• Listen

  What it means

  Literally: “Proverbs are the wisdom of nations.” This meta-proverb asserts that the collective experience and insight of a people is distilled into their proverbs — that folk sayings carry genuine wisdom passed down through generations. It is often quoted to lend authority to a proverb being cited, or to introduce a discussion of Polish folk tradition. In a self-referential way, it is itself a proverb about the value of proverbs.

  English equivalent

  Proverbs are the wisdom of the streets.

  Vocabulary

  • przysłowia — proverbs (nominative plural of 'przysłowie')
  • są — are (third-person plural of 'być')
  • mądrością — the wisdom (instrumental singular of 'mądrość' — used as a predicate noun after 'być')
  • narodów — of nations / of peoples (genitive plural of 'naród')

  Grammar note

  In Polish, when 'być' (to be) links a subject to a predicate noun that expresses an identity or essential quality, the predicate noun takes the instrumental case. Hence 'mądrością' (instrumental of 'mądrość') rather than nominative 'mądrość'. This instrumental predicate construction is a key Polish grammatical pattern that differs from English, where the predicate noun stays in the base form.

  Cultural context

  This saying is widely attributed as a general truth about folk literature and is used in academic as well as casual contexts. Polish has an exceptionally rich proverb tradition, and Poles tend to have a deep cultural pride in their folk sayings. Quoting this proverb before or after citing another proverb gives the speaker a slightly scholarly or traditional air — it is the kind of thing a grandparent or a literature teacher might say.

  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!