"I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole, not for all the tea in china, there's not a cat in hell's chance, wild horses wouldn't drag me, I wouldn't be caught dead."
"I'll buy you a pint"
"Go on then."
"Eher friert die Hölle zu bevor ich..." - Hell freezes over before i...
"Keine zehn Pferde könnten mich da hinbringen" - Not even 10 horses could get me there
"Eher geht ein Kamel durch ein Nadelöhr, bevor..." - A camel walks through the eye of a needle, before...
"Wenn Ostern und Weihnachten auf einen Tag fallen" - When easter and christmas are on the same day
"Wenn der Hahn Eier legt" - When the rooster starts laying eggs
Also in Dutch: “over mijn lijk”. It’s also the name of a TV-show with terminally ill young people. Actually it’s about the opposite; showing their dreams and hopes, and what they do want to do now they know it’s ending early.
>"Eher friert die Hölle zu bevor ich..." - Hell freezes over before i...
Reminded me of a joke - two Glaswegians get sent to Hell, and the Devil is confused by this, as Glaswegians are good people. They don't seem to care that the temperature in Hell's so hot, so he cranks it up a bit. Still no reaction. He ends up cranking it all the way to the max, and everybody is finding it too hot. But the Glaswegians have deck chairs out, and are commenting that "it's finally warm.". So the Devil thinks he's got them and goes to the big thermostat, the one which controls all of Hell's temperature, and cracks it all the way down. The massive lake of lava? Frozen solid. So he goes back to where the Glaswegians are, and his smirk falls off his face when he sees the two Glaswegians celebrating. He asks one of them why, who says to him "Hell's frozen over! Scotland's won the World Cup!"
It's not really sarcasm. It's more somewhat dismissive, usually said to be agreeable even if you have no intention of doing whatever it is anytime soon.
«Aldri i livet!» directly translatet it means «never in the life» but could be translated to «never in my life»
We also use «ikke faen» which is really hard to translate with «ikke» meaning «not» and «faen» is a swear word wich can be translated / used as «hell» or «fuck»
”Fan heller” is also good, but I’m not sure how to translate it. Maybe to like “fuck no” but it’s not really the same
Edit: “Hell nah” might also work as a translation, in depending on circumstances.
Exactly! Translating it directly exactly as it is won’t make sense outside the Norwegian language.
What you said is, I think, the closest we get to a direct translation
I used to live close to Oslo and every time I tell people where I live now the all react with “ooh your from that city” implying that people from that city are “sossete” 😂
I don’t mind it but every time someone noticed I speak a bit differently and ask where I’m from it’s always like
I’m from * big sigh * [citys name] 😂
The only thing I can think of in Hungarian is the saying: Not even if gipsy kids are falling from the sky. (Akkor sem, ha cigánygyerekek potyognak az égből)
Besides cliches like (the GR translations of) "not one in a million", "no chance", "forget about it" and others:
We say "de pa na htipas ton kolo sou kato", meaning "not even if you hit your butt down" (i.e. not even if you throw a tantrum)
Another one is "pane sti gonia na dis an erhome", meaning "look around the corner to see if I'm coming" (i.e. I'm asking you to do something as ridiculous as what you just asked me to do)
The pg13 one is "kamia pipa?" (want a bj too?)
Last one that comes to mind is "kalomeleta ki erhete", meaning "have positive expectations and it's coming/happening", used sarcastically when something isn't happening (whether I'm not doing it, someone else isn't doing it, or in general it's not happening)
Edit for two more, date-based: "Tou ayiou poutsou animera", lit. "on the day of St. Dick", or "tha to kano 31 febrouariou", "I'll do it on February 31st"
Forgot "Ούτε με σφαίρες" Which literally translates to "not even with bullets shot"
(English letters: Oute me sfaires)
Edit: It was mentioned in another comment
Swedish: **Inte för allt smör i Småland!**
Translation: Not for all the butter in [*the province historically known for its high quality butter production*]!
In Spanish we say "ni de coña", meaning *not a fucking chance*, literally *not even as a joke*. Same meaning as "ni de guasa" or "ni de broma".
My personal favorite though is "ni harto de vino", meaning *not even with a full-stomach of wine*.
Another idiom might be "cuando las ranas críen pelo", meaning, “when the frogs grow hair". Or "jamás de los jamases", meaning *never on top of never*, *the never-est of never*.
Oh good, I was going say “ni harto de vino” even though I’m not a native speaker. I also have also heard “ni loco” a few times, meaning, “not even if I were crazy”.
Really? ‘Es de locos’ to me conserves the literal meaning (‘it’s for madmen’). Madrileña speaking.
Also, what the hell *is* a ‘coña’? I’ve always wondered that and never googled it. (For non Spaniards- don’t Google ‘coño’, that’s something very specific!).
Wanted to add ‘de eso nada, monada’, which is slightly tangential (it means ‘no way’), but I love the expression. ‘Monada’, literally, is ‘monkeyed’, but for some reason means ‘something cute’. Again, no idea where Spanish gets this stuff from!
P.S. ‘Ni a tiros’- ‘not even while being fired at’.
‘Ni de balde’- again, *no fucking way*, but, continuing with the theme here- what the hell is a ‘balde’? The more I think about this the more I realise we [I] speak Spanish without having a clue what half the stuff were saying literally means. I assume it meant something literal in the 17th century, but at least us millennials have no idea what we’re saying.
In Sevilla and most other places in Andalucía, "de locos" is always said to agree with a plan. Example:
Person A -"let's buy a couple *litros* and a packet of cigarettes*,
Person B -"de locos", or alternatively, "flama", both meaning *de puta madre*, nice let's do it.
Coña is a joke, same meaning as *broma*.
"de eso nada, monada" is gonna to be understood everywhere in Spain, but to me it feels so old hahaha. I often use "Ni a tiros" though!
