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InspirationIllustration

11 bizarre international idioms that get lost in translation, comically drawn by Paul Blow

Just as different countries often possess quirky workplace habits, many countries use phrases that are completely unique to their language and culture.

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A person balances a large white bear on their shoulders against a turquoise sky, illustrating the German idiom "to tie a bear to someone" meaning to fool someone

Office supplier Viking decided to delve a little deeper into the subject and teamed up with award-winning British illustrator Paul Blow to uncover the idioms that can get lost in translation, causing misunderstandings between international colleagues and business partners. Creating illustrations for eleven phrases in eleven different languages, the results are surprising and amusing.

"Most countries have common phrases and sayings with meanings universally understood by natives, but not all idioms are translatable, especially not literally," said Charlotte Corner of Viking. "This is something the members of our international team experience each day when they hear idioms in English for the first time, or when they employ a beloved phrase from their own culture to a confused reaction.

"Many international idioms don't have an English equivalent, so the intended idea can't be expressed properly. For this project, we asked our international colleagues to share their favourite idioms in their respective mother tongue with us – focussing on phrases that sound bizarre or surreal when translated literally into English."

Caricature of a distressed man with an elongated neck sprouting four thin legs, illustrating the Norwegian idiom "to swallow some camels" meaning to give in.
Man with elongated cheeks eating noodles from a bowl, illustrating the Japanese idiom "My cheeks are falling off
Cartoon rooster with exaggerated teeth grinning widely, illustrating the French idiom "When chickens have teeth" meaning something will never happen
Anthropomorphic cucumber character relaxing on a block of cheese with the English idiom "As cool as a cucumber" and "To be calm or relaxed
Two figures with donuts for eyes against a pink background; left figure smiling with text "Not all donuts come with a hole (Italian)", right figure frowning with text "Things do not always go as well as you would like
Man holding an oversized hotdog with a raisin at the end, illustrated by Paul Blow for the Icelandic idiom about unexpected surprises
Smartly dressed waiter holding a plate with a mustard pot, illustrating the Polish idiom "Mustard After Lunch" about doing things too late
Illustration of a man standing on a giant prawn sandwich, with text explaining the Swedish idiom meaning to have an easy life
Man with exaggerated grin holding a hairbrush, illustrating Dutch idioms about having hair on your teeth and being self-assertive
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