Greek to me#In other languages

It may have been a direct translation of a similar phrase in {{langx|la|Graecum est, non legitur}} ("it is Greek, [therefore] it cannot be read").{{cite web|url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/gringo/|title=Etymology of Gringo|date=17 April 2011|access-date=7 November 2021|quote=The same phrase ["It was Greek to me"] was also used (at about the same time) by another Elizabethan playwright, Thomas Dekker, but its origins are much older: it comes from the Medieval Latin proverb Graecum est; non potest legi (i.e., “It is Greek; it cannot be read”). }} The phrase is widely believed to have its origins among medieval scribes. While most scribes were familiar with Latin, few people in medieval Western Europe, even among the intellectual classes, were schooled in Greek. When copying classic manuscripts they would frequently encounter passages and quotations in Greek which they would have no way of translating, and as such would note the phrase in the margins.{{Citation Needed|date=October 2023}}

Recorded usage of the metaphor in English traces back to the early modern period. It appears in 1599 in Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, as spoken by Servilius Casca to Cassius after a festival in which Caesar was offered a crown:

{{quote|text=

CASSIUS: Did Cicero say any thing?

CASCA: Ay, he spoke Greek.

CASSIUS: To what effect?

CASCA: Nay, an I tell you that, I'll ne'er look you i' the face again: but those that understood him smiled at one another and shook their heads; but, for mine own part, it was Greek to me. I could tell you more news too: Marullus and Flavius, for pulling scarfs off Caesar's images, are put to silence. Fare you well. There was more foolery yet, if I could remember it.

|source=The Tragedy of Julius Caesar (1599)|author=William Shakespeare}}

Here, Casca's literal ignorance of Greek is the source of the phrase, using its common meaning to play on the uncertainty among the conspirators about Cicero's attitude to Caesar's increasingly regal behaviour.

Shakespeare was not the only author of this period to use the expression. It was also used in 1603 by Thomas Dekker in his play Patient Grissel:

{{quote|text=

FAR: Asking for a Greek poet, to him he fails. I'll be sworn he knows not so much as one character of the tongue.

RIC: Why, then it's Greek to him.

|source=Thomas Dekker, Patient Grissel (1603)}}

The expression is almost exclusively used with reference to the speaker (generally "Greek to me"); Dekker's "Greek to him" is rare.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

Other languages have similar formulations, some referring to Greek but many referring to foreign languages such as Chinese or Spanish. Many refer to a language with a different alphabet or writing system.

This is an example of the usage of demonyms in relation to the ability of a people to be understood, comparable to the development of the words barbarian (one who babbles), Nemec (Slavic for "the mute one," indicating Germans).

In an article published by Arnold L. Rosenberg in the language journal Lingvisticæ Investigationes, he claimed that there was a popular "consensus" that Chinese was the "hardest" language, since various non-English languages most frequently used the Chinese language in their equivalent expression to the English idiom "it's all Greek to me".{{Cite journal |last=Rosenberg |first=Arnold L. |date=January 1979 |title=The Hardest Natural Languages |url=https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/li.3.2.07ros |journal=Lingvisticæ Investigationes |language=en |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=323–339 |doi=10.1075/li.3.2.07ros |issn=0378-4169|url-access=subscription }} David Moser of the University of Michigan Center for Chinese Studies reached a similar conclusion.Moser, D. Pīnyīn.Info. Why Chinese Is So Damn Hard. Retrieved Jun 4, 2011, http://www.pinyin.info/readings/texts/moser.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521122530/http://www.pinyin.info/readings/texts/moser.html |date=2011-05-21 }}

|-

| Arabic, Syrian Colloquial || يحكي كرشوني{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || yaḥki Karšūni
{{IPA|ar|ˈjaħki karˈʃuːni|}} || He's speaking Syriac. || Syriac, using the Garshuni (Arabic) script as a reference to it.
The verb in the example can be conjugated in other forms.

