# "Bull Shit" in other languages **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 6, 2009, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072 "2009-07-06T14:07:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/21 "2009-07-07T05:47:01Z")
Northeastern Spain: In the sense of “nonsense”, _chorradas_ would be an impolite version; _deja ya de decir chorradas_ could be translated as an irate “cut the crap, damnit.” The polite version of “nonsense” is _tonterías_ (lit. “stupid stuff”). Catalan the same, _xorrades_ (sounds like _chorradas_ but the x is softer than the ch) or _tonterías_ (the o is halfway to u and the a is halfway to e). As a verb, it can be _decir chorradas/tonterías_, or it can be _tomar el pelo_ (lit “grab (someone) by his hair”). In Catalan this would be _aixecar la faldilla_ or _aixecar la camisa_, lit “to lift her skirts” or “to lift his shirt” (yes, that’s sexual); the Catalan version can also mean “to con someone” or be used in its actual literal meaning. Someone who’s full of bullshit _está cargado de puñetas_ (_està carregat de punyetas_ in Catalan). _Puñetas_ are a specific kind of lace which used to decorate the sleeves of lawyers (and in the UK still does), so someone who’s full of bullshit is… a lawyer. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/22 "2009-07-07T06:49:44Z")
> [@Jerseyman](#): > > Yes but in Ireland and the UK, it would come 3rd after Bollocks or Cobblers (rhyming slang: Cobbler’s awl). Irishism, _He’s a bollox_ - useless and usually unpleasant with it. If a cockney rhyming slang term can be found on the internet, it is no longer current slang. [t-bonham@scc.net](mailto:t-bonham@scc.net), I was taught: In ASL, take your right hand and form “horns” with your index and little fingers, the rest forming a fist. Cross your arms over your chest, right over left. With the left hand make flicking gestures with all the digits. ---
**Author:** ![Myrrajh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/87869e/32.png) [@Myrrajh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myrrajh)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/23 "2009-07-07T06:54:46Z")
My dad always told us kids that “El toro poopoo” meant BS in Spanish. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/24 "2009-07-07T06:56:50Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > French: “merde.” But that’s excrement generally, and not necessarily that of a barnyard animal. > [@missred](#): > > I’m not certain if it’s used in general French, but when I was with a student group touring France a million and two years, we would play the card game _Bullshit_ while in traffic on the tour bus. Our student chaperone, however, insisted that we get in the spirit of travel and rename it _Merde de vache_. _Merde_ is used a lot in French, but not really in the sense of “bullshit”. If you say of something that it’s “merde,” it means that it’s a piece of shit. You might say it of something someone said, but the connotation is slightly different: “your opinion’s shit.” Also, in some contexts, _merde_ can mean “luck.” So, in French, if you tell someone you won the lottery and they tell you you’re “full of shit,” they actually mean that you’re a lucky bastard! The closest you can come to “bullshit” in French is _connerie_. French Canadians often use the English “bullshit” when speaking French. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/25 "2009-07-07T07:24:49Z")
> [@Myrrajh](#): > > My dad always told us kids that “El toro poopoo” meant BS in Spanish. Poopoo is a kiddie word for shit, but that’s a literal (and kiddie) translation with extreme bad grammar; the correct gramar would be popó de toro (in grownup, mierda de toro). Nobody would understand what the heck you’re talking about though, whether your grammar was correct or not, except if they’ve been subjected to a sufficient amount of mistranslated English. ---
**Author:** ![Myrrajh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/87869e/32.png) [@Myrrajh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myrrajh)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/26 "2009-07-07T07:33:54Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Poopoo is a kiddie word for shit, but that’s a literal (and kiddie) translation with extreme bad grammar; the correct gramar would be popó de toro (in grownup, mierda de toro). Nobody would understand what the heck you’re talking about though, whether your grammar was correct or not, except if they’ve been subjected to a sufficient amount of mistranslated English. I should have added that dad said that with a twinkle in his eye. We knew he was kidding, but it sounded funny and we laughed about it for years. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/27 "2009-07-07T08:03:09Z")
“Bullshit” (pronounced _Boolsheet_) is used in Hebrew, alongside more traditional words like \*Shtuyot \*(“nonsense”), \*Charta \*(a bastardized Arabic word for “crap”) and \*Ziyun Moach \*(“brain fuck”). ---
