Language/Multiple-languages/Culture/Common-Allusions

Hi all. In this lesson, we will see similar allusions around the world.

This page has a parent: Language/Multiple-languages/Culture/Similar-Sayings.

In progress.

Facing hostility from all sides

This comes from the story of Battle of Gāixià in Records of the Grand Historian, where the coalition force of Hàn surrounded Chǔ army and sang Chǔ folk songs.

language	term
Chinese	四面楚歌
Japanese	四面楚歌
Korean	사면초가

To share the same fate

This comes from the story in the Commentary of Zuo, where the marquis of Jìn asked the duke of Yū for military passage to attack the State of Guó; Gōng Zhīqí admonished the duke of Yū, comparing the relation between Guó and Yū as lips and teeth, saying “When the lips perish, the teeth become cold”.

language	term
Chinese	脣亡齒寒／唇亡齿寒
Japanese	唇亡歯寒
Korean	순망치한
Vietnamese	môi hở răng lạnh

Taking damage for others without getting proper rewards

This comes from the fable The Monkey and the Cat, where the cat is tricked by the monkey to fetch some chestnuts from fire, getting its paws burnt and can't stop the monkey from taking all chestnuts away.

language	term
Catalan	treure les castanyes del foc
Chinese	火中取栗
Danish	rage kastanjerne ud af ilden
English	pull someone's chestnuts out of the fire
Finnish	hoitaa jonkun homma
French	tirer les marrons du feu
German	die Kastanien aus dem Feuer holen
Italian	cavar le castagne dal fuoco
Modern Greek	βγάζω τα κάστανα από τη φωτιά
Norwegian Bokmål	rake kastanjene ut av ilden
Norwegian Nynorsk	rake kastanjane ut av elden
Polish	wyciągać kasztany z ognia
Spanish	sacar las castañas del fuego
Swedish	kratsa kastanjerna ur elden

To undergo self-imposed hardships to accomplish something

This comes from the story in Records of the Grand Historian, where the King Gōujiàn of Yuè was defeated by the State of Wú and forced himself to sleep on firewood and lick a gallbladder every day to remind himself to revenge.

language	term
Chinese	臥薪嘗膽／卧薪尝胆
Japanese	臥薪嘗膽
Korean	와신상담
Vietnamese	nằm gai nếm mật

Vulnarability

This comes from the Greek myth about Achilles, where his mother Thetis dipped him in River Styx to give him the invulnerability, holding his heel, leaving it his only weakness.

language	term
Arabic	كعب أخيل‎
Armenian	աքիլեսյան գարշապար
Asturian	calcañu d'Aquiles
Bulgarian	Ахилесова пета
Catalan	taló d'Aquil·les
Chinese	阿喀琉斯之踵
Czech	Achilova pata
Danish	akilleshæl
Dutch	achilleshiel
Finnish	akilleenkantapää
French	alon d’Achille
Galician	talón de Aquiles
Georgian	აქილევსის ქუსლი
German	Achillesferse
Hungarian	Achilles-sarok
Interlingua	calce de Achilles
Iranian Persian	پاشنه آشیل‎
Italian	tallone di Achille
Japanese	アキレス腱
Korean	아킬레스 건
Macedonian	Ахилова пета
Modern Greek	αχίλλειος πτέρνα
Norwegian	akilleshæl
Polish	pięta Achillesa
Portuguese	calcanhar de Aquiles
Romanian	călcâiul lui Ahile
Russian	ахиллесова пята
Serbo-Croatian	Ахилова пета / Ahilova peta
Spanish	talón de Aquiles
Swedish	akilleshäl
Tagalog	sakong ni Akiles