Equal Idioms
In Chinese: “一箭双雕” (Yī jiàn shuāng diāo). Literally translates to “ One arrow, two eagles.”
What is “to kill two birds with one stone”?
“To add oil.” (加油 – jiā yóu)
What is cheer up / keep going / you got this?
Gaeilge
What is Ireland?
Oiseaux
What is the French for birds?
Mandarin: 一 二 三 四 五
What are numbers?
In French: “Appeler un chat un chat.” Literal: “To call a cat a cat”
What is to call a spade a spade / speak plainly?
French: “Les carottes sont cuites.” “The carrots are cooked.”
What is "It’s too late / It’s over"?
Chippewa or Anishinaabemowin
What is the Midwest United States?
강아지 (kangaji)
What is Korean for puppy or dog?
Spanish: maquillarse, quedarse, ducharse, acostarse
What are reflexive verbs?
German: “Die Daumen drücken.” (Literal: “Press the thumbs”)
What is to keep your fingers crossed / wish luck?
German: “Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof.” Literal: “I only understand train station.”
What is "I don’t understand anything / It’s all gibberish/Greek to me"?
Guaraní or Avañe’ẽ
What is Paraguay?
What is Indonesian for tiger?
Korean: 먹다/드시다, 자다/주무시다, 있다/계시다
What are informal/formal verb pairs?
Italian: “In bocca al lupo!” (Literal: “Into the wolf’s mouth!”)
What is Good luck? (English speakers often say “Break a leg”)
Portuguese: “Pagar o pato.” “To pay the duck.”
What is "To take the blame"?
Buraka
What is the Central African Republic?
nilpferd, flusspferd
What is German for hippopotamus?
Arabic: kataba كَتَبَ, kātib كَاتِب, kātaba كَاتَبَ, kitāb كِتَاب, maktab مَكْتَب, maktaba مَكْتَبَة
What are variations of a consonantal root (here, the KTB "writing")?
Thai: ชาติหน้าตอนบ่าย ๆ Literal translation: “One afternoon in your next reincarnation.”
What is “When pigs fly” or “It’s never gonna happen”?
Japanese: “猫の手も借りたい” (Neko no te mo karitai) “Want to borrow even a cat’s paw.”
What is "I’m extremely busy"?
Amis
What is Taiwan?
யானை (yāṉai)
What is Tamil for elephant?
Polish: klub – klub, klubu, klubowi, klubem, klubie.
What are noun case declensions (e.g. nominative, accusative, locative)?