Favorite Culturally Untranslateable Phrases

• Spanish: “No te peines, que en la foto no salís” (Don’t comb your hair, you’re not going to be in the picture): i.e., “don’t get too excited, this matter doesn’t concern you.”

• Serbian: “Da bog ti kuca bila na CNN” (May your house be live on CNN): Not a compliment.

• Hebrew: “חבל על הזמן”: Can mean either “waste of time” or “awesome” depending on the context.

• Cantonese: 鬼畫符 (a spell written by a ghost): Lousy handwriting.

• German: “Es ist mir Wurst” (it’s all sausage to me): I don’t care.

• Greek: “Εκαμεs τον μουτσιον επιστήμη” (You made masturbation a science): You’re overcomplicating things.