Language |
Phrase |
Pronunciation |
Translation |
Target language / meaning
|
English |
It's Double Dutch.[citation needed] |
|
|
Double Dutch (Tutnese)
|
That's Greek to me.[citation needed] |
|
|
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.[citation needed] |
[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 russe.[citation needed] |
[s‿ɛ dy ʃinwa] [s‿ɛ də l‿ebʁø] [s‿ɛ dy ʁys] |
It's Chinese. It's Hebrew. It's Russian. |
Chinese Hebrew 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[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[6][7] |
|
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, c.f. 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.
|
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.[citation needed] |
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.[citation needed] |
|
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.[8] |
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.[9] |
Greek
|
Turkish |
Konuya Fransız kaldım.[10] |
[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.[11] |
[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)[12] (informal, old-fashioned, offensive)[13] |
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
|