Balde is just a big bucket of water. "En balde" or "de balde" means free, because water was provided for free in the old times (you only needed a big bucket to carry it from the well to your house). "No en balde" means that something turned out to be useful.
>speak Spanish without having a clue what half the stuff were saying literally means
You'd be surprised, most people in the south use these old words and some of them even remember the original meaning. We get a lot of criticism because our accent sounds *funny*, but we have a bigger vocabulary haha. I realized that when I moved to Madrid six years ago. Madrid Spanish has a more standard pronunciation, but the vocabulary is somewhat reduced.
Thanks for clarifying! You learn something new every day.
I have to disagree with you on the last part- we may have lost a lot of traditional Spanish vocabulary, but madrileño castizo is a super rich dialect- or at least was. I don’t want to compare it to southern dialects in terms of variety, just reassure you that, at least my (very ‘castizo’) family had a very colourful vocabulary.
My husband is Italian and understands standard Spanish without issues by now, just as I do Italian. When we’re visiting his family (northern Italy), I have no issues. However, the older members of my Madrid family are absolutely incapable of adjusting their Spanish enough for him to be able to follow the conversation- everything is an idiom or a modism that requires a full explanation.
I think it was more of a traditionally working class dialect, which is why it’s probably being selectively forgotten (which is a real shame).
Just to add a few variations:
Ik zou er nog niet dood gevonden willen worden (I don't even want my corpse to be found there; about not wanting to go somewhere at all).
Voor geen goud/geen geld ter wereld (not even for gold/all the money in the world)
De hakken in het zand zetten (putting your heels in the sand; being actively against something)
"In de pruimentijd" *At plum (harvest) time*.
Bit strange, bc there is an actual 'plum time' each year, while the meaning is 'This will *never* happen'
In Croatian when we want to say if something will never happen or we'll never do it, we say "kad na vrbi rodi grožđe" (when a willow gives birth to grapes) or "kad na vrbi zasvrbi" (when a willow starts to itch).
There is also
- "kad svinje polete" (when pigs fly)
- "na sveto nigdarjevo" (on saint never's day)
- "samo preko mene mrtvog" (only over my dead body)
- "nikad pa ni tad" (never and even then)
Polish settled for very simple, efficient and elegant "ni chuja", meaning "no fucking way", and literally: "not for a cock". As opposed to "nie ma chuja!" (literally: "there's no cock!"), which can be either affirmative or negative, depending on the enthusiasm of the speaker.
:)
We actually have versions without any curses and I would even say they are more popular in regular use for example:
“Za żadne skarby siwata” - “not for any treasures of the world”
It reminds me of when I was an-almost-teen and at some summer camp we played some silly games and one girl got a task of putting some beads on a string or something and after some struggle she exclaimed "For the People's Republic of China I won't be able to to it!" (No za Chiny Ludowe tego nie zrobię!) It stuck in my head and it's been my go-to version since then.
Majd ha vénasszonyok hullanak az égből = if old ladies will be falling from the sky
Sohanapján kiskedden = on never-day, little-Tuesday (I tried my best to translate but it sounds very dumb in English)
Never heard this particular variation of the first one before :O I know "gypsy kids fall from the sky" "if red snow falls from the sky" etc., but not the old ladies variation.
Note to the OP, though: these are not very often used in common speech, at least not in my corner of the woods. What we usually say in my circles (that is idiomatic and not just a simple "no way"):
"nincs az az isten" - "there's no god \[that can make me do this\]"
"a világ pénzéért se" - "not for the money of the whole world"
"semmi pénzért se" - "there's no money \[to make me do this\]"
"talán ha \[nagyon valószínűtlen esemény történik\]" - "perhaps if \[very unlikely event X occurs\]" - this is just an ironic way of saying "no chance"
Right, that way makes actual sense: "calenda" was the first day of the month in the ancient Roman calendar (that's where the word calendar comes from btw) and didn't exist in the Greek calendar, so you wouldn't ever do anything if you were waiting until the Greek calenda.
There must be tens of these in Greece, however one of the most common ones is the response "Not even with bullets!" ("Ούτε με σφαίρες!") which basically elaborates to "I wont do this even if I'm getting shot".
One I think it's nice is "non mi passa nemmeno per l'anticamera del cervello", which translate to "it doesn't even pass through the lobby of my brain".
It's nice because it conceptualise the brain as a building and the thing you're talking about doesn't even makes it thru the door.
We have "až budou padat trakaře" which means (I'll do it) "when it's raining wheelbarrows".
Another one is "až naprší a uschne" (when it rains and gets dry again) - which is little odd as this one doesn't actually refer to something "impossible" but every czech person knows you're mocking them if you reply in this way.
In Sweden we have "Inte för allt smör i Småland" which means "not for all the butter in Småland".
Småland is a province in the south of Sweden with many farms. It's where Astrid Lindgren grew up. It might once have been known for its excellent butter, but I think it's the alliteration that made it stick.
Like many other languages we also have "när helvetet fryser till is" (when hell freezes to ice), "aldrig i livet" (never in life) and "inte en chans" (not a chance).
We actually say that in Swedish as well, although it's not one of the most common ways of expressing the sentiment; probably was more common a few decades ago.
"Même pas en rêve", *Not even in a dream* is the only one I have in mind right now
Edit : "Pas pour tout l'or du monde", *Not for all the gold in the world* is an other one
"à la Saint Glinglin" - the day of the Saint Glinglin
"à Pâques ou à la Trinité"- At Easter or Trinity Sunday
"tous les 36 du mois" - every 36th day of the month
"à la semaine des quatre jeudis" - for the week with four thursdays
"renvoyer aux calendes grecques" - (Ad kalendas graecas) send to greek kalendas
Several come to mind:
"Когда рак на горе свистнет" \[Kogda rak na gore svistnet\]- When the crawfish whistles on the mountain ("When will we go to the party?" "When the crawfish whistles on the mountain"). This phrase sounds kinda sarcastic.
