Language | Phrase | Pronunciation | Translation | Target language / meaning |
English | It's Double Dutch.[citation needed] | | |
That's Greek to me. | | | Greek |
Chicken scratch.[citation needed] | | | illegible writing |
Albanian | Mos fol kinezce.[citation needed] | | Do not speak Chinese. | Chinese |
Afrikaans | Dis Grieks vir my.[citation needed] | | It's Greek to me. | Greek |
Ancient Greek | Αὐτὸ ἐστὶ σηρικὸν περὶ ἐμοί.[citation needed] | [au̯ˌto esˌti sɛːriˌkon peˌri eˈmoi̯] | It's Chinese to me. | Chinese |
Arabic | يتحدث باللغة الصينية[citation needed] | yataḥaddaṯ bil-luġah aṣ-Ṣīnīyah [jataˈħadːaθ bɪlˈluɣa asˤːiːˈniːja] | He's speaking Chinese. | Chinese The verb in the example can be conjugated in other forms. |
Arabic, Syrian Colloquial | يحكي كرشوني[citation needed] | yaḥki Karšūni [ˈjaħki karˈʃuːni] | He's speaking Syriac. | Syriac, using the Garshuni (Arabic) script as a reference to it. The verb in the example can be conjugated in other forms. |
Arabic, Egyptian Colloquial | بيتكلم بالهندي[citation needed] | byatkallam bel-hendi [bjætˈkælːæm belˈhendi] | He's speaking Hindi. | Hindi The verb in the example can be conjugated in other forms. |
Asturian | Suename chinu Ta'n chinu.[citation needed] | | It sounds like Chinese to me. It's in Chinese. | Chinese |
Bulgarian | Все едно ми говориш на патагонски.[citation needed] | Vse edno mi govoriš na patagonski. [fsɛ ɛdˈnɔ mi ɡɔˈvɔriʃ na pataˈɡɔnskʲi] | It's as if you're talking in Patagonian. | "Patagonian" (not a real language) |
Cantonese | 鬼畫符 / 鬼画符[citation needed] | gwai2 waak6 fu4 [liː˥ kɔ˧ hɐi˨ mɐi˨ kwɐi˧˥ waːk̚˨ fuː˨˩ aː˧] | Ghost script? | No specific set phrase, treated like any ordinary language, eg. "Is this ghost script?" "Is this written in Martian?" |
火星話 / 火星话[citation needed] | fo2 sing1 waa6 [fɔ˥ sɪŋ˨ waː˧] | Martian |
Catalan | Com si diguessis Llúcia[citation needed] | [kom si di'ɣes:is 'ʎusiə] | As if you say Lucy; not referring to a language | |
Cebuano | Linatin[citation needed] | | Latin | Latin, a language used in rituals by holy men such as Catholic priests, faith healers, and talisman owners. |
Ininsik[citation needed] | | Chinese | Chinese |
Chavacano | Aleman ese comigo.[citation needed] | | It's German to me. | German |
Croatian | To su za mene španska sela.[citation needed] | [tô su za měne ʃpǎːnska sêla] | These are to me the Spanish countryside. | Spanish |
Czech | To je pro mě španělská vesnice.[citation needed] | [ˈto jɛ ˈpro mɲɛ ˈʃpaɲɛlskaː ˈvɛsɲɪtsɛ] | This is a Spanish village to me. | Spanish |
Danish | Det rene volapyk.[citation needed] | [te̝ ˈʁeˀnə volɑˈpʰyk] | This is pure Volapük | Volapük, a 19th century constructed language |
Det er en by i Rusland.[citation needed] | | This is a town in Russia. | Russian |
Kaudervælsk[citation needed] |
|
Romansh |
Romansh, a Rhaeto-Romance language spoken in Switzerland |
Dutch | Dat is Chinees voor mij.[citation needed] | [ˈdɑt ɪs ɕiˈneːs foːr ˈmɛi][4] | That is Chinese to me. | Chinese |
Ik snap er geen jota van. | | I don't understand one iota of it. Reference to Matthew 5:18.[5] | Greek |
Esperanto | Tio estas volapukaĵo.[6] | [ˈtio ˈestas volapuˈkaʒo] | It's all Volapük. | Volapük, a 19th century constructed language |
Estonian | See on mulle hiina keel.[citation needed] | | This is Chinese to me. | Chinese |
