# "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:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![wintertime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c68b51/32.png) [@wintertime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wintertime)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/41 "2009-07-08T10:14:19Z")
> [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](#): > > 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? I think [Harry Frankfurt](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Bullshit)’s distinction between lying and bullshitting is quite useful; the German words I mentioned, especially Mumpitz, Firlefanz and Kladderadatsch, follow a similar thought, though they differ in meaning and usage. ---
**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 9, 2009, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/42 "2009-07-09T04:24:56Z")
> [@wintertime](#): > > I think [Harry Frankfurt](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Bullshit)’s distinction between lying and bullshitting is quite useful; … Yeah. A better explanation than my own. ---
**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 9, 2009, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/43 "2009-07-09T08:11:39Z")
Old Navy joke: Do you know the difference between a Fairy Tale and a Sea Story? A Fairy Tale starts out: “Once Upon A Time” and a Sea Story starts out: “Now This Is No Bullshit”. ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/44 "2009-07-09T08:27:57Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > 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. Bu shi is far, far, far too polite. 😛 Bu shi sounds about as hoity as “No it is not”. BU! Would be more forceful. > [@Lumpy](#): > > I’d heard the Chinese equivalent was “dog farts”. Is that correct? Approximately correct. Although, the typical phrase would be more like “what dog farts you’re letting off!” Wikipedia tells me that “fang pi”, or fart (farting), is also used - I’d almost forgotten! > **[Mandarin Chinese profanity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandarin_profanity)** > > Profanity in Mandarin Chinese most commonly involves sexual references and scorn of the object's ancestors, especially their mother. Other Mandarin insults accuse people of not being human. Compared to English, scatological and blasphemous references are less often used. In this article, unless otherwise noted, the traditional character will follow its simplified form if it is different. > In a 1968 academic study of Chinese pejorative words, more than a third of the 325-term corpus of abusive ex... ---
**Author:** ![auRa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@auRa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auRa)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/45 "2009-07-09T08:49:25Z")
In Finnish we say “puhua paskaa”, to talk shit, said words being “paskapuhetta”, shit speak. Something can also be “hevonpaskaa”, horse shit, but it’s a bit less common. If someone is trying to tell you something that is not true, you can also say they are trying to “kusettaa”, or piss you. Also “kusta silmään”, to piss in someone’s eye, is to deceive someone. Of course, we have also appropriated the English expression into a handy verb “bullshitata”, which is used quite commonly to refer to, for example, what we Marketing students do in our exam answers. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/46 "2009-07-09T09:42:35Z")
Do people in America say “That’s (utter) crap!” or “you’re talking crap!”? They’re pretty common in Britain. While people in Scotland would know what you meant by “bullshit” I think they’d be more likely to say “that’s shite!”. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/47 "2009-07-09T09:54:20Z")
I know we use the phrase “talkin’ shit” in the South, at least. It could mean either bullshit or being provocative. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/48 "2009-07-09T11:55:38Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > 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. There’s also ‘hovno’, which is animal shit generally, but which is used as bull shit. There’s also ‘hnůj’, which also means animal shit, but which is used to refer to people. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/49 "2009-07-09T16:48:31Z")
> [@G. Odoreida](#): > > Do people in America say “That’s (utter) crap!” or “you’re talking crap!”? They’re pretty common in Britain. Yes, occasionally, but that’s usually stronger than Bullshit! Bullshit! can be said with a grin, which softens it. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/50 "2009-07-09T23:17:40Z")
> [@jovan](#): > > 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! I would include a slight correction to this: you say “merde” to someone, indicating “good luck”, _before_ they engage in the activity requiring luck, e.g. buying a lottery ticket, going on stage, etc. Kind of like how you tell an actor “Break a leg” in English-speaking countries. If they’ve already won the lottery, it wouldn’t occur to me to say “merde” to them - they’ve already had the good luck. It would be like telling an actor “Break a leg” _after_ they come offstage and their performance is over. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/51 "2009-07-09T23:19:12Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Bullshit! can be said with a grin, which softens it. The correct way of softening “bullshit” is by coughing whilst saying it, which makes it undetectable by people who might take offense and be in a position to censure you for your vulgar language. By coughing over it you can use it with impunity in any situation, e.g. in an argument with an angry wife. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/52 "2009-07-09T23:57:31Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > The correct way of softening “bullshit” is by coughing whilst saying it, which makes it undetectable by people who might take offense and be in a position to censure you for your vulgar language. By coughing over it you can use it with impunity in any situation, e.g. in an argument with an angry wife. As in _Animal House_?😛 ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072/53 "2009-07-10T22:53:09Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > > [@jovan](#): > > > > 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! > > I would include a slight correction to this: you say “merde” to someone, indicating “good luck”, _before_ they engage in the activity requiring luck, e.g. buying a lottery ticket, going on stage, etc. Kind of like how you tell an actor “Break a leg” in English-speaking countries. If they’ve already won the lottery, it wouldn’t occur to me to say “merde” to them - they’ve already had the good luck. What **jovan** probably meant is that in very informal Quebec French, if you call someone “merdeux” (usually pronounced “mardeux”), it means they’re lucky. Do not confuse it with “merdique”, which has a very different meaning indeed. If someone says I’m “plein de merde”, though, I’ll assume they’re calling me a bullshitter. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bull-shit-in-other-languages/502072.md?page=2)