Funny Romanian expressions which would make a foreigner laugh
The other day I've found a nice article, written (maybe) by one of my co-nationals on a pretty famous website, in which Romanian expressions and idioms were translated into English. Needless to say, they sounded hilarious. After I did a bit of research and found plenty of such articles, I decided to write one myself, where I gathered other expressions/idioms together. For my non-Romanian-speakers readers, of course :D. (note: some of them are just slangy, and not inscribed on the official dictionaries)
1. English people constrain other people to complete a certain task. A Romanian will place his nail in the other's neck (Îi pune unghia în gât). Also, he will place his own nail in his own neck, meaning he will do anything in order to achieve something. Isn't that sadistic?
2. When you are Romanian, you life may be dust (praf). Also, you may feel dust yourself because you drank too much or you said something wrong. Your friend can be dust as well because he doesn't notice something obvious. Sometimes, dust is synonym to cabbage (varză).
3. If you are Romanian and you stutter, someone may tell you you laid eggs (Te-ai ouat). You also lay eggs when you say that something is in a certain way when it's obvious it's not. You may lay eggs again when you fail an exam or get a bad mark. This expression is synonym, in some cases, to you made it of sheep (Ai făcut-o de oaie). When it's about talking, it's synonym to you talked for all money (Ai vorbit de toți banii).
4. A Romanian won't waste time. He will rub the mint (Freacă menta) or will cut leaves for the dogs (Taie frunze la câini).
5. When a Romanian is annoyed, he won't tell you that you got on his nerves. Instead, he will r-a-r-e-l-y let you know, with a spark in his eyes, that you stepped on his calluses (Mă calci pe bătături).
6. A Romanian is not stingy, but a cheese-scratcher (Zgârie-brânză).
7. If you are a Romanian and you are hurt or stressed, and someone pisses you off in a way that makes you feel even worse, you should let that certain person know that he strewn salt on your wound (Ți-a pus sare pe rană). Sadistic or what.
8. When you do something bad/embarassing/inappropriate, an English-speaker would reproach or upbraid you. Well, a Romanian would make (mix?) you with eggs and vinegar (Te face cu ou și cu oțet).
9. If a Romanian looks at a certain task not knowing what/how to do it (even if it's obvious, duh), he might be accused that he stares like the ox at the new gate (Te uiți ca boul la poartă nouă) or like the cat at the calendar (ca mâța în calendar).
10. If you are a big girl or a big boy (approx. >16 years old), but still depend on your parents (particularly on your mother) for taking tough decisions like "should I buy this skirt blue or red? may I go out on this sunny afternoon? please, come with me to help me choose the proper napkin package! I want you to come with me on this 2-days trip because I will get lost without you!", then you might be told that you are still holding your mother's skirt (Încă te ții de fusta mamei).
* I don't mean to offend anyone, because maybe some of you are closer to your mothers than the others; but you got the point ;).
11. When you step into the bowls/dishes (Calci în străchini) or walk across the ploughed fields (O iei pe arătură) or even step wrong (Calci strâmb) instead of cheating/doing something unacceptable, then you're for sure a Romanian (or, at least, you speak Romanian pretty well).
12. When a Romanian plans to obtain some advantages from a superior, for example, he will not go and just ask for them; neither will he go and praise his boss to the skies. But he will brush him (Îl periază).
* My dear dudes, not all of us do this :). It is just a metaphor. I must admit, sometimes we step into the bowls/dishes, but notice that it's not a general truth.
13. If he is determined, an Englishman will go to the bitter end, but a Romanian will go to the white sails (Va merge până în pânzele albe).
14. If you're a Romanian and lived a few years in Dubai, for example, (or, at least, saw some pictures "before-after" and noticed how many buildings have been constructed in no time), you will say that they grew like the mushrooms after rain (Au crescut ca ciupercile după ploaie). A Russian would say the same (in Russian).