Filipino | Parang Intsik[citation needed] | | It looks like Chinese. | Chinese |
Finnish | Täyttä hepreaa.[citation needed] | [ˈtæy̯tːæ ˈhepreɑː] | It's all Hebrew. | Hebrew |
Kuulostaa siansaksalta[citation needed] | | Sounds like pig's German | gibberish |
harakanvarpaita (refers to undecipherable writing)[citation needed] | | Magpie's toes | unintelligible writing (gibberish) |
French | C'est du chinois. C'est de l'hébreu C'est du javanais. C'est du russe. | [s‿ɛ dy ʃinwa] [s‿ɛ də l‿ebʁø] [s‿ɛ dy ʒavanɛ] [s‿ɛ dy ʁys] | It's Chinese. It's Hebrew. It's Javanese. It's Russian. | Chinese Hebrew Javanese Russian |
German | Das kommt mir spanisch vor.[citation needed] | | That sounds like Spanish to me. (usually meant to indicate something is fishy) | Spanish |
Spreche ich Chinesisch?[citation needed] | | Am I speaking Chinese? | Chinese |
Fachchinesisch[citation needed] | | specialty Chinese (meaning technical jargon) | Chinese |
Kauderwelsch[citation needed] | | trade Romance | Mediterranean Lingua Franca |
Das sind böhmische Dörfer für mich[citation needed] | [ˌbøːmɪʃə ˈdœʁfɐ] | These are Bohemian villages to me | Czech, Bohemia being a region of the neighbouring Czech Republic that is nearest to Germany. |
Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof[citation needed] | | All I understand is "train station." | |
Polnisch rückwärts[citation needed] | | Polish [spoken] in reverse | Polish |
Greek, Standard Modern | Αυτά μου φαίνονται κινέζικα.[citation needed] | [afˈta mu ˈfenɔːnde ciˈnezika] | This strikes me as Chinese | Chinese |
Αυτά μου φαίνονται αλαμπουρνέζικα.[citation needed] | [afˈta mu ˈfeno(n)de ala(m)burˈnezika] | These seem to me gobbledygook. | "Alaburnese" (similar to gibberish) |
Greek, Cypriot | Εν τούρτζικα που μιλάς;[citation needed] | [e‿ˈⁿduɾ̥t͡ʃi̞kɐ p̬u mi↗ˈlɐs] | Are you speaking Turkish? | Turkish |
Hebrew | זה סינית בשבילי[citation needed] | [ze sinit biʃvili] | It's Chinese to me! | Chinese |
Hindi,
Urdu |
क्या मैं फ़ारसी बोल रहा हूँ?[citation needed]
کیا میں فارسی بول رہا ہوں؟[citation needed] |
Kyā maĩ fārsī bol rahā hū̃? |
Am I speaking Persian? |
Persian |
Hungarian | Ez nekem kínai.[citation needed] | [ˈɛz ˈnɛkɛm ˈkiːnɒi] | It's Chinese to me. | Chinese |
Icelandic |
Þetta kemur mér spánskt fyrir sjónir.[citation needed] | | This looks like Spanish to me. | Spanish |
Indonesian | (Tulisan) Cakar ayam[citation needed] | | Chicken feet | gibberish Refers to unreadable writing. |
Bahasa planet[citation needed] | | (Other-)planet language | alien language |
Italian | Questo per me è arabo/aramaico/ostrogoto/turco/cinese[citation needed] | [ˈkwesto per ˈme ˌɛ ˈaːrabo], [araˈmaiko], [ostroˈɡɔːto], [ˈtu:rko], [tʃiˈne:ze] | This is Arabic/Aramaic/Ostrogoth/Turkish/Chinese to me | Arabic, Aramaic, Ostrogoth, Turkish, Chinese |
Japanese | 珍紛漢紛 ちんぷんかんぷん[citation needed] | Chinpun kanpun [ˈtɕimpɯŋkamˌpɯɴ] | "Ching chong" | formal speech Refers to the "Chinese" sound of incomprehensible Chinese loanwords. |
Javanese | ꦕꦺꦏꦺꦂꦥꦶꦛꦶꦏ꧀[citation needed] | [t͡ʃɛkɛr piʈɪˀ] | Chicken scratch | illegible handwriting |
ꦧꦱꦮꦭꦺꦴꦟ꧀ꦝ[citation needed] | [bʰɔsɔ walɔɳɖɔ] | Dutch language | Dutch |
Korean | 횡설수설하고 있다[citation needed] | Hoengseolsuseolhago itta | They are speaking horizontally and vertically. | gibberish, especially for unrecognizable spoken language or incoherence. |
