• Listen

  What it means

  “The Holy Spirit advises beating children with a switch; a switch will not harm their health at all.” This old proverb supports corporal punishment as good for children in both spiritual and physical terms. Today it is mainly quoted as a historical example of changed attitudes.

  English equivalent

  Spare the rod, spoil the child.

  Vocabulary

  • różdżka — switch, thin rod, wand
  • Duch Święty — Holy Spirit
  • dziateczki — little children (archaic diminutive plural)
  • radzić — to advise, to recommend
  • bynajmniej — not at all, by no means
  • zawadzić — to harm, to hinder, to get in the way

  Grammar note

  'Różdżką' is the instrumental of 'różdżka' and names the instrument used. 'Dziateczek' is the genitive plural of the archaic diminutive 'dziateczki'. In 'bić radzi', 'radzić' means 'to advise someone to do something'.

  Cultural context

  The proverb shows older child-rearing ideas based on religious authority. It is now seen as outdated and unacceptable, but it remains in historical collections of Polish proverbs.

  Advanced

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!