# English expressions w/no eq. translation? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 30, 2003, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513 "2003-01-30T03:09:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/1 "2003-01-30T03:09:59Z")
I know French has some phrases without an English equivalent, although I cannot think of an example now. Anyhow, are there English expressions that have no equivalent in some other language (not just limited to French)? If so, what is the phrase, and in what language would it have no equivalent? - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/2 "2003-01-30T03:23:08Z")
How about “domino effect?” How would that translate to an Eskimo (just as an example), whose language(s) probably don’t contain a native word for it. How about “creepy.” I know what it means. You know what it means. But I’d venture a lot of languages don’t have a solitary analagous word. Just two off the top of my head. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/3 "2003-01-30T03:51:46Z")
“Okay” is one that has no direct equivalent in Chinese and Japanese. There are words that encompass parts of the meaning, but not an all inclusive single word that covers all the bases that “Okay” covers. ---
**Author:** ![DarrenS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DarrenS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarrenS)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/4 "2003-01-30T04:05:56Z")
Haecceity 😉 Watch, now someone will provide a Latinised version in French or Italian or something. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/5 "2003-01-30T08:28:30Z")
Considering that English has more words than any other human language, there are bound to be English words, much less whole phrases, which don’t translate exactly into any language that you care to name. But if you’re looking for phrases specifically, one example that my 9th grade Latin teacher used was “make out”. Those two words together can have at least a dozen different meanings, and I doubt that there’s a phrase in any language which carries all of those meanings. ---
**Author:** ![Popup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@Popup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Popup)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/6 "2003-01-30T08:41:41Z")
In general there are very few words that have a direct translation that means **exactly** the same thing in a different language. There are almost always some senses of the word that are not reproduced identically. To illustrate: Let’s take a very simple English word: _House_. In English this is a building, most commonly a single failly dwelling. The corresponding French word _Maison_ does indeed mean this, but it does also have slightly other connotations; _á la maison_ for example doesn’t mean _at the house_, but _at home_. Thus the two words are not interchangeable. The German _Hause_ is closer to the French _Maison_, in so much as _zu Hause_ means _á la maison_, although (but here I’m on thin ice) I think it can also mean larger buildings, not necessarilly intended as s single familly dwelling. In Swedish it is _Hus_, which yet again has slightly different usage patterns; it can for example mean a latrine, as well as living quarters. To summarise: There are (to my knowledge) very few words that can be directly taken out of context and translated independantly of the context. For a good illustration, try babelfish! And they do indeed try to estimate the context. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/7 "2003-01-30T10:44:51Z")
Weekend has no translation in French, since fin de semaine means the instant that the week ends, not the period from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning. So the French say “le weekend”. (Except in Quebec, where “fin de semaine” has acquired the English meaning.) There are thousands of such words I am sure but that is the only one I can think of at 5:45 in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![II\_Gyan\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@II\_Gyan\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/II_Gyan_II)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/8 "2003-01-30T10:47:52Z")
How about serendipity ? ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/9 "2003-01-30T10:58:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Popup \* > In Swedish it is _Hus_, which yet again has slightly different usage patterns; it can for example mean a latrine … Well, it could, but only very jokingly and uncommonly and IIRC it’s a loan from Danish. ---
**Author:** ![Popup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@Popup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Popup)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/10 "2003-01-30T11:15:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Floater \* > \*\*Well, it could, but only very jokingly and uncommonly and IIRC it’s a loan from Danish. \*\* Not necessarily jokingly, although I agree that it would only rarely crop up in polite conversation. [SAOB](http://g3.spraakdata.gu.se/cgi-bin/osa/indexsok.cgi?string=HUS) have exerpts from the 18th century, which don’t look jocular in their limited context. I agree that it was maybe not the best example, because the Swedish _Hus_ and English _House_ are very close, both etymologically and when it comes to meaning. It was, however the first example I could come up with. SAOB don’t list any Danish connection, but instead list similiar formations in Dutch and German. And anyway, the very fact that it can be used jokingly in Swedish to mean ‘toilet’, but not in English strenghtens my point: There are very few (if any) words that can be translated one-by-one. ---
**Author:** ![Zagadka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zagadka/32/7272_2.png) [@Zagadka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zagadka)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/11 "2003-01-30T11:30:00Z")
The first place you’d look at is slang, both new and old, especially cuss words. Those don’t tend to translate nicely between languages, since you are left