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  What it means

  Literally: “Mice get up to mischief when they do not sense the cat.” The proverb means that people misbehave, slack off, or take liberties when there is no authority figure watching over them. It is the Polish equivalent of “when the cat’s away, the mice will play” and is used in exactly the same contexts — at work, at school, or at home — whenever subordinates or children act up in the absence of a supervisor or parent.

  English equivalent

  When the cat's away, the mice will play.

  Vocabulary

  • myszy — mice (nominative plural of 'mysz')
  • dokazują — get up to mischief / play around / act up (third-person plural present of 'dokazywać')
  • gdy — when (temporal conjunction)
  • kota — cat (genitive singular of 'kot' — required by negation)
  • nie czują — do not sense / do not feel (third-person plural present of 'czuć', imperfective)

  Grammar note

  'Kota' is in the genitive case because the direct object of a negated verb shifts from accusative to genitive in Polish: 'czują kota' (they sense the cat) → 'nie czują kota' (they do not sense the cat). This genitive-of-negation rule is one of the most important patterns in Polish grammar and is clearly illustrated by this proverb.

  Cultural context

  The saying is well known across all generations and is entirely neutral in register. It is often used with a humorous or knowing tone — an employer quoting it about employees, or a teacher about students. In Polish workplaces the phrase 'jak kota nie ma' ('when the cat is away') can serve as a shorthand for the same idea without citing the full proverb.

  Beginner

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