Language/Multiple-languages/Culture/Common-Allusions

Hello everyone!

Welcome to our exploration of similar allusions found across various cultures worldwide. In this lesson, we'll delve into the ways in which different cultures express similar ideas and concepts.

Please note that this page is part of a broader series, connected to our main topic:

Language/Multiple-languages/Culture/Similar-Sayings.

In progress.

Ability to achieve financial reward

This comes from the Greek myth, where King Midas was given the ability to turn anything he touches into gold.

language	term
English	Midas touch
Finnish	Midaan kosketus
French	touche de Midas
Galician	toque de Midas
Italian	tocco di Mida
Modern Greek	το άγγιγμα του Μίδα
Portuguese	toque de Midas

Between two dangers

This comes from the Greek myth, where monsters Scylla and Charybdis were sited on both sides of Strait of Messina, where Odysseus had to pass through.

language	term
Danish	mellem Skylla og Karybdis
English	between Scylla and Charybdis
Finnish	Skyllan ja Kharybdiksen välillä
German	zwischen Skylla und Charybdis sein
Modern Greek	μεταξύ Σκύλλας και Χάρυβδης
Polish	między Scyllą a Charybdą
Russian	между Сциллой и Харибдой
Spanish	entre Escila y Caribdis
Swedish	mellan Skylla och Karybdis

Costly victory

This comes from the story of the Battle of Heraclea and the Battle of Asculum, where King Pyrrhus of Epirus defeated Rome, suffering heavy casualties.

language	term
Armenian	պյուռոսյան հաղթանակ
Azerbaijani	Pirr qələbəsi
Bulgarian	Пирова победа
Chinese	皮洛士式勝利／皮洛士式胜利
Czech	Pyrrhovo vítězství
Danish	pyrrhussejr
Dutch	pyrrusoverwinning
English	Pyrrhic victory
Esperanto	Pirha venko
Finnish	Pyrrhoksen voitto
French	victoire à la Pyrrhus
German	Pyrrhussieg
Hungarian	pirruszi győzelem‎
Indonesian	kemenangan piris
Italian	vittoria di Pirro
Japanese	ピュロスの勝利
Latin	victoria Pyrrhica
Macedonian	Пирова победа
Modern Greek	Πύρρειος νίκη
Norwegian Bokmål	pyrrhosseier
Norwegian Nynorsk	pyrrhossiger
Polish	pyrrusowe zwycięstwo
Portuguese	vitória de Pirro vitória pírrica
Romanian	victorie à la Pirus
Russian	Пиррова победа
Slovak	Pyrrhovo víťazstvo
Spanish	victoria pírrica
Swedish	pyrrhusseger

Device or person placed within the enemy

This comes from the story of Trojan War in Aeneid (Aenē̆is), where Odysseus built a wooden horse, hid himself and soldiers inside, let the Trojan force capture the wooden horse as a trophy, then opened the gate of Troy at night to let the Greek army in.

language	term
Armenian	Տրոյական ձի
Chinese	特洛伊木馬／特洛伊木马
Czech	trojský kůň
Danish	trojansk hest
English	Trojan horse
Esperanto	troja ĉevalo
Finnish	Troijan hevonen
French	cheval de Troie
German	trojanisches Pferd
Hebrew	סוס טרויאני
Hungarian	trójai faló‎
Icelandic	trójuhestur
Italian	cavallo di Troia
Japanese	トロイの木馬
Korean	트로이 목마
Latin	equus Troianus
Macedonian	Тројанскиот коњ
Modern Greek	δούρειος ίππος
Polish	koń trojański
Portuguese	cavalo de Troia
Romanian	cal troian
Russian	Троянский конь
Spanish	caballo de Troya

Face hostilities from all sides

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

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

Flawless

This comes from the story in the Records of Spirits and Monsters (靈怪錄), where the clothing from heaven has no seams.

