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  What it means

  Literally: “What came easily, went easily.” Things that are acquired without effort — easy money, a lucky windfall, an unearned opportunity — tend to disappear just as quickly. The proverb warns against relying on luck and suggests that only things earned through hard work are truly kept. Poles use it to comment on wasted fortunes, squandered opportunities, or the ephemeral nature of easy gains.

  English equivalent

  Easy come, easy go.

  Vocabulary

  • lekko — lightly, easily (adverb)
  • przyszło — it came (neuter past tense of przyjść — perfective)
  • poszło — it went (neuter past tense of pójść — perfective)

  Grammar note

  Both verbs are in the neuter singular past tense, the default impersonal form in Polish when no subject is specified. 'Przyszło' and 'poszło' are perfective — emphasizing the completed arrival and departure. The parallel structure (lekko… lekko) creates the rhyming balance typical of Polish proverbs.

  Cultural context

  This is a very commonly used proverb across all generations, with a neutral to slightly resigned tone. It often appears after someone has lost money, failed to keep a prize, or squandered an opportunity. It is not judgmental so much as reflective — acknowledging an inevitable truth. The exact English equivalent 'easy come, easy go' is very close.

  Beginner

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