20 Weird Nordic Sayings (Idioms & Phrases From Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland)
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- Опубліковано 3 кві 2023
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In this video we talk about some of the most weird, and funny Nordic sayings. We examine phrases and idioms from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland and quiz each other on the meanings.
In the video we also try to find idioms in American English that compliment the Nordic idioms we cover. We have a lot of fun laughing at the hilarious English translations of these Nordic phrases, and hope that you like our reactions.
The Nordic languages and cultures have given us some really neat sayings and we hope you will let us know your favorites and add some new ones that we missed!
#denmark #nordic #idioms #sweden #norway #finland #iceland #language
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In Finland our own phrase for " not the sharpest pencil" is " Ei ole kaikki muumit laaksossa." " they don't have all the Moomins in the valley" referring to Tove Janssons Moonvalley books.
In Danish I've never heard the one about the beard in the mailbox - it's the hair :)
"At hyppe sine egne kartofler" is not digging them up. It's pushing up soil around the potatoes to prevent them going green. So to protect them basically.
Ah, okay. So it's digging up the soil around them. My bad :)
Yeah, it's actually the opposite of digging them up. You put more soil on them. Done that many times as a kid.
@@RobeTrottingyes it’s protecting your own interests. Like a politician working to make a city more child friendly. You might think he cares about children, but no, han hypper bare sine egne kartofler, meaning he only does it to make the parents vote for him.
@@RobeTrotting Your bath? 🥰
=egoism
Quick correctiom here for the one more time for Prince Knud: this actually a sentence originating from a one time event. Prince Knud was at the theater, and there was a passage he couldn’t see completly. The reason beeing that the royal section of the theater seats, is located on the far side of the balcony. The director asked Prince Knud at the end of the show, what he thought of it, he then answered that he liked it, but missed part of this particular scene. The director then ordered the actors to play that part one more time for Prince Knud. And the frace was born.
Exactly. Too bad for Prins Knud, that now, the story is that he was a bit dumb.
In Norway, it's "to get your beard stuck/caught in the mailbox". So it's not necessarily getting caught, but always about finding yourself in an unwanted situation, usually because of a mistake.
Possibly the original phrase was 'get your beard stuck in a pulley' (as on a ship).
same thing in Danish - caught in a tricky situation
A situation that going nowhere 😅
Eller “at stå med håret ned ad nakken”; “at stå med håret ned i postkassen” - same meaning but for Women! (Having put yourself In an embarrassing situation).
exactly. And in Denmark i is the hair - not the beard
I am Swedish and thought to nuance one of the expressions that was brought up. We also use "born with a silver spoon in your mouth" for people who are born into financial prosperity. As for "sliding in on a shrimp sandwich" it's more about being lucky or receiving special favors.
Yes, “sliding in on a shrimp sandwich” is more like “being served on a silver platter”.
In Denmark.. a silverspoon up your a$$... 😂
And in at least western Norway, but probably also mid and north, there's being "født med gullhår i ræven", being born with gold asshairs..
@@HrHaakon
Fantastiskt, den har aldrig hört! Really good one.
"Hold tungen lige i munden" = "keep the tongue straight in the mouth"
is something you say when you are about to make a difficult task and you have to concentrate.
Oh, that's a good one - and it makes sense (and sometimes helpful for speaking Danish) haha
That's common in Sweden as well. We say "Hålla tungan rätt i mun" and it means exactly what you said.
Another Swedish one: "Du har inte alla indianer i kanoten" = "You don't have all your indians in the canoe". Same meaning as "not the sharpest knife in the drawer".
I like to annoy / mess with people by combining them: "You're not the sharpest canoe in the henhouse"
My favorite saying though: "Än är det ingen ko på isen" = "There's no cow on the ice yet", which means something like "don't worry, there's still time" or "there's no immediate danger"
Or "the wheel is spinning, though the hamster is dead" (hjulet snurrar fast hamstern är död), "not all horses are at home/in the stable" "the elevator doesn't go all the way up" also means not the sharpest knife in the box.
Some other great Danish expresssions are:
Flueknepperi, or fly fucking, it is when you are nitpicking on small irrelevant details.
At slå koldt vand i blodet, or pour cold water in your blood, is a thing you would say to someone getting aggressive or angry. Basically, take a chill pill.
At være ved sine fulde fem, or being at their full five. It means to be attentative, or thinking clearly, having full use of all their senses.
At have rotter på loftet, or having rats in the attic is what you would call someone being acting idiotic, or a bit crazy.
At have lang fingre, or having long fingers, means that a person has a tendency to steal things.
