Off topic: The equivalent of “It’s all Greek to me” in 30 languages Thread poster: RominaZ
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RominaZ 
Argentina
English to Spanish
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English speakers say "It's all Greek to me" when they don't understand something. This infographic shows what the equivalent expression is in 30 other #languages, many of which also use Greek, while for some others "it's all Chinese" or "it's all Arabic".
(click on the image to enlarge it)
Source: Washington Post
What's the equivalent in your language(s)?
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"c'est du chinois"
or, for a French translation (familiar)
"c'est du français de vache espagnole" (:
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Questo per me è arabo!
Per me è arabo!
Pe me parli arabo!
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"Me suena a chino"
(It´s like chinese to me)
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Khanda
Poland
Local time: 09:26
Polish to English
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A small correction to the Washington post graph:
"It's Chinese to me" is used in this meaning.
an alternative saying with exactly the same meaning, slightly old school, but still very popular:
"tureckie kazanie" - lit. "a Turkish sermon", usually in the form "to sit like in a Turkish sermon" (e.g. "They were discussing the details of their job, and I was sitting there like in a Turkish sermon")
"Greek" is also used, but in a different saying:
"T... See more A small correction to the Washington post graph:
"It's Chinese to me" is used in this meaning.
an alternative saying with exactly the same meaning, slightly old school, but still very popular:
"tureckie kazanie" - lit. "a Turkish sermon", usually in the form "to sit like in a Turkish sermon" (e.g. "They were discussing the details of their job, and I was sitting there like in a Turkish sermon")
"Greek" is also used, but in a different saying:
"To play Greek" means to pretend not to understand or to play stupid. ▲ Collapse
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| Ahh is was so good when I could say it.... | Jun 17, 2015 |
Valeria Ancillotti wrote:
Questo per me è arabo!
Per me è arabo!
Pe me parli arabo!
Now that I graduated in Arabic I adopted "It's all Gaelic to me"
@Khanda:
in Italian "To play Greek" is "fare orecchie da mercante" (literally =to play a merchant's ears)
[Edited at 2015-06-17 12:18 GMT]
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Verstehe nur Bahnhof.
Das sind für mich böhmische/spanische Dörfer.
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Didde Gaards (X)
Denmark
Local time: 09:26
English to Danish
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expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 08:26
Member (2015)
English to Portuguese
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| Two in Portuguese | Sep 16, 2020 |
"Isso para mim é chinês"
"Isso para mim é grego"
But we have more, for ex., "não perceber patavina" (to not to understand a thing).
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| A couple in Dutch | Sep 16, 2020 |
Dat is Chinees voor mij
Daar begrijp ik niets van
More 'streetlanguage' wise:
Ik begrijp er geen moer van
Gooi het maar in mijn pet
And I am sure there are many more.
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Michael Newton
United States
Local time: 03:26
Japanese to English
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| It's Greek to me | Sep 17, 2020 |
What about "j'y perds mon grec"?
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JH Trads
United States
Local time: 03:26
Member (2007)
English to French
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| Spanish/French | Sep 18, 2020 |
¡No entiendo ni jota! (iota griega...)
Je n'y comprends goutte !
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