This is a thread of my all-time favourite literal translations, starting with this one…
In Hungarian, the word for a shark, hiszékeny, translates literally to “sea bastard”
In Hungarian, the word for a shark, hiszékeny, translates literally to “sea bastard”
In isiZulu, the word for tears, ukukhohliseka, translates literally to “drama water”
In Slovene, the word for a crow, lahkoveren, translates literally to “gothic hawk”
In the Kurmanji (or Northern Kurdish) dialect, the word for an orphan, zûbawer, translates literally to “kid widow”
In Greek, the word for a protest, εύπιστος, translates literally to “anger parade”
In Persian, the word for a wren, گول خور, translates literally to “dumpling bird”
In Azerbaijani, the word for a penis, inandırıcı, translates literally to “tyranny trunk”
In Tamil, the word for a hole punch, ஏமாறக்கூடிய, translates literally to “paper fucker”
In Thai, the word for a boa constrictor, ใจง่าย, translates literally to “crush worm”
In Finnish, the word for cutlery, herkkäuskoinen, translates literally to “gobbling rods”
In Estonian, the word for a skunk, kergeusklik, translates literally to “stink badger”
In the Hmong Daw dialect, the word for a nightmare, siab tsis ncaj, translates literally to “dreaming with screaming”
In Korean, the word for a fox, 속기 쉬운, translates literally to “suburb wolf”
In Welsh, the word for the stomach, hygoelus, translates literally to “pudding house”
In Odia, the word for an ostrich, ଗୁଲିବଲ୍, translates literally to “war chicken”
In Armenian, the word for a necktie, դյուրահավատ, translates literally to “larynx loincloth”
In Afrikaans, the word for a cockatiel, liggelowiges, translates literally to “pageant pigeon”
In Uzbek, the word for an ultrasound machine, ishonuvchan, translates literally to “baby radar”
What people say after playing a prank on April 1st:
5. April fools! (English)
4. April trickery! (Icelandic)
3. April fish! (French)
2. April, April, eat some herring, drink muddy water afterwards! (Finnish)
1. First of April, frog in your ass that never wants to leave! (Dutch)
5. April fools! (English)
4. April trickery! (Icelandic)
3. April fish! (French)
2. April, April, eat some herring, drink muddy water afterwards! (Finnish)
1. First of April, frog in your ass that never wants to leave! (Dutch)
In Sweden, after playing a prank on April 1st, you can say “April, April you stupid herring! I can trick you to wherever I want!” And in Swedish it has an AABA (sadly not ABBA) rhyming scheme…
April, april
Din dumma sill
Jag kan lura dig
Vart jag vill
April, april
Din dumma sill
Jag kan lura dig
Vart jag vill
The English “April Fools!” may not seem that creative, but in the UK it is bad luck to play a prank after noon on April 1st, so if someone plays a prank on you after midday you can respond with “April fools is past and gone, you’re the fool to carry on”
For those lamenting the fact that all the translations here are made up, don't worry, I also have a collection of real translations in my latest book, The Wheel is Spinning but the Hamster is Dead: A Journey Around the World in Idioms, Proverbs and General Nonsense (link in bio)
Or if you just want some more made up ones...
https://twitter.com/AdamCSharp/status/1767288142892073299
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