Wednesday, December 15, 2010

When Pigs Fly

When Pigs Fly... from Around the World

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Bosnian

Kad na vrbi rodi grožđe
When grapes rippen on the willow

Bulgarian

На куково лято (Na kukovo ljato)
In a cuckoo summer

Catalan

Quan les vaques volin
When cows fly

Chinese

除非太陽從西邊出來 [除非太阳从西边出来] (chúfēi tàiyáng cóng xībiān chūlái)
Unless the sun would rise from the West

Croatian

Kad na vrbi rodi grožđe
When grapes rippen the on willow
Na sveto nigdarjevo
On St. Nobody's day


Czech

Až naprší a uschne
After it rains and dries
Až na svatého Dyndy / Na svatého Dyndy
On the St. Elsewhen's day
'Dyndy' is a non-existent name in Czech, rhyming with the Czech word 'jindy', meaning some other time.


Danish

Når helvede fryser til is
When hell freezes over
Når der er to torsdage i en uge
When there's two Thursdays in a week

Dutch

Wanneer Pasen en Pinksteren op één dag vallen
When Easter and Whitsun fall on the same day
Met sint-juttemis
With St. Juttemis


English

When pigs fly / and pigs might fly.
When hell freezes over.
On a cold day in hell
Not in a month of Sundays.


Esperanto

En la triĵaŭda semajno
On the week with three Thursdays


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Finnish

Kun helvetti jäätyy
When hell freezes over

French

Quand les poules auront des dents
When chicken have teeth
la semaine des 4 jeudis
the week with 4 Thursdays - (French school children used to get Thursdays off)
à la Saint Glinglin
On Saint Glinglin's day (doesn't exist)


German

Wenn Ostern und Pfingsten auf einen Tag fallen
When Easter and Whistun fall on the same day
Am Sankt Nimmerleinstag / an Sankt Nimmerlein
On Saint Never's day / on Saint Never
Wenn die Hölle zufriert
When Hell freezes over
Wenn es im Sommer schneit
When it snows in summer


Hindi

sooraj pashchim se ugega
When the sun will rise in the west

Hungarian

Majd ha piros hó esik
When it's snowing red snowflakes
Majd ha cigánygyerekek potyognak az égből
When gipsy children are streaming from the sky
Majd ha a pokol befagy
When Hell freezes over


Italian

Alle calende greche
By the Greek calendar
Quando voleranno gli asini
When donkeys will fly
Quando Pasqua viene a maggio
When Easter falls in May
L'anno del mai / L'anno del mai e il mese del poi
The year of never and the month of then
Nella settimana dei due giovedì
In the week with two thursdays
Quanno pisceno le galline
When hens piss (Roman dialect)

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Latin

Ad kalendas Graecas
on the Greek Kalends - unlike the Roman calendar, Kalends did not feature in the Greek calendar, so this phrase is roughly equivalent to "at British Thanksgiving" (Thanksgiving is not celebrated in the UK).

Latvian

Kad pūcei aste ziedēs
When the owl's tail blossoms
Kad slotaskātam lapas plauks
When the broomstick's leaves open

Luxembourgish

Wann Päischten op Neijôrsdag fällt
When Whistun and New Year's Day fall on the same day


Macedonian

Кога врбата ќе роди грозје (Koga vrbata ke rodi grozye)
When grapes will grow on willows
На куково лето (Na kukovo leto)
In the year of the cuckoo

Malayalam

Kakka malannu parakkum
The crow will fly upside down

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Norwegian

Når griser flyr
When pigs fly
Når det snør i helvete
When it's snowing in hell


Polish

Na Święty Nigdy
on Saint Never's Day
Kiedy mi kaktus na ręku wyrośnie
When the cactus will grow on my hand

Portuguese

Quando a vaca tussa / quando a vaca tossir
When the cow coughs
No Dia de São Nunca
On Saint Never's day


Romanian

la Paştele cailor
at horses' Easter
la Sfântu-aşteaptă
on Saint Wait's day/at Saint Wait
când o zbura porcul
when the pig should fly
când o face plopul pere
when the linden tree bears pears
când o face plopul pere şi răchita micşunele
when the linden tree bears pears and the willow wall-flowers
când mi-oi vedea ceafa
when I'll see the back of my head
La Paştele cailor şi la nunta vacilor
At Easter of the horses and at the wedding of the cows

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Russian

Когда рак на горе свистнет (Kogda rak na gore svisnet)
When the crayfish on the hill whistles


Serbian

Kad na vrbi rodi grožđe
When grapes grow on willows

Slovenian

Ob svetem nikoli
On Saint Never's Day

Spanish

Cuando las ranas críen pelo
When frogs grow hair
El día del arquero
Goalkeeper's day

Swedish

När grisar flyger
When pigs fly
När helvetet fryser till is
When hell freezes over

Tagalog

Pagputi ng uwak
When the crow turns white
Pag-itim ng tagak
When the heron turns black

Thai

ตอนเซเว่นปิด (ton sē wēn pit)
when the 7-11 is closed
ชาติหน้า (chāt nha)
next lifetime

Turkish

Balık ağaca/kavağa çıkınca
When fish climb trees/poplar trees

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Ukrainian

коли рак на горі свисне (koly rak na gori svisne)
when the crayfish on the hill whistles
коли воша пчихне (koly voša pčyxne)
when louse will sneeze


Vietnamese

(cho đến) Tết Marốc
(until a) Moroccan Tet (Tet is Vietnamese New Year)


Welsh

Pan fydd moch yn hedfan
When pigs fly
Pan fydd uffern yn rhew drosodd
When hell freezes over

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When pigs fly, you'll find them here

And more fascinating information about language at Omniglot

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