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  What it means

  Literally: “Where there are many commanders, the battle is lost.” Too many people giving orders can cause confusion, mixed messages, and failure. Use it when a group has no clear leader or everyone tries to take charge.

  English equivalent

  Too many cooks spoil the broth. / Too many chiefs, not enough Indians.

  Vocabulary

  • gdzie — where (relative adverb)
  • wielu — many (genitive plural of wielu, used with quantity)
  • dowódców — commanders, leaders (genitive plural of dowódca)
  • tam — there (adverb of place)
  • bitwa — battle (feminine noun, nominative)
  • przegrana — lost (past passive participle of przegrać, used predicatively)

  Grammar note

  The pattern 'gdzie..., tam...' means 'where..., there...'. 'Wielu dowódców' takes the genitive plural after 'wielu'. 'Przegrana' is a participle used as an adjective and agrees with the feminine noun 'bitwa'.

  Cultural context

  The military image comes from a time when clear command mattered in battle. Today people also use the saying about work teams, politics, and group decisions.

  Intermediate

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