At trække torsk i land, or to pull cod on to land. It means to snore very loudly.
Lokummet brænder, or the shitter (toilet) is burning, is when everything is going wrong, or very close to going wrong.
At slå en streg, or to hit a string, is what a male can say when he has to go and pee. Altenatvily you can also say that you have to "hælde vand fra kartoflerne", or pour water from the potatoes.
And finally, at skide grønne grise, or shitting green pigs. It means to be very afraid or nervous. "I was crossing the road, and out of nowhere this car speeds by missing by inches, I almost shat green pigs I tell you!"
In Denmark we also use the phrase "Born with a silver spoon in your mouth". We say fx "han er født med en sølvske I munden"
Still better than:
Født med en guldske i røven.
Same in Norway.
Eller født med en guldske i røven ? Måske kun i Nordjylland?
Ah. We used to say that they were born with a golden spoon up their arse. Maybe that’s just in my family. lol
Or that you things served on a silver platter. “For alt servers på et sølvfad.
The correct English idiom (and I am English) is “falling between two stools”. It’s when in trying to achieve 2 objectives you compromise and achieve neither i.e. you need to settle on one or other of 2 stools to avoided a pratfall. Falling down cracks, sounds more like just avoiding everyday pitfalls.
The Danish variant specifically addresses when a task doesn't specifically fit any one particular type so it ends up being nobody's responsibility, and therefore doesn't get taken care of. It is, however, commonly used a bit more loosely which has diluted the meaning a little. But I certainly see the similarities.
@@andersjjensen The same goes for the Swedish saying.
Falling between chairs is also common in Norway.
It's catching on with my colleagues in the States too - slowly we'll spread it all over 😂
"Det kommer til at tage en krig" (It's gonna take a war)
means - it's gonna take a really long time
I said this when I was in the States, and I got some looks... I can't even remember what we were talking about - I just remember the puzzled looks that I got
To "seat yourself between two chairs" means that you try to have two (conflicting) roles. It more resembles the English term "try to wear two hats".
Interesting, in Swe we say sit on two chairs in that case. Falling between two chairs means an issue isn't being addressed because both parties think it's someone else's responsibility. But that expression is long established in English.
@@mellertid falling between two chairs also has the same meaning in Danish :)
One I like is "Mosekonen brygger." As in the "Bogwife is brewing." Means that it is becoming foggy.
Also a good slang for late at night. "Klokken lort om natten." / "Shit O' clock at night."
Oh I just remembered you can wish somebody to go where the pepper grows. Jeg ønsker ham hen hvor peberet gror. So wishing somebody far far away.
Same: "Gid du sad på Sprogø", as back in the day it was a place that was pretty hard to get away from.
The best say I've ever heard is from Finland:
"Wish in your left hand and sh*t in your right hand and see what hand fills up first."
Meaning that action allways gives more results than wishes, even though the outcome (lol) may not allways be the preferred.
In Finland we do not write behind the ear, but we are putting it behind the ear.
And speaking of the goat: Pukki kaalimaan vartijana = a goat guarding a cabbage patch (fox guarding the hen house)
Ah, interesting - pretty close. Possibly more efficient of a variation :)
But in Denmark we say “to write it behind the ear”. So you got that right 👍😀
We do have one saying with chicken: "1 feather are becoming to 5 chickens" (1 fjer bliver til 5 høns)
It means that a rumor can develop very quickly as it is told from person to person
The frase is based on a fairytale from Hans Christian Andersen
Ah, that's another good one! :)
sorry Kirsten, but u have got to check up on the grammar some day :D
ved egentlig ikke hvorfor jeg skriver på engelsk :D
selv en blind høne kan finde et guldkorn (even a blind chicken (hen) can find a golden corn.
@@jeppehannibal7821 well Jeppe Inglish is maj best 😆
More common in Sweden than not having all hens not home roosting is the phrase "not having all horses home" (inte ha alla hästar hemma) or "having gnomes in the attic" (ha tomtar på loftet).
And instead of "having a hen to pluck" I use " goose"
In Danish it's rats in the attic :)
@@Mark-xh8md ikke den hurtigeste knallert på havnen
@@Kboman Også den ja
Here are a few danish idioms/sayings that are commonly used 😊
When people say “det er først til mølle” it comes from the saying “den der kommer først til mølle får først malet mel” (he who gets to the mill first also gets his flour first) So if someone says “I have a couple of free tickets to this movie if anyone is interested, det er først til mølle” it just means that whoever says yes first gets the tickets.
Kind of like early bird gets the worm.