|-

| Arabic, Egyptian Colloquial || بيتكلم بالهندي{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || byatkallam bel-hendi
{{IPA|arz|bjætˈkælːæm belˈhendi|}} || He's speaking Hindi. || Hindi
The verb in the example can be conjugated in other forms.

|-

| Asturian || Suename chinu
Ta'n chinu.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || || It sounds like Chinese to me.
It's in Chinese. ||Chinese

|-

| Bulgarian || Все едно ми говориш на патагонски.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || Vse edno mi govoriš na patagonski.
{{IPA|be|fsɛ ɛdˈnɔ mi ɡɔˈvɔriʃ na pataˈɡɔnskʲi|}} || It's as if you're talking in Patagonian.|| "Patagonian" (not a real language)

|-

| rowspan="2" | Cantonese|| 鬼畫符 / 鬼画符{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || gwai2 waak6 fu4
{{IPA|yue|liː˥ kɔ˧ hɐi˨ mɐi˨ kwɐi˧˥ waːk̚˨ fuː˨˩ aː˧|}} || Ghost script? || rowspan="2" | No specific set phrase, treated like any ordinary language, eg. "Is this ghost script?" "Is this written in Martian?"

|-

| 火星話 / 火星话{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || fo2 sing1 waa6
{{IPA|yue|fɔ˥ sɪŋ˨ waː˧|}} || Martian

|-

| Catalan || Com si diguessis Llúcia{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|ca|kom si di'ɣes:is 'ʎusiə|}} || As if you say Lucy; not referring to a language ||

|-

| rowspan="2" |Cebuano || Linatin{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || || Latin||Latin, a language used in rituals by holy men such as Catholic priests, faith healers, and talisman owners.

|-

| Ininsik{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || || Chinese|| Chinese

|-

| Chavacano || Aleman ese comigo.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || || It's German to me.||German

|-

| Croatian || To su za mene španska sela.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|sh|tô su za měne ʃpǎːnska sêla|}} || These are to me the Spanish countryside.||Spanish

|-

| Czech || To je pro mě španělská vesnice.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|cs|ˈto jɛ ˈpro mɲɛ ˈʃpaɲɛlskaː ˈvɛsɲɪtsɛ|}} || This is a Spanish village to me.||Spanish

|-

| rowspan="3" |Danish || Det rene volapyk.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|da|te̝ ˈʁeˀnə volɑˈpʰyk|}} || This is pure Volapük|| Volapük, a 19th century constructed language

|-

| Det er en by i Rusland.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || || This is a town in Russia. || Russian

|-

|Kaudervælsk{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

|

|Romansh

|Romansh, a Rhaeto-Romance language spoken in Switzerland

|-

| rowspan="2" | Dutch || Dat is Chinees voor mij.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|nl|ˈdɑt ɪs ɕiˈneːs foːr ˈmɛi|}}In isolation, voor is pronounced {{IPA|nl|voːr|}}. || That is Chinese to me.||Chinese

|-

| Ik snap er geen jota van. || || I don't understand one iota of it. Reference to Matthew 5:18.{{Cite web|url=https://onzetaal.nl/taaladvies/advies/ergens-geen-jota-van-snappen|title=Ergens geen jota van snappen|access-date=2015-12-17|archive-date=2015-12-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222095436/https://onzetaal.nl/taaladvies/advies/ergens-geen-jota-van-snappen|url-status=live}} || Greek

|-

| Esperanto || Tio estas volapukaĵo.{{Cite web |title=volapukaĵo -- Plena Ilustrita Vortaro de Esperanto |url=https://vortaro.net/#Volapuka%C4%B5o_kdc |access-date=2025-04-05 |website=vortaro.net |language=eo}} || {{IPA|[ˈtio ˈestas volapuˈkaʒo]}} || It's all Volapük. ||Volapük, a 19th century constructed language

