Speak of The Devil - in Other Languages

In Other Languages

  • Afrikaans: "Praat van die duiwel en jy trap op sy stert", which translates to "Speak of the devil and you step on its tail."
  • Albanian: "Kujto qenin e bëj gati shkopin", which translates to "Remember the dog and prepare the stick."
  • Arabic: Several, based on dialect and usage.
    • Modern Standard Arabic: "عمرك طويل" (`Umrak ṭawīl), which translates to "A long life for you (whom we spoke of)."
    • Egyptian Arabic:
      • "جبنا سيرة القط، جاء ينط" (Gibna sirt al-'uṭṭ, ga yanuṭṭ), which translates to "We brought up the tale of the cat, and now here he comes jumping."
      • "يا ريت قلت ميليون جنيه" (Ya reet 'ult milyōn ginieh), which translates to "Would that I had said 'a million pounds'!". May also be used jocularly or insultingly when altered to say "يا ريت قلت ربع جنيه مخروم" (Ya reet 'ult rub` gineh makhrūm), "Would that I had said 'a quarter-pound piece with a hole in it'."
    • Palestinian Arabic:
      • "ابن الحلال" (ibin Al halal), which translates to "the offspring of good". To say that once the person was mentioned, that person showed up.
  • Bulgarian: "Говорим за вълка, а той - в кошарата", translated as "Speak of the wolf and it is in the sheep pen."
  • Mandarin Chinese: 说曹操,曹操到 (pinyin: shuō Cáo Cāo, Cáo Cāo dào), which translates as "Speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao arrives." Originally a quotation from Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
  • Croatian: "Mi o vuku, a vuk na vrata", which translates to "When we talk about the wolf, he stands behind the door."
  • Czech: "My o vlku, a vlk za dveřmi", which translates to "Speak of the wolf, and he will stand just outside the door." Also "My o hovně, a hovno na botě", "Speak of the shit, and shit will be on your shoes".
  • Danish: "Når man taler om solen, så skinner den", which translates to "When you speak of the sun, it shines."
  • Dutch: "Als je het over de duivel hebt, trap je op zijn staart", which translates to "If you speak of the devil, you step on his tail."
  • Finnish: "Siinä paha missä mainitaan", which translates to "Evil is where it's mentioned."
  • French: "Quand on parle du loup, (on en voit la queue)", which translates to "When one speaks of the wolf, (one sees its tail)."
  • German: "Wenn man vom Teufel spricht..." (speak of the devil) and (older and less common) "Wird der Teufel genannt, kommt er gerannt" translating "call/name the devil and he comes running", both used like the English counterpart. See also "Man darff den teuffel nicht uber die Thuer malen," which translates to "Don't paint the devil over the door," from Martin Luther (WA 18:72), 1525 (see the Hungarian below for comparison).
  • Greek: "Κατά φωνή κι ο γάιδαρος" (Katá foní ki o gáidaros), usually shortened to "Κατά φωνή..." ("Katá foní..." "Speak of..."). The literal meaning is "Speak of the donkey".
  • Hebrew: "מדברים על החמור, והנה הוא בא", "M'dabrim 'al ha-khamor, ve-hinei hu ba" - "Talking about the donkey, and here it comes". Typically shortened to just "M'dabrim 'al ha-khamor..."
  • Hindustani (Hindi and Urdu): "Shaitan ka na'am lo, shaitan hazir" which translates to "Speak of the devil, and he will appear."
  • Hungarian: "Ne fesd az ördögöt a falra, mert megjelenik." which translates to "Don't paint the devil on the wall or he will appear." Other (older, rural) version is "Farkast emlegetnek, a kert alatt jár." which translates to "speak of a wolf, and it'll be just outside the garden." and is a derivation of the Latin proverb "Lupus in fabula" ("Wolf in the tale.").
    • However this is mostly used when talking about a possible negative outcome of an event. When talking about a person, "Emlegetett szamár..." is used, which translates to "Mentioned donkey".
  • Indonesian: "Wah, panjang umur dia" which translates to "A long life for you, whom we spoke of."
  • Irish: "Labhair leis an Diabhal agus go mbainfidh tú éisteacht a clag crúba" translates to "Speak to the Devil and you'll hear his hooves clatter."
  • Italian: "Parli del diavolo e spuntano le corna", which translates as "Speak of the Devil and the horns will appear."
