World Cat Day is celebrated on February 17th throughout much of Europe, so for our friends across the pond, we decided to do a special post to celebrate with them. The fun folks at the language learning app Babbel have put together a cat-a-log of feline themed phrases from numerous different languages around the world.
From cat-phrases like the English ‘cat got your tongue’ to the less cat-chy and slightly more confusing Hindi ‘after eating 900 rats, the cat goes on a pilgrimage,’ this list of images and phrases celebrates the best of our fluffy, aloof and irrepressible feline companions.
We loved the idea and just had to share this cat-a-log of idioms for World Cat Day. Of course some would argue that every day is cat day … especially our Tuxie (Newman) shown below hamming it up for a meme!
Cats sauntered into human civilization thousands of years ago, and we’ve been catering to their every whim ever since. They can be stingy with their affection, and tend to be bad gift givers (“a dead bird in my bed – again?”), but we still love and admire our arrogant, aloof, irrepressible feline companions. After so many years of cohabitation, it’s no wonder that they’ve infiltrated the way we speak.
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Ahead of International Cat Day (8th August), the pawsome team at Babbel have teased out and translated some of the best cat phrases from all over the world. Here are some of our favorites:
Italian – ‘Avere sette vite come i gatti’
Translation: To have seven lives like a cat
(Turkish, English and many Slavic languages assume cats have an extra eight mystical lives. Italian, German, Spanish and Portuguese give cats two fewer chances to defy mortality.)
French – ‘Avoir un chat dans la gorge’
Translation: To have a cat in the throat
Meaning: To have a phlegmy, hoarse throat
Spanish – ‘¿Se te ha comido la lengua el gato?
Translation: Did the cat eat your tongue?
Meaning: Why aren’t you talking?
Portuguese – ‘Gato escaldado tem medo de água fria ‘
Translation: A scalded cat fears cold water
Meaning: To be traumatised by a bad experience
German – ‘Wenn die Katze aus dem Haus ist, tanzen die Mäuse auf dem Tisch’
Translation: When the cat’s out of the house, the mice dance on the table
Meaning: Same as the English version – When the cat’s away, the mice will play
Hindi – ‘नौ सौ चूहे खाके बिल्ली हज को चली’ (Nau Sau Choohey Khakar Billi Hajj Ko Chali)
Translation: After eating 900 rats, the cat goes on a pilgrimage
Meaning: To veil a lifetime of wrongdoing with a few token expressions of virtue later in life.
Romanian – ‘Nu arunca pisica în curtea altuia’
Translation: Don’t throw the cat in someone else’s backyard
Meaning: Don’t blame someone else
Swedish – ‘Om natten är alla katter grå’
Translation: At night, all cats are grey
Meaning: The differences really don’t matter.
Summary
How do you celebrate World or International Cat Day? Drop us a comment in the “Leave a Reply” section below if you have a favorite cat phrase in whatever language you enjoy! >^..^<
My favourite English proverb is – In a cat’s eye, all things belong to cats.