|-

| Estonian || See on mulle hiina keel.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || || This is Chinese to me.||Chinese

|-

| Filipino || Parang Intsik{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || || It looks like Chinese. ||Chinese

|-

| rowspan="3" | Finnish || Täyttä hepreaa.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|fi|ˈtæy̯tːæ ˈhepreɑː|}}|| It's all Hebrew.|| Hebrew

|-

| Kuulostaa siansaksalta{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || || Sounds like pig's German || gibberish

|-

| harakanvarpaita (refers to undecipherable writing){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}|| || Magpie's toes || unintelligible writing (gibberish)

|-

| French || C'est du chinois.
C'est de l'hébreu
C'est du javanais.
C'est du russe.|| [s‿ɛ dy ʃinwa]
[s‿ɛ də l‿ebʁø]
[s‿ɛ dy ʒavanɛ]
[s‿ɛ dy ʁys] || It's Chinese.
It's Hebrew.
It's Javanese.
It's Russian.||Chinese
Hebrew
Javanese
Russian

|-

| rowspan="7" | German || Das kommt mir spanisch vor.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || || That sounds like Spanish to me. (usually meant to indicate something is fishy) || Spanish

|-

| Spreche ich Chinesisch?{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || || Am I speaking Chinese? || Chinese

|-

| Fachchinesisch{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || || specialty Chinese (meaning technical jargon) || Chinese

|-

| Kauderwelsch{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || || trade Romance || Mediterranean Lingua Franca

|-

| Das sind böhmische Dörfer für mich{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}|| {{IPA|de|ˌbøːmɪʃə ˈdœʁfɐ|}} || These are Bohemian villages to me || Czech, Bohemia being a region of the neighbouring Czech Republic that is nearest to Germany.

|-

| Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || || All I understand is "train station." ||

|-

| Polnisch rückwärts{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || || Polish [spoken] in reverse || Polish

|-

| rowspan="2" | Greek, Standard Modern || Αυτά μου φαίνονται κινέζικα.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|el|afˈta mu ˈfenɔːnde ciˈnezika|}} || This strikes me as Chinese|| Chinese

|-

| Αυτά μου φαίνονται αλαμπουρνέζικα.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|el|afˈta mu ˈfeno(n)de ala(m)burˈnezika|}} || These seem to me gobbledygook.|| "Alaburnese" (similar to gibberish)

|-

| Greek, Cypriot || Εν τούρτζικα που μιλάς;{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|[e‿ˈⁿduɾ̥t͡ʃi̞kɐ p̬u mi↗ˈlɐs]}} || Are you speaking Turkish?|| Turkish

|-

|Hebrew || זה סינית בשבילי{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|he|ze sinit biʃvili|}} || It's Chinese to me!|| Chinese

|-

|Hindi,

Urdu

|क्या मैं फ़ारसी बोल रहा हूँ?{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

کیا میں فارسی بول رہا ہوں؟{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

|Kyā maĩ fārsī bol rahā hū̃?

|Am I speaking Persian?

|Persian

|-

| Hungarian || Ez nekem kínai.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|hu|ˈɛz ˈnɛkɛm ˈkiːnɒi|}} || It's Chinese to me.|| Chinese

|-

|Icelandic

| Þetta kemur mér spánskt fyrir sjónir.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || || This looks like Spanish to me.|| Spanish

|-

| rowspan="2" | Indonesian || (Tulisan) Cakar ayam{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || || Chicken feet || gibberish
Refers to unreadable writing.

