Infographic: 12 Foreign Phrases

Posted: July 04, 2017 - to Infographics

Here in the UK there are all kinds of phrases we're used to hearing every day. Who hasn't said 'speak of the devil!' when someone has walked into the room when you were talking about them? Or how about 'when pigs fly', when discussing something that will never happen? Your parents probably used it when discussing whether you'd tidy your room. The English language is full of odd idioms and phrases that would make no sense anywhere else. Here's 12 such foreign phrases that the English language needs to steal and use itself by OxEssays. Try using them yourself, and who knows, maybe they'll even catch on over here.

foreign phrases

Despite the wealth of phrases that the English language affords us, there are still some situations that are difficult to describe. As wide and amazing as our language is, there's still not enough words to describe every situation that we ever come across. As this is the case, wouldn't it be better to borrow some phrases from other languages? The best example we have is 'schadenfreude', the German word for 'taking pleasure in other people's misfortune'. However, there are phrases from all over the world that would make discussing some situations just that much easier.

For example, did you know that the phrase 'it fell between chairs' is used to describe something you knew you had to, but forgot all about, in Sweden? How about the phrase 'not my monkey, not my circus' to describe something as not being your problem in Poland? There are all kinds of phrases out there that you've never heard of before, but they could be perfect to drop into everyday conversation.

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These phrases either sum up a complex idea easily, or describe it in a vivid or detailed way. Either way, there are plenty of phrases that we should be stealing and using in our everyday conversations right away.

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