Greek to me
That's Greek to me or it's Greek to me is an idiom in English, expressing that something is difficult to understand.
The idiom is typically used with respect to something of a foreign nature, however it may be considered an insult to some. Complexity or imprecision of verbal or written expression or diagram, often containing excessive use of jargon, dialect, mathematics, science, symbols, or diagrams. The metaphor makes reference to Greek, as an archetypal foreign form of communication both written and spoken. Technically, the phrase is classified as a dead metaphor, meaning that its components cannot be used separately, unlike for example the dormant metaphor "foot of the hill", which permits saying "that hill has a tree at its foot".
Origins
It may have been a direct translation of a similar phrase in Graecum est; non legitur. This phrase was increasingly used by monk scribes in the Middle Ages, as knowledge of the Greek alphabet and language was dwindling among those who were copying manuscripts in monastic libraries.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:
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 to use the expression.
It was also used in 1603 by Thomas Dekker in his play Patient Grissel:
The expression is almost exclusively used with reference to the speaker ; Dekker's "Greek to him" is rare.
Variations
Different languages have similar formulations. Many have picked the point of reference to be a foreign language with another 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, Nemec.
In other languages
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". Also, David Moser of the University of Michigan Center for Chinese Studies made the same claim as Arnold L. Rosenberg.| Language | Phrase | Translation | Target language / meaning | |
| English | It's Double Dutch. | Double Dutch | ||
| English | That's Greek to me. | Greek | ||
| Albanian | Mos fol kinezce. | Do not speak Chinese. | Chinese | |
| Afrikaans | Dis Grieks vir my. | It's Greek to me. | Greek | |
| Arabic | يتحدث باللغة الصينية | yataḥaddaṯ bil-luġah aṣ-Ṣīnīyah | He's speaking Chinese. | Chinese The verb in the example can be conjugated in other forms. |
| Arabic, Syrian Colloquial | يحكي كرشوني | yaḥki Karšūni | He's speaking Syriac. | Syriac, using the Garshuni script as a reference to it. The verb in the example can be conjugated in other forms. |
| Arabic, Egyptian Colloquial | بيتكلم بالهندي | byatkallam bel-hendi | He's speaking Hindi. | Hindi The verb in the example can be conjugated in other forms. |
| Asturian | Suename chinu Ta'n chinu. | It sounds like Chinese to me. It's in Chinese. | Chinese | |
| Bulgarian | Все едно ми говориш на патагонски. | Vse edno mi govoriš na patagonski. | It's like you're talking in Patagonian. | "Patagonian" |
| Cantonese | 呢個係咪鬼畫符呀？ / 呢个系咪鬼画符呀？ | li1 go3 hai6 mai6 gwai2 waak6 fu4 aa3 | Is this ghost script? | "ghost script" Refers to illegible handwriting. |
| Catalan | Com si diguessis Llúcia | Like if you say Lucy; not referring to a language | - | |
| Cebuano | Linatin | Latin | Latin, a language used in rituals by holy men such as Catholic priests, faith healers, and talisman owners. | |
| Cebuano | Ininsik | Chinese | Chinese | |
| Chavacano | Aleman ese comigo. | It's German to me. | German | |
| Croatian | To su za mene španska sela. | These are to me the Spanish countryside. | Spanish | |
| Czech | To je pro mě španělská vesnice. | This is a Spanish village to me. | Spanish | |
| Danish | Det rene volapyk. | This is pure gibberish. | Volapük | |
| Danish | Det er en by i Rusland. | This is a town in Russia. | Russian | |
| Dutch | Dat is Chinees voor mij. | That is Chinese to me. | Chinese | |
| Dutch | Ik snap er geen jota van. | I don't understand one iota of it. Reference to. | Greek | |
| Esperanto | Tio estas volapukaĵo. | That's a Volapük thing. | Volapük | |
| Estonian | See on mulle hiina keel. | This is Chinese to me. | Chinese | |
| Filipino | Parang Intsik | It looks like Chinese. | Chinese | |
| Finnish | Täyttä hepreaa. | It's all Hebrew. | Hebrew | |
| Finnish | :wikt:siansaksa|Kuulostaa siansaksalta | Sounds like pig's German | gibberish | |
| Finnish | harakanvarpaita | Magpie's toes | unintelligible writing | |
| French | :wikt:c’est du chinois|C'est du chinois. :wikt:c’est de l’hébreu|C'est de l'hébreu. :wikt:c’est du russe|C'est du russe. | It's Chinese. It's Hebrew. It's Russian. | Chinese Hebrew Russian | |
| German | Das kommt mir spanisch vor | That sounds like Spanish to me. | Spanish | |
| German | Spreche ich chinesisch? | Am I speaking Chinese? | Chinese | |
| German | Fachchinesisch | specialty Chinese | Chinese | |
| German | Kauderwelsch | trade Romance | Mediterranean Lingua Franca | |
| German | Böhmische Dörfer | Bohemian villages | This does not refer to a language, but likens someone's ignorance of a term to ignorance about obscure villages in Bohemia. | |
| German | Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof. | All I understand is "train station." | ||
| German | Polnisch rückwärts | Polish in reverse | Polish | |
| Greek, Standard Modern | Αυτά μου φαίνονται κινέζικα. | This strikes me as Chinese | Chinese | |