|-

| Bahasa planet{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || || (Other-)planet language || alien language

|-

| Italian || Questo per me è arabo/aramaico/ostrogoto/turco/cinese{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|it|ˈkwesto per ˈme ˌɛ ˈaːrabo|}}, {{IPA|it|araˈmaiko|}}, {{IPA|it|ostroˈɡɔːto|}}, {{IPA|it|ˈtu:rko|}}, {{IPA|it|tʃiˈne:ze|}} || This is Arabic/Aramaic/Ostrogoth/Turkish/Chinese to me||Arabic, Aramaic, Ostrogoth, Turkish, Chinese

|-

| Japanese || 珍紛漢紛
ちんぷんかんぷん{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || Chinpun kanpun
{{IPA|ja|ˈtɕimpɯŋkamˌpɯɴ|}} || "Ching chong" || formal speech
Refers to the "Chinese" sound of incomprehensible Chinese loanwords.

|-

| rowspan="2" | Javanese || ꦕꦺꦏꦺꦂꦥꦶꦛꦶꦏ꧀{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|jv|t͡ʃɛkɛr piʈɪˀ|}} || Chicken scratch || illegible handwriting

|-

| ꦧꦱꦮꦭꦺꦴꦟ꧀ꦝ{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|jv|bʰɔsɔ walɔɳɖɔ|}} || Dutch language || Dutch

|-

| rowspan="5" | Korean || 횡설수설하고 있다{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || Hoengseolsuseolhago itta || They are speaking horizontally and vertically. || gibberish, especially for unrecognizable spoken language or incoherence.

|-

| 괴발개발{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
(refers to unreadable writing) || Goebalgaebal || Cat's footprints and dog's footprints || gibberish

|-

| 아무 말이나 한다{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || Amu marina handa || They are speaking out random words. || gibberish

|-

| 외계어를 한다{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || Oegyeeoreul handa || They are speaking in an alien language. || alien language

|-

| 개소리를 한다{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || Gaesorireul handa || They are making a dog's sound. || gibberish

|-

| Latin || Graecum est; nōn legitur{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|la|ˈɡrae̯kum est noːn ˈleɡitur|}} || [It] is Greek; [it is] not legible/[it is] illegible || Greek

|-

| Latvian || Tā man ir ķīniešu ābece{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|lv|taː man ir ciːnieʃu aːbetse|}} || This is Chinese alphabet book to me|| Chinese

|-

| Lithuanian || Tai man kaip kinų kalba.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|lt|taɪ mɐn kaɪp kinuˑ kɐlba|}} || It's Chinese to me|| Chinese

|-

| Lojban || ti itku'ile ga'a mi{{Cite web |title=itku'ile in English - Lojban-English Dictionary {{!}} Glosbe |url=https://glosbe.com/jbo/en/itku'ile |access-date=2024-12-10 |website=glosbe.com |language=en}}Note also a related occurrence: Rachel Gardener's [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gv0QIbGc8i8&t=27s “lo nabmi” (“The problem”) song at 00:27]: “.i .ia nadme'a fa la .itku'ile .'enai” (“I think Ithkuil would be easier than this”). || || It's Ithkuil to me || Ithkuil

|-

| Macedonian || За мене тоа е шпанско село.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || Za mene toa e špansko selo.
{{IPA|mk|za mɛnɛ tɔa ɛ ʃpaŋskɔ sɛlɔ|}} || It is for me a Spanish village.|| Spanish

|-

| Malay || (Tulisan) Cakar ayam{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || || Chicken feet || gibberish
Refers to unreadable writing.

|-

| rowspan="4" | Mandarin || 天書/ 天书。{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || Kànqǐlái xiàng tiān shū
{{IPA|cmn|tʰjɛn˥ ʂu˥|}}|| Looks like a book from Heaven || "Heaven's language"
Refers to an unknown writing system, or incomprehensible content, cf. A Book from the Sky.

|-

| 鬼畫符 / 鬼画符{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} ||Zhè shì guǐhuàfú ma?
{{IPA|cmn|kwei˨˩ hwa˥˩ fu˧˥|}}|| ghost-drawn marks ||"ghost language"
Refers to very poor, incomprehensible handwriting.

|-

| 鳥語。/ 鸟语{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}|| Niǎo Yǔ
{{IPA|cmn|njɑʊ̯˧˥ y˨˩|}} || bird language.
||"bird language" (bird song)
Refers to incomprehensible speech.

