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Every language has its own unique and intriguing expressions. Mastering these could help you connect with locals, appreciate the language’s artistry, and even add some cultured foreign phrases to your daily conversations.
But we're not focusing on that today. Instead, let's explore how people across the globe use swearing in their languages.
10. Greek: Malakas
This expression conveys disdain and disgust towards a man's foolish, dishonorable, or otherwise harmful actions. It is often accompanied by the gesture of the 'moutza,' where the hand is extended with the palm facing outward and the fingers spread. This action symbolizes the act of spreading manure on the face of the 'malaka,' a tradition thought to have originated with the ancient Greeks and passed down through the Byzantine Empire.
Initially, the term malaka referred to someone who was weak and pampered, accustomed to an easy life and afraid of hard work or confrontation. Over time, its meaning shifted to describe someone with compulsive habits, especially masturbation, and has evolved to resemble the English insults 'wanker' or 'tosser.'
In the Philippines, however, the term takes on an entirely different connotation. Here, 'Malaka' refers to a revered hero in Filipino mythology, symbolizing strength much like the American folk figure Paul Bunyan.
9. Irish Gobshite
This Irish insult is quite the doozy. The word 'gob' means mouth, so a 'gobshite' refers to someone who either eats feces (similar to the term 'comemierda' mentioned later) or constantly speaks nonsense. In either case, the individual is an unbearable fool whose actions negatively affect others.
This insult is distinctly Irish, reflecting the country's cultural reverence for oratory skills (the 'gift of the gab,' or 'blarney' from the Blarney Stone) and the importance placed on the art of storytelling. Over time, the insult has taken on a milder tone and is even somewhat accepted on BBC Northern Irish radio.
8. Icelandic Afatottari
Imagine the classic American insult starting with 'mother-' and ending with '-ucker.' Now think of what could be even more sacred to someone than their mother. What's more offensive than suggesting incest with your own mother? How about implying a relationship with your grandfather? In Icelandic, the term 'afatottari' translates to 'grandfather-sucker.'
Other Icelandic insults include terms like fraendseroir (literally 'uncle-sucker'), rollurioari (meaning 'sheep-diddler'), hringvoovi (translating to 'anal sphincter'), and the audacious mamma pin faeddi pig meo rassgatinu af pvi ao pikan a henni var upptekin ('your mother didn’t give birth to you; she excreted you because her vagina was occupied'). It’s no surprise to find such harsh language in Iceland, especially in a country where a dish of half-rotten shark, smelling of ammonia is considered a delicacy offered to guests.
7. ItalianNon Me Ne Frega Un Cazzo
This phrase of ultimate apathy translates to 'I don’t care a penis.' It's most useful when you're under pressure and some cornuto (which literally means 'cuckold,' but essentially refers to a fool) is talking cazzate (nonsense, derived from cazzo).
The phrase has even inspired an entire philosophy. Il menefreghismo embodies a carefree attitude, which has become synonymous with figures ranging from Dean Martin to Silvio Berlusconi.
6. ArabicKuss Ummak
Ironically, or maybe not, in more patriarchal societies, the worst insult is often related to one's mother. This Egyptian Arabic phrase translates to 'your mother’s vagina,' and simply saying it is about as offensive as it gets.
Oddly enough, referring to shoes in a derogatory way or comparing someone to a shoe comes close in severity. That’s why throwing your dirty shoes at someone is such a deep insult. In many places, even sitting with your feet facing someone is seen as disrespectful. Because of the dusty conditions in much of the Arab world, shoes are often dirty, and with Islam’s focus on cleanliness and purity, shoes and feet take on a particular symbolