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yelang zida (Chinese) ludicrous conceit stemming from pure ignorance

lolo (Hawaiian Pidgin) someone who would be glad to give you the time of day, if he knew how to read a clock

A piece of bread

How wonderful it is when we meet that rare person who just gets it right all the time:

katundu (Chichewa, Malawi) a person with outstanding positive qualities

Lieblingsstück (German) the favourite item of a collection (said of someone special)

para quitar el hipo (Latin American Spanish) very impressive; astonishing (literally, enough to cure the hiccups)

es un pedazo de pan (Spanish) he/she’s a good person/it’s a good thing (literally, he/she/it is a piece of bread)

IDIOMS OF THE WORLD

A leopard cannot change its spots

chassez le naturel, il revient au gallop (French) chase away the natural and it returns at a gallop

aus einem Ackergaul kann man kein Rennpferd machen (Swabian German) you cannot turn a farm horse into a racehorse

dhanab al kalb a ’waj walaw hattaytu fi khamsin galib (Arabic) the dog’s tail remains crooked even if it’s put in fifty moulds

vuk dlaku mijenja ali æud nikada (Croatian) a wolf changes his coat but not his attitude

die Katze lässt das Mausen nicht (German) the cat will not abandon its habit of chasing mice

chi nasce quadrato non muore tondo (Italian) if you are born square you don’t die round

karishkirdi kancha baksang dele tokoigo kachat (Kyrgyz) no matter how well you feed a wolf it always looks at the forest

gorbatogo mogila ispravit (Russian) only the grave will cure the hunchback

3.

Emotional Intelligence

wie boter op zijn hoofd heeft,

moet niet in de zon lopen (Dutch)

those who have butter on their head should not run around under the sun

Happy valley

Whatever kind of character we’ve been blessed with, we all still experience similar highs and lows of emotion. Pure happiness is a wonderful thing; and we should never take it for granted, for who knows how long it may last?

kusamba (Ngangela, Angola) to skip, gambol, express uninhibited joy

sungumuka (Luvale, Zambia) to experience transitory pleasure in the novel

faly ambonindoza (Malagasy, Madagascar) delight before the danger is passed, premature joy

choi lu bù (Vietnamese) to have round after round of fun

alegria secreta candela muerta (Spanish proverb) unshared joy is an unlighted candle

In the coal cellar

The opposite emotion is rarely sought, but it arrives all the same:

at være i kulkælderen (Danish) to be very sad or depressed (literally, to be in the coal cellar)

lalew (Manobo, Philippines) to grieve over something to the extent that one doesn’t eat

dastehen wie ein begossener Pudel (German) to look depressed (literally, to stand there like a soaked poodle)

mal ikke fanden på veggen (Norwegian) to be very pessimistic (literally, to paint the devil on the wall)

dar lástima (Latin American Spanish) to be in such a bad way that people feel sorry for you

False friends

bang (Dutch) afraid

blag (Haitian Creole) joke

puke (Rotuman, South Pacific) to come strongly over one (of feelings)

drift (Dutch) passion

job (Mongolian) correct, good

meal (Gaelic) to enjoy

Boo-hoo

Sometimes the best course is just to let it all hang out:

kutar-atugutata (Yamana, Chile) to get hoarse from much crying

gegemena (Rukwangali, Namibia) to mutter while sobbing

sekgamatha (Setswana, Botswana) the dirtiness of the face and eyes from much crying

dusi (Malay) to be perpetually crying (of young children)

ā paddharm (Hindi) a conduct permissible only in times of extreme distress

Crocodile

Though even tears are never as straightforward as we might like them to be:

ilonkyynelet (Finnish) tears of joy

miangòtingòtim-bòninàhitra (Malagasy, Madagascar) to weep in order to get something

chantepleurer (French) to sing and weep simultaneously

Smiley

‘Cheer up!’ we tell each other. And hopefully this brings the right results:

elmosolyodik (Hungarian) to break into a smile

sogo o kuzusu (Japanese) to smile with delight (literally, to demolish one’s face)

cuòi khì (Vietnamese)