language	term
Chinese	天衣無縫／天衣无缝
Japanese	天衣無縫
Korean	천의무봉

Harmful person in peaceful disguise

This comes from the story in Gospel of Matthew (Κατά Ματθαίο Ευαγγέλιον), where the Lord says “Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”

language	term
Albanian	ujk me lëkurë qengji
Belarusian	воўк у авечай шкуры
Chinese	披著羊皮的狼／披着羊皮的狼
Czech	vlk v rouše beránčím
Danish	ulv i fåreklæder
Dutch	wolf in schaapskleren
English	wolf in sheep's clothing
Finnish	susi lampaan vaatteissa
French	loup déguisé en agneau
Galician	lobo con pel de ovella
Georgian	მგელი ცხვრის ტყავში
German	Wolf im Schafspelz
Hindi	भेड़ की खाल में भेड़िया
Hungarian	báránybőrbe bújt farkas
Icelandic	úlfur í sauðargæru
Iranian Persian	گرگ در لباس میش‎
Italian	lupo travestito da agnello
Japanese	羊の皮を着た狼
Kirgiz	кой терисин жамынган карышкыр
Latin	lupus in vestimentum ovium
Latvian	vilks aitas ādā
Lithuanian	vilkas avies kailyje
Malagasy	amboadia mitafy hodi-janak' ondry
Malay	serigala berbulu domba
Modern Greek	λύκος εις δέρμα προβάτου λύκος με προβιά αρνιού
Norwegian	ulv i fåreklær
Polish	wilk w owczej skórze
Portuguese	lobo em pele de cordeiro
Romanian	lup îmbrăcat în piele de oaie
Russian	волк в овечьей шкуре
Serbo-Croatian	вук у јањећој кожи / vuk u janjećoj koži
Slovenian	volk v ovčji koži
Spanish	un lobo con piel de cordero
Swedish	ulv i fårakläder
Ukrainian	вовк в овечій шкурі
Vietnamese	sói đội lốt cừu

Impose oneself hardships to accomplish something

This comes from the story in Records of the Grand Historian (史記), where King Gōujiàn of Yuè was defeated by the State of Wú; he 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	nếm mật nằm gai nằm gai nếm mật

Improve something unnecessarily

This comes from the story in Strategies of the Warring States (戰國策), where a man gave his servants a jug of wine; the servants decided to compete drawing a snake on the ground and the one who finishes it first wins the wine; one finished and grabbed the jug and says “I can draw feet for it” and started drawing feet for the snake; another one finished drawing the snake, snatched his wine, said “A snake doesn't have feet. How can you do it?” and drank the wine.

language	term
Chinese	畫蛇添足／画蛇添足
Japanese	画蛇添足
Korean	화사첨족
Vietnamese	hoạ xà thiêm túc vẽ rắn thêm chân

Invasive authority with mass surveillance

This comes from the novel 1984, where in the state of Oceania, there is a motto “Big Brother is watching you” referring to the applied mass surveillance.

language	term
Chinese	老大哥
English	Big Brother
Finnish	isoveli
French	Big Brother
Hungarian	Nagy Testvér
Modern Greek	Μεγάλος Αδελφός
Polish	Wielki Brat
Portuguese	Grande Irmão
Russian	Большо́й Брат
Serbo-Croatian	велики брат / veliki brat
Spanish	Gran Hermano
Swedish	storebror

Laborious and futile task

This comes from the Greek myth, where King Sisyphos of Ephyra killed visitors to show off his power and was forced by gods to do a task for eternity: to roll an immense boulder up a hill and repeat when it rolls back.

language	term
Danish	sisyfosarbejde
English	Sisyphean labour
French	rocher de Sisyphe
German	Sisyphusarbeit‎
Modern Greek	Σισύφειο μαρτύριο
Russian	сизифов труд
Swedish	sisyfosarbete
Ukrainian	сізіфова праця

Land of abundance

This comes from the story in Book of Exodus (שְׁמוֹת), where the Lord referred the Land of Israel “land flowing with milk and honey”.

language	term
English	land of milk and honey
Hebrew	ארֶץ זבת חלב וּדְבש‎
Polish	kraina mlekiem i miodem płynąca‎
Portuguese	terra de leite e mel

Misfortune may turn into fortune and vice versa

This comes from the story in Master Huái Nán (淮南子), where the old man lived at the frontier; one of his horses strayed into Xiōngnú land; the horse came back accompanied with another horse; the old man's son rid the new horse, fell and broke his leg; in a Xiōngnú invasion, able-bodied men volunteered and nine out of ten died in battle, while the old man and his son kept alive.