“Nød lærer nøgen kvinde at spinde” (necessity teaches a naked woman to spin (yarn)) which is self explanatory 😊
“Brændt barn skyr ilden” (burned child avoids fire) means that people learn from past experience(s) to avoid something bad/unpleasant.
“Blind høne finder også korn” or “Selv en blind høne kan finde et korn” (even a blind chicken can find a grain) Can be friendly heckling or a not so friendly comment.
It means that even someone dull can occasionally have a bright idea, or someone incapable/useless can sometimes succeed/be useful etc.
“Hvis du ikke kan life lugten I bageriet…” (if you dislike the smell in the bakery…) means if you don’t like it here then leave! Very direct and not very nice, but sometimes necessary 😅
Another similar, but often used about one self is “Skik følge eller land fly” (follow traditions or leave the country) pretty much means that you have to adapt to the environment/setting you are in, or leave if that’s not possible.
If you for instance have to try something that Danes do/like that seems unpleasant to you, you can say “well, skik følge eller land fly” before you do it, to show that you are embracing your new country/culture even if it means tasting salty licorice 😜
That reminds me that I once read, that of all the European emigrants that arrived in the US around 120-80 years ago and settled as immigrants, the Danes were the ones that were best at integrating 😊
I think this attitude also plays a part in Danes often being accused of being “racist” or “xenophobic”
Danes are not very (as in not at all) tolerant of people who behaves entitled or wants to change things (here) that we consider important to us or even part of our national identity.
Then this “if you don’t like the smell in the bakery…” attitude comes forth 😅
However, if people come here with humbleness and a genuine desire to embrace us Danes, our culture, language and at least accept our traditions and values, then I feel, we as a people generally are a very friendly, easygoing and accepting bunch ☺️
In other words, if you move here, you don’t have to celebrate Christmas if you don’t want to, that’s your business, but don’t you dare criticize or complain about our Christmas lights and decorations everywhere 😂😂
skik følge eller land fly - to me is the same as: When in Rome (do as the Romans)
Den med lugten i bageriet er en forkortelse af: Hvis man ikke kan lide duften af friskbagt brød, bør man forlade bageriet. Underforstået: I et bageri lugter der uomgængeligt af friskbagt brød, det kan ikke laves om.
Fascinating, to know, thank you!
Eller som Rune T kidde siger. Den der kommer først til mølle får malede rotter i rugmelet.
@@hassegreiner9675 that’s a very polite way of saying “deal with it or p_ss off” 😉
“Empty barrels rumbels the most”, “small dogs barks loudest” was two sayings l came to think about.
"At hælde vand ud af ørerne" - I think you got this one a little bit wrong. It's not trash talking. It refers to someone who feels very sorry for him/herself and just can't stop talking about it.
Exactly. But the Copenhagen interpretation may be different. They do that quite often to old sayings...
As a Norwegian I probably shouldn't comment on the Icelandic saying, being in danger of making a fool of myself. But "I ser de i fjørå (Eg ser deg i fjøra)" would make sense in the dialect I grew up with. I think the more correct translation would be shore, not beach. We basically the word for where the boats were pulled ashore. While technically the beach would fall in the category of where the sea meets the land, no one in the right mind would call all the places we called "fjøra" by the word beach (we would use "strand" for that). The saying I wouldn't be surprised if it came from "We'll settle this ashore" eg. when we get off the boat, or as you said "I know where you live" eg. I know where you pull your boat up/I know where you park your car.
Also I've never heard the saying "Bæsje i skuffen", but we'd use something that's basically the same "Drite på drage(t)."
That makes a little more sense, especially thinking of what the origin would be derived from. Thanks for adding this :)
It makes a lot of sense since there’s no room for arguing or fighting on a ship. People need to pay attention to their surroundings and they need to cooperate to sail the ship. So if there’s any disagreements they’ll have to deal with it when on land.
"Eg finner deg i fjøro", "I will find you at low tide". Fjøra is the part of the seashore that is submersed when the tide is in and "laid dry"as the tide goes out, low tide. As a norwegian from the west cost, I find icelandic to be one of the easier laguages to understand. But not as "easy" as Faroese.
5:00
You can also have a fox behind your ear - "En räv bakom örat" in Swedish.
Which means to be unpredictable and cunning.
That one's also in Norway.
You should definitly do a part 2 of this. So many idioms to choose from.
I like “Goddag mand, økseskaft” (good day man axe handle/shaft) something you can say when people talk about different things but think they are talking about the same 😅
It is worth noting that the expresssion comes from an anecdote from the 1770's, so it is a very old.
@@grokta This has migrated to finnish aswell.
Great video, as usual Guys!