|-

| 火星文{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} ||Huǒxīng wén
{{IPA|cmn|xwɔ˨˩ ɕiŋ˥ wən˧˥|}} || Martian writing ||"Martian"
Usually refers to comically unconventional writing, but is also often used in the same context of unintelligible words or text.

|-

|Marathi

|मी हिब्रू बोलतो का?{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

|Mī hibrū bōlatō kā

|Am I speaking Hebrew?

|Hebrew

|-

| Low Saxon || Dat kümmt mi spaansch vör.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|[dat kymt miː spoːnʃ føɐ]}} || That seems like Spanish to me.|| Spanish

|-

| Norwegian || Det er helt gresk for meg.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|}} || It's complete Greek to me|| Greek

|-

| rowspan="1"| Persian || مگه ترکی حرف میزنم؟{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}|| {{IPA|fa|mæge torkiː hærf miːzænæm|}} || Am I speaking Turkish? ||Turkish

|-

| rowspan="3"|Polish || To dla mnie chińszczyzna.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|pl|ˈtɔ dla ˈmɲɛ xʲij̃ˈʂtʂɨzna|}} || To me it's Chinese|| Chinese

|-

| Siedzieć jak na tureckim kazaniu{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|pl|ˈɕɛdʑɛtɕ ˈjak na tuˈrɛtskʲim kaˈzaɲu|}} || Sit as in a Turkish sermon || Turkish

|-

| Czeski film{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|pl|ˈtʂɛskʲi ˈfilm|}} || Czech movie (this one refers to an incomprehensible situation rather than words, coined after a wave of absurdist movies in Czech cinematography)|| Czech

|-

| rowspan="2" | Portuguese || Isto para mim é chinês.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|pt|ˈiʃtu pɐɾɐ ˈmĩ ɛ ʃiˈneʃ|}} || This is Chinese to me || Chinese (Portugal)

|-

| Isto para mim é grego.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} ||{{IPA|pt|ˈiʃtu pɐɾɐ ˈmĩ ɛ ˈɣɾeɣu|}} || This is Greek to me || Greek (Portugal)

|-

| Proto-Germanic || *Þat isti Walhiskǭ/Winidiskǭ furi mek.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || [θɑt ˈis.ti ˈwɑlxis.kɔ̃ː/ˈwiniðiskɔ̃ː ˈɸuri mek] || It's Proto-Italic/Proto-Slavic for me. || Proto-Italic, Proto-Slavic

|-

| Proto-Slavic || *To estь Němьčьskъjь/Volšьskъjь děľa mę.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || [tɔ ɛstɪ nɛːmɪt͡ʃɪskʊjɪ/ʋɔlʃɪskʊjɪ dɛːʎɑː mɛ̃ː] || It's Proto-Germanic/Proto-Italic for me. || Proto-Germanic, Proto-Italic

|-

| rowspan="3" |Romanian || Parcă e chineză.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
|| {{IPA|ro|ˈparkə je kiˈnezə|}} || It's like Chinese.|| Chinese

|-

| Ești turc?{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|ro|jeʃtʲ ˈtuɾk|}} || Are you Turkish? || Turkish

|-

|Nu înțeleg o iotă.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

|[nu ɨnˈt͡se.leɡ o jo.tə]

|I don't understand one iota of it. Reference to Matthew 5:18.

|Greek

|-

| rowspan="2" |Russian || Это для меня китайская грамота.{{Cite web |date=2024-07-24 |title=Откуда произошло выражение «китайская грамота» |url=https://mel.fm/gramotnost/chto-eto-znachit/7824096-otkuda-proizoshlo-vyrazheniye-kitayskaya-gramota |access-date=2025-03-25 |website=Мел |language=ru}}|| Eto dlja menjá kitájskaja grámota.
{{IPA|ru|ˈɛtə ˈdʲlʲæ mʲɪˈnʲæ kʲɪˈtajskəjə ˈɡramətə|}} || That's Chinese writing to me. || Chinese, but emphasis is put on reading rather than speaking. The phrase is often applied when not understanding branches of knowledge like chemistry, maths or computing due to lack of familiarity.

