Greek to me
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
That's Greek to me or It's (all) Greek to me is an idiom/dead metaphor in English, claiming that an expression is incomprehensible, either due to complexity or imprecision. The expression may be used with respect to verbal expressions with excessive jargon of dialect, mathematics, or science. The metaphor makes reference to the Greek language and the Greek alphabet (either ancient or modern).
The usage of the metaphor in English language traces back to early modern times:
- but those that understood him smiled at one another and
- shook their heads; but, for mine own part, it was Greek to me
Ironically, this line worked literally. The speaker Casca has just returned from a celebration at which he says that Cicero spoke in Greek, and "it was Greek to me."
The expression is almost exclusively used with reference to the speaker (generally "Greek to me"; rarely or never "Greek to him").
It may have been a direct translation of a similar phrase in Latin: "Graecum est; non legitur" ("it is Greek, [therefore] it cannot be read"). This phrase was increasingly used by monk scribes in the Middle Ages, as knowledge of Greek was dwindling among those who were copying manuscripts in monastic libraries.
Different languages have similar formulations. Many have picked the point of reference to be a foreign language with another alphabet or writing system.
This is an example the usage of demonyms in relation to the ability of a people to be understood, comparable to the development of the words barbarian (one who babbles), Nemecky (Slavic for "one who is not understood", indicating Germans).
Contents |
[edit] In other languages
| Language | Phrase | Pronunciation | "target" language |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | It's Double Dutch. | Dutch | |
| English | That's Greek to me. | Greek | |
| Arabic | .يتحدث باللغة الصينية | Yataḥaddaṯ bil-luġah al-Ṣīnīyah jataħadːaθ bilːuɣah al-sˤiːniːjah |
Chinese |
| Arabic | .يحكي كرشوني | Yaḥkī Karšūnī jaħkiː karʃuːniː |
Garshuni |
| Chavacano | Aleman ese comigo. | German | |
| Chinese Mandarin | 看起來像天書。 | Kàn qílái xiàng tiānshū | "Book from the Heaven" (Referring to an unknown writing system.) |
| Chinese Mandarin | 聽起來像鳥語。 | Tīng qílái xiàng niǎoyǔ | "Sounds/tongue of the Birds" (Unknown phonology system.) |
| Chinese Cantonese | 呢啲喺雞腸呀。 | "Chicken Intestines", referring to the Latin Alphabet |
|
| Croatian | Ko da kineski pričaš. | Chinese | |
| Dutch | Dat is Chinees voor mij. | dat ɪs ʃineːs vɔr mɛi | Chinese |
| Esperanto | Tio estas Volapukaĵo. | ˈtio ˈestas ˈvolapuˈkaʒo | Volapük |
| Finnish | Täyttä hepreaa. | tæytːæ hepreɑː | Hebrew |
| French | C'est du chinois. | sɛ dy ʃi.nwa | Chinese |
| German | Das kommt mir spanisch vor. | das komt miɐ ʃpanɪʃ foɐ | Spanish |
| Greek | Αὐτὰ εἶναι κινέζικα. | afˈta mu ˈfenonde kiˈnezika | Chinese |
| Hebrew | זה סינית בשבילי | ze sinit biʃvili | Chinese |
| Hungarian | Ez nekem kínai. | ɛz nɛkɛm kiːnɒɪ | Chinese |
| Italian | Per me, questo è arabo; or also: Questo per me è arabo[1] |
per me ˈkwesto ɛ ˈarabo ˈkwesto per me ɛ ˈarabo |
Arabic |
| Macedonian | За мене тоа е шпанско село. Za mene toa e špansko selo. |
za mɛnɛ tɔa ɛ ʃpaŋskɔ sɛlɔ | Spanish |
| Latin | Graecum est; non legitur | grekum est non legitur | Greek |
| Lithuanian | Tai man kaip kinų kalba. | taɪ mɐn kaɪp kinuˑ kɐlba | Chinese |
| Low Saxon | Dat kümmt mi spaansch vör. | dat kymt miː spoːnʃ føɐ | Spanish |
| Persian | انگار ژاپنی حرف می زنه | Japanese | |
| Polish | To dla mnie chińszczyzna. | to dla mɲe xʲiɲʃtʃɪzna | Chinese |
| Portuguese | Isto é chinês/grego para mim. | ɪstu ɛ ʃines pɐrɐ mĩ | Chinese/Greek |
| Romanian | Esti turc? | əʃti ˈt̪yɾk | Turkish |
| Russian | Это для меня китайская грамота. | ˈɛtə dlʲa meˈɲa kɪˈtaɪskəjə ˈgramətə | Chinese |
| Serbian | То су за мене шпанска села. To su za mene španska sela. |
to su za mɛnɛ ʃpaŋska sɛla | Spanish |
| Serbian | Ко да кинески причаш. Ko da kineski pričaš. |
Chinese | |
| Bulgarian | Все едно ми говориш на китайски. | Chinese | |
| Slovak | To je pre mňa španielska dedina. | to je pre mnʲa ʃpanʲielska dʲedʲina | Spanish |
| Slovene | To mi je španska vas | to mi je ʃpanska vas | Spanish |
| Spanish | Esto me suena a chino. | ˈesto me ˈswena a ˈtʃino | Chinese |
| Swedish | Det är rena grekiskan. | de ɛ reːnɑ greːkɪskɑn | Greek |
| Turkish | Konuya Fransız kaldım.[2] | konuja fɾansɯz kaldɯm | French |
| Ukrainian | Це для мене китайська грамота. | tsɛ dlʲɐ 'mɛne kɪ'tɑjsʲkɐ 'ɦrɑmo̞tɐ | Chinese |
| Yiddish | ס'איז תּרגום־לשון צו מיר | sɪz targumloʃn tsu miɐ | Aramaic |