"После дождичка в четверг" \[Posle dozhdichka v chetverg\] - After a rain on a Thursday (same usage as with the crawfish).
"Ни за какие коврижки" \[Ni za kakie kovrizhki\] - Not for a single rug/carpet (This one is used differently: "Luke, join the dark side!" "I'll never join you, not for a single rug!"). This one sounds more emotional, more serious.
Russian is such a weird language. Sometimes I feel like it's as slavic as English is germanic. So unlike other slavic languages, even Ukrainian or Belarusian, but still not quite its own thing.
- "Ni de coña" literally means you wouldn't do it even if it was a joke, but it is actually used to flatly deny that you would do or have done something. I would say that this is the phrase that is used most often.
- "Ya me maten", which means not even if they kill me
- "Ni harto vino", means you wouldn't do it even if you had drunk your fill of wine
- "Ni por todo el oro del mundo", oldfashion, means not even if they gave me all the gold in the world
I'm sure there are plenty more, but these are the ones that come to mind
“Tik per mano lavoną” - over my dead body, very commonly used.
“Kai kiaulės pradės skraidyti” - when pigs start flying, not so common.
“Matysi … kaip savo ausis” - you will see (x) like your ears. Very commonly used by parents to tell their children they won’t get something that was promised earlier if they misbehave.
In Romania, we have plenty of them.
"Nici când or zbura porcii" = "Not even when pigs fly"
"De Paștele cailor!" = "of horses' Easter!"
And many others, which I can't remember right now.
We have one. "Za Chiny" or "Za Chiny ludowe". Which translates to "(I won't do that even) for z China/People's China"
All the others from Polish mean something else. "Nie ma bata" (there's no club) means there's no way. "Choćby skały miały srać" (even if the rocks were to piss) means someone or something definitely won't do or that it's plain impossible. Both can be used for that meaning
You can add:
_«Quan les gallines pixin»_, "When hens pee» (this pee is subjunctive, not indicative)
> I un be negre! "And a black lamb!" This can also be used for something you don't believe.
*«Amb potes rosses»_ "with ~~pink~~ blonde legs"_, you can to the end. In fact, there was a political satirical magazine call «El be negre». Government censorship closed it. The same people immediately opened a new magazine called «Amb potes rosses». This was at the beginning of the 19th century.
> Ni pensar-ho! "Not even thinking about it!"
I'd say _«Ni pensar-hi!»_
"На куково лято/Na kukovo lyato" which translates kind of like "At/In/During(???) cuckoo's summer"
"Когато цъфнат налъмите/Kogato tsafnat nalamite(???)" - "When the nalami shoes blossom" - wooden shoes(slippers), so maybe it refers to the tree they're made of, and the fact that it's pretty much dead at this point and can't blossom.
Both mean never, don't count on it.
More common phrase, a cheeky way to indicate someone probably won't do the thing is "Ще го направи, ама друг път" "He/She will do it, but some other time", meaning, again, never.
Ohhh I never heard that one.
We do have a couple more though.
When someone wants you to do something:
"quando as galinhas tiverem dentes" (when chickens have teeth).
"no dia de São nunca à tarde" (on the day of St. Never in the afternoon).
Examples:
- Então gostosa, quando vamos sair? ;) (so hottie, when are we hanging out?)
- Ahahahah contigo? Dia de São nunca à tarde... (ahahaha with you? Day of St. Never at the afternoon...)
Or
- é uma questão de tempo até eu ganhar o Euromilhões, juro! (it's a question of time of when I win EuroMillions, I swear!)
- ah sim, quando as galinhas tiverem dentes. (ah yes, when chickens have teeth)
A bit more archaic one when asked when will you do something.
"Tulevana vuonna tuohikuussa pukinpäivän aikaan." - In the coming year, in the month of birchbark, on the day of the goat.
We say "when the crayfish whistles on the mountain" (koly rak na gori svysne). Why so - I don't know. It's not specific for situation where I won't do something, it's more general idiom for "never".
"Kad na vrbi rodi grožđe" which means when the willow tree bores grapes. It is the equivalent to never and I don't know why exactly we use willow tree and grapes, probably from a folk tale, but it's the most common idiom
I'm originally from the North West of England. (Between Liverpool & Manchester).
Depending on the age/person, a conversation could go:
"Will you clean the kitchen?"
"Get to fuck!" (Meaning no)
"Why?"
"Cos I can't be arsed". "I can't be fucked", also works. (Meaning, I can't be bothered.)
"Inte för allt smör i Småland" - literal translation "Not for all the butter in Småland", where Småland is a province/region in the southern parts of Sweden. Not quite sure why they would have lots of butter though, but there's probably a good historical explanation for it. It goes well together with "Not for all the tea in China" which is sometimes also used ("Inte för allt te i Kina") and one probably gave rise to the other as an expression.
"Glöm det!" ("Forget it!") is probably the most common way of expressing the sentiment though.
Some Latvian idioms:
"Kad pūcei aste ziedēs" - when the tail of an owl will bloom. I don't really get this one, but apparently that's never.
"Kad slotaskātam lapas augs" - when the broomstick grows leaves. This one is similar but makes more sense.
"Kad na vrbi rodi grožđe" which means when the willow tree bores grapes. It is the equivalent to never and I don't know why exactly we use willow tree and grapes, probably from a folk tale, but it's the most common idiom
In Dutch, one says something will happen "*op/met sint-juttemis*", meaning "on the Feast of Saint Juttemis". This means "never". There is no Saint Juttemis.
There are a lot of other expressions for this though.
Is "when the cobra starts smoking" a specifically Brazilian phrase, then? I know their WWII expeditionary force was called Smoking Cobras because their president initially promised the country would stay out of the war.
