I had a request for this one (text provided, believed to be correct, in part based on it being used by an "angry Welsh person") 😆
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So you want an idiomatic translation rather than a literal one. Makes sense.
I love when people fluent in another language explain an idiom from that language in English. Something like you ask "What's the <language> equivalent of `he couldn't pour piss out of a boot with instructions on the heel`?" and they tell you it's <...> which translates as "His grandmother hid his fish behind the outhouse door" or something like that
@cazabon Oh, that is the exact phrase I should have used (and, indeed, may well steal it tomorrow as based on initial response I will try and write up a better post about it).
To be honest I wasn't sure whether there would be a lot of literal ones, or more idiomatic, but there are definitely more of the latter.
My notifications are fascinating atm!
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@erin @eclectech absolutely. On the other hand, the minced oaths are “cavolo” (cabbage) and “pucha”.
@adriano
In Italian..?
No comments about that, I have no idea of Italian :3
But I find the idea of swearing cabbages amusing
@eclectech -
@MiaMarkTwo @eclectech That's fairly widespread, I think. In Irish, 'in ainm Dé' is literally 'in the name of God', but in context has the stronger sense of 'for fuck's sake'. Both when said in Irish and in English, given the tone.
@CiaraNi @MiaMarkTwo @eclectech I'd also include "A dhiabhail!" (The devil!)
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@Lojie @eclectech
I would add the more "literal" translation "Verfickt nochmal" and "verflixt nochmal" although I would not use those in the example of the bad news. If it's REALLY bad news one might merge some of the above to "Verfickte Scheiße!" (≈ fucked shit).Also, if you count this as a separate language, in Bavarian I would probably say "Zefix!" (or "Sackradi!" or "Oida!")
@selflesssloth @Lojie @eclectech
May I add my two Pfennige and plead for "verfickte Scheiße" too?
There is no good translation. British swearing is so much better (Bavarians may do the best swearing in German).
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OK, lets give this a shot. Basically with my linguistics skills I will be able to do ONE more. That would be quite a short series. To make it longer a fedi collaboration will be required
If you fancy helping please let me know how to write "for fuck's sake" in your language (native, or one you're pretty fluent in - no literal translations from machines please).
Of course the big question is whether it's used elsewhere?
It *might* be a very short series
@eclectech In polish I'd say:
- Do kurwy nędzy!
- No żesz kurwa!
- Kurwa, no.
- No ja pierdolę.
- Jezu, kurwa.
- No ja jebię.All with very specific intonation. I can't even say how specific these are to my own register, though. A garden variery 'Kurwa mać!' naturally works, too.
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@MiaMarkTwo @eclectech cazzo and minchia both mean “cock” and are interchangeable, yes. But “eccheccazzo” is its own thing.
@adriano @MiaMarkTwo @eclectech I wonder if the British use of ‘balls’ has the same root? Handy as a swear word as it also has a benign meaning and so can be explained away when used in front of children.
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OK, lets give this a shot. Basically with my linguistics skills I will be able to do ONE more. That would be quite a short series. To make it longer a fedi collaboration will be required
If you fancy helping please let me know how to write "for fuck's sake" in your language (native, or one you're pretty fluent in - no literal translations from machines please).
Of course the big question is whether it's used elsewhere?
It *might* be a very short series
@eclectech Another one in Spanish I personally use a lot is "Me cago en todo lo cagable". It translates to something like "I shit on everything that's shitable".
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I had a request for this one (text provided, believed to be correct, in part based on it being used by an "angry Welsh person")
Considering making this the first in a series. A multilingual collection of "for fuck's sake".
I could eventually make a poster of colourful global disgruntlement.
My sister-in-law who teaches German says that the idiomatic translation in German would most likely be "Ach, du Scheiße!" though there are a variety of idioms that would work depending on where in Germany you live.
It literally translates as "Oh you shit!"
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@eclectech you can say “eccheccazzo!” in Italian to mean ffs. And in Spanish you could use “La puta que lo parió” for this. At least in Argentina.
Respectively, their literal meanings are “which dick?” and “the whore who birthed it”.
In "chilean" it would be:
"Por la puta" (for the whore)
"Por la conchasumadre" (mutation of "for the <vagina?> of the mother")
"Por la mierda" (For the shit)
"Por la puta madre" (For the mother whore)And I know I'm forgetting at least one more
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In "chilean" it would be:
"Por la puta" (for the whore)
"Por la conchasumadre" (mutation of "for the <vagina?> of the mother")
"Por la mierda" (For the shit)
"Por la puta madre" (For the mother whore)And I know I'm forgetting at least one more
@Tiempo @eclectech "Por la cresta" is the common minced oath.
