We use colourful idioms in the English language more than we might realise – we tell white lies, remember red letter days and sometimes we get the blues. But what colourful idioms are there in other languages? We’ve put together a list of some of our favourites to add a splash of colour to your day!
Blue
In English something can be out of the blue, a bolt from the blue or can happen once in a blue moon! But did you know that being blue in German means that you’re drunk? Here are a few more blue idioms from other languages…
Language | Idiom | Literal Translation | Meaning |
French | Ne voir qu’en bleu | To see nothing but blue | To be in the dark/uninformed |
Italian | Il principe azzurro | The blue prince | Prince Charming |
German | Das Blaue vom Himmer herunterlügen | To lie the blue out of the sky | To lie a lot |
Dutch | Een blauwtje lopen | To walk a blue | To be rejected |
Swedish | Att skita i det blå skåpet | To shit in the blue cabinet | To go too far/to make a fool of oneself |
Polish | Myśleć o niebieskich migdałach | To think about blue almonds | To daydream |
Green
English speakers can give the green light for something to go ahead, think the grass is greener on the other side and may at times turn green with envy! But green can symbolise different emotions in other languages…
French | C’est la fin des haricots verts | It’s the end of the green beans | It’s the final straw |
Spanish | Me sacas canas verdes | You’re giving me green hairs | You’re annoying me |
Italian | Far vedere i sorci verdi a qualcuno | To make someone see green mice | To threaten someone |
German | Ach du grüne Neune! | Ah you green nine! | Good grief! |
German | Noch grün hinter den Ohren sein | To still be green behind the ears | To be inexperienced |
Polish | Posłać na zieloną trawkę | To send onto green grass | To fire from work |
Mandarin Chinese | 戴綠帽 | He wears a green hat | His wife is cheating on him |
White
We tell white lies in English, wave the white flag to admit defeat and seeing something scary can turn us as white as a sheet! Did you know that in lots of languages having a ‘white’ night refers to a night where you get no sleep? Here are some other idioms that are as white as snow…
French | Faire chou blanc | To make white cabbage | To draw a blank, to fail despite trying your best |
Spanish | Un mirlo blanco | A white blackbird | Something that is rare |
Italian | Matrimonio in bianco | White marriage | An unconsummated marriage |
German | Eine weiße Maus sehen | To see a white mouse | To hallucinate |
Romanian | Noapte albă | White night | Sleepless night |
Swedish | Vit vecka | White week | A week without any alcohol |
Tagalog | Maputi ang tainga | White-eared | Stingy |
Black
Black idioms often refer to something negative in English, like a black eye, blacking out or the black market, and this is often the case in other languages too…
Spanish | Tener las entrañas negras | To have black guts | To be a bad person |
German | Jemandem den schwarzen Peter zuschieben | To pass the black Peter to someone | To pass the buck |
Dutch | Op zwart zaad zitten | To sit on black seed | To be really broke |
Finnish | Mustasukkainen | Black-socked | Jealous |
Russian | между ними пробежала черная кошка | A black cat ran between them | They are at an impasse |
Pink
We might be tickled pink or see pink elephants in English, but what about other languages?
Romanian | A se face roşu de mînic | To turn pink with rage | To become angry |
Portuguese | Revistas cor-de-rosa | Pink magazines | Celebrity/gossip magazines |
Dutch | Op een roze wolkje zitten | To sit on a little pink cloud | To be (annoyingly) in love |
Turkish | Pembe yalan | A pink lie | A white/good lie |
Can you think of any other colourful idioms? We’d love to hear them!
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