|-

| Как курица лапой.{{Cite web |date=2024-08-15 |title=Как появилось выражение «писать как курица лапой» (ему уже больше 2000 лет) |url=https://mel.fm/gramotnost/chto-eto-znachit/756123-kak-poyavilos-vyrazheniye-pisat-kak-kuritsa-lapoy-emu-uzhe-bolshe-2000-let |access-date=2025-03-25 |website=Мел |language=ru}}|| || Like [scribbled by] chicken feet. || gibberish
Refers to very poor, incomprehensible handwriting.

|-

| rowspan="2" | Serbian || То су за мене шпанска села.
To su za mene španska sela.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|sh|to su za mene ʃpanska sela|}} || These are to me a Spanish village. || Spanish

|-

| К'о да кинески причаш.
K'o da kineski pričaš.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || || Like speaking in Chinese|| Chinese

|-

| Slovak || To je pre mňa španielska dedina.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|cs|to je pre mɲa ʃpaɲielska ɟeɟina|}} ||That is a Spanish village to me. || Spanish

|-

| Slovene || To mi je španska vas{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|sl|ˈtóː mi jɛ ˈʃpáːnska ˈʋáːs|}} || That is a Spanish village to me. || Spanish

|-

| rowspan="2" | Spanish || Está en chino/arameo/ruso.
Me suena a chino/arameo/ruso.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|es|esˈta en ˈtʃino|}}, {{IPA|es|aɾaˈmeo|}}
{{IPA|es|me ˈswena a ˈtʃino|}}, {{IPA|es|aɾaˈmeo|}} || This is in Chinese/Aramaic/Russian.
It sounds like Chinese/Aramaic/Russian to me. || Chinese, Aramaic, Russian

|-

| No entiendo ni jota || {{IPA|es|no enˈtjendo ni ˈxota|}} || I don't understand one iota of it.
Reference to Matthew 5:18.{{cite web|last1=Morcillo|first1=José Juan|title=Biblismos|url=http://www.latribunadealbacete.es/noticia.cfm/Opini%C3%B3n/20110422/biblismos/B6F47411-DE8F-7E7E-5B03C319DA1479BB|website=La Tribuna de Albacete}} || Greek

|-

| rowspan="2" | Swedish ||Det är rena grekiskan
Det låter som/det är rena rama grekiskan.

|| - ||It is pure Greek
It sound like/it is pure Greek. || Greek

|-

|(Jag fattar) inte ett jota ||

||(I don't understand) one iota of it
Reference to Matthew 5:18.{{cite web|last1=Morcillo|first1=José Juan|title=Biblismos|url=http://www.latribunadealbacete.es/noticia.cfm/Opini%C3%B3n/20110422/biblismos/B6F47411-DE8F-7E7E-5B03C319DA1479BB|website=La Tribuna de Albacete}} || Greek

|-

| rowspan="2" | Turkish || Konuya Fransız kaldım.{{cite web |url=http://tdk.gov.tr/TR/sozbul.ASPX?F6E10F8892433CFFAAF6AA849816B2EF05A79F75456518CA&Kelime=Frans%C4%B1z%20kalmak |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926223007/http://tdk.gov.tr/TR/sozbul.ASPX?F6E10F8892433CFFAAF6AA849816B2EF05A79F75456518CA&Kelime=Frans%C4%B1z%20kalmak |url-status=dead |title=Güncel Türkçe Sözlük'te Söz Arama |archive-date=2007-09-26 |access-date=2012-01-19 |language=tr}} || {{IPA|tr|konuja fɾansɯz kaɫˈdɯm|}} || I am French to the topic. || French, as from the viewpoint of a French person who doesn't understand any Turkish.