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@eclectech the closest swedish equivalent would be "för i helvete" (for hell [sake]). The word for fucking isn't a swear.
@silhelm @eclectech yeah, this was the closest one I could think of too.
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@Tiempo @eclectech "Por la cresta" is the common minced oath.
Esa olvidaba, pero cada vez se usa menos. Es como más de gente o más vieja o más cuica
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@CiaraNi @eclectech Sure, but what I meant was that swear words aren't related to sex in the way they are, for example, in French (va te faire foutre/nique ta mère etc).
@MiaMarkTwo
I was reminded recently of the idea that swear words have origins in three categories: religion, sex, and excrement. I find it interesting that there's (at least) one less category represented in Scandinavian languages.
@CiaraNi @eclectech -
OK, lets give this a shot. Basically with my linguistics skills I will be able to do ONE more. That would be quite a short series. To make it longer a fedi collaboration will be required
If you fancy helping please let me know how to write "for fuck's sake" in your language (native, or one you're pretty fluent in - no literal translations from machines please).
Of course the big question is whether it's used elsewhere?
It *might* be a very short series
@eclectech In french I'd translate as "bordel de merde" (lit. "shit brothel"), or just "bordel" for short.
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@CiaraNi @silhelm @eclectech I’d go with “For helvede da også” as getting closest.
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OK, lets give this a shot. Basically with my linguistics skills I will be able to do ONE more. That would be quite a short series. To make it longer a fedi collaboration will be required
If you fancy helping please let me know how to write "for fuck's sake" in your language (native, or one you're pretty fluent in - no literal translations from machines please).
Of course the big question is whether it's used elsewhere?
It *might* be a very short series
@eclectech In German, much of this is regional; "high German" does not have much colour. What I can think of is from southern dialects:
"Kreuz, Birnbaum und Hollerstauden!" - "Cross, pear tree, and elder bushes!". I'm given to understand that the etymology is "start a religiously loaded curse, but then change it to something you won't have to bring up at confession". Mostly it's satisfying to yell.
"Himmel, Arsch und Wolkenbruch" (or "... und Zwirn" or "... und Schornsteinfeger") - "heaven, arse, and sudden torrential rain" / "... and sewing thread" / "... and chimney sweep". Again, just very yellable, etymology otherwise unknown and probably unnecessary.
"Heilandzack!" shortened from "Heilands Sakrament" – "Saviour's sacrament".
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OK, lets give this a shot. Basically with my linguistics skills I will be able to do ONE more. That would be quite a short series. To make it longer a fedi collaboration will be required
If you fancy helping please let me know how to write "for fuck's sake" in your language (native, or one you're pretty fluent in - no literal translations from machines please).
Of course the big question is whether it's used elsewhere?
It *might* be a very short series
@eclectech In Mexico we say "Oh que la chingada" for "Oh ffs"
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OK, lets give this a shot. Basically with my linguistics skills I will be able to do ONE more. That would be quite a short series. To make it longer a fedi collaboration will be required
If you fancy helping please let me know how to write "for fuck's sake" in your language (native, or one you're pretty fluent in - no literal translations from machines please).
Of course the big question is whether it's used elsewhere?
It *might* be a very short series
@eclectech in finnish the equivalent would be "voi vittu soikoon" (lit. may the fuck/pussy ring out) -
@eclectech In German, much of this is regional; "high German" does not have much colour. What I can think of is from southern dialects:
"Kreuz, Birnbaum und Hollerstauden!" - "Cross, pear tree, and elder bushes!". I'm given to understand that the etymology is "start a religiously loaded curse, but then change it to something you won't have to bring up at confession". Mostly it's satisfying to yell.
"Himmel, Arsch und Wolkenbruch" (or "... und Zwirn" or "... und Schornsteinfeger") - "heaven, arse, and sudden torrential rain" / "... and sewing thread" / "... and chimney sweep". Again, just very yellable, etymology otherwise unknown and probably unnecessary.
"Heilandzack!" shortened from "Heilands Sakrament" – "Saviour's sacrament".
@gabe @eclectech +1 for "Himmel, Arsch und Zwirn"
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@eclectech in finnish the equivalent would be "voi vittu soikoon" (lit. may the fuck/pussy ring out)
@mintey @eclectech Or simply "Voi vittu!", (for cunt's (sake)), emphasis on all three syllables.
Vittu could be described as an even more verstile equivalent for the English language's fuck.
