like a bull in a china shop

Thomas1

Thomas1

Senior Member
polszczyzna warszawska
How would you say this in your langauge please? What would be its literal translation into English?
I've noticed that some languages use different types of animals and shops.

In Polish we say:
jak słoń w składzie porcelany
which literally translates into English as
like an elephant in a china storehouse


Input very much appreciated.:)

Tom
 
    • Hello, Irene,:)

    Thank you for your answer. Does cristalli mean china? It suggests cristal to me, is it a false friend then?

    Tom
     
    Hi Thomas!
    No no, you're right, it's no a false friend!
    In fact, cristallo = crystal. ;)

    I made a mistake, I wrote china shop, but actually the literal translation is "crystal shop".:)
     
    In Turkish, "züccaciye dükkanındaki fil gibi" (like an elephant in a glassware store) or sometimes "porselen dükkanındaki fil gibi" (like an elephant in a porcelain store).
     
    ukuca said:
    In Turkish, "züccaciye dükkan?ndaki fil gibi" (like an elephant in a glassware store) or sometimes "porselen dükkan?ndaki fil gibi" (like an elephant in a porcelain store).
    Click to expand...

    And in Swedish it's "som en elefant i ett glashus"; that is, "like an elephant in a glass house".
     
    I've found two references to this expression in Esperanto. One appears in an August 2004 article in the Esperanto version of Le Monde diplomatique (Ĉu prefere klasike aŭ dialekte ? La araba lingvo, la Rolls kaj la Volkswagen, http://eo.mondediplo.com/imprimer.php3?id_article=923): kiel elefanto promenanta en butiko de porcelanaĵoj = "like an elephant strolling in a china shop".

    In Fernando de Diego's 2002 Gran Diccionario Español-Esperanto, the expression is given as kiel elefanto en porcelanejo, "like an elephant in a china shop". (Porcelanejo is just another way of saying butiko de porcelanaĵoj).
     
    In French we also say :
    "comme un éléphant dans un magasin de porcelaine"
    " like an elephant in a porcelain store "
     
    Last edited by a moderator:
    J.F. de TROYES said:
    In French we also say :

    " like an elephant in a porcelain store "
    Click to expand...
    So that would be:
    comme un éléphant dans un magasin de porcelain, non ?

    Thanks for the "bazaar" note, its meaning is, as I expected, the same as of Polish "bazar". :)


    Tom
     
    Etcetera said:
    Hi Tom.:)

    You probably know that the Russian phrase, too, use an elephant:
    Как слон в посудной лавке / Kak slon v posudnoy lavke.
    Click to expand...
    Hi Anna, :)

    Thanks for the translation.

    I expected to see the elaphant in Slavic languages;), but the посудной лавке is something that I didn't know and it looks pretty interesting.
    I have found:
    china shop — магазин фарфоровых изделий
    Now, does china shop has two translations or does посудная лавкa mean another type of establishment?
    From what I gather I think it's something like glasswear shop, isn't it?




    Tom
     
    I think I have read in Portuguese:

    Como um elefante numa loja de cristais.
    Like an elephant in a crystal shop.
     
    Czech:
    Jak slon v porcelánu!/Jako slon v porcelánu!
    Like an elephant in china/porcelain!

    Lithuanian:
    Kaip dramblys tarp indų!/Kaip dramblys tarp lėkščių!
    Like an elephant in dishes/plates!
     
    hi everyone! i'd love to know if is there any polish translation for the proverb "to be like an elephant in a china shop".Thank you so much!
     
    In Greek:

    «Σαν ταύρος εν υαλοπωλείω»
    or in polytonic spelling (since the phrase is archaic as it is demonstrated by the use of the dative case):
    «Σὰν ταῦρος ἐν ὑαλοπωλείῳ»
    /san 'tavros en ialopo'lio/
    lit "like a bull in the glass store"
     
    In Hebrew it's:

    כמו פיל בחנות חרסינה kmo pil be-khanut kharsina

    Like an elephant in a china shop
     
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