🤖 Literally, in English
“Work is not a wolf, it will not run away into the forest.”
Робота не вовк, у ліс не втече. Robota ne vovk, u lis ne vteche
🤨 What does it ACTUALLY mean? →
🇬🇧 What you'd actually say
“The work will still be there tomorrow.”
also: “It can wait.” · “No rush — it's not going anywhere.”
- 📖 Meaning
- There is no need to rush the work — it will not disappear.
- 💡 Why it's funny
- The reasoning is impeccable and completely useless: work indeed does not flee into forests, which somehow becomes an argument for a break.
- 🧭 Closest English idiom
- No direct English equivalent. English says 'it can wait' or 'the work isn't going anywhere', but neither is a fixed idiom, and neither has the wolf. This is one of the most-quoted Ukrainian sayings and English simply has no compact version of it.
- 📝 Explanation
- The great procrastinator's justification. Said cheerfully, usually while sitting down.
🧠 Learn
- put something off (phrase) — to delay doing something — відкладати “Don't put it off until Friday.”
- it can wait (phrase) — it is not urgent — це може почекати “The report can wait — go home.”
🗣 In context
Сядь поїж, робота не вовк, у ліс не втече.
Sit down and eat, the work will still be there tomorrow.
🎧 Hear the contrast
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