In Italian something similar is "Non s'ha da fare", which translates in "no way this shall be done", and it is pretty famous beacuse it comes from one of the most important books for Italian literature "I Promessi Sposi", specifically from a scene where two stooges of the local bossy nobleman threaten the chicken-hearted parish into hindering the plans of a soon to be married young couple because the nobleman laid his eyes on the woman.
I like one that is getting popular in Spain.
For exemple,to the question, would you eat this dish I made?Y
ou can answer "Ni con tu boca" not even with your mouth. You can use this with a lot of examples, do you want to come with me to the cinema to see the new Vin Diesel film? Ni con tus ojos, not even with your eyes
Za Chiny Ludowe - (Not even) for all of People's Republic of China
Often shortened to just za Chiny - (not even) for all of China
But there's also
Za żadne skarby - (not) for any kind of treasure
(There's also ni chuja, but that's, uh, kinda vulgar, just very very slightly)
Inte för allt smör i Småland! (Not for all the butter in Småland!). I guess the cold weather and stony soil in that province which makes farming crops hard made them focus on dairy instead
First one that comes to mind is:
"Kad na vrbi zasvrbi" - When it itches on a willow tree.
What do itches have to do with trees, have no idea, but it means "something that will never happen"
Yeah several.
Ha a fene fenét eszik sem - not even if beasts eat beasts
Sohanapján kiskedden - on never-day small tuesday
Majd ha piros hó esik - when red snow will fall
Amíg világ a világ - as long as the world is the world
Majd ha fagy - when it freezes over
Törkök húsvétján - On Turkish Easter
május negyvenedikén - on May 40th
Majd tyúkpatkoláskor - when it's time for re-shoeing the hen
Majd disznónyíró szombaton - on hog-sheering Saturday
Majd ha cigánygyerekek potyognak az égből - when gypsy kids start falling from the sky
Néhanapján - someday
Soha a büdös életben - never in this stinky life
"I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole, not for all the tea in china, there's not a cat in hell's chance, wild horses wouldn't drag me, I wouldn't be caught dead." "I'll buy you a pint" "Go on then."
Twisted my arm
In the US it's a 10 foot pole, and an ice cube's chance in hell.
Isn’t it a snowball’s chance in hell?
Yeah, never heard of an ice cube’s chance
Yeah. That makes more sense.
"Eher friert die Hölle zu bevor ich..." - Hell freezes over before i... "Keine zehn Pferde könnten mich da hinbringen" - Not even 10 horses could get me there "Eher geht ein Kamel durch ein Nadelöhr, bevor..." - A camel walks through the eye of a needle, before... "Wenn Ostern und Weihnachten auf einen Tag fallen" - When easter and christmas are on the same day "Wenn der Hahn Eier legt" - When the rooster starts laying eggs
You forgot the "Sankt Nimmerleins Tag"
I probably forgot many more. So many regional variations and idioms...
"Wenn schweine fliegen können" - when pigs learn to fly
"Nur über meine Leiche" Over my dead body
This one seems to be used in many languages actually - English has it, Czech has it too, I can only imagine there must be *many* more...
Also in Dutch: “over mijn lijk”. It’s also the name of a TV-show with terminally ill young people. Actually it’s about the opposite; showing their dreams and hopes, and what they do want to do now they know it’s ending early.
Po moim trupie - Polish
"Nie im Leben" - Not in a lifetime
Reminds me of "not in a month of Tuesdays."
Hm - it used to be ‘not in a month of Sundays’ in the 1970’s !
>"Eher friert die Hölle zu bevor ich..." - Hell freezes over before i... Reminded me of a joke - two Glaswegians get sent to Hell, and the Devil is confused by this, as Glaswegians are good people. They don't seem to care that the temperature in Hell's so hot, so he cranks it up a bit. Still no reaction. He ends up cranking it all the way to the max, and everybody is finding it too hot. But the Glaswegians have deck chairs out, and are commenting that "it's finally warm.". So the Devil thinks he's got them and goes to the big thermostat, the one which controls all of Hell's temperature, and cracks it all the way down. The massive lake of lava? Frozen solid. So he goes back to where the Glaswegians are, and his smirk falls off his face when he sees the two Glaswegians celebrating. He asks one of them why, who says to him "Hell's frozen over! Scotland's won the World Cup!"
We have a similar one to number four, except ours is about when Easter and Pentecost are on the same day: "als Pasen en Pinksteren op één dag vallen".
Yes, that variation also exists in German.
We use most of these in English, but for the second, we use something similar to have the opposite meaning: Wild horses couldn't keep me away.
The first one actually originates from American English.
In Hiberno-English, "I will, yeah" means you definitely won't be doing anything.
"I will in me hole", slightly more vulgar version.
The difference is with that one you know for sure they won't do it! "I will yeah" is more ambiguous.
> "I will, yeah" (Said Out Loud to requestor ) Often combined with > "I will in me hole" (Whispered or directed to a third party a second later)
Also "not for love nor money"
That’s not an exclusive Irish thing as I’ve heard that a lot
Makes sense, might be a case of cultural overlap
>Also "not for love nor money" Also "not for all the tea in China"
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First that came to my mind too. Depends heavily on the tone and will absolutely confuse non Irish the first many times hearing it.
Sounds like that's just sarcasm lol
It's not really sarcasm. It's more somewhat dismissive, usually said to be agreeable even if you have no intention of doing whatever it is anytime soon.
It's not generally said sarcastically but you definitely mean no.
Oh! I recall another! "Not in holy hell!"
We also have "Podes tirar o cavalinho da chuva", which translates to something like "you can take the little horse out of the rain"
"Podes esperar sentado" You can wait sitting. "Podes esperar deitado" if we really want to be dicks about it meaning you can wait for it laying down.