You can have a "Kæp i øret" A large stick in the ear = to be drunk. But you can also "have en lille fjer på" - have a little feather on/Wearing a little feather = being a little tipsy. If you "Har en ordentlig bjørn på" = Have a great bear on /wearing a big bear - you are VERY drunk, and probably won't remember anything the day after
A funny phrase from Jutland that resembles not being “the sharpest knife” is: “He’s not the quickest moped on the harbor”. 😄
På dansk er det ikke fluer som skydes med kanoner men gråspurve. "Shooting sparrows with cannons". :D
I really like this one :)
'Shooting flies with a cannon' - in Denmark we actually shoot house sparrows (directly translated). Same expression :) Lots of similar expressions in the Nordic just different ways of saying them.
In the swedish language the "You can make cabbage of something" does also exist, but it's more "take cabbage on you", which is "ta kål på dig"
Oh nice! I bet there’s plenty of other influences back and forth too 😊
@@RobeTrotting oh absolutely, just wanted to put in my five cents here, also, in the swedish version, it can also mean to destroy or outright "unalive" someone, so yeah, also, will add in general, do love your videos and how much you investigate into stuff and things, as a dane it's fun to see the "outsider"-perspective
I Danmark er der noget, der hedder "fejl 40", 40 cm fra computerskærmen .😅
*lol* we call it "felkod id10t" or SBS in Sweden.
Fejl 40 er den meddelelse der kom på de gamle dankort terminaler når kunden tastede forkert PIN kode.
Var kortet spærret, så kunne vi inddrage det og sende til PBS. Det fik vi belønning for som jeg husker det. Vi er tilbage i omkring år 2001 - før alle de nye og moderne terminaler.
"En gang til for prins Knud".
The origin of this one is fading out of people's memory.
Originally it came from a theatre show, some "Moulin Rouge" style lightly dressed girls show.
Prince Knud arrived late and thus did only see the last part of it, he asked if they could run the show once more, so he could see it in its entirety.
Rumors converted into that Knud had a soft spot for naked ladies, thus wanting to see the show more times.
The rumor got an even worse turn, when the law was changed, as Knud was first in line to be the next King of Denmark.
But, the law was changed so that women could inherit the title as well, thus Margrete became the Queen Regent.
Here the rumor got turned into mocking Knud for being stupid.
This is sad, as Knud was not stupid, just average like most people. And the loss of the crown was not his fault, thus unfair to blame him.
So interesting - we are both fans of history and really like learning about the royals! We did know about the law being changed and him losing his place in line for the crown, but did not know the theatre element. It's really cool to learn - thanks for adding this :)
You are wrong. He most defenetaly was stupid🤪. Thats the reason for the saying.
From what I can see it wasn't because he arrived late. The royal balcony was simply so far out to the left that he and his wife couldn't see the scene. The shows director was very interested in hearing what the prince had thought of the scene, so he asked the pair after the show, to which they replied they weren't able to see it. The director was shocked and ordered that the crew replay the scene again for just the royal couple.
The year later they made a song about it in the Cirkusrevy, which made it seem like he was a bit daft and thus the rumor started.
@@Matt-lc8qt Exactly! The rumour was unfair to the prince. He was simply being a gentleman to his wife.
@@Matt-lc8qt This is also the version that I have heard.
Hi, still love your videos! :D Goats: Dont forget the “gummiged” ( Wheel loader) ;)
The frace "I meet you at the beach" Came from thats where the boats cames in. So thats gave some point.
Again a very nice video 🎉🎉🎉🎉
"En gang til for prins knud" you're background was wrong, the fraise comes from this: arveprins Knud, was in the theatre, he loved going there, but he was in the royal seats, and some of the stage he couldn't see, and one of the scenes, he therefore couldn't see, so when the director asked him about the play, he was happy, but sad he couldn't see that scene, so after everyone left, the director ask the actors to perform this scene again for him. So they did. The next day, the newspapers made fun of him with the fraise one more time for prins Knud. That stuck to him.
FInnish: To be/feel pissed (at something or because of something) like a small squirrel (bc the cone is frozen).
These sayings are fun and we have a multitude of them!
*****************
svesken på disken - prunes on the counter
= put the facts on the table
OR the crasser version, 'lorten på bordet'
sove som en sten - sleep like a stone
= sleep heavily & soundly
hello from Hundested 🌸
As a Dane I'm kinda sad that two of my favourite idioms/phrases aren't here. They practically mean the same thing.
"Ude på Lars Tyndskids mark(er)" Out on Lars Thinshits field(s) and "Hvor kragerne vender" Where the crows turn.