괴발개발[citation needed] (refers to unreadable writing) | Goebalgaebal | Cat's footprints and dog's footprints | gibberish |
아무 말이나 한다[citation needed] | Amu marina handa | They are speaking out random words. | gibberish |
외계어를 한다[citation needed] | Oegyeeoreul handa | They are speaking in an alien language. | alien language |
개소리를 한다[citation needed] | Gaesorireul handa | They are making a dog's sound. | gibberish |
Latin | Graecum est; nōn legitur[citation needed] | [ˈɡrae̯kum est noːn ˈleɡitur] | [It] is Greek; [it is] not legible/[it is] illegible | Greek |
Latvian | Tā man ir ķīniešu ābece[citation needed] | [taː man ir ciːnieʃu aːbetse] | This is Chinese alphabet book to me | Chinese |
Lithuanian | Tai man kaip kinų kalba.[citation needed] | [taɪ mɐn kaɪp kinuˑ kɐlba] | It's Chinese to me | Chinese |
Lojban | ti itku'ile ga'a mi[7][8] | | It's Ithkuil to me | Ithkuil |
Macedonian | За мене тоа е шпанско село.[citation needed] | Za mene toa e špansko selo. [za mɛnɛ tɔa ɛ ʃpaŋskɔ sɛlɔ] | It is for me a Spanish village. | Spanish |
Malay | (Tulisan) Cakar ayam[citation needed] | | Chicken feet | gibberish Refers to unreadable writing. |
Mandarin | 天書/ 天书。[citation needed] | Kànqǐlái xiàng tiān shū [tʰjɛn˥ ʂu˥] | Looks like a book from Heaven | "Heaven's language" Refers to an unknown writing system, or incomprehensible content, cf. A Book from the Sky. |
鬼畫符 / 鬼画符[citation needed] | Zhè shì guǐhuàfú ma? [kwei˨˩ hwa˥˩ fu˧˥] | ghost-drawn marks | "ghost language" Refers to very poor, incomprehensible handwriting. |
鳥語。/ 鸟语[citation needed] | Niǎo Yǔ [njɑʊ̯˧˥ y˨˩] | bird language.
| "bird language" (bird song) Refers to incomprehensible speech. |
火星文[citation needed] | Huǒxīng wén [xwɔ˨˩ ɕiŋ˥ wən˧˥] | Martian writing | "Martian" Usually refers to comically unconventional writing, but is also often used in the same context of unintelligible words or text. |
Marathi |
मी हिब्रू बोलतो का?[citation needed] |
Mī hibrū bōlatō kā |
Am I speaking Hebrew? |
Hebrew |
Low Saxon | Dat kümmt mi spaansch vör.[citation needed] | [dat kymt miː spoːnʃ føɐ] | That seems like Spanish to me. | Spanish |
Norwegian | Det er helt gresk for meg.[citation needed] | | It's complete Greek to me | Greek |
Persian | مگه ترکی حرف میزنم؟[citation needed] | [mæge torkiː hærf miːzænæm] | Am I speaking Turkish? | Turkish |
Polish | To dla mnie chińszczyzna.[citation needed] | [ˈtɔ dla ˈmɲɛ xʲij̃ˈʂtʂɨzna] | To me it's Chinese | Chinese |
Siedzieć jak na tureckim kazaniu[citation needed] | [ˈɕɛdʑɛtɕ ˈjak na tuˈrɛtskʲim kaˈzaɲu] | Sit as in a Turkish sermon | Turkish |
Czeski film[citation needed] | [ˈtʂɛskʲi ˈfilm] | Czech movie (this one refers to an incomprehensible situation rather than words, coined after a wave of absurdist movies in Czech cinematography) | Czech |
Portuguese | Isto para mim é chinês.[citation needed] | [ˈiʃtu pɐɾɐ ˈmĩ ɛ ʃiˈneʃ] | This is Chinese to me | Chinese (Portugal) |
Isto para mim é grego.[citation needed] | [ˈiʃtu pɐɾɐ ˈmĩ ɛ ˈɣɾeɣu] | This is Greek to me | Greek (Portugal) |
Proto-Germanic | *Þat isti Walhiskǭ/Winidiskǭ furi mek.[citation needed] | [θɑt ˈis.ti ˈwɑlxis.kɔ̃ː/ˈwiniðiskɔ̃ː ˈɸuri mek] | It's Proto-Italic/Proto-Slavic for me. | Proto-Italic, Proto-Slavic |
Proto-Slavic | *To estь Němьčьskъjь/Volšьskъjь děľa mę.[citation needed] | [tɔ ɛstɪ nɛːmɪt͡ʃɪskʊjɪ/ʋɔlʃɪskʊjɪ dɛːʎɑː mɛ̃ː] | It's Proto-Germanic/Proto-Italic for me. | Proto-Germanic, Proto-Italic |