language	term
Chinese	塞翁失馬，焉知非福／塞翁失马，焉知非福
Japanese	人間万事塞翁が馬
Korean	인간만사 새옹지마
Vietnamese	tái ông thất mã, yên tri phi phúc

Obvious matter being ignored

This comes from the fable The Inquisitive Man (Любопытный), where a man noticed everything except an elephant in a room, in a museum.

language	term
Amharic	በክፍሉ ውስጥ ዝሆን
Armenian	փիղ մեջ տարածությունը
Chinese	房間裡的大象／房间里的大象
Danish	olifant in de kamer
English	elephant in the room
Esperanto	elefanto en la ĉambro
Finnish	virtahepo olohuoneessa
French	éléphant dans la pièce
Georgian	ადგილში სპილო
German	Elefant im Raum
Hebrew	פיל בחדר‎
Hindi	कमरे में हाथी
Hungarian	elefánt a szobában
Icelandic	gajah di dalam sang kamar
Italian	elefante nella stanza
Japanese	部屋の象
Korean	방안의 코끼리
Modern Greek	ελέφαντας στο δωμάτιο
Polish	słoń w salonie
Portuguese	elefante na sala
Romanian	elefantul din cameră
Russian	слона-то я и не приметил
Spanish	elefante en la habitación
Swedish	elefanten i rummet
Thai	ช้างในห้อง

Panic and be overly sensitive

This comes from the story in Book of Jìn (晉書), where the defeated troops of Qín heard the sound of the wind and the cry of cranes, believed that the enemy has come.

language	term
Chinese	風聲鶴唳／风声鹤唳
Japanese	風声鶴唳
Korean	풍성학려

Person blamed for someone else's failure

This comes from the story in Book of Leviticus (ויקרא), where Aaron confessed the sins of the people of Israel with his hands on a goat's head; the goat was sent to wilderness, bearing all the sins.

language	term
Arabic	كبش فداء
Armenian	քավության նոխազ
Bulgarian	изкупителна жертва
Catalan	boc expiatori
Chinese	替罪羊
Czech	obětní beránek
Danish	syndebuk
Dutch	zondebok
English	scapegoat
Esperanto	propeka kapro
Faroese	syndabukkur
Finnish	syntipukki
French	bouc émissaire
Georgian	განტევების ვაცი
German	Sündenbock
Hebrew	שעיר לעזאזל‎
Hindi	बकरा
Hungarian	bűnbak
Icelandic	blóraböggull
Irish	ceap milleáin
Italian	capro espiatorio
Japanese	スケープゴート
Latvian	grēkāzis
Lithuanian	atpirkimo ožys
Macedonian	жртвен јарец
Malayalam	ബലിയാട്
Modern Greek	αποδιοπομπαίος τράγος
Norwegian	syndebukk
Polish	kozioł ofiarny
Russian	козёл отпущения
Serbo-Croatian	жртвени јарац / žrtveni jarac
Spanish	cabeza de turco chivo expiatorio
Swedish	syndabock
Thai	แพะรับบาป
Turkish	günah keçisi
Ukrainian	козел відпущення
Welsh	bwch dihangol

Prolonged high risk

This comes from the story in Tusculan Disputations (Tusculanae Disputationes), where the courtier Damocles flattered the tyrant of Syracuse and was then invited to a banquet, seeing a sword suspended from the ceiling by a single thread over his head, which was meant to show him the risk of being a powerful person.

language	term
Arabic	سيف مسلت
Armenian	դամոկլյան սուր
Bulgarian	дамоклев меч
Catalan	espasa de Dàmocles
Chinese	達摩克利斯之劍／达摩克利斯之剑
Danish	damoklessværd
Dutch	zwaard van Damocles
English	sword of Damocles
Esperanto	glavo de Damoklo
Finnish	Damokleen miekka
French	épée de Damoclès
German	Damoklesschwert
Hausa	takobin damokilis
Hebrew	חרב דמוקלס‎
Hungarian	Damoklész kardja
Italian	cavar le castagne dal fuoco
Japanese	ダモクレスの剣
Modern Greek	Δαμόκλειος σπάθη
Norwegian	damoklessverd
Polish	miecz Damoklesa
Portuguese	espada de Dâmocles
Russian	дамоклов меч
Spanish	espada de Damocles
Swedish	damoklessvärd