I sincerely hope that you liked my article :). I tried to include funny expressions I knew, apart from the ones already stated in the wide range of websites going round the Internet. Please come with any suggestion you would have, they are more than welcome.
And now, a bonus for the Romanian speakers, who know that the Moldavian accent is the sweetest:
1. English people constrain other people to complete a certain task. A Romanian will place his nail in the other's neck (Îi pune unghia în gât). Also, he will place his own nail in his own neck, meaning he will do anything in order to achieve something. Isn't that sadistic?
2. When you are Romanian, you life may be dust (praf). Also, you may feel dust yourself because you drank too much or you said something wrong. Your friend can be dust as well because he doesn't notice something obvious. Sometimes, dust is synonym to cabbage (varză).
3. If you are Romanian and you stutter, someone may tell you you laid eggs (Te-ai ouat). You also lay eggs when you say that something is in a certain way when it's obvious it's not. You may lay eggs again when you fail an exam or get a bad mark. This expression is synonym, in some cases, to you made it of sheep (Ai făcut-o de oaie). When it's about talking, it's synonym to you talked for all money (Ai vorbit de toți banii).
4. A Romanian won't waste time. He will rub the mint (Freacă menta) or will cut leaves for the dogs (Taie frunze la câini).
5. When a Romanian is annoyed, he won't tell you that you got on his nerves. Instead, he will r-a-r-e-l-y let you know, with a spark in his eyes, that you stepped on his calluses (Mă calci pe bătături).
6. A Romanian is not stingy, but a cheese-scratcher (Zgârie-brânză).
7. If you are a Romanian and you are hurt or stressed, and someone pisses you off in a way that makes you feel even worse, you should let that certain person know that he strewn salt on your wound (Ți-a pus sare pe rană). Sadistic or what.
8. When you do something bad/embarassing/inappropriate, an English-speaker would reproach or upbraid you. Well, a Romanian would make (mix?) you with eggs and vinegar (Te face cu ou și cu oțet).
9. If a Romanian looks at a certain task not knowing what/how to do it (even if it's obvious, duh), he might be accused that he stares like the ox at the new gate (Te uiți ca boul la poartă nouă) or like the cat at the calendar (ca mâța în calendar).
10. If you are a big girl or a big boy (approx. >16 years old), but still depend on your parents (particularly on your mother) for taking tough decisions like "should I buy this skirt blue or red? may I go out on this sunny afternoon? please, come with me to help me choose the proper napkin package! I want you to come with me on this 2-days trip because I will get lost without you!", then you might be told that you are still holding your mother's skirt (Încă te ții de fusta mamei).
* I don't mean to offend anyone, because maybe some of you are closer to your mothers than the others; but you got the point ;).
11. When you step into the bowls/dishes (Calci în străchini) or walk across the ploughed fields (O iei pe arătură) or even step wrong (Calci strâmb) instead of cheating/doing something unacceptable, then you're for sure a Romanian (or, at least, you speak Romanian pretty well).
12. When a Romanian plans to obtain some advantages from a superior, for example, he will not go and just ask for them; neither will he go and praise his boss to the skies. But he will brush him (Îl periază).
* My dear dudes, not all of us do this :). It is just a metaphor. I must admit, sometimes we step into the bowls/dishes, but notice that it's not a general truth.
13. If he is determined, an Englishman will go to the bitter end, but a Romanian will go to the white sails (Va merge până în pânzele albe).
14. If you're a Romanian and lived a few years in Dubai, for example, (or, at least, saw some pictures "before-after" and noticed how many buildings have been constructed in no time), you will say that they grew like the mushrooms after rain (Au crescut ca ciupercile după ploaie). A Russian would say the same (in Russian).
I sincerely hope that you liked my article :). I tried to include funny expressions I knew, apart from the ones already stated in the wide range of websites going round the Internet. Please come with any suggestion you would have, they are more than welcome.
And now, a bonus for the Romanian speakers, who know that the Moldavian accent is the sweetest:
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