Today, we’d like to dive into why sayings, expressions and idioms are such fascinating peeks into different cultures – and why we love illustrating them for Little Fires.
Chances are, you know a handful of expressions in your native language by heart. You might even use them in everyday conversation.
But what exactly are these phrases anyways?
According to our good friend Merriam-Webster, a saying – also referred to as a proverb or adage – is:
A concise, witty or wise observation on a topic, usually using metaphors.
Every language contains thousands, if not more, of sayings or idioms.
These phrases add color and expression to everyday conversation. Most importantly, they draw upon meanings that are often understood by people who speak the same language or share the same culture.
Sayings and idioms give us fascinating insights into different cultures.
When you learn a new language, at some point, you also start picking up on its most popular sayings and idioms. You’ll find that the more you discover, the more you learn about that culture.
That’s no surprise at all. Sayings and idioms are powerfully shaped by a culture’s lifestyle, beliefs, customs, history, diet, geography, and quirks.
In a way, these bits of language reveal what is most important to the people who wield them.
You begin to learn which foods are most popular; which animals are treasured or looked down upon. You even start getting a sense of the culture’s worldview when it comes to universal themes like love, friendship or courage.
Let’s look at a few expressions featuring one of our favorite topics — food!
Food is a popular metaphor across sayings and idioms in nearly every language.
In China, rice is a common staple in the country’s cuisine, appearing at almost every meal, particularly in the Southern provinces. Small wonder that you’ll find the “rice” or “米 (mi)” character in many Chinese idioms.
Here are a few:
The rice is cooked. — This means “what’s done cannot be undone.” One has reached the point of no return. (生米煮成熟饭 / Shēng mǐ zhǔ chéngshú fàn)
Rice [as precious] as pearls, firewood [as costly] as osmanthus. — This is a concise way of saying the cost of living is horrifically high. (米珠薪桂 / Mǐ zhū xīn guì)
To try to steal the chicken only to end up losing the rice. — This means to make a gamble to gain an advantage only to end up in even worse circumstances. (偷鸡不着蚀把米 / Tōu jī bùzháo shí bǎ mǐ)
Alternatively, when we look over at English-language idioms, we start spotting the appearance of foods like bread and dairy-based items like cream and milk.
Bread and butter — If something is one’s “bread and butter”, it is either the most important source of income or the most crucial aspects of a situation.
Cream of the crop — This describes the best or choicest of the selection. That’s because when you let milk sit, cream literally rises to the top, and happens to the best tasting part of the drink.
Cry over spilled milk — This means that’s what done is done. There is no point crying over something that can’t be taken back.
Through the metaphors in the above expressions, you can easily see which foods are treasured or consumed most by different cultures.
Through that, we can even make light inferences about the geography that supports and cultivates the foods — whether it’s the rivers and paddies for the wild rice in China or the rich grazing lands for England’s cattle.
Sayings and idioms preserve moments from a culture’s history.
Certain expressions are, in their way, like miniature time capsules.
At the time of origin, the meanings behind specific sayings are clear to everyone. Generations later, they continue to be used, even when the origins of their meaning are forgotten.
Here’s one example that goes a long way back:
Spill the beans – To accidentally reveal information.
This English phrase was first coined back in ancient Greece, when citizens would vote on a matter by placing a bean in a vase. One color would be “yes”; the other color would be “no.”
The vote would need to be completely unanimous for any change on a matter. However, if someone “accidentally spilled the beans,” revealing the colors, the vote had to be halted.
Here’s a more romantic example:
Abayı yakmak – This Turkish expression describes the heady experience of falling in love with someone. “Aba” is a type of fabric and the verb “yakmak” means “to burn.”
This Turkish idiom comes from the old times when the dervishes used to burn woolen vests called “aba” during religious conversations that would take place during cold winter nights.
The dervish is so caught up in the spiritual conversation that he doesn’t feel it when the hot fire sneaks up and burns his aba. Later on, this feeling of distracted exhilaration began to be associated with the emotion of falling in love.
Fascinating, yes?
Even from the two anecdotes above, you get a sense of peoples’ behavior or actions within a culture at one historical moment in time — whether it’s the citizens of Ancient Greece or the dervishes from centuries past in Turkey.
Lastly, sayings and idioms capture our universal hopes, dreams and emotions.
Across the languages of the world, there are thousands of such sayings and idioms that capture fascinating (or funny) bits of culture and history.
Once you’ve read or heard enough of them, however, you do notice a pattern.
Within every culture’s expressions, you’ll find endless observations about emotions that are universal to us all, regardless of the language that we speak.
Here are several expressions on common life themes:
On Love
French | To have an artichoke’s heart. (“Avoir un cœur d’artichaut”) — This expression describes someone who falls easily and often in love. A person with an artichoke heart is able to remove the leaves from their heart easily, similarly to how one eats the vegetable.
German | Love goes through the stomach. (“Liebe geht durch den Magen”) — Does this sound familiar? In English, the counterpart is “The way to a man’s (or woman’s) heart is through the stomach.” Delicious food and amazing cooking skills can win over one’s affections.
On Persistence
Portuguese | He who does not risk, does not snack. (“Quem não arrisca, não petisca”) — The closest English version of this phrase is “nothing ventured, nothing gained.” If you don’t challenge yourself or take action towards your goals, you won’t succeed in the end.
Swahili | What beats you is what teaches you. (“Ukupigao ndio ukufunzao”)– All your failures are opportunities to learn, improve and become an even stronger, better person.
On Life Advice
Chinese | A smile will remove 10 years. (“笑一笑,十年少”) — A smile is the best remedy or most effective form of makeup.
Korean | Even monkeys fall from trees. (“원숭이도 나무에서 떨어진다”) — Even the most natural and skilled of climbers sometimes slip. If you’re beating yourself up over a mistake, this saying reassures you that nobody is perfect.
Chances are, you found yourself nodding to at least a few, if not all, of the above expressions.
When we hear sayings and idioms from another culture, they strike a chord with us even if we don’t speak the language. It’s easy to recognize the echo of our own hopes, dreams and desires in these quippy expressions.
These pithy bits of life knowledge (and observational humor!) that have lasted years, and in some case, centuries, help us to appreciate the differences of our unique cultural backgrounds.
Ultimately though, the existence of sayings and idioms in every language is proof of the underlying truth that connects us all — that no matter what language we speak, every single one of us is searching for help to find love, purpose and meaning in life.
How beautiful, then, that we have this grand trove of ages-old wisdom and humor to give us some inspiration!