|-

|Anladıysam Arap olayım.{{Cite web|url=http://hurarsiv.hurriyet.com.tr/goster/haber.aspx?id=7619601&yazarid=82|title=Hürriyet Arama|access-date=2012-11-27|archive-date=2013-09-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927221653/http://hurarsiv.hurriyet.com.tr/goster/haber.aspx?id=7619601&yazarid=82|url-status=live}} || {{IPA|tr|anɫaˈdɯjsam aˈɾap oɫajɯm|}} || let me blacken, get dark skin ("turn into Arab") if I understood it
(in Turkish "Arap olayım" is used in idioms in similar sense to "God strike me down if ...", to emphasize that something is not true){{cite web |url=http://www.tdk.gov.tr/index.php?option=com_gts&arama=gts&kelime=arap%20olay%C4%B1m&cesit=2&guid=TDK.GTS.56daf0cc2d73b1.48586626 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405211452/http://www.tdk.gov.tr/index.php?option=com_gts&arama=gts&kelime=arap%20olay%C4%B1m&cesit=2&guid=TDK.GTS.56daf0cc2d73b1.48586626 |url-status=dead |title=Güncel Türkçe Sözlük'te Söz Arama |archive-date=2016-04-05 |access-date=2021-06-23 |language=tr}}
(informal, old-fashioned, offensive){{cite web |url=https://medyabar.com/haber/6016475/anladiysam-arap-olayim-sozu-rafa-mi-kalkiyor |title="Anladıysam Arap olayım" sözü rafa mı kalkıyor? |date=7 January 2021 |access-date=2021-06-23 |language=tr |archive-date=2021-06-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624204418/https://medyabar.com/haber/6016475/anladiysam-arap-olayim-sozu-rafa-mi-kalkiyor |url-status=live }} || None (Arab doesn't refer to nationality or language, but skin color)

|-

| Ukrainian || Це для мене китайська грамота.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || Tse dlja mene kitajs'ka gramota.
{{IPA|uk|ˈtsɛ dʲlʲɐ ˈmɛne kɪˈtɑjsʲkɐ ˈɦrɑmotɐ|}} || That's Chinese writing to me. || Chinese

|-

| Venetian || Par mi xe turco.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || {{IPA|vec|paɾ ˈmi ˌzɛ ˈtuɾko|}} || To me this is Turkish. ||Turkish

|-

| Vietnamese ||Nhìn/nghe như tiếng Miên.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || || (It) looks/sounds like Khmer || Khmer

|-

| Yiddish || תּרגום־לשון
טערקיש
אָץ־קוצץ־לשון
מלאָכים־לשון
חרטמים־לשון {{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} || targem-loshn
terkish
ots-koytsets-loshn
malokhim-loshn
khartumim-loshn || targum language (i.e. that of Aramaic translations of the Bible)
Turkish
gibberish
the language of angels
the language of a pharaoh's magicians (i.e. hieroglyphics) || Aramaic / Turkish / gibberish / angelic language / Hieroglyphics

|}

• Greeking
• Gringo, originally meaning a foreign language as unintelligible as Greek

{{reflist}}

{{Wiktionary|it's all Greek to me}}

• Omniglot: "[http://www.omniglot.com/language/idioms/incomprehensible.php Translations of It's all Greek/Chinese/Hebrew/Arabic to me in many languages]".
• [http://forum.wordreference.com/archive/index.php/t-256%2520%253C/t-314165.html Translations of "it's all Greek to me" on Wordreference.com]{{dead link|date=October 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• {{cite web|author=Mark Liberman|title=The directed graph of stereotypical incomprehensibility|url=https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=1024|work=Language Log|date=January 15, 2009}}

{{Julius Caesar (play)}}

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Category:Metaphors

Category:Shakespearean phrases

Category:16th-century neologisms