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  What it means

  Literally: “Fools are not sown, they are born by themselves.” The saying jokes that foolish people need no help to appear. It is a dry comment on a particularly silly act, using the rural image of seeds that grow on their own.

  English equivalent

  There's no cure for stupid / Fools are born, not made

  Vocabulary

  • głupich — fools, stupid people (genitive plural of 'głupi')
  • nie sieją — are not sown, do not sow (negated third person plural of 'siać')
  • sami — on their own, by themselves (masculine plural of 'sam')
  • się rodzą — they are born, they come into being (reflexive third person plural of 'rodzić się')

  Grammar note

  'Głupich' is genitive plural, a form used for a group of people after the negative verb 'nie sieją'. 'Się rodzą' means 'are born'. 'Sami' is masculine plural of 'sam' and adds 'on their own'.

  Cultural context

  This is a well-known piece of dry Polish humour. It is used in casual speech about everyday foolishness or incompetence, and its farming image comes from rural life.

  Intermediate

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