Ask Lemmy

25999 readers

1884 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Rules: (interactive)

1) Be nice and; have fun

Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them

2) All posts must end with a '?'

This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?

3) No spam

Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.

4) NSFW is okay, within reason

Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either [email protected] or [email protected]. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].

5) This is not a support community.

It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email [email protected]. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.

Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

candyman337

[email protected]

163

Multilingual folks: what are some odd idioms in your language(s)? (lemmy.world)

submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

164 comments fedilink hide all child comments

What are some (non-English) idioms, and what do they mean (both literally and in context)? Odd ones, your favorite ones - any and all are welcome. :)

For example, in English I might call someone a "good egg," meaning they're a nice person. Or, if it's raining heavily, I might say "it's raining cats and dogs."

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Picking a few amusing ones from Portuguese and Italian that I use often.

[PT] um polaco de cada colônia (a Pole from each colony): assortment of random items or people that might look related but aren't.
[PT] o que o cu tem a ver com as calças? (what does the arse/arsehole have to do with the pants?): how is this shit even related [to something else implicit by context]?
[PT] vir com o milho enquanto alguém já comeu a polenta (to bring the maize while someone already ate the polenta) - to think about something after someone else already handled it
[IT] dire pane al pane e vino al vino (say "bread" for the bread and "wine" for the wine) - let's speak clearly, OK? No [eu/dys]phemism, let's call things by what they are.
[IT] scoprire l'acqua calda (to discover hot water) - it's a bit like English "to reinvent the wheel": everybody already knew it, but you just realised it.
[IT] l'ospite è come il pesce / [PT] a visita é como o peixe (guest is like fish) - don't overdo your stay; guests and fish, both stink on the third day.
[IT] non avere peli sulla lingua / [PT] não ter pelos na língua (to not have hair on the tongue) - someone who speaks openly, not holding back

There's also a funny Latin insult that I tend to jokingly use translated fairly often, "funge putride" (you rotten mushroom). I like it because it's really light, not something to really insult someone.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

There's a Dutch saying "gasten en vis blijven drie dagen vers".

Guests and fish stay fresh for the days. Very similar meaning

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

I love the "what does the ass have to do with the pants" one.