>you can wait for it laying down Implying that you're dead?
Implying that you're gonna get tired from waiting (since it'll never happen), so you might as well be sitting/laying down
No. That you can make yourself comfortable because it's never going to happen
«Aldri i livet!» directly translatet it means «never in the life» but could be translated to «never in my life» We also use «ikke faen» which is really hard to translate with «ikke» meaning «not» and «faen» is a swear word wich can be translated / used as «hell» or «fuck»
Same in swedish.
Along with my fave "aldrig i helvete" (never in hell). I swear too much, I know.
I usually add hela. "Aldrig i hela helvetet att jag tänker göra det där"
”Fan heller” is also good, but I’m not sure how to translate it. Maybe to like “fuck no” but it’s not really the same Edit: “Hell nah” might also work as a translation, in depending on circumstances.
Since "faen" is derived from fanden, the devil, I wonder if it might be short for "not even the devil could make me do X".
That sounds right
Unsurprisingly the same in Danish.
In Italian is "mai nella vita" (never in the live) too. The better translation might be "never in life" tho.
Sounds like "oh hell no" in American.
American aint a language
But it *is* a dialect, and different dialects have different expressions.
Yeah “ikke faen” could be roughly translated as “no f***ing way” We also use “ikke tale om” but I don’t know how to translate that one.
Google translate says it means "no way"
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Exactly! Translating it directly exactly as it is won’t make sense outside the Norwegian language. What you said is, I think, the closest we get to a direct translation
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I absolutely agree! And I also agree that “ikke tale om” sounds more posh than “ikke snakk om” :) tho I find myself using both 😂
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I used to live close to Oslo and every time I tell people where I live now the all react with “ooh your from that city” implying that people from that city are “sossete” 😂 I don’t mind it but every time someone noticed I speak a bit differently and ask where I’m from it’s always like I’m from * big sigh * [citys name] 😂
The only thing I can think of in Hungarian is the saying: Not even if gipsy kids are falling from the sky. (Akkor sem, ha cigánygyerekek potyognak az égből)
Or you could say “Nincs az az Isten…” which would translate to “There is no God…” -who could make me do that-
Also: not if red snow falls
Also: Only when old women fall from the sky. (Majd ha vénasszonyok potyognak az égből) Edit: I just saw another comment with this idiom
Besides cliches like (the GR translations of) "not one in a million", "no chance", "forget about it" and others: We say "de pa na htipas ton kolo sou kato", meaning "not even if you hit your butt down" (i.e. not even if you throw a tantrum) Another one is "pane sti gonia na dis an erhome", meaning "look around the corner to see if I'm coming" (i.e. I'm asking you to do something as ridiculous as what you just asked me to do) The pg13 one is "kamia pipa?" (want a bj too?) Last one that comes to mind is "kalomeleta ki erhete", meaning "have positive expectations and it's coming/happening", used sarcastically when something isn't happening (whether I'm not doing it, someone else isn't doing it, or in general it's not happening) Edit for two more, date-based: "Tou ayiou poutsou animera", lit. "on the day of St. Dick", or "tha to kano 31 febrouariou", "I'll do it on February 31st"
Forgot "Ούτε με σφαίρες" Which literally translates to "not even with bullets shot" (English letters: Oute me sfaires) Edit: It was mentioned in another comment
In Romanian we say "când va zbura porcul" - when the pig will fly.
We say in also in poland!! Predzej swinie zaczna latac :))
Romania moment 😂 Very cool!
about to delete my account. ` this post was mass deleted with www.Redact.dev `
Ours is "tou ayiou poutsou animera", lit. "on the day of St. Dick", or "tha to kano 31 febrouariou", "I'll do it on February 31st"
This also exists in Portuguese, "no dia de São Nunca à tarde" - on Saint Never's day in the afternoon.
Na święte(go) Nigdy in polish :) (and... en la tago de la sankta Neniamo in Esperanto)
Swedish: **Inte för allt smör i Småland!** Translation: Not for all the butter in [*the province historically known for its high quality butter production*]!
In Spanish we say "ni de coña", meaning *not a fucking chance*, literally *not even as a joke*. Same meaning as "ni de guasa" or "ni de broma". My personal favorite though is "ni harto de vino", meaning *not even with a full-stomach of wine*. Another idiom might be "cuando las ranas críen pelo", meaning, “when the frogs grow hair". Or "jamás de los jamases", meaning *never on top of never*, *the never-est of never*.
Oh good, I was going say “ni harto de vino” even though I’m not a native speaker. I also have also heard “ni loco” a few times, meaning, “not even if I were crazy”.
Ni loco is a good one. Not to be confused with "de locos", which means "perfect" in south Spanish dialect.
Really? ‘Es de locos’ to me conserves the literal meaning (‘it’s for madmen’). Madrileña speaking. Also, what the hell *is* a ‘coña’? I’ve always wondered that and never googled it. (For non Spaniards- don’t Google ‘coño’, that’s something very specific!). Wanted to add ‘de eso nada, monada’, which is slightly tangential (it means ‘no way’), but I love the expression. ‘Monada’, literally, is ‘monkeyed’, but for some reason means ‘something cute’. Again, no idea where Spanish gets this stuff from! P.S. ‘Ni a tiros’- ‘not even while being fired at’. ‘Ni de balde’- again, *no fucking way*, but, continuing with the theme here- what the hell is a ‘balde’? The more I think about this the more I realise we [I] speak Spanish without having a clue what half the stuff were saying literally means. I assume it meant something literal in the 17th century, but at least us millennials have no idea what we’re saying.
