When the Sherman Brothers wrote, \u201cIt\u2019s a small world after all\u201d for Disney, they probably never dreamed that it would (arguably) become one of the most widely used phrase in the world. It is a small world indeed, and it very likely it won\u2019t be long before you pack your bags for your next holiday or trip abroad.<\/p>\n
When you do start contemplating the map for travel inspiration, think about picking one of the following countries with their \u2018quirky\u2019 phrases and slang that will amuse, befuddle and even confuse you!\u00a0 These will really test your knowledge of the \u2018native, local\u2019 language\u2026<\/p>\n
It is impossible to translate Japanese culture and thought in a small space, however, we can attempt to translate one unique saying! Nanakorobi ya oki<\/em> in original Japanese<\/a> literally translates as \u201cFall seven times, stand eight\u201d. No, it is not a dance routine, but actually means to get up no matter how often you get knocked down.<\/p>\n Such a resilient spirit is valued in Japan, where individuals are encouraged to not complain, but rather silently pick themselves up after they have been knocked down. If you\u2019re young and kawaii <\/em>(meaning cute, pronounced like Hawaii, but with a long and piercing stress on the last syllable), you can get away with most things!<\/p>\n Our friends Down Under<\/a> certainly have a different way of saying things! You might find yourself at a loss when your couch-surfing host\u2019s friend says, \u201cHey mate, let\u2019s have a barbie in the arvo\u201d. Don\u2019t be alarmed; it simply means he\u2019s inviting you to sizzle up a barbecue in the afternoon. If you have plans for the day, you can always respond with, \u201cSorry mate, I\u2019m flat out like a lizard drinking\u201d. What you\u2019re saying is, you\u2019re busy like a lizard when it\u2019s lapping up water.<\/p>\n So you\u2019ve just landed in Mongolia and met your localhost. You\u2019ve been battling a cold virus for a while, and can\u2019t avoid a sneeze. Your friend then says, burkhan orshoo butin chinee sakhal urga<\/em>. If you understand a few Mongolian<\/a> words, you are bound to be confused. What your host has just said literally means \u2013 \u201cGod bless you and may your moustache grow like brushwood.\u201d It sounds especially strange as neither you or your host has a moustache!!<\/p>\n What does this polite Mongolian response to a sneeze have to do with moustaches? Well, if you\u2019ve seen pictures of Genghis Khan, you can tell that Mongolians were serious about their moustaches and this interest made its way into a blessing for a sneeze. However, these days, the second part of the proverb is rarely mentioned, especially not to women!<\/p>\n If you\u2019re in Norway, en rosin i p\u00f8lse<\/em> or \u201ca raisin in the sausage<\/em>\u201d can have very strange connotations! How could raisins ever improve a sausage? In fact, raisins seem to have no purpose other than act as substitutes for chocolate chips in cookies when you\u2019re looking for healthy eats. Right?<\/p>\n Norwegians think otherwise. For them, en rosi,n<\/em> especially when it\u2019s i p\u00f8lse<\/em> is a pleasant surprise. It\u2019s something that makes what\u2019s already good a lot better. The Gilde meat products company also sells its own version called rosin i p\u00f8lsa. That\u2019s no surprise if you know Norwegian culture<\/a>, which has a recipe for sweet soup with dried fruits, called \u201cSot Suppe<\/em>\u201d. Do find out if you like it on your next holiday there.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re in Malawi and you\u2019re looking at the map to get around, you\u2019ll be thoroughly confused. The map is really useless there. Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi, is called Ls<\/em> by the locals. If you ask for directions to Blantyre, you\u2019ll find some people looking at you blankly. You should instead ask for BT<\/em>. Interestingly, the locals call Zomba, Texas<\/em>.<\/p>\n Chewa also is known as ‘Chichewa’, is a common language spoken by the people of Malawi. It is known as the ‘language of the lake’, referring to the Lake Malawi. Arm yourself with some local language<\/a>, words and phrases, and you\u2019ll have an easier time navigating the country.<\/p>\n If you hear epic fail<\/em> in South Africa, you\u2019re likely to be surprised. It\u2019s used more often there than you\u2019ll ever hear it in the United States. On the other hand, if you hear someone say \u201chectic<\/em>\u201d, don\u2019t nod your head. They could be referring to a T-shirt or a dance club. And \u201cnow<\/em>\u201d in South Africa<\/a> does not mean this moment, but eventually!<\/p>\n In France, if someone says their friend “avoir les dents longues”<\/em>, they literally mean \u201clong in the tooth<\/em>\u201d. What\u2019s curious about the translation is that while the original French phrase refers to someone who is ambitious, the English translation has its own meaning. Someone who is \u201clong in the tooth<\/em>\u201d in English is someone who is getting on in years.<\/p>\n We would love for you to share some of your native quirky native language sayings and phrases in the comment box below.<\/p>\n So, which quirky language are you going to learn for your next holiday? Let us know in the comments section below.<\/p>\n When the Sherman Brothers wrote, \u201cIt\u2019s a small world after all\u201d for Disney, they probably never dreamed that it would (arguably) become one of the most widely used phrase in the world. It is a small world indeed, and it very likely it won\u2019t be long before you pack your bags for your next holiday […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":628,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[3617,2341,2099,2194,136,54,614,5411,2352,5414,5415,122,5412,708,5416,5413,5417,1763,1758,57],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cudoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cudoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cudoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cudoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cudoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/cudoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5573,"href":"https:\/\/cudoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214\/revisions\/5573"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cudoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cudoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cudoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cudoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cudoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Australia<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Mongolia<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Norway<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Malawi<\/strong><\/h2>\n
South Africa<\/strong><\/h2>\n
France<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"