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  What it means

  Literally: “Bread is on a hungry person’s mind.” People tend to think about what they lack or need most. Poles may say it, often with a light joke, when someone keeps returning to the same subject.

  English equivalent

  A hungry man thinks only of bread.

  Vocabulary

  • głodnemu — to a hungry person (dative of głodny)
  • chleb — bread
  • na myśli — on one's mind (literally 'on the thought')
  • myśl — thought, mind

  Grammar note

  The verb is omitted. 'Głodnemu' is dative singular, meaning 'to a hungry person', while 'chleb na myśli' means 'bread on the mind'. It follows the pattern 'X jest komuś na myśli', meaning something is on someone's mind.

  Cultural context

  Bread was a basic food in rural Poland, so the image was easy to understand. The proverb is still widely known and can refer to money, sleep, love, or any subject someone cannot stop thinking about.

  Beginner

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