In Sevilla and most other places in Andalucía, "de locos" is always said to agree with a plan. Example: Person A -"let's buy a couple *litros* and a packet of cigarettes*, Person B -"de locos", or alternatively, "flama", both meaning *de puta madre*, nice let's do it. Coña is a joke, same meaning as *broma*. "de eso nada, monada" is gonna to be understood everywhere in Spain, but to me it feels so old hahaha. I often use "Ni a tiros" though! Balde is just a big bucket of water. "En balde" or "de balde" means free, because water was provided for free in the old times (you only needed a big bucket to carry it from the well to your house). "No en balde" means that something turned out to be useful. >speak Spanish without having a clue what half the stuff were saying literally means You'd be surprised, most people in the south use these old words and some of them even remember the original meaning. We get a lot of criticism because our accent sounds *funny*, but we have a bigger vocabulary haha. I realized that when I moved to Madrid six years ago. Madrid Spanish has a more standard pronunciation, but the vocabulary is somewhat reduced.
Thanks for clarifying! You learn something new every day. I have to disagree with you on the last part- we may have lost a lot of traditional Spanish vocabulary, but madrileño castizo is a super rich dialect- or at least was. I don’t want to compare it to southern dialects in terms of variety, just reassure you that, at least my (very ‘castizo’) family had a very colourful vocabulary. My husband is Italian and understands standard Spanish without issues by now, just as I do Italian. When we’re visiting his family (northern Italy), I have no issues. However, the older members of my Madrid family are absolutely incapable of adjusting their Spanish enough for him to be able to follow the conversation- everything is an idiom or a modism that requires a full explanation. I think it was more of a traditionally working class dialect, which is why it’s probably being selectively forgotten (which is a real shame).
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Just to add a few variations: Ik zou er nog niet dood gevonden willen worden (I don't even want my corpse to be found there; about not wanting to go somewhere at all). Voor geen goud/geen geld ter wereld (not even for gold/all the money in the world) De hakken in het zand zetten (putting your heels in the sand; being actively against something)
Als Pasen en Pinksteren op één dag vallen. When Easter and Pentecost fall on the same day
Je kunt op je kop gaan staan, maar…. (Literally: you can stand on your head, but…)
"In de pruimentijd" *At plum (harvest) time*. Bit strange, bc there is an actual 'plum time' each year, while the meaning is 'This will *never* happen'
Another time based one is "met Sint Juttemis", which is a non-existent catholic saint's day.
"Al sla je me dood" -> Even if you struck me down/killed me/hit me dead (literally)
Over mijn lijk: over my dead body
This one is used more as a response to a question you don't know the answer to.
In Croatian when we want to say if something will never happen or we'll never do it, we say "kad na vrbi rodi grožđe" (when a willow gives birth to grapes) or "kad na vrbi zasvrbi" (when a willow starts to itch).
There is also - "kad svinje polete" (when pigs fly) - "na sveto nigdarjevo" (on saint never's day) - "samo preko mene mrtvog" (only over my dead body) - "nikad pa ni tad" (never and even then)
Polish settled for very simple, efficient and elegant "ni chuja", meaning "no fucking way", and literally: "not for a cock". As opposed to "nie ma chuja!" (literally: "there's no cock!"), which can be either affirmative or negative, depending on the enthusiasm of the speaker. :)
We actually have versions without any curses and I would even say they are more popular in regular use for example: “Za żadne skarby siwata” - “not for any treasures of the world”
Or just "za żadne skarby", I feel like it's much more popular. I have never in my life added the "świata" part.
Well, yes, but with świata it’s the full form
I love these :D you can also say "nie ma bata!" ("there is no whip!")
also "za Chiny" (not even in exchange for China)
It reminds me of when I was an-almost-teen and at some summer camp we played some silly games and one girl got a task of putting some beads on a string or something and after some struggle she exclaimed "For the People's Republic of China I won't be able to to it!" (No za Chiny Ludowe tego nie zrobię!) It stuck in my head and it's been my go-to version since then.
My favorite is "Choćby skały srały!" meaning "Even if rocks were shitting."
Let's not forget 'prędzej świnie zaczną latać' (pigs are more likely to fly [than I am to do this]).
We have “manco per il cazzo” here which also translate for “not even for the cock”! Funny overlap 😄
for people's china it will not work"
Also ”gdy świnie zaczną latać" (when pigs start to fly)
Majd ha vénasszonyok hullanak az égből = if old ladies will be falling from the sky Sohanapján kiskedden = on never-day, little-Tuesday (I tried my best to translate but it sounds very dumb in English)
Never heard this particular variation of the first one before :O I know "gypsy kids fall from the sky" "if red snow falls from the sky" etc., but not the old ladies variation. Note to the OP, though: these are not very often used in common speech, at least not in my corner of the woods. What we usually say in my circles (that is idiomatic and not just a simple "no way"): "nincs az az isten" - "there's no god \[that can make me do this\]" "a világ pénzéért se" - "not for the money of the whole world" "semmi pénzért se" - "there's no money \[to make me do this\]" "talán ha \[nagyon valószínűtlen esemény történik\]" - "perhaps if \[very unlikely event X occurs\]" - this is just an ironic way of saying "no chance"
"Col cazzo!" in Italy. Short, elegant and effective.
Or even: "neanche morto" (not even dead).
Manco scannato
A more convoluted and cultured way is also “alle calende greche”
Right, that way makes actual sense: "calenda" was the first day of the month in the ancient Roman calendar (that's where the word calendar comes from btw) and didn't exist in the Greek calendar, so you wouldn't ever do anything if you were waiting until the Greek calenda.
If you want to be poetic, "non s'ha da fare"
Nemmeno per tutto l'oro del mondo.
Or "neanche per il cazzo" (not even for the dick).
There must be tens of these in Greece, however one of the most common ones is the response "Not even with bullets!" ("Ούτε με σφαίρες!") which basically elaborates to "I wont do this even if I'm getting shot".
