• Listen

  What it means

  “After Saint Anne’s Day, morning rain won’t last until noon.” From late July, morning showers are thought to clear quickly rather than last all day. It is a practical weather saying for farmers and travellers.

  English equivalent

  Morning rain, evening sun.

  Vocabulary

  • święta — saint (feminine)
  • Anna — Anne (saint's name, formal form)
  • nie doczekać — not to last until, not to live to see
  • południe — noon, midday
  • deszcz — rain
  • poranny — morning (adjective)

  Grammar note

  'Nie doczeka południa': 'południa' is the genitive of 'południe', required after the perfective verb 'doczekać' with negation. 'Deszcz poranny' is the subject in nominative.

  Cultural context

  It uses the formal 'Anna' instead of the familiar 'Anka', which gives it a slightly more literary tone. The saying reflects late-July weather in Poland.

  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!