with a literal translation that would make no sense in the native language other than as a translation, or a rough approximation. “Son of a b\*tch” is one that causes problems in other languages who take the definition of “bitch” (funny how I \* the i in the curse but don’t in the word) as “female dog,” as well as the various English references of sexual relations, which can be translated and understood as offers, literally taken. “Sukin si’n” doesn’t carry the same meaning as a literal translation. Similarly, curse phrases in other languages make absolutely no sense in English, but this is generally cultural, not linguistic. So, do you count phrases that are translated to another language and understood as having an English meaning? What about technical words? Computer and internet words? Most languages just convert the English words (like the lovely Russian kompyuter). As for your French words without English equiv, they are generally just adopted into English wholesale. I assume you mean words like lassez-faire… ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/12 "2003-01-30T11:31:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Popup \* > There are very few (if any) words that can be translated one-by-one. I have, though, heard a pun in English that could be translated one-by-one into Swedish. In _A Hard Days Night_ The Beatles are told “It’s busted with broads outside” and Ringo Starr replies “Are there any broads with busts?” (“Det är byst med brudar utanför” - “Finns det några brudar med byst?”). 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Lezaza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Lezaza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lezaza)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/13 "2003-01-30T11:40:02Z")
never heard that one, and I’m not entirely sure that the word “byst” in the first phrase has that kind of a meaning… I’ve never heard it used in that way before, that’s for sure. Anyways… the swedish word “Lagom” is pretty odd… all my english/french/german teachers said that there were no equivalent of the word. The meaning of it is more or less “not too much, not too little… just … lagom.” Bah! it’s hard to translate that word… any other swedes out there willing to help me? ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/14 "2003-01-30T12:54:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Popup \* > \*\*There are very few (if any) words that can be translated one-by-one. \*\* It seems to me that there should be some kind of distinction between words that don’t exist one-for-one and words that simply cannot be expressed in another language with any satisfaction. For an example of non-problematic mismatches, Portuguese (and probably many other languages) uses different words for the inner and outer ear: an earache would be described using a different word than a pain caused by a recent piercing; English gets by with one word, but the concepts are communicated equally nevertheless. As for phrases without any accurate counterpart in another language, one that has always troubled me is “to take for granted.” It seems that many have to resort to saying something is “not appreciated” rather than get the full flavor of the phrase. ---
**Author:** ![Popup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@Popup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Popup)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/15 "2003-01-30T13:05:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by minor7flat5 \* > **As for phrases without any accurate counterpart in another language, one that has always troubled me is "to take for granted."** Sorry, but the Sweedish phrase _att ta för givet_ corresponds pretty well. This is one case where the individual words _can_ be translated more or less noe-by-one, retaining the sense. I know that that can be seen as me acknowledging that there are words (and phrases) that can be translated one-by-one, but in fact I think that the two phrases still are not interchangeable, even though they are very close in meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/16 "2003-01-30T13:13:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lezaza \* > never heard that one, and I’m not entirely sure that the word “byst” in the first phrase has that kind of a meaning… I’ve never heard it used in that way before, that’s for sure. It’s old Stockholm slang. Not used much nowadays. > [@](#): > > Anyways… the swedish word “Lagom” is pretty odd… all my english/french/german teachers said that there were no equivalent of the word. The meaning of it is more or less “not too much, not too little… just … lagom.” Bah! it’s hard to translate that word… any other swedes out there willing to help me? I’d say “not too much, not too little” is an accurate translation. The thing with “lagom” is that you cannot translate it into just one word. You have to describe it that way. And now for something completely different: “uppehållsväder”, which means the dry period betwen two rainfalls. ---
**Author:** ![Popup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@Popup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Popup)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/17 "2003-01-30T13:18:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Floater \* > \*\*And now for something completely different: “uppehållsväder”, which means the dry period betwen two rainfalls. \*\* Those five minutes are in English called ‘summer’. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/18 "2003-01-30T14:00:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Popup \* > \*\*Those five minutes are in English called ‘summer’. \*\* I once got a sun tan in Scotland. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/19 "2003-01-30T14:52:43Z")
Sounds like the Swedish wored “lagom” would often be translated in English as “a little”. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/20 "2003-01-30T14:54:24Z")
“Going postal” has no equivalent in any language. The expression and the act. Try explaining “it really hit the fan.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513.md?page=2)