Reddit user u/paz2023 asked, "What are some idioms from non-English languages that you like?" and the comments came flooding in. I'd honestly never heard of ANY of these, but can't wait to slip them into my next conversation.
Here are the top-voted answers:
1. "A saying in Hindi is 'mera dimaag ka dahi kar diya' which translates to 'turned my brain into yogurt' or 'curdled my brain.' It basically means someone or something is driving you crazy."
2. "In Cantonese, you say 'three-legged cat doing kung fu' to describe someone’s half-assed incompetent efforts."
3. "I love this Finnish idiom. It's 'onni ettei ollut sakset, sanoi mummo, kun puukko silmään putos' which translates to, 'It's lucky I didn't have scissors, said grandma, after the knife fell in her eye.' It sort of means to make the best of a bad situation or to look on the bright side."
4. "Here's my favorite one: For those who are not familiar with the expression in English, 'eye candy,' it means that someone is attractive and pleasant to look at. Like, you're indulging by looking at them. In Spanish (in Mexico at least), the expression is 'taco de ojo.' It translates to 'eye taco.' 😂"
"In Cuba, they say 'tremendo mango' meaning a good-looking man. The direct translation is 'tremendous mango' or 'great mango.'"
5. "This one is Swedish. You say, 'nu har du skitit i det blå skåpet,' which means 'you've taken a shit in the blue cupboard' or 'now you have gone too far.'"
6. "I love 'se me olvidó' in Spanish. Instead of active voice saying 'I forgot,' it's in passive voice, more like 'It was forgotten to me.' The English way makes it sound like there's intention in forgetting something. The Spanish represents (I think) a clearer representation of reality. We don't choose to forget things...it just happens sometimes."
"That's actually a really nice distinction to make. I'll try to remember that when I feel bad over forgetting something."
7. "The one I use most often is 'je suis dans les patates.' It's a French Canadian phrase that basically means 'I screwed up.' It comes up a lot in French class."
8. "This one's in Spanish. It's 'mejor sola que mal acompañada' which means 'better alone than in bad company.' I live by this."
"Love that one! Also love 'dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres.' It means, 'Tell me who you hang out with, and I’ll tell you who you are.' A good reminder that you are defined by your company, so you should be careful with who you allow near you."
"We have a saying in Hungarian that basically means the same thing, 'madarat a tolláról, embert barátjáról.' The translation would be something like 'you recognize or get to know a bird from its feather, (and) a person from their friend.'"
9. "Here's another Polish one: 'czuć do kogoś miętę' translates to 'feel mint/minty toward somebody,' meaning liking somebody in a possible romantic way, which could mean lust."
10. "Here's a fun Yiddish one. It's 'gay kaken ofn yahm,' which basically means 'go shit in a lake.' For an English speaker, its meaning is equal to something like 'get lost.'"
"That reminds me of this French one. When I was a kid, we used to say, 'Va pêter dans les fleurs,' which means 'go fart in the flowers.'"
11. "'Turha itkeä kun paskat on jo housussa' is Finnish for 'no use crying when you’ve already shat yourself.'"
12. "'大后天 (Da-Ho-Tcien).' Its literal translation is 'the day after tomorrow.' It's odd that I don't think there's an English word for it."
"We have a word for it in Afrikaans, too. We say, 'Oormore.'"
13. "In Spain, we say that teenagers 'está en la edad del pavo' which means 'to be in the age of the turkey.'"
14. "In German, I've seen 'es gibt kein schlechtes wetter, nur schlechte kleidung,' which means that 'there is no bad weather, only bad clothing.'"
"Also, 'wir sind ja nicht aus zucker,' which translates to 'we are not made of sugar,' for when someone doesn't want to go out while it rains."
And finally...
15. "My favorite French one is 'ce n'est pas Versailles ici!' It means, 'This is not Versailles,' and often said to people who leave the lights on in every room."
Now it's your turn! What's an idiom you know? Comment below!
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.