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  What it means

  Literally “Work shortens years.” The proverb means that when you are engaged in productive labor, time seems to pass quickly and life feels full. It is used to encourage people to stay busy rather than idle, suggesting that an active life is a longer and richer one in spirit even if shorter on the clock. Poles often cite it when praising a hardworking person or when explaining why keeping busy is healthy in old age.

  English equivalent

  Time flies when you're busy.

  Vocabulary

  • praca — work (nominative)
  • lat — of years (genitive plural of rok)
  • skraca — shortens, reduces (3rd person singular present of skracać)

  Grammar note

  The object lat is in the genitive plural, used here after the verb skracać which takes an accusative, but the genitive is idiomatic in this proverb for a partitive nuance — 'shortens (some of) the years.' This is a fixed expression and the genitive should be memorized as part of the whole phrase.

  Cultural context

  The proverb belongs to a long tradition of Polish folk wisdom praising the value of labor, rooted in an agrarian culture where idleness was seen as dangerous for both body and soul. It is neutral in register and widely understood across generations, though it is heard more often from older speakers.

  Beginner

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