Cannot stand X

[Membre]

Hello! What idiomatic expressions do you have for not being able to stand or strongly disliking someone / somebody? There seem to be recurring metaphor es such as not being able to smell (German) or look at (Persian, Francoprovençal) one’s object of dislike.

High German: nicht leiden / ausstehen / riechen können
Swiss German: weder liide no toole chönne Persian: češm-e didan-e X nadâštan
Francoprovençal: pâ povei hleryë

 

[Welsh_Sion]

Cymraeg/Welsh

ddim yn medru dioddef rhywun - not able to suffer someone
ddim yn medru goddef rhywun - not able to bear/tolerate someone

English

not able to stomach someone

 

[Awwal12]

Russian:
не выносить (ne vynosít') - lit. "not to bear" or, even more literally, "not to carry out";
терпеть не мочь (terpét' ne móch, though it's hardly ever used in this infinitive form) - lit. "endure/tolerate not can/may"; the normal word order is always inverted in this phraseme (otherwise it will have the more literal meaning)

 

[apmoy70]

Greek:

-«Δεν τον/την αντέχω» [ˌðe̞ŋ.d̠o̞naŋˈd̠e̞xo̞] --> I cannot endure him, [ˌðe̞ŋ.d̠inaŋˈd̠e̞xo̞] --> I cannot endure her.
-«Δεν τους/τις αντέχω» [ˌðe̞ŋd̠us̠aŋˈd̠e̞xo̞] --> I cannot endure them (masc.), [ˌðe̞ŋd̠is̠aŋˈd̠e̞xo̞] --> I cannot endure them (fem.).
-«Μπούχτισα» [ˈbuxt̠is̠a] --> I've had enough; it's the Aorist of the verb in Present tense «μπουχτίζω» [buˈxt̠iz̠o̞] --> to have had enough, be fed up, be sated with < Ottoman Turkish v. بیقمق [bɰkˈmakʲ] --> to be fed up, have had enough via the Past perfective bıktım [bɰˈktɰm].
-«Έφτασα στο αμήν» [ˈe̞ft̠as̠aˌs̠t̠o̞.aˈmin] --> I've reached to amen (i.e. to the finish, to the end point; amen is used as a closing to a prayer).
-«Δεν τον/την χωνεύω» [ˌðe̞ŋd̠o̞nxo̞ˈne̞vo̞] --> I cannot digest him, [ˌðe̞ŋd̠inxo̞ˈne̞vo̞] --> I cannot digest her; the verb is «χωνεύω» [xo̞ˈne̞vo̞] --> to digest < Koine denominative v. «χοανεύω/χωνεύω» kʰŏăneúō (uncontracted)/kʰōneúō (contracted) --> to cast in a mould, smelt metal, metaph. assimilate (the meaning of digestion is Byzantine) < Classical masc. noun «χόανος» kʰóanŏs --> smelting furnace, funnel (PIE *ǵʰeu̯- to pour cf Hitt. ku-uz-za, wall (heaped up), Skt. हुति (huti), sacrifice, ToA/B käw- to pour, Lat. fundere, Arm. ձև (ʣ͡ew), form < *ǵʰeu̯-o-).
-Dialectal «δεν βαστώ άλλο» [ˌðe̞n.vaˈs̠t̠o̞.ˈalo̞] --> I can't bear up anymore; the verb is the dialectal «βαστώ» [vaˈs̠t̠o̞] --> to bear up, take the weight of something < Classical Greek v. «βαστάζω» băstắzō --> to lift up, raise > Standard Modern Greek «βαστάζω» [vaˈs̠t̠az̠o̞] (with same meanings). Its etymology is unknown.

Apologies for my late edit, but @Penyafort below reminded me that we too cannot "digest" a person. So I added «χωνεύω».

 

[Penyafort]

Catalan:

- No poder pair algú (Literally, 'not be able to digest someone')
- No poder estomacar algú (Literally, 'not be able to stomach someone') *
- No poder veure algú (Literally, 'not be able to see someone')

Spanish:

- No tragar a alguien (Literally, 'not swallow someone')


So Spanish doesn't even swallow the person, while Catalan and English can swallow him/her but not digest/stomach him/her.

* Estomacar is regarded as dialectal and one has to be careful because in the standard it means 'to give someone a beating'.

 

[alfaalfa]

Ciao,
Italian

Non poter vedere X > can't see...X
Non poter sentire X > can't ear... X
Non sopportare X > don't bear/endure X
Non tollerare X > " " " " " "
Non reggere X > " " " " " "
Non digerire X > can't stomach X
something you can't stomach... stands on your stomach so:
Avere sullo stomaco X > (lit.) to have X on the stomach
But stodgy things tend to be heavy and they go down so:
Avere sulle scatole X/ X sta sulle scatole > (lit.) to have/be on your own boxes
Boxes is an euphemism for nuts, so:
Avere sulle palle X/X sta sulle palle > to have X on the nuts/X stands on the nuts
and finally
Avere sul cazzo X/X sta sul cazzo > to have X on the cock/X stands on the cock

The "cannot stand X" thing is a thing, in Italian.

 

[Membre]

Ciao,
Italian

Non poter vedere X > can't see...X
Non poter sentire X > can't ear... X
Non sopportare X > don't bear/endure X
Non tollerare X > " " " " " "
Non reggere X > " " " " " "
Non digerire X > can't stomach X
something you can't stomach... stands on your stomach so:
Avere sullo stomaco X > (lit.) to have X on the stomach
But stodgy things tend to be heavy and they go down so:
Avere sulle scatole X/ X sta sulle scatole > (lit.) to have/be on your own boxes
Boxes is an euphemism for nuts, so:
Avere sulle palle X/X sta sulle palle > to have X on the nuts/X stands on the nuts
and finally
Avere sul cazzo X/X sta sul cazzo > to have X on the cock/X stands on the cock

The "cannot stand X" thing is a thing, in Italian.

Thanks a lot for this really exhaustive answer. You could also say “avere in uggia” right?

 

[alfaalfa]

You could also say “avere in uggia” right?

erm... no, I don't think so. This phrase do exist in Italian, but I don't think it could be widely understood since "uggia" is a very regional word (Tuscany).
Anyway, you "hai in uggia X" when X is an unpleasant person/a jerk.

 

[bearded]

A short addition to alfaalfa's #6:
We also say:

Non lo posso soffrire (I can't stand/bear him)
Non la posso soffrire (I can't stand/bear her)

Soffrire (lit. to suffer)

 

[alfaalfa]

You know... I can't suffer the suffering

 

[bearded]

 

[Membre]

erm... no, I don't think so. This phrase do exist in Italian, but I don't think it could be widely understood since "uggia" is a very regional word (Tuscany).
Anyway, you "hai in uggia X" when X is an unpleasant person/a jerk.

Interesting, I learnt it from a Lombard friend.

 

[Olaszinhok]

Interesting, I learnt it from a Lombard friend.

Uggia is also Standard Italian, but it sounds rather formal and literary to my ears. As Alfaalfa said, it should be particularly used in Tuscany.

 

[Membre]

Uggia is also Standard Italian, but it sounds rather formal and literary to my ears. As Alfaalfa said, it should be particularly used in Tuscany.

Ah well that’s much more in line with my Italian then, needlessly formal and literary 🤣