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).
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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 the Greek alphabet and language was dwindling among those who were copying manuscripts in monastic libraries.
The usage of the metaphor in English traces back to early modern times, and is first used in 1603 by Thomas Dekker in his play Patient Grissel:
FAR: Asking for some Greek poet, to him he fails. I’ll be sworn he knows not so much as one character of the tongue.
RIC: Why, then it’s Greek to him.
The expression is almost exclusively used with reference to the speaker (generally "Greek to me"); Dekker's "Greek to him" is rare.
It was also used in 1616 in Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, as spoken by Servilius Casca to Cassius after a festival in which Caesar was offered a crown:
CASSIUS: Did Cicero say any thing?
CASCA: Ay, he spoke Greek.
CASSIUS: To what effect?
CASCA: Nay, an I tell you that, I'll ne'er look you i' the face again: but those that understood him smiled at one another and shook their heads; but, for mine own part, it was Greek to me. I could tell you more news too: Marullus and Flavius, for pulling scarfs off Caesar's images, are put to silence. Fare you well. There was more foolery yet, if I could remember it.
Here, Casca's literal ignorance of Greek is the source of the phrase, using its common meaning to play on the uncertainty among the conspirators about Cicero's attitude to Caesar's increasingly regal behaviour. Shakespeare was not the only author to use the expression.
Another meaning attributed to the phrase implies that "it's all Greek to me" could be seen as a wordplay for: "everything is Greek for me"[3].
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 of 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).
In an article published by Arnold L. Rosenberg in the language journal "Lingvisticæ Investigationes," he claimed that there was a popular "consensus" that Chinese was the "hardest" language, since various non-English languages most frequently used the Chinese language in their equivalent expression to the English idiom "it's all Greek to me".[1] Also, David Moser of the University of Michigan Center for Chinese Studies made the same claim as Arnold L. Rosenberg.[2]
| Language | Phrase | Pronunciation | "target" language |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | It's Double Dutch. | /ɪts ˈdʌbəl ˈdʌtʃ/ | Dutch |
| English | That's Greek to me. | /ðæts ˈɡriːk tuː ˈmiː/ | Greek |
| Albanian | Mos fol kinezce. | Chinese | |
| Afrikaans | Dis Grieks vir my. | [dis xriks fir mai] | Greek |
| Arabic | .يتحدث باللغة الصينية | Yataḥaddaṯ bil-luġah al-Ṣīnīyah [jataˈħadːaθ bilˈluɣa(t) asˤːiːˈniːja] |
Chinese |
| Arabic | .يحكي كرشوني | Yaḥkī Karšūnī [jaħkiː karʃuːniː] |
Garshuni |
| Bulgarian | Все едно ми говориш на китайски. | Vse edno mi govoriš na kitajski. [fse edˈnɔ mi ɡɔˈvɔriʃ na kiˈtajski] |
Chinese |
| Catalan | Això està en xinès. | [əˈʃɔ sˈta n ʃiˈnɛs] | Chinese |
| Cebuano | Ching chong ching chang ching. / Nag-inintsik | Gibberish, referring to the "Chinese" sound of incomprehensible talking. / Speaking Chinese | |
| Cebuano | Nilatin | Latin, language in rituals by holy men such as Catholic priests, faith healers, and talisman owners. | |
| Chavacano | Aleman ese comigo. | German | |
| Mandarin | 看起來像天書。/看起来像天书 | [kʰan˥˩ t͡ɕʰi˨˩ lai̯˧˥ ɕjɑŋ˥˩ tʰjɛn˥ ʂu˥] | "Book from Heaven" (Referring to an unknown writing system, or God's language) |
| Mandarin | 這是甲骨文嗎？/这是甲骨文吗？ | Zhè shì jiǎgǔwén ma? | "Is this written in oracle bone script?" (Referring to very poor, incomprehensible handwriting.) |
| Mandarin | 聽起來像鳥語。/ 听起来像鸟语 | [tʰiŋ˥ t͡ɕʰi˨˩ lai̯˧˥ ɕjɑŋ˥˩ njɑʊ̯˧˥ y˩˧] | "Sounds/tongue of the Birds" (Unknown phonology system.) |
| Mandarin | 聽起來像火星話。/听起来像火星话 | [tʰiŋ˥ t͡ɕʰi˨˩ lai̯˧˥ ɕjɑŋ˥˩ xwɔ˨˩ ɕiŋ˥ xwa˥˩] | Sound like Mars language. |
