'Znajdą się' is the reflexive future perfective — 'they will be found / will turn up'.
Cultural context
Bread is a central symbol in Polish culture, representing sustenance and livelihood.
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!
More Polish proverbs
- "A stepmother, even if made of sugar, is always bitter." No matter how kind a stepmother tries to …
- "For a wise head, two words are enough." A clever person needs only a brief hint to understand; …
- "A Pole is wise after the damage is done." Poles (or people in general) tend to learn from mistakes …
- "The wise will accept advice; the fool will scorn it." Intelligent people are open to counsel, while …