Multidiom #10: Spring is in the air

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Multidiom #9: The world is like a hanky… or a little village.

Talking the other day with one of my flat-mates, I discovered that we, Spanish-speaking people, are the only ones that compare the world with a handkerchief to say that it’s a small world. French and German say either ‘it’s a small world’ or compare it with a little village. But French has a more poetic … Continue reading →

Multidiom #8: It’s (really cold) water under the bridge.

Con esta primavera tan rara que estamos teniendo, parece hasta apropiado que los alemanes hablen de nieve. With such a crazy spring, it’s almost appropriate for the Germans to talk about snow. Continue reading →

Multidiom #7: The world is an oyster for you to eat.

Why, then, the world’s mine oyster, Which I with sword will open. ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor’, William Shakespeare. This is the first written records of the expression ‘the world is one’s oyster’, though nowadays the most used form of it is ‘the world is your oyster’. But what does this expression mean? Does it … Continue reading →

Multidiom #6: Hasta luego, Lucas.

Busy week, quick multidiom. Continue reading →

Multidiom #5: Rain drops are falling on my head…

[English version below.] Hoy toca hablar de lluvia. Es increíble la de formas de decir que llueve mucho que existen. En nuestra lengua, español, tenemos “llover a mares”, “llover a cántaros”, “caer chuzos de punta”… En inglés, “it’s raining buckets” queda muy soso y también tienen gatos y perros cayendo de los cielos. ¿O quizás … Continue reading →

Much ado about nothing (Multidiom #4)

Here is a new ‘Multidiom’. This time, it is a really easy one to translate into German or French, but… why do we Spaniards talk about ‘nuts’? Here is a possible explanation (in Spanish). We Spaniards love anecdotes, and this one shows our ‘picaresca’ 😉 Enjoy! Continue reading →

La guinda (que corona) el pastel (‘Multidiom’ #3)

Spring finally seems to have decided to arrive, so, why don’t we enjoy some sweet treat? Some tea and cake? 😉 As a curiosity, the German version could be also ‘Die Krönung des Ganzen’, but I find it easier, more beautiful and shorter ‘Als Krönung’. Economy of the language, guys! And I was looking forward … Continue reading →

Break a leg! (‘Multidiom’ #2)

Estos días, con entrevistas de trabajo, asistencia a ferias de empleo y lecturas, me han dicho esto varias veces. Siempre me hizo gracia la expresión en inglés, pues la historia detrás de la escatológica frase española la conocía, y de hecho es la misma que la de la frase francesa, como nos cuenta Wikipedia [ES]. Pero, … Continue reading →

Das ist nicht mein Bier (‘Multidiom’ #1)

I re-started to study German a short time ago. I love the language. And I missed it. The funny and interesting thing for us language-freaks is to see how a language is taught in different countries and for natives of different languages. For example, my German teacher in London gets a bit frustrated sometimes when … Continue reading →