| Cantonese | 呢啲喺雞腸呀。 | [nɛː˥ tiː˥ hɐi˧˥ kɐi˥ t͡sʰœŋ˨˩ a˥] | "Chicken Intestines", referring to English |
| Croatian | To su za mene španska sela. | [ˈtô su za ˈměne ˈʂpǎːnska ˈsêla] | Spanish |
| Czech | To je pro mě španělská vesnice. | [ˈto jɛ ˈpro mɲɛ ˈʃpaɲɛlskaː ˈvɛsɲɪtsɛ] | Spanish |
| Cypriot Greek | Εν τούρτζικα που μιλάς ρε; | en turjika pu milas re | Turkish |
| Danish | Det rene volapyk. | [də ʁenə volapyk] | Volapük |
| Dutch | Dat is Chinees/Russisch voor mij. | [dat ɪs ʃineːs vɔr mɛi] | Chinese/Russian |
| Esperanto | Tio estas Volapukaĵo. | [ˈtio ˈestas ˈvolapuˈkaʒo] | Volapük |
| Estonian | See on mulle hiina keel. | {{}} | Chinese |
| Finnish | Täyttä hepreaa. | [tæytːæ hepreɑː] | Hebrew |
| French | C'est du chinois. | [sɛ dy ʃinwa] | Chinese |
| German | Fachchinesisch. | technical chinese | |
| German | Böhmische Dörfer | [ˈbøːmɪʃə ˈdœɐ̯fɐ] | Czech (Bohemian villages) |
| Greek | Αυτά μου φαίνονται κινέζικα. | [afˈta mu ˈfenode ciˈnezika] | Chinese |
| Greek | Αυτά μου φαίνονται αλαμπουρνέζικα. | [afˈta mu ˈfenonde alamburˈnezika] | Alaburnese (origin unknown) |
| Hebrew | זה סינית בשבילי | Zeh Sinit bishvili. [ze sinit biʃvili] |
Chinese |
| Hungarian | Ez nekem kínai. | [ɛz ˈnɛkɛm ˈkiːnɒi] | Chinese |
| Icelandic | Mér kemur þetta spánskt fyrir sjónir. | [mjɛr ˈkɛmʏr ˈθɛtːa spau̯nsk ˈfɪrɪr ˈsjonɪr] | Spanish |
| Indonesian | Jangan pake bahasa Urdu dong. | Urdu | |
| Italian | Questo per me è arabo/aramaico/ostrogoto[3] | [ˈkwesto perˈme ɛ ˈarabo/araˈmaiko/ostroˈɡɔto] | Arabic, Aramaic, Ostrogoth |
| Japanese | ちんぷんかんぷん | chin pun kan pun | Gibberish, referring to the "Chinese" sound of incomprehensible Chinese loanwords used by the scholarly élite |
| Latin | Graecum est; non legitur | [ˈɡrai̯kum est non ˈleɡitur] | Greek |
| Latvian | Tā man ir ķīniešu ābece | [taː man ir kiːnieʃu aːbetse] | Chinese |
| Lithuanian | Tai man kaip kinų kalba. | [taɪ mɐn kaɪp kinuˑ kɐlba] | Chinese |
| Macedonian | За мене тоа е шпанско село | Za mene toa e špansko selo [za mɛnɛ tɔa ɛ ʃpaŋskɔ sɛlɔ] |
Spanish |
| Low Saxon | Dat kümmt mi spaansch vör. | [dat kymt miː spoːnʃ føɐ] | Spanish |
| Norwegian | Det er helt gresk for meg. | Greek | |
| Persian | انگار ژاپنی حرف می زنه | Japanese | |
| Polish | To dla mnie chińszczyzna. | [tɔ dla mɲe xʲiɲˈʂtʂɨzna] | Chinese |
| Portuguese | Isto é chinês/grego para mim. | [ˈistu ɛ ʃiˈnes paɾɐ ˈmĩ] | Chinese/Greek |
| Romanian | Eşti turc? Ești tătar? |
[jeʃtʲ ˈturk] [jeʃtʲ təˈtar] |
Turkish Tatar |
| Russian | Это для меня китайская грамота. | Eto dlya menya kitaiskaya gramota. [ˈɛtə dlʲa mʲɪˈnʲa kʲɪˈtajskəjə ˈɡramətə] |
Chinese |
| Serbian | То су за мене шпанска села. To su za mene španska sela. |
[to su za mene ʃpanska sela] | Spanish |
| Serbian | К'о да кинески причаш. K'o da kineski pričaš. |
Chinese | |
| Sinhalese | Melo Huththak Therennae. | ||
| Slovak | To je pre mňa španielska dedina. | [to je pre mɲa ʃpaɲielska ɟeɟina] | Spanish |
| Slovene | To mi je španska vas | [to mi je ʃpanska vas] | Spanish |
| Spanish | Está en chino. | [ˈestA en ˈtʃino] | Chinese |
| Swedish | Det är rena grekiskan. | [de æ reːnɑ ɡreːkɪskɑn] | Greek |
| Turkish | Konuya Fransız kaldım.[4] | [konuja fɾansɯz kaɫˈdɯm] | French |
| Ukrainian | Це для мене китайська грамота. | Tse dlya mene kitas'ka gramota. [tsɛ dlʲɑ ˈmɛne kɪˈtɑjsʲkɑ ˈɦrɑmo̞tɑ] |
Chinese |
| Urdu | فارسی لگ رہی ہے یہ | Farsi lag rahi hay yeh | Persian |
| Yiddish | ס'איז תּרגום־לשון צו מיר | S'iz Targum-loshn tsu mir. [sɪz tarɡumloʃn tsu miɐ] |
Aramaic |
Two books have been published to help beginning students of ancient Greek bearing the titles "Greek to me".
1. Greek To me, J. Lyle Story & Cullen I.k. Story, Xulon Press, 2002, ISBN 978-1591602224. A humorous look at using memnonics to learn Biblical Greek.
2. It's Still Greek to Me: An Easy-to-Understand Guide to Intermediate Greek, David Alan Black, Baker Acedemic, 1998, ISBN 978-0801021817. Makes learning Greek easier by keying in on differences between Greek and English Grammar.