Romanian | Parcă e chineză.[citation needed]
| [ˈparkə je kiˈnezə] | It's like Chinese. | Chinese |
Ești turc?[citation needed] | [jeʃtʲ ˈtuɾk] | Are you Turkish? | Turkish |
Nu înțeleg o iotă.[citation needed] |
[nu ɨnˈt͡se.leɡ o jo.tə] |
I don't understand one iota of it. Reference to Matthew 5:18. |
Greek |
Russian | Это для меня китайская грамота.[9] | Eto dlja menjá kitájskaja grámota. [ˈɛtə ˈdʲlʲæ mʲɪˈnʲæ kʲɪˈtajskəjə ˈɡramətə] | That's Chinese writing to me. | Chinese, but emphasis is put on reading rather than speaking. The phrase is often applied when not understanding branches of knowledge like chemistry, maths or computing due to lack of familiarity. |
Как курица лапой.[10] | | Like [scribbled by] chicken feet. | gibberish Refers to very poor, incomprehensible handwriting. |
Serbian | То су за мене шпанска села. To su za mene španska sela.[citation needed] | [to su za mene ʃpanska sela] | These are to me a Spanish village. | Spanish |
К'о да кинески причаш. K'o da kineski pričaš.[citation needed] | | Like speaking in Chinese | Chinese |
Slovak | To je pre mňa španielska dedina.[citation needed] | [to je pre mɲa ʃpaɲielska ɟeɟina] | That is a Spanish village to me. | Spanish |
Slovene | To mi je španska vas[citation needed] | [ˈtóː mi jɛ ˈʃpáːnska ˈʋáːs] | That is a Spanish village to me. | Spanish |
Spanish | Está en chino/arameo/ruso. Me suena a chino/arameo/ruso.[citation needed] | [esˈta en ˈtʃino], [aɾaˈmeo] [me ˈswena a ˈtʃino], [aɾaˈmeo] | This is in Chinese/Aramaic/Russian. It sounds like Chinese/Aramaic/Russian to me. | Chinese, Aramaic, Russian |
No entiendo ni jota | [no enˈtjendo ni ˈxota] | I don't understand one iota of it. Reference to Matthew 5:18.[11] | Greek |
Swedish | Det är rena grekiskan Det låter som/det är rena rama grekiskan. |
- | It is pure Greek It sound like/it is pure Greek. | Greek |
(Jag fattar) inte ett jota | |
(I don't understand) one iota of it Reference to Matthew 5:18.[12] | Greek |
Turkish | Konuya Fransız kaldım.[13] | [konuja fɾansɯz kaɫˈdɯm] | I am French to the topic. | French, as from the viewpoint of a French person who doesn't understand any Turkish. |
Anladıysam Arap olayım.[14] | [anɫaˈdɯjsam aˈɾap oɫajɯm] | let me blacken, get dark skin ("turn into Arab") if I understood it (in Turkish "Arap olayım" is used in idioms in similar sense to "God strike me down if ...", to emphasize that something is not true)[15] (informal, old-fashioned, offensive)[16] | None (Arab doesn't refer to nationality or language, but skin color) |
Ukrainian | Це для мене китайська грамота.[citation needed] | Tse dlja mene kitajs'ka gramota. [ˈtsɛ dʲlʲɐ ˈmɛne kɪˈtɑjsʲkɐ ˈɦrɑmotɐ] | That's Chinese writing to me. | Chinese |
Venetian | Par mi xe turco.[citation needed] | [paɾ ˈmi ˌzɛ ˈtuɾko] | To me this is Turkish. | Turkish |
Vietnamese | Nhìn/nghe như tiếng Miên.[citation needed] | | (It) looks/sounds like Khmer | Khmer |
Yiddish | תּרגום־לשון טערקיש אָץ־קוצץ־לשון מלאָכים־לשון חרטמים־לשון [citation needed] | targem-loshn terkish ots-koytsets-loshn malokhim-loshn khartumim-loshn | targum language (i.e. that of Aramaic translations of the Bible) Turkish gibberish the language of angels the language of a pharaoh's magicians (i.e. hieroglyphics) | Aramaic / Turkish / gibberish / angelic language / Hieroglyphics |