有用的外语短语

Idioms and sayings in various languages

Idioms are expressions that don't mean what they appear to mean. For example, when you say 'it's raining cats and dogs', you don't mean that cats and dogs are falling out of sky, but rather that it's raining heavily. Idioms provide interesting insights into languages and thought processes of their speakers.

Armenian, Aromanian, Cheyenne, Chinese, Cornish, Czech, Dutch, Esperanto, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Irish (Gaelic), Italian, Japanese, Kashmiri, Klingon, Korean, Maltese, Mongolian, Norwegian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Tibetan, Turkish, Ukrainian, Welsh

More idioms in: Czech | Russian | Slovak

Armenian
Գլուխս մի՛ արդուկեր: (Klookhys mee artooger)
Stop ironing my head! = Stop annoying me! (as in repetitively asking or talking about something)

Հիմա ծեծ մը կ'ուտես: (Heema dzedz muh goodes)
You're gonna eat a beating soon = You're gonna get a beating soon

Aromanian
sãndza apã nu s-featsi
blood cannot be made into water = blood is thicker than water

primuvearã nu s-adutsi mash c- unã lilici.
one flower doesn't make the spring = one sparrow does not make the spring

dupã ploai, multi tãmbãri!
after the rain many eaves! = everyone is a hero after the war

Cheyenne
Mónésó'táhoenôtse kosa?
Are you still riding the goat? = separated from your spouse

Énêhpoése ma'eno.
The turtle is shrouded = it's foggy.

Étaomêhótsenôhtóvenestse napâhpóneehéhame.
My tapeworm can almost talk by itself = my stomach is growling.

Chinese (Mandarin / Cantonese)
一鼻孔出气 (yī bíkǒng chūqì / yāt beihhúng chēuthei)
breathing through the same nostril = singing from the same hymn sheet

杯弓蛇影 (bēi gōng shé yǐng / būi gōng sèh yíng)
seeing the reflection of a bow in a cup and thinking it's a snake = worring about things that aren't there

Cornish
yma nown bleyth dhymm
I've got the hunger of a wolf = I'm starving/very hungry

Czech
chodit kolem horké kaše
to walk around hot porridge = to beat about the bush

More idioms in Czech

Dutch
Ik zweet peentjes
I sweat carrots = I'm sweating like a pig

Ijsberen
'to polar bear' (i.e. to pace up and down)

Roken als een ketter
'smoke like a heretic' (smoke like a chimney - i.e. of one who smokes too much)