If there’s one universal truth that all language learners know, it’s that idioms in any language can be quite tricky to remember. Even worse is when you hear an idiom and swear that the meaning is right on the tip of your tongue…
Luckily for you, we’ve racked our brains and kept our eyes peeled for these unique, body-related idioms for you to wrap your head around.
SPANISH | Multiple Countries
Original: No pegar ojo
Literal translation: to not paste an eye
English version or equivalent: to not sleep a wink
Whether you’re sleepless in Spain or awake in Argentina, this idiom will surely come in handy! To break down this idiom and understand it better, we should first think of what it looks like to sleep. Your eyes are closed, almost like your eyelids are glued shut– that’s how the verb “pegar” is used here– meaning to paste or glue something together. So, by saying you didn’t “paste an eye”, you’re saying you had no shuteye, or couldn’t sleep a wink.
FRENCH | Multiple Countries
Original: avoir l’estomac dans les talons
Literal translation: to have one’s stomach in the heels
English version or equivalent: to be starving/famished
If you (somehow) find yourself hungry in a francophone European nation, this expression will surely serve you well. This version of the saying is more old-school and may go over better with older generations. A less formal (but equally confusing) version would be, “avoir l’estomac dans les baskettes/chaussures” or “to have one’s stomach in sneakers/shoes”.
GERMAN | Germany
Original: jemandem die Haare vom Kopf fressen
Literal translation: to eat the hair from somebody’s head
English version or equivalent: to eat someone out of house and home
We would advise saving yourself the trauma and not taking this expression literally. That being said, it’s an important meaning for you to be able to pick up on, whether someone is complaining to you or about you being a little too comfortable in their home.
POLISH | Poland
Original: nabrać wody w usta
Literal translation: to fill your mouth with water
English version or equivalent: not to tell someone anything, or to stay quiet
This expression is more clearly understood when you imagine it literally. With a mouthful of water (and a goal of keeping one’s own shoes dry) any normal person would keep their lips sealed, thus keeping a secret to themselves.
FINNISH | Finland
Original: kerjätä verta nenästään
Literal translation: to beg [to have] blood [let] out of one’s nose
English version or equivalent: to ask for problems by being (purposefully or seemingly purposefully) annoying or arrogant– enough to make someone want to punch you / cruising for a bruising/asking for a knuckle sandwich
One would struggle to come up with an English idiom that hits quite like this (get it?). Learning this idiom and appreciating when to use it could really help your or your friends see when you’ve crossed a line– consciously or not!
PORTUGESE | Multiple Countries
Original: ser pé frio
Literal translation: to be a cold foot
English version or equivalent: someone who is extremely unlucky
Unlike the English expression “to get cold feet”, Portuguese-speakers can describe someone as a cold foot, someone with the world against them. It’s unclear where the meaning comes from, but if you’ve ever ventured outside on a cold day and gotten freezing water in your shoe… well, you know just how being a cold foot can feel.
JAPANESE | Japan
Original: 鼻(はな)が高(たか)い [hanagatakai]
Literal translation: to have a high/tall nose
English version or equivalent: to have your head held high/to be very proud of something
This phrase, meaning to exhibit immense pride in something, is best remembered by imagining it literally. Someone feeling prideful or victorious may tilt their face skyward, like they were doing a power stance. Remember not to confuse this with turning your nose up at something (to arrogantly reject something).
RUSSIAN | Russia
Original: Кусать себе локти [kusat’ sebe lokti]
Literal translation: to bite your elbows
English version or equivalent: to regret missing out or losing something (e.g. missing out on a big opportunity)
You’ve heard of eating your own words, but your elbows? Russian-speakers use this expression to describe how they feel after missing out on something important. The English equivalent of this could be “beating yourself up over something/kicking yourself”, but biting your elbows has a special something to it that I feel like English-speakers are missing.
KOREAN | South Korea
Original: 귀가 얇다 [guiga yalda]
Literal translation: ears are thin
English version or equivalent: to be easily swayed or influenced by others
If it doesn’t take much to convince you to come to a party or to change your opinion on a topic, then you may have thin ears according to Korean-speakers.
Greek | Greece
Original: Του έκοψε τα ήπατα / Τον κοψοχόλιασε
[tou ékopse ta ípata / ton kopsochóliase]
Literal translation: to shatter someone’s liver/gallbladder
English version or equivalent: to scare someone to death
Note to self: never try to scare someone from Greece! This dramatic expression likely comes from the tight feeling a person gets in their gut when they get a sudden shock or scare.
ITALIAN | Italy
Original: offri un dito e si prende tutto il braccio
Literal translation: offer him a finger and he takes all the arm
English version or equivalent: give him an inch and he’ll take a mile
This phrase is commonly used for someone who takes advantage of another’s generosity– in English we describe it with distance, but in Italy they go from the finger to the arm. While this is a bit bodysnatcher-esque, the point should still come across clearly to English-speakers.
SWEDISH | Sweden
Original: en nagel i ögat
Literal translation: a nail in the eye
English version or equivalent: a thorn in your side
Ouch! We would advise not taking this one so literally either. This can be used to describe almost anything from a little annoyance to something or someone downright painful to lay eyes on.
Can you think of any body related idioms we missed?
Let us know by submitting your own at Untranslatable.co! Just send us the information about your idiom and it will be turned into a beautiful visual guide like the one seen below.
If that’s not enticing enough, whenever you submit to Untranslatable, your contribution could appear in an upcoming article here on the Foreign Language Collective!