Both essentially mean that you're just far out in the country side, not too abnormally the places where any type of GPS becomes not entirely reliable.
This a also use a lot🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰
And if you want to go even further than "where the crows turn" you venture out to the realm where the crows brings a packed lunch :) (Hvor kragerne har madpakke med)
Ah! I've just realised where we English get the word 'skidmarks' from. 😆Those unpleasant brown stains in your underpants if you fart and follow through. We don't use the word 'skid' to mean 'shit' in any other context, so I guess it goes back to the days you guys ruled half of England.
My favorite Swedish idioms are "no cow on the ice" which means that there are no problems, and "now you have shitted in the blue cupboard" which means that you have f*cked up or gone too far.
'En pind i øret', I have never heard, but if you have a 'kæp (pole) i øret', you're drunk.
We have several versions of “Ikke den skarpeste kniv i skuffen” eg “ikke den hurtigste knallert på havnen”, “ikke det højeste strå på marken”
Also an old saying (when record players still were normal in every household) - “er du vaccineret med en grammafonstift?” (Are you vaccinated with a recordplayer-needle/pin (not sure about the translation😬)) meaning that you talk a lot
Oh WOW, I love the record player needle one, that is so funny! :)
We do have the very same gramophone-needle -saying in Finland. I personally have been a serious suspect of such a vaccination😜
I've never heard the recordplayer-one though :)
Regarding "shooting flies with a cannon", this has a variant in Danish as "skyde gråspurve med kanoner". It also exists in English (particularly used in casual speech or writing among mathematicians, AFAIK) as "a nuclear flyswatter", e.g. "This may be a bit of a nuclear flyswatter, but you _could_ argue that by Fermat's Last Theorem blah blah blah", concluding something relatively trivial using something vastly more general or complicated - usually unnecessarily so.
In German you also write something behind your ear, but this is rather a warning than just a note to myself. Write this behind your ears before you come here again!
'Å bæsja i skuffen' is an infinitive, ie: to poop in the drawer.
Similar to having not all the hens at home we also say in Sweden that the elevator doesn't reach all the way to the top. Kinda means the same thing.
The Icelandic word is not "pig" but "þig" (þ is the onvoiced th sound, as in think)
While the Finnsh shoot flies with a cannon, Norwegians have slioghtly bigger targets: sparrown (much more fun, but messier) (mentioned in other comments.)
Not all hens are home: English - The lights are on but vthere's nobody home.
GOAT first appeasredd in Spetember 1992 by Mohammad Ali. Gå i ged is probably quite a bit older, hence the obvious difference in meaning.
The origin of "å gjøre kål på" is rather less violent than you think. It's acontraction of "to boiul cabbage soup on something". making sure all the leftovers are eaten you'll finally add them to a cabbage soup to finish it off.
In Norwegian you can "boil soup on a nail" (koke suppe på en spiker) ့ but that means "beef something up", tell a tall tale, exaggerate beyond belief.
This seems to be a (semi) common mistake made by english speakers. While þ might look like p it's pronounced like th in the. Likewise, ð is pronounced like th in that.
You two GUYS are soooo adoreable. I just LOOOOVE your loving vision on DENMARK. You have such a warm relation with our country. You have really adopter being Danish. Its so admireable. I Watch all your videos. ( this is MY daugthers page) kisses from Susanne, also in DENMARK
The prawn sandwich is not as much about nepotism as about luck. When you get an offer for something you wouldn't technically be qualified for or happen to get a fun switch, that's typically when you would use it. Surely it can be used negatively about someone else, but the expression implies some kind of surprise.
We have a danish version of shooting flies with a cannon. To shoot house sparrows with cannons (At skyde gråspurve med kanoner)
Interesting video :) In Finland we also say that I have a hen to pluck with you "kana kynittävänä sinun kanssasi". Other chicken-related ones: 1) "Katkesi kuin kanan lento" = cut off like a chicken's flight which means that something didn't get very far and came to a screeching halt. 2) "Olla kukkona tunkiolla" = to be as a cock on a dungheap = to be pompous, think they're running the place. 3) "Juosta kuin päätön kana" = run around like a headless chicken
We also say that someone was born with a golden spoon in their mouth. Other spoon-related 1) "heittää lusikka nurkkaan" = to throw a spoon in the corner = to die 2) "kun on lusikalla annettu ei voi kauhalla vaatia" = what was given with a spoon can't be demanded with a ladle (hard to translate) means that someone's dumb or inept.