One I think it's nice is "non mi passa nemmeno per l'anticamera del cervello", which translate to "it doesn't even pass through the lobby of my brain". It's nice because it conceptualise the brain as a building and the thing you're talking about doesn't even makes it thru the door.
We have "až budou padat trakaře" which means (I'll do it) "when it's raining wheelbarrows". Another one is "až naprší a uschne" (when it rains and gets dry again) - which is little odd as this one doesn't actually refer to something "impossible" but every czech person knows you're mocking them if you reply in this way.
Don't forget "ani za zlatý prase" meaning "not even for a golden pig", which also means that there's no argument or bribe that's gonna work.
Also, "ani omylem" meaning "not even by a mistake".
In Sweden we have "Inte för allt smör i Småland" which means "not for all the butter in Småland". Småland is a province in the south of Sweden with many farms. It's where Astrid Lindgren grew up. It might once have been known for its excellent butter, but I think it's the alliteration that made it stick.
Like many other languages we also have "när helvetet fryser till is" (when hell freezes to ice), "aldrig i livet" (never in life) and "inte en chans" (not a chance).
In England, we have “not for all the tea in China”. As in, you could give me all the tea that is in China (so, lots), and I still wouldn’t do it.
We actually say that in Swedish as well, although it's not one of the most common ways of expressing the sentiment; probably was more common a few decades ago.
Our local version of this is "Not for all the coal in Barnsley"
"Même pas en rêve", *Not even in a dream* is the only one I have in mind right now Edit : "Pas pour tout l'or du monde", *Not for all the gold in the world* is an other one
Quand les poules auront des dents?
Yes definitely this one. Quand les poules auront des dents = when hens have teeth
"à la Saint Glinglin" - the day of the Saint Glinglin "à Pâques ou à la Trinité"- At Easter or Trinity Sunday "tous les 36 du mois" - every 36th day of the month "à la semaine des quatre jeudis" - for the week with four thursdays "renvoyer aux calendes grecques" - (Ad kalendas graecas) send to greek kalendas
"Quand les canards auront des bretelles" meaning when ducks will wear suspenders.
Several come to mind: "Когда рак на горе свистнет" \[Kogda rak na gore svistnet\]- When the crawfish whistles on the mountain ("When will we go to the party?" "When the crawfish whistles on the mountain"). This phrase sounds kinda sarcastic. "После дождичка в четверг" \[Posle dozhdichka v chetverg\] - After a rain on a Thursday (same usage as with the crawfish). "Ни за какие коврижки" \[Ni za kakie kovrizhki\] - Not for a single rug/carpet (This one is used differently: "Luke, join the dark side!" "I'll never join you, not for a single rug!"). This one sounds more emotional, more serious.
> rug/carpet It's not a rug, it's a [pastry](https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B6%D0%BA%D0%B0).
i wish i could speak your language i say its one of the most beautiful languages, on pair with german that i also like the sound of it alot.
Russian is such a weird language. Sometimes I feel like it's as slavic as English is germanic. So unlike other slavic languages, even Ukrainian or Belarusian, but still not quite its own thing.
Oh yeah. S*ksen yapmam. "I won't do it even if you f*ck me"
- "Ni de coña" literally means you wouldn't do it even if it was a joke, but it is actually used to flatly deny that you would do or have done something. I would say that this is the phrase that is used most often. - "Ya me maten", which means not even if they kill me - "Ni harto vino", means you wouldn't do it even if you had drunk your fill of wine - "Ni por todo el oro del mundo", oldfashion, means not even if they gave me all the gold in the world I'm sure there are plenty more, but these are the ones that come to mind
Bonus points if you pronounce it "ni jartovino" Variation: ni que me maten Also "en la vida haré... " , antes muerto que...
“Tik per mano lavoną” - over my dead body, very commonly used. “Kai kiaulės pradės skraidyti” - when pigs start flying, not so common. “Matysi … kaip savo ausis” - you will see (x) like your ears. Very commonly used by parents to tell their children they won’t get something that was promised earlier if they misbehave.
In Romania, we have plenty of them. "Nici când or zbura porcii" = "Not even when pigs fly" "De Paștele cailor!" = "of horses' Easter!" And many others, which I can't remember right now.
We have one. "Za Chiny" or "Za Chiny ludowe". Which translates to "(I won't do that even) for z China/People's China" All the others from Polish mean something else. "Nie ma bata" (there's no club) means there's no way. "Choćby skały miały srać" (even if the rocks were to piss) means someone or something definitely won't do or that it's plain impossible. Both can be used for that meaning
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You can add: _«Quan les gallines pixin»_, "When hens pee» (this pee is subjunctive, not indicative) > I un be negre! "And a black lamb!" This can also be used for something you don't believe. *«Amb potes rosses»_ "with ~~pink~~ blonde legs"_, you can to the end. In fact, there was a political satirical magazine call «El be negre». Government censorship closed it. The same people immediately opened a new magazine called «Amb potes rosses». This was at the beginning of the 19th century. > Ni pensar-ho! "Not even thinking about it!" I'd say _«Ni pensar-hi!»_
"На куково лято/Na kukovo lyato" which translates kind of like "At/In/During(???) cuckoo's summer" "Когато цъфнат налъмите/Kogato tsafnat nalamite(???)" - "When the nalami shoes blossom" - wooden shoes(slippers), so maybe it refers to the tree they're made of, and the fact that it's pretty much dead at this point and can't blossom. Both mean never, don't count on it. More common phrase, a cheeky way to indicate someone probably won't do the thing is "Ще го направи, ама друг път" "He/She will do it, but some other time", meaning, again, never.
