Jaki wół, taka skóra, jaka mać, taka córa
Listen
What it means
As the ox, so the hide; as the mother, so the daughter. The outer quality reflects the inner nature — and daughters take after their mothers.
English equivalent
Like mother, like daughter.
Vocabulary
- wół — ox
- skóra — hide, skin
- mać — mother (archaic/dialectal)
- córa — daughter (poetic/archaic form of 'córka')
Grammar note
Two parallel correlatives. 'Wół' is masculine ('jaki… taka…' — note 'skóra' is feminine); 'mać' is feminine. 'Córa' is an archaic/poetic form.
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 …