| Greek, Standard Modern | Αυτά μου φαίνονται αλαμπουρνέζικα. | These seem to me gobbledygook. | "Alaburnese" | |
| Greek, Cypriot | Εν τούρτζικα που μιλάς; | Are you speaking Turkish? | Turkish | |
| Hebrew | זה סינית בשבילי | It's Chinese to me! | Chinese | |
| Hungarian | Ez nekem kínai. | It's Chinese to me. | Chinese | |
| Icelandic | Hrognamál | "fish-egg language" | - | |
| Icelandic | Þetta er hebreska fyrir mér. | This is Hebrew to me. | Hebrew | |
| Indonesian | Cakar ayam | Chicken feet | gibberish Refers to unreadable writing. | |
| Indonesian | Bahasa planet | planet language | alien language | |
| Italian | Questo per me è arabo/aramaico/ostrogoto | ,, | This is Arabic/Aramaic/Ostrogoth to me | Arabic, Aramaic, Ostrogoth |
| Japanese | 珍紛漢紛 | Chinpun kanpun | "Ching chong" | formal speech Refers to the "Chinese" sound of incomprehensible Chinese loanwords. |
| Javanese | Cakar pitik | Chicken feet | gibberish | |
| Javanese | Basa londo | Dutch language | Dutch | |
| Latin | Graecum est; nōn legitur | This is Greek; it can't be read | Greek | |
| Latvian | Tā man ir ķīniešu ābece | This is Chinese alphabet book to me | Chinese | |
| Lithuanian | Tai man kaip kinų kalba. | It's Chinese to me | Chinese | |
| Macedonian | За мене тоа е шпанско село | Za mene toa e špansko selo | It is for me a Spanish village. | Spanish |
| Mandarin | 看起來像天書。/ 看起来像天书。 | Kànqǐlái xiàng tiān shū | Looks like a book from Heaven | "Heaven's language" Refers to an unknown writing system, or god's language, c.f. A Book from the Sky. |
| Mandarin | 這是鬼畫符嗎？ / 这是鬼画符吗？ | Zhè shì guǐhuàfú ma? | Are these ghost-drawn marks? | "ghost language" Refers to very poor, incomprehensible handwriting. |
| Mandarin | 聽起來像鳥語。/ 听起来像鸟语。 | Tīngqǐlái xiàng niǎoyǔ. | Sounds like bird language. | "bird language" Refers to incomprehensible speech. |
| Mandarin | 火星文 | Huǒxīng wén | Martian writing | "Martian" Usually refers to comically unconventional writing, but is also often used in the same context of unintelligible words or text. |
| Low Saxon | Dat kümmt mi spaansch vör. | That seems like Spanish to me. | Spanish | |
| Norwegian | Det er helt gresk for meg. | It's complete Greek to me | Greek | |
| Persian | انگار ژاپنی حرف می زنه | It's as if he/she's speaking Japanese | Japanese | |
| Persian | مگه ترکی حرف میزنم؟ | Am I speaking Turkish | Turkish | |
| Polish | To dla mnie chińszczyzna. | To me it's Chinese | Chinese | |
| Polish | Siedzieć jak na tureckim kazaniu | Sit as in a Turkish sermon | Turkish | |
| Polish | Czeski film | Czech movie | Czech | |
| Portuguese | Isto para mim é chinês. | This is Chinese to me | Chinese | |
| Portuguese | Isto para mim é grego. | This is Greek to me | Greek | |
| Portuguese | Não entendo grego/hebraico/aramaico. | ,, | I don't understand Greek/Hebrew/Aramaic | Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic |
| Portuguese | Não falo grego/hebraico/aramaico. | ,, | I don't speak Greek/Hebrew/Aramaic | Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic |
| Portuguese | Você está falando grego/latim/árabe. Você fala em... ' | ,, ] | You are speaking Greek/Latin/Arabic. | Greek, Latin, Arabic |
| Portuguese | Você está falando grego/latim/árabe? | ] | Are you speaking Greek/Latin/Arabic? | Greek, Latin, Arabic |
| Portuguese | Não leio japonês. Não sei ler japonês/árabe. | , | I can't read Japanese/Arabic | Japanese, Arabic |
| Romanian | Parcă e chineză. | It's like Chinese. | Chinese | |
| Russian | Это для меня китайская грамота. | Eto dlja menjá kitájskaja grámota. | 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. |
| Russian | Как курица лапой. | Like chicken feet. | gibberish Refers to very poor, incomprehensible handwriting. | |
| Serbian | То су за мене шпанска села. To su za mene španska sela. | These are to me a Spanish village. | Spanish | |
| Serbian | К'о да кинески причаш. K'o da kineski pričaš. | Like speaking in Chinese | Chinese | |
| Slovak | To je pre mňa španielska dedina. | That is a Spanish village to me. | Spanish | |
| Slovene | To mi je španska vas | That is a Spanish village to me. | Spanish | |
| Spanish | Está en chino/arameo. Me suena a chino/arameo. | , , | This is in Chinese/Aramaic. It sounds like Chinese/Aramaic to me. | Chinese, Aramaic |
| Spanish | No entiendo ni jota | I don't understand one iota of it. Reference to Matthew 5:18. | Greek | |
| Swedish | Det är rena grekiskan. | It's all Greek | Greek | |
| Turkish | Konuya Fransız kaldım. | I am French to the topic. | Turkish, as from the viewpoint of a French person who doesn't understand any Turkish. | |
| Turkish | Anladıysam Arap olayım. | If I could understand, I'd be an Arab. | Arabic | |
| Ukrainian | Це для мене китайська грамота. | Tse dlja mene kitajs'ka gramota. | That's Chinese writing to me. | Chinese |
| Venetian | Par mi xe turco. | To me this is Turkish. | Turkish | |
| Vietnamese | Tiếng Miên. | Cambodian | Cambodian | |
| Yiddish''' | תּרגום־לשון טערקיש אָץ־קוצץ־לשון מלאָכים־לשון חרטמים־לשון | targem-loshn terkish ots-koytsets-loshn malokhim-loshn khartumim-loshn | targum language Turkish gibberish the language of angels the language of a pharaoh's magicians | Aramaic / Turkish / gibberish / angelic language / Hieroglyphics |