Put on the finishing touches

This comes from the story in Records of Famous Painters from Past Dynasties (歷代名畫記), where Zhāng Sēngyóu didn't paint eyes on dragons in the Ānlè Temple at Jīnlíng, saying that the dragons will fly away if he does; he was asked to paint the eyes and when he did on two dragons, they broke through the walls and ascended to the clouds.

language	term
Chinese	畫龍點睛／画龙点睛
Japanese	画竜点睛
Korean	화룡점정

Refuse to adapt to changed conditions

This comes from the Master Lǚ's Spring and Autumn Annals (呂氏春秋), where the sword of a passenger on a boat fell into the river; the passenger made a notch on the boat and said “This is where my sword fell in.” when the boat stopped, he jumped into water from there to find his sword and found nothing.

language	term
Chinese	刻舟求劍／刻舟求剑
Japanese	舟に刻みて剣を求む
Korean	각주구검
Vietnamese	khắc chu cầu kiếm

Share the same fate

This comes from the story in the Commentary of Zuǒ (左傳), 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

Something embarrassing and politely ignored

This comes from the fable The Emperor's New Clothes (Kejserens nye klæder), where the emperor was tricked into being naked, believing that he's wearing the finest clothes in the world and only bastards can't see it; then he goes for a parade, only to be challenged by a child. This fable is based on a similar story in Tales of Count Lucanor (Libro de los enxiemplos del Conde Lucanor et de Patronio), which took place in a Moorish kingdom.

language	term
Chinese	皇帝的新裝／皇帝的新装
Danish	kejserens nye klæder
English	the emperor's new clothes
Finnish	keisarin uudet vaatteet
Portuguese	roupa nova do imperador
Slovak	cisárove nové šaty
Swedish	kejsarens nya kläder

Source of unforeseen trouble

This comes from Works and Days (Ἔργα καὶ Ἡμέραι), where Zeus gave Epimetheus a jar and told him to keep it closed; his wife Pandora opened it out of curiosity, releasing curses inside upon mankind.

language	term
Albanian	kutia e Pandorës
Armenian	Պանդորայի արկղ
Bashkir	Пандора ҡумтаһы
Bulgarian	кутията на Пандора
Catalan	capsa de Pandora
Chinese	潘多拉魔盒
Czech	Pandořina skříňka
Danish	Pandoras æske
Dutch	doos van Pandora
Esperanto	skatolo de Pandora
English	pull someone's chestnuts out of the fire
Faroese	eskjan hjá Pandoru
Finnish	Pandoran lipas
French	boîte de Pandore
Georgian	cპანდორას ყუთი
German	Pandorabüchse Büchse der Pandora
Hebrew	תיבת פנדורה‎
Hindi	पैन्डोरा का बॉक्स
Hungarian	Pandóra szelencéje
Indonesian	kotak Pandora
Italian	vaso di Pandora
Japanese	パンドラの箱
Kazakh	Пандора қалбыры
Korean	판도라의 상자
Latvian	Pandoras lāde
Macedonian	Пандорина кутија
Modern Greek	Το κουτί της Πανδώρας
Norwegian Bokmål	pandoraeske
Occitan	boita de Pandora
Panjabi	ਪੰਡੋਰਾ ਦਾ ਡੱਬਾ
Polish	puszka Pandory
Portuguese	caixa de Pandora
Romanian	cutia Pandorei
Russian	ящик Пандоры
Spanish	caja de Pandora
Swedish	Pandoras ask
Tamil	பண்டோராவின் பெட்டி
Turkish	Pandora'nın kutusu
Ukrainian	скринька Пандори
Uzbek	Pandora qutisi
Vietnamese	chiếc hộp Pandora

Take damage for others without getting proper rewards

This comes from the fable The Monkey and the Cat (Le Singe et le Chat), where the cat is tricked by the monkey to pull some chestnuts out of the 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

Talk about something the listener doesn't understand

This comes from the story in Master Móu's Treatise Settling Doubts (牟子理惑論), where Gōngmíng Yí played the qín song Qīng Jué towards a cattle and the cattle continued to eat grass as before.