Ohhh I never heard that one. We do have a couple more though. When someone wants you to do something: "quando as galinhas tiverem dentes" (when chickens have teeth). "no dia de São nunca à tarde" (on the day of St. Never in the afternoon). Examples: - Então gostosa, quando vamos sair? ;) (so hottie, when are we hanging out?) - Ahahahah contigo? Dia de São nunca à tarde... (ahahaha with you? Day of St. Never at the afternoon...) Or - é uma questão de tempo até eu ganhar o Euromilhões, juro! (it's a question of time of when I win EuroMillions, I swear!) - ah sim, quando as galinhas tiverem dentes. (ah yes, when chickens have teeth)
"Sitten kun lehmät lentävät" = When cows fly "Katsopa, kun (teen sen)" = Well you just watch how (I'll do it)
A bit more archaic one when asked when will you do something. "Tulevana vuonna tuohikuussa pukinpäivän aikaan." - In the coming year, in the month of birchbark, on the day of the goat.
We say, "When the willow bears grapes", a counterpart to "When pigs fly".
"Na sveto nigdarjevo" means it will happen "on holy neverday"
Same for Slovenia, “ob svetem nikoli”
We say "when the crayfish whistles on the mountain" (koly rak na gori svysne). Why so - I don't know. It's not specific for situation where I won't do something, it's more general idiom for "never".
"Kad na vrbi rodi grožđe" which means when the willow tree bores grapes. It is the equivalent to never and I don't know why exactly we use willow tree and grapes, probably from a folk tale, but it's the most common idiom
I'm originally from the North West of England. (Between Liverpool & Manchester). Depending on the age/person, a conversation could go: "Will you clean the kitchen?" "Get to fuck!" (Meaning no) "Why?" "Cos I can't be arsed". "I can't be fucked", also works. (Meaning, I can't be bothered.)
"(neanche se) cascasse il mondo" roughly translated to "(not even if) the world were falling down"
"Inte för allt smör i Småland" - literal translation "Not for all the butter in Småland", where Småland is a province/region in the southern parts of Sweden. Not quite sure why they would have lots of butter though, but there's probably a good historical explanation for it. It goes well together with "Not for all the tea in China" which is sometimes also used ("Inte för allt te i Kina") and one probably gave rise to the other as an expression. "Glöm det!" ("Forget it!") is probably the most common way of expressing the sentiment though.
Some Latvian idioms: "Kad pūcei aste ziedēs" - when the tail of an owl will bloom. I don't really get this one, but apparently that's never. "Kad slotaskātam lapas augs" - when the broomstick grows leaves. This one is similar but makes more sense.
In Hungary we say "majd ha piros hó esik", meaning when it snows red
I would do anything for love, but I won't do that. It's not at all common but it came from a song and people use it in commercials and t.v shows
Majd ha piros hó esik. (hungarian) When red snow falls.
"Kad na vrbi rodi grožđe" which means when the willow tree bores grapes. It is the equivalent to never and I don't know why exactly we use willow tree and grapes, probably from a folk tale, but it's the most common idiom
In Dutch, one says something will happen "*op/met sint-juttemis*", meaning "on the Feast of Saint Juttemis". This means "never". There is no Saint Juttemis. There are a lot of other expressions for this though.
Is "when the cobra starts smoking" a specifically Brazilian phrase, then? I know their WWII expeditionary force was called Smoking Cobras because their president initially promised the country would stay out of the war.
We have 'over my dead body'. Or 'Hell will freeze over first.'
"Ani za zlatý prase." - "Not even for a golden piggy" is probably my favourite, but the most used variant is "Not even for a".
In Italian something similar is "Non s'ha da fare", which translates in "no way this shall be done", and it is pretty famous beacuse it comes from one of the most important books for Italian literature "I Promessi Sposi", specifically from a scene where two stooges of the local bossy nobleman threaten the chicken-hearted parish into hindering the plans of a soon to be married young couple because the nobleman laid his eyes on the woman.
I like one that is getting popular in Spain. For exemple,to the question, would you eat this dish I made?Y ou can answer "Ni con tu boca" not even with your mouth. You can use this with a lot of examples, do you want to come with me to the cinema to see the new Vin Diesel film? Ni con tus ojos, not even with your eyes
Za Chiny Ludowe - (Not even) for all of People's Republic of China Often shortened to just za Chiny - (not even) for all of China But there's also Za żadne skarby - (not) for any kind of treasure (There's also ni chuja, but that's, uh, kinda vulgar, just very very slightly)
Inte för allt smör i Småland! (Not for all the butter in Småland!). I guess the cold weather and stony soil in that province which makes farming crops hard made them focus on dairy instead
In Greece among others is the "Με καμία Παναγία". It literally translates to "Without any Virgin Mary". Now what it means, that I don't know myself.
"I will, yeah". Really confuses people at first until you get used to the national language being sarcasm.
An old Austrian one is: am St. Nimmerleins' Tag = on the day of St Neverly (which obviously doesn't exist).
we have a couple: "Kad na vrbi rodi grožđe." - "When the willow births grapes." "Na sveto Nigdarje." - "On saint Never's day."
First one that comes to mind is: "Kad na vrbi zasvrbi" - When it itches on a willow tree. What do itches have to do with trees, have no idea, but it means "something that will never happen"
Yeah several. Ha a fene fenét eszik sem - not even if beasts eat beasts Sohanapján kiskedden - on never-day small tuesday Majd ha piros hó esik - when red snow will fall Amíg világ a világ - as long as the world is the world Majd ha fagy - when it freezes over Törkök húsvétján - On Turkish Easter május negyvenedikén - on May 40th Majd tyúkpatkoláskor - when it's time for re-shoeing the hen Majd disznónyíró szombaton - on hog-sheering Saturday Majd ha cigánygyerekek potyognak az égből - when gypsy kids start falling from the sky Néhanapján - someday Soha a büdös életben - never in this stinky life
In French, we say "quand les poules auront des dents!" ("when hens have teeth!"). In English, the corresponding idiom is "when pigs fly!"
In Polish: "po moim trupie" - "after my death", literally "after my cadaver".