Not really a saying, but my (Swede) absolute favorite Finnish word/concept is "Kalsarikännit": The feeling of wanting to stay at home, getting drunk in just your underwear, without any intention of going out at all. That's something I can really get behind. (Please correct me if my translation is a bit off.)
"Caught with your pants down" is what we use most of the time in jytland. I've maybe heard the other idiom 2-3 times over here :D
I enjoy watching the videos you guys post.
Ingen ko på isen - no need to be concerned (yet) (Swedish)
Ta kål på - finish,kill, end
Mycket skrik och lite ull (sa kärringen som klippte grisen) - much ado about nothing, lots of messy work w little to show for it
Fyllekaja - drunk as a skunk
Inte illa pinkat (av en trähäst) - unexpectedly well-done, grudging praise to someone you didn’t this from
Another specifically Finnish saying is "Ei mennyt niin kuin Strömsössä" "It didn't work out like in Strömsö". Strömsö is a lifestyle program in Swedish created by Finlands Swedish TV channel. As all TV is subtitled here, it has become popular all over. The saying is in Finnish and means that your cookies, craft project or gardening didn't go so well. The only time I've heard it in Swedish is when the crafts presenter said in the show about one of her own creations😂.
I'm Norwegian and have never heard about pooped in the drawer. But we use du har drete på leggen/draget "now you have pooped on your calf" It also means you have screwed up. Norwegians also use something fell between two chairs.
I don't know if they're nordic, but some I use often are
"han/hun kan sælge sand i Sahara" - "he/she can sell sand in Sahara" - meaning to be really good at selling something, often not something in abundance and/or not in demand.
"bo i en kuffert" - "live in a suitcase" - meaning you move a lot
"klokke i det" - "bell in it" - meaning to mess up/screw up.
"at se giraffen" - "to see the giraffe" - meaning to see someone famous or often spoken about, eg. when someone speak a lot about their new boyfriend/girlfriend and you haven't met them, you can say "when can we see the giraffe?"
"at se noget i øjnene" - "to see something in the eyes" - meaning to acknowledge or realize something.
Eller han kan sælge en bog til en blind man.
Fun video 🤗
Thank you, so glad you enjoyed it :)
En gang til for prins Knud is also that he I think was watching a ballet or a play but fell asleep/missed a big part of it, so they put on the show again so he could watch it propperly, and therefor the saying, when someone has to have something repeated to them/shown to them again.
Oh, that's genius! I didn't realize the full story - I love that saying even more now haha
Actually, Prince Knud and his wife were at the premiere of the ballet “Det forsinkede staevnemoede” (The delayed date) but missed a saucy scene as it could not be seen from their reserved seat, so the theatre director ordered the dancers to repeat that scene only for Knud and his wife. That episode became popularized in a cabaret song, but today the understanding still is that someone is too slow to understand.
Thanks again for sharing
Thanks for watching :)
Good ones you've picked out (y)
Here's a few danish ones you can look into:
"Der er ingen ko på isen" - "There's no cow on the ice"
"Det er agurketid" - "It's cucumber time"
"At samle til bunke" - "To collect for a pile"
"Der, hvor kragerne vender" - "Where the crows are turning"
"Det er ude på Larstyndskids mark" - "It's in the field of Lars with diarrhea"
"Det ligger i langbortistan" - "It's in far-away-istan"
"Glad i låget" - "Happy in the lid"
"At være udenfor pædagogisk rækkevidde" - "The be out of reach of pedagogy"
"At være helt ude at skide" / "At være på skideren" / "At være på spanden" ... you look these ones up yourselves ;)
In Denmark we say “skyde gråspurve med kanoner” meaning “shooting house sparrows with canons” so it means that someone use stronger means than necessary.
In Finland if you're "not the sharpest tool in the box" you'd say "Ei ole kaikki muumit laaksossa = You don't have all the Moomin trolls in the valley" or "ei ole kaikki inkkarit kanootissa = ..not all the indians in the canoe"
I was just looking up what are the hardest words / names of things in Danish to pronounce and I found these phrases amoungst many that were listed! :
Rødovre & Hvidovre
Rødgrød med fløde.
When I googled each one and then clicked on the microphone, I could not believe how those words were pronounced!
Wow, how would you ever guess how to say each of the four? Many words are spelled nothing like how they are said.
