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  What it means

  Literally “as the mother, so the sprout.” Mać is an archaic or dialectal word for matka (mother) and nać refers to the leafy top of a plant such as a carrot or beetroot. The proverb means that children resemble and take after their parents — especially their mothers — in character and behaviour. It is the Polish equivalent of “like mother, like daughter” and is often said with a knowing smile when a child displays the same traits as a parent.

  English equivalent

  Like mother, like daughter.

  Vocabulary

  • mać — mother (archaic/dialectal form of matka)
  • nać — the green top of a root vegetable; here used figuratively for 'offspring'
  • jaka — what kind of / as (nominative feminine interrogative/relative adjective)
  • taka — such / so (nominative feminine demonstrative adjective)

  Grammar note

  The structure Jaka X, taka Y is a classic Polish correlative construction meaning 'as X is, so Y is.' Both jaka and taka agree in gender (feminine) and case (nominative) with their nouns mać and nać. This parallel syntax is a hallmark of Polish proverbs and makes the saying easy to remember.

  Cultural context

  The rhyming of mać and nać gives the proverb a folk-song quality typical of Polish rural wisdom. Mać can also appear in the coarse exclamation 'kurwa mać,' so speakers are occasionally aware of the double edge — but in this proverb the word is entirely innocent and old-fashioned. The saying is heard across Poland, often directed at children who mirror a parent's mannerisms.

  Intermediate

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