**Author:** ![Lars\_Aruns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c68b51/32.png) [@Lars\_Aruns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lars_Aruns)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/28 "2009-07-07T08:09:55Z")
Italian has the word _stronzata_ for this. It sort of means “turd stuff”, coming from _stronzo_, turd. This is mostly for Central and Southern Italy. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/29 "2009-07-07T08:57:14Z")
In Chinese, one way to state bluntly that a proposition is invalid would be 不是 _bú shì_. Literally means ‘it is not’, but when pronounced with gusto–a rising tone followed by a falling tone-- it sort of makes a homonym with you-know-what. ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/30 "2009-07-07T09:35:18Z")
" Bakwas " means nonsense in Hindi . ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/31 "2009-07-07T10:06:51Z")
In Afrikaans the word for shit is “kak” and is used pretty much as bullshit is used in South African English. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/32 "2009-07-07T10:55:37Z")
I just remembered a similar expression in Spanish but it’s a false friend, it means something else. Just thought I’d mention it for our posters who might get confused if they encounter it: _caca de la vaca_ indicates a worthless object or worthless information which had initially been thought to be worth something. For example “that ‘antique’ vase? Turns out it was a copy, caca de la vaca.” ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/33 "2009-07-07T13:47:35Z")
In American Military English, they teach the Colonels who are about to become Generals (and will face more public forums) to say, “amazing”. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/34 "2009-07-07T18:55:01Z")
In Czech, there’s a word that comes pretty close to “to bullshit,” except in its most literal sense as bovine excrement. “Kecat” (pron. KETS-at) can mean to tell a whopper, to talk nonsense, or to shoot the breeze with a friend about matters of little importance. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/35 "2009-07-07T19:13:04Z")
> [@Myrrajh](#): > > I should have added that dad said that with a twinkle in his eye. We knew he was kidding, but it sounded funny and we laughed about it for years. Here’s one for the old man. [Joe “King” Carrasco](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-music&field-keywords=caca+de+vaca)😉 ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/36 "2009-07-07T19:23:16Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > “Bullshit” (pronounced _Boolsheet_) is used in Hebrew… When I lived in a flat with two Welshmen, I only picked up two “words” in Welsh: “bullshit” and “fuckin’.” Even when they spoke in Welsh, they would swear in English. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/37 "2009-07-07T20:26:11Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > So if somebody did something for the lulz, would penis ensue? penii 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/38 "2009-07-07T20:38:35Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > When I lived in a flat with two Welshmen, I only picked up two “words” in Welsh: “bullshit” and “fuckin’.” Even when they spoke in Welsh, they would swear in English. Hebrew is great at integrating foreign cure-words; your average Israeli will find ways to swear in English, Arabic, Yiddish, Russian and Ladino. Probably has something to do with the fact that Hebrew has very few profanities of its own. Actually, it isn’t just profanity. When Israelis meet, they usually say “Hi” or “Ahalan”; when they part, it’s often with a “Yallah bye” - the Hebrew equivalent of “see ya.” It’s an interesting language. ---
**Author:** ![Satellite\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Satellite\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satellite_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/39 "2009-07-07T23:29:34Z")
Courtesy of The Smothers Brothers: “El Toro Crappo!” 😃 S^G ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/40 "2009-07-08T05:22:17Z")
An interesting thread. To me, an exclamation of “Bullshit”, more likely means “You’re lying”, than “You’ve just said a bit of nonsense”. Any previous posters care to address this interpretation? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072.md?page=3)