language	term
Chinese	對牛彈琴／对牛弹琴
Japanese	牛に対して琴を弾ず
Korean	대우탄금
Thai	สีซอให้ควายฟัง
Vietnamese	đối ngưu đàn cầm đàn gảy tai trâu

Time brings drastic changes

This comes from the story in Biographies of the Deities and Immortals (神仙傳), where Mágū said “Since we met last time, I have seen the East Sea turned into mulberry fields thrice.”

language	term
Chinese	滄海桑田／沧海桑田
Japanese	滄海桑田
Korean	창해상전
Vietnamese	thương hải tang điền

Truth being distorted by a powerful person

This comes from the story in New Account (新語), where Zhào Gāo rid a deer and called it a horse; the Emperor was confused and Zhào Gāo asked ministers; some kept silent, some said it was a horse, some said it was a deer; those who said it was a deer were eliminated by Zhào Gāo.

language	term
Chinese	指鹿為馬／指鹿为马
Japanese	指鹿為馬
Korean	지록위마

Unnecessary activity of high risk

This comes from the short story Russian Roulette, where it is said that in Russian army in Rumania, around 1917, “some officer would suddenly pull out his revolver, anywhere, at the table, in a café, at a gathering of friends, remove a cartridge from the cylinder, spin the cylinder, snap it back in place, put it to his head and pull the trigger.”

language	term
Arabic	رولِيت روسي
Bulgarian	расейская рулетка
Bulgarian	руска рулетка
Catalan	ruleta russa
Chinese	俄羅斯輪盤／俄罗斯轮盘
Czech	ruská ruleta
Dutch	Russische roulette
English	Russian roulette
Esperanto	rusa ruleto
Finnish	venäläinen ruletti
French	roulette russe
German	russisches Roulette
Hungarian	orosz rulett
Iranian Persian	رولت روسی‎
Italian	roulette russa
Japanese	ロシアンルーレット
Jèrriais	rouôlette Russe
Korean	러시안 룰렛
Lithuanian	rusiška rueletė
Macedonian	руски рулет
Modern Greek	Ρώσικη ρουλέτα
Mongolian	орос рулет
Norwegian	russisk rulett
Polish	rosyjska ruletka
Portuguese	roleta russa
Romanian	ruleta rusească
Russian	русская рулетка
Serbo-Croatian	руски рулет / ruski rulet
Spanish	ruleta rusa
Turkish	Rus ruleti
Ukrainian	російська рулетка
Vietnamese	cò quay Nga

Unrealistic ideal land

This comes from The Birds (Ὄρνιθες), where two men and birds built a state on the clouds.

language	term
Ancient Greek	Νεφελοκοκκυγία
Czech	Mrakoptakohrad Kocourkov
English	cloud-cuckoo-land
Finnish	Pilvikukkula Hölmölä
French	Coucouville-les-Nuées
German	Wolkenkuckucksheim
Modern Greek	Νεφελοκοκκυγία
Polish	Chmurny Kukułczyn
Portuguese	Cucolândia das Nuvens

This comes from The Peach Blossom Spring (桃花源記), where a fisherman discovered an isolated village hidden behind a peach forest.

language	term
Chinese	桃花源
Japanese	桃源郷
Korean	도원향

This comes from Lost Horizon, where people were living hundreds of years in happiness at the isolated village Shangri-La.

language	term
Burmese	ရှန်ဂရီလာ‎
Chinese	香格里拉
English	Shangri-La
Esperanto	Ŝangrilao
Finnish	Shangri-La
French	Shangri-La
German	Shangri-La
Japanese	シャングリラ
Korean	샹그릴라
Mongolian	Шангри-Ла
Portuguese	xangri-lá
Russian	Шангри-Ла

Vulnarability

This comes from the Greek myth, where Thetis dipped Achilles in River Styx to make him invulnerable, holding one of his heels, leaving it his only vulnerable point.

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
English	Achilles' heel
Finnish	akilleenkantapää
French	talon 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

Wait to get something for nothing by chance

This comes from Master Hán Fēi (韓非子), where a farmer saw a hare bumping into a stump, killing itself; the farmer then stopped working, hoping to get another hare the same way.

language	term
Chinese	守株待兔
Japanese	株を守もる
Korean	수주대토
Vietnamese	thủ chu đãi thố