😊 I have a newly-found respect for you learning that language, I have to say. 😊
Then there are all the rules like have i sat things in past, present and future thence. Except for when those rules don’t apply😀 and all the letters you don’t say like in hvad, hvor, hvem you dont say the h. Everything as a rule except when it don’t😩 I had sucked at danish and I am danish🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰
There is nothing danes love more than to make foreigners say "rødgrød med fløde" and then laughing at them for failing. The nice danes "laugh with them"
@@Krydolph It was apparently used to find nazi spies in the beginning, as they couldn't do it either. Everyone else is just suffering the consequences
I had to make fun of a friend because we where both sounding super stupid, and i said "she's not the sharpest spoon in the cabinet" she understood it immediately and laughed so much and it took my partner a little to understand i had said all of it on purpose haha!
I also butchered the phrase "du gør dem en bjørnetjæneste" and i said "du gør dem en bjørneklo", and i just had to embrace it and go with it haha! I have had a lot of "word salad" where i cannot find the correct words for a sentence so i kinda had to just accept the weird phrases i made and now they are just something we use at home!
And now you have some great inside-jokes too :)
en fugl i hånden - er bedre end... en hånd i fuglen =P
Sharpest spoon? Must be a wordplay: skarpeste ske i skuffen, for skeer er normalt ikke særligt skarpe.
@@hassegreiner9675 Det er pointen hehe, ske'er er normalt ikke super skarpe, og de ligger som regl heller ikke i skabet men i skuffen ;) Så når jeg bruger det så er det lidt en joke på mig selv også for ikke at bruge det korrekte ordsprog haha!
"Hun er ikke den skarpeste ske i skabet" ;) hahah!
@@TainDK Et tag i skridtet er bedre end ti skridt på taget.
Norwegian: "Å drite på draget"
English: "To shit on the drag"
Meaning: To really mess up in a big way.
Etymology: Old timey sailing ships did not have any toilet facilities. When it was time to defecate, you had to do it straigth into the ocean, whilst sitting on a rope called the drag, as many ropes on sailing ships had specific names. Now if you accidentally hit the drag with your own feces, you would have messed up in a big way, since other people will also need to use that rope. Norwegians are fond of alliteration, so the expression is still in use, even if the practice has long since died out.
Jeg går tilbage på min pind “i am going back on my stick” its when you go back to where you allways sit.
I like that one! :)
Then there is har for mange hatte på “to many hats on” that when you do a lot of different things, like someone how works in cleaning also being in the kitchen, they wound have 2 hats on so if you have to many you are all over the place indstead of just focusing on one thing.
And a 💩 one. Some en skoldet skid I eat glas vand “ like a scalded shit in a glass of water” it’s when you round around not knowing what to do😆
I have no idea have someone came op with this, or know have I 💩 would act in a glass of water if it was scalded😂
A swedish saying that even I don't understand is that something can "sell like butter in sunshine ".
In Denmark, I have grown up with the version of the phrase, "være født med en guldske i munden". And we do have the version "håret i postkassen". Regarding the chairs, I first met the phrase after seeing the Disney Channel Original movie, "Go Figure" where a Russian-American actress at that time says: ".... the one who sit between two chairs, may fall down easily"
"Skrive noget *bag* øret"....
"en kæp i øret"
I think we use the phrase "at male fanden på væggen"
"shapest tool in the box"? We have something similar in Danish too. "Ikke den skarpeste kniv i skuffen". Andre varianter kan være: "der er ikke blus på alle kogeplader" eller "lys i huset, men ingen hjemme"
....and Sweden.
In addition to "hyppe sine egne kartofler", one can also "mele sin egen kage". Flour one's own cake. (The only context where I have seen the verb at mele, to flour.)
In addition to shooting house sparrows with canons, you can also "gøre en myg til en elefant". Make a mosquitto into an elefant.
BTW, I hope you did not have to swallow too many camels moving to Denmark.
"At kende sine lus på gangen" is my favorite idiom. It should translated as "knowing your head lice by the gait" and means that you know someone so well, that you can predict their actions. Like "how did you know it was me?" -"I know my head lice by the gait".
In modern Danish, "gangen" more often means "the hallway", thus making the translation "knowing your head lice in the hallway/corridor".
As a kid I genuinely thought this was the case. I understood the meaning, but had a picture in my mind of an office corridor full of head lice and someone being the boss of the company knowing each and every louse.
Omg. Just noticed you have props. Omg. You GUYS are GENOIUS 😎😎😎😍😍😍😍😍♥️❤️💓💘
"not the sharpest knife in the drawer"
He didn't invent the deep plate"
The Danish pharase: "To have a stick in the ear", is mostly used, when pointing out that the person in mention is/was quite drunk.
Can you make a video on superstitions, like not going under ladders, but some specific 🇩🇰 ones?
And maybe one with the deferences in wolds like if you say taske in danish it means something very deferent in Sweden.
