I love languages, probably because they’re one of the most fundamental explorations into a culture. You can learn so much about a culture by the way they say things, and idioms are no exception.
The TED Blog recently posted 40 idioms that can’t be translated literally, and I’ve shared some of the ones I found most entertaining below. I haven’t included them all below, but two themes seems to be more common than others across languages: ducks and cats.
I highly suggest taking them literally when reading the direct translation for the first time – it makes it much more amusing.
From Swedish translator Matti Jääro:
The idiom: Att glida in på en räkmacka
Literal translation: “To slide in on a shrimp sandwich.”
What it means: “It refers to somebody who didn’t have to work to get where they are.”
From Thai translator Kelwalin Dhanasarnsombut:
The idiom: ไก่เห็นตีนงู งูเห็นนมไก่
Literal translation: “The hen sees the snake’s feet and the snake sees the hen’s boobs.”
What it means: “It means two people know each other’s secrets.”
The idiom: ชาติหน้าตอนบ่าย ๆ
Literal translation: “One afternoon in your next reincarnation.”
What it means: “It’s never gonna happen.”
Other languages this idiom exists in: A phrase that means a similar thing in English: “When pigs fly.” In French, the same idea is conveyed by the phrase, “when hens have teeth (quand les poules auront des dents).” In Russian, it’s the intriguing phrase, “When a lobster whistles on top of a mountain (Когда рак на горе свистнет).” And in Dutch, it’s “When the cows are dancing on the ice (Als de koeien op het ijs dansen).”
(Is it just me, or for a predominantly Buddhist country, does this seem like a much more bleak and cruel way of saying it’s never going to happen?)
From Latvian translator Ilze Garda and Kristaps Kadikis:
The idiom: Pūst pīlītes.
Literal translation: “To blow little ducks.”
What it means: “It means to talk nonsense or to lie.”
Other language connections: In Croatian, when someone is obviously lying to someone, you say that they are “throwing cream into their eyes (bacati kajmak u oči).”
From Russian translator Aliaksandr Autayeu:
The idiom: Хоть кол на голове теши
Literal translation: “You can sharpen with an ax on top of this head.”
What it means: “He’s a very stubborn person.”
(As an Eastern European, this entirely makes sense.)
From Croatian translator Ivan Stamenkovic:
The idiom: Da vidimo čija majka crnu vunu prede
Literal translation: “We see whose mother is spinning black wool.”
What it means: “It’s like being the black sheep in the family.”
From Korean translator Jeong Kinser:
The idiom: 오십보 백보
Literal translation: “50 steps are similar to 100 steps.”
What it means: “I think of it as, ‘Six of one, half a dozen of the other.’”
(This is kind of hurts my brain, it’s so nonsensical.)
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