# 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:** 2
**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, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/21 "2003-01-30T14:54:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bordelond \* > \*\*Sounds like the Swedish wored “lagom” would often be translated in English as “a little”. \*\* No, that doesn’t cover the whole meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/22 "2003-01-30T15:43:53Z")
How about “the shotgun approach”? I nearly busted my brain trying to find a concise Spanish translation for that once. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/23 "2003-01-30T16:28:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Floater \* > \*\*No, that doesn’t cover the whole meaning. \*\* Actually, there is a pretty good word in English that covers it - sufficient. _Lagom_ is always used to communicate ‘just enough’, or ‘hits the spot’. It’s when the glass is neither half full or half empty, but just right. But I got the impression that the OP was thinking more of phrases, not words. A favourite is “Cat got your tongue?”, which I once saw translated on a subtitle as: “Har katten tagit din tunga?”, i.e. word for word. We have a frase meaning just that in Swedish: i]“Har du inte mål i mun?”\* which would be “Don’t you have language in your mouth.” So yeah, there are a lot of phrases that don’t translate very well. Doesn’t mean there aren’t corresponding phrases. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/24 "2003-01-30T16:34:20Z")
“Procrastinate” is a tricky one. I fell in love with the English language when I discovered this amazingly useful (for me) word. 😃 My English to Japanese dictionary gives three Japanese translations which mean “to be lazy”, “to be slow” and “to postpone.” None of these words conveys the full meaning. ---
**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:** [January 30, 2003, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/25 "2003-01-30T16:35:35Z")
There’s no word for “subtle” in Hebrew, a fact which should surprise nobody who’s ever met an Israeli. ---
**Author:** ![Dragonblink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dragonblink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragonblink)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/26 "2003-01-30T16:55:34Z")
I once had to try to explain to a German-born French teacher the slang use of the word “suck”. I had used it in the sentence “We [America] make the whole world suck.” When he gave me a blank look, I found myself utterly unable to explain what it meant. “Umm it means we make the world … lame? Umm, worse? No, that’s not it …” I don’t know if there’s really a direct equivalent in other languages. ---
**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, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/27 "2003-01-30T17:02:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Gaspode \* > So yeah, there are a lot of phrases that don’t translate very well. Doesn’t mean there aren’t corresponding phrases. If I may return to the wonderful world of films and (un)translatable puns I raise my hat for the genius that came up with the Swedish title for the film **That Sinking Feeling** by Bill Forsyth. For those, who haven’ät seen it, it’s a delightful comedy about a gang of teenagers in Glasgow, that start a career of hardened criminality by stealing a lorryload of kitchen sinks (diskho in Swedish). So what title do you give it in Swedish? The answer is of course **Diskhofeber** , a play with the original title and **Disco Fever**. ---
**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, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/28 "2003-01-30T17:03:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dragonblink \* > I once had to try to explain to a German-born French teacher the slang use of the word “suck”. Nothing sucks like an Elctrolux! ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/29 "2003-01-30T17:07:44Z")
There’s no word in Russian for “efficiency.” The closest I’ve ever found is “effectiveness.” ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/30 "2003-01-30T17:10:58Z")
I remember reading about an editor who had trouble translating the phrase “take care” from English into Russian without it sounding like the character was warning about some imminent danger. ---
**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, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/31 "2003-01-30T18:18:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Popup \* > **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.** Point taken. I suspect that finding a phrase that exists solely in English, to the exclusion of all other languages, would be quite a chore. To better answer the OP, I should have restricted my contribution to the Portuguese language (and probably Spanish, but I’m not as familiar with that language). ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/32 "2003-01-30T18:45:15Z")
I’m English and used to work in a London office with several French cow-orkers who all spoke more or less fluent English. I once used the word ‘naff’, and the Frenchies asked me what it meant, and it was _really_ hard to explain. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/33 "2003-01-30T19:02:14Z")
I would venture that all of Yiddish is not quite translatable 🙂 … at least, it’s so effective in its own right that we’ve never bothered to find equivalents for words like “chutzpah.” > [@](#): > > I’m English and used to work in a London office with several French cow-orkers who all spoke more or less fluent English. I once used the word ‘naff’, and the Frenchies asked me what it meant, and it was really hard to explain. Care to repeat the process for us 'Merkins? ---
**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, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/34 "2003-01-30T19:08:52Z")
> [@](#): > > I once used the word ‘naff’, and the Frenchies asked me what it meant, and it was really hard to explain. And now you’ve got the 'Mercans asking what it meant, too. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Einmon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Einmon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Einmon)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/35 "2003-01-30T19:35:53Z")
I was using the phrase “to blend in” in German (“einblenden”) until somebody pointed out to me that it did not exist at all. I did not believe it at first but it is true and I don’t think we even have an equivalent for it… ---
**Author:** ![Timchik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@Timchik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timchik)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/36 "2003-01-30T19:45:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eva Luna \* > \*\*There’s no word in Russian for “efficiency.” The closest I’ve ever found is “effectiveness.” \*\* Well, _effektivnost’_ kinda covers both meanings, and when you’re translating it’s often a pain having to decide whether the author had “efficiency” or “effectiveness” in mind (this comes up a _lot_ in consultants’ reports, where they’re always nattering on about how their proposed solutions will make something or other more _effektivny_…). My suggestion for an English word that has no exact translation - at least into French German or Russian, the only foreign languages I’m reasonably familiar with - is “silly”. The nearest equivalents in other languages are much more in the sense of stupid, idiotic, foolish, but none have the flavor of real montypythonesque silliness… I’ve tried to explain this to Russian friends and usually get remarks about “subtle English humour”. ---
**Author:** ![dorkusmalorkusmafia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorkusmalorkusmafia/32/7266_2.png) [@dorkusmalorkusmafia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorkusmalorkusmafia)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/37 "2003-01-30T20:23:16Z")
Einmon would assimilation work there? ---
**Author:** ![Iteki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eada6e/32.png) [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/38 "2003-01-30T20:40:07Z")
The main reason I find that Swedes object to any suggestions for translations of the word “lagom”, is because it describes not an amount per se, but in fact a swedish existential concept. For the rest of us “just right” works as a translation, but few swedes would agree I feel 😉 MrsIteki nearly burst a gasket when I suggested “sufficient” 🙂 One can eat enough (sufficiant) without having eaten “lagom”. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/39 "2003-01-30T20:58:00Z")
'Nother ‘Merican here wonderin’ 'bout “naff.” ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513/40 "2003-01-30T21:06:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chronos \* > \*\*And now you’ve got the 'Mercans asking what it meant, too. 😕 \*\* “Naff” a little similar to the Australian “daggy”. “Naff” can mean goofy, unfashionable, silly, cheesy, awkward… Actually, it _is_ hard to explain exactly. Anything from an 80s haircut to a poorly done, garishly coloured modification to a “riceboy” car could be described as naff. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-expressions-w-no-eq-translation/151513.md?page=3)