Favorite Non-English Phrases

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Desu_Cake
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Re: Favorite Non-English Phrases

#16 Post by Desu_Cake »

My aunt has a T-shirt with "Níl Fhois Agam" written on it, so that when people ask her what it means (Which happens surprisingly often) she can reply "I don't know".
A more literal translation would be "The knowledge is not upon me". Irish is a very poetic language.

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Re: Favorite Non-English Phrases

#17 Post by Joey »

I like the Japanese word "yappari"/やっぱり because it can't really be translated into English orz. The closest you can get is probably, "As I thought!" but while you can get away with saying "Yappari!" in Japan if you say "As I thought!" in English-speaking countries you'll probably sound like some old English lord, hehe ><;
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Re: Favorite Non-English Phrases

#18 Post by Sapphi »

Wow, you're right about "Yappari!"
It's similar to how I feel about that Japanese expression "Yosh!" which just can't be translated without losing some of the fun of it...
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Re: Favorite Non-English Phrases

#19 Post by RMAudio »

仕様がない (Shiyou ga nai)

I've always liked this phrase even though it doesn't translate too well into English. Best equivalent is "It can't be helped" or "It's inevitable". I think learning to accept the inevitable and not let it hamper or drag you down is an excellent outlook on life.

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