there are times when you just can’t use Google translate, or any other translate program, for that matter. One of those instances occurs when using common phrases which really are different according to culture.
The following example is the one I have mostly commonly used. In English – Scaredy Cat. In German? Angst Hasse. An afraid cat – vs. an anxious rabbit. The underlying concept is the same, but the cultural expression is by far different.
I just acquired a new parallel –
I’ll kept my fingers crossed = Ich drück die Daumen dass es weiter aufwärts geht !
Obviously, I mostly have the German/English variations. Most the Yiddish I know doesn’t lend itself to this kind of comparison. The French I learned in high school/college wasn’t of the level or of enough interest to spark any comparisons.
So, if you have them – other language contributions welcome.
the French go “window licking” rather than “window shopping” – ugh
Oh, that is rather nasty. I was thinking more in line with culture changing the object, but the underlying idea being the same.
and I will not go down the rabbit hole of tongue twisters….