  • Japanese: "うわさをすれば影” (uwasa o sureba kage), which translates to "Gossip (about someone) and (his) shadow (will appear)."
  • Korean: "호랑이도 제 말하면 온다” (horangi do jae malhamyun onda), which translates to "If you talk about a tiger, it will appear."
  • Latvian: "Kā vilku piemin, tā vilks klāt", which translates to "When you speak of the wolf, it arrives."
  • Lithuanian: "Vilką mini, vilkas čia", which translates to "When you speak of the wolf, it arrives."
  • Norwegian: "Snakker om sola, så skinner'n", which translates to "Speak of the sun, and it shines."
  • Malaysian: "Panjang umur kau.."
  • Mongolian: "Sain hun sanaagaar hureed irlee"
  • Malayalam: "Noor ayussaan" literally translated to "100 years life".
  • Persian: "حلال زاده بود", "Halal zade bud", which translates to "He (or she) is a legitimate child."
  • Polish: "O wilku mowa, (a wilk tuż tuż).", which translates to "Speak of the wolf (and the wolf is nearby)."
  • Portuguese: "Falando do rei de Roma," which translates to "speaking of the king of Rome", or "Falando do Diabo...(apareceu o rabo)", which translates "Speak of the devil (his tail appears)" or "Não morre mais!", which translates to "(you) Won't die anymore".
  • Romanian: "Vorbeşti de lup şi lupul la uşă", translated as "Speak of the wolf and the wolf at the door."
  • Russian: "Помяни чёрта(, он и появится)", (Pomyani chorta, on i poyavitsya) translated as "Speak of the devil (and there he is)." alternative: "Лёгок на помине", ("L'ogok na pomine") translated as "Somebody who appeared when was mentioned".
  • Serbian: "Ми о вуку, (вук на врата)", (Mi o vuku, vuk na vrata) translated as "Speak of the wolf (and the wolf at the door)."
  • Shona: Madziro ane nzeve translated as "Walls have ears."
  • Slovak: "Spomeň čerta/diabla (, hneď sa zjaví)", translated to "Speak of the devil". The Czech version is used as well.
  • Slovenian: "Mi o volku, (volk iz gozda)", translated as "Speak of the wolf (and the wolf comes from the forest)."
  • Spanish: "Hablando del rey de Roma" (literally "Speaking of the King of Rome") is an equivalent, also an abbreviation, in this case of "Hablando del Rey de Roma, por la puerta asoma" (Speaking of the King of Rome, through the door he appears).
  • Swedish: "När man talar om trollen (så står de i farstun)", which translates to "When you speak of the trolls (they stand in the entrance hall)."
  • Thai: "ตายยากจริง ๆ" (RTGS: "Tai yak ching ching"), literally meaning "How invulnerable he/she is"; for example "ตายยากจริง ๆ. พูดถึงก็มาทันที." ("Tai yak ching ching. Phut thueng ko ma than thi."), meaning "How invulnerable he/she is. Just have talked about him/her, and here he/she is".
  • Turkish: "İti an çomağı hazırla", which translates to "Speak of the dog, ready the stick." or "iyi insan lafının üzerine gelirmiş", which translates to "a good person show up when they speak about them"
  • Ukrainian: "Про вовка промовка, а вовк у хату", (Pro vovka promovka, a vovk u khatu) which translates to "A word about wolf, and wolf comes to a house"
  • Urdu: "Shaitan ka naam liya or Shaitaan hazir", which translates to "take the name of Satan and Satan appears."
  • Vietnamese: "Vừa nhắc Tào Tháo, Tào Tháo tới", which translates to "Speak of Tào Tháo and he appears immediately" (An adaptation of the Chinese proverb, Tào Tháo being the Vietnamese name of Cao Cao)
  • Yiddish: "A shod m'hot nisht geredt fun moshiach" which translates to "We should have talked about the Messiah," or "A shame we weren't talking about the Messiah." Another idiom: "Az men redt fun der malech, kumt der galech", which translates to "Talk about the angel, and here comes the priest."

Read more about this topic:  Speak Of The Devil

Famous quotes containing the word languages:

    The less sophisticated of my forbears avoided foreigners at all costs, for the very good reason that, in their circles, speaking in tongues was commonly a prelude to snake handling. The more tolerant among us regarded foreign languages as a kind of speech impediment that could be overcome by willpower.
    Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)