Osioł konia nie spłodzi
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What it means
A donkey will not sire a horse. You cannot expect quality or excellence from inferior origins — like produces like, and mediocrity does not produce greatness.
English equivalent
You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
Vocabulary
- osioł — donkey, ass
- koń — horse
- spłodzić — to sire, to beget
Grammar note
'Konia' is the genitive of 'koń', required after the negated verb 'nie spłodzi'.
Cultural context
A blunt rural proverb about breeding and heredity, extended metaphorically to human potential and origins.
Intermediate
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