"Der er lys på øverste etage, men der er ingen hjemme" /
"The lights are still on at the top floor, but there is no-one at home" = "This person is a complete idiot"
"Hjulet snurrer endnu, men hamsteren er død" /
"The wheel is still turning, but the hamster has died / is dead" = "This person is not very clever"
In Sweden we specify the blue cabinet. (Att skita i det blå skåpet. To have a bowl movment in the blue locker/cabinet/cupboard.)
“At gøre kål på …” usually means to finish something. So for example when you eat all the leftovers from the day before you could say: “så fik vi gjort kål på det”
Another favourite Swedish idiom of mine is he or she is "lite bakom flötet" literally "a little behind the float (on the fishing rod)" meaning he or she is not the shapest knife in the box.
Danish also have our own version of "You are not the sharpest knife in the drawer" - "Du er da ikke den længste lort i kummen" meaning "You are not the longest poop in the toilet"
🤣
When you do it in bed, and others in the draw, Danes do it in the (stinging) nettles 😵💫
To have a stick in your ear means to be slightly drunk. To have a branch in your ear... is what comes after.
"Gå ged i" strictly means "it went pandemonium" but more loosely "it didn't go according to plan".
Hælde vand ud af øret= beklage sig/have ondt af sig selv
Write it behind the ear= complain/ feel sorry for yourself
I don’t know the one about falling between two chairs, but you can sit between two chairs (sidde mellem 2 stole) which mean to be in a situation where you have to make a decision or make up your mind but haven’t yet done so. Maybe similar to being on the fence about something 😊
Faller mellan stolarna is definitely what they say, in Swedish.
We say fell between two chairs in Norway as well.
To throw a goat's eye means to take a quick look at something.
After you realise everything's good, you might announce that there is "no cow on the ice" (ingen ko på isen).
Or if you realise that what you threw the goat's eye on was useless you could say "it's nothing to hang in the Christmas tree" (inget att hänga julgranen).
I like you two guys. Please upload tomorrow or just every day
Is "between the cracks" and "between two chairs" really the same? "Between two chairs" also indicate that Chair A has responsibility X and Chair B has responsibility Y and now there is some new responsibility that could be done by both, which in reality means that it will be done by neither (fall between the chairs), unless we talk about it.
for something to fall between the cracks means it was overlooked - so yeah.
Not the sharpest knife in the drawer
To have gnomes in the loft
Not have all the chicken in the coop
The elevator doesn't go to the top floor
The light is on but no one is home
Etc etc all mean the same thing.
We have shooting fleste with a canyon too in Denmark, however it's sparrows here. At skyde gråspurve med kanoner
Denmark has the knife thing too. "Ikke den skarpeste kniv i skuffen." I will never forget an american friends reaction, when I used the Idiom "Its like peing your pants" She looked at me real funny, so I explained "Its warm for a minute and then you are colder than before." Which just got a pause and a long drawn out "okay...." She definitely thought I was talking from personal experience, I think she was from a warm state. I had to explain then, but I am pretty sure I have heard it used in english before. Though it is an idiom, I think maybe any child having grown up in a cold place, would somewhat instinctly understand it in context? And I have seen the dilemma quite literally be used in movies , so maybe you get it from media too?
Im impressed!
Other sayings;
"Ingen ko på isen".. dont worry!
"Det står som spön i backen".. it rains cats and dogs.
Det finns inget dåligt väder, bara dåliga kläder.. there is no bad weather, only bad clothings, thats not that much a saying, its a fact if one live in Nordic countries!
To "have a stick in your ear" means to be drunk. You could also say someone is "wearing a little feather."
Also in Denmark, you're told not to shoot sparrows with a cannon, not flies :D But otherwise it's the same saying.
One more time for prins Knud can also be used when failing at something trivial.
Similar to the Norwegian saying, you can say in Swedish "nu har du skitit i det blå skåpet" literally "now you've shit in the blue cabinet" meaning you've really screwed up.
Ah, yes - I have heard that one, or that version I guess. Just as hilarious and useful 😁
Cool list 😅
Fwiw; in Romanian we say "ai făcut-o de capră" literally "you did it of goat", means "you really screwed up", and we have one with cabbage, meaning the same thing 😂
Oh that’s cool to hear that some of these are also used in Romanian 😃
In Danish we have the frase 'shooting birds with cannons'. Means the same as the Finnish.
making cabbage of someone/something : ta kål på is something we say in Swedish too
you were talking about the goat relateret idioms "så er den ged barberet" - "that is the gaot shaved" meaning the problem is solved
Oh yes, I can't believe we missed that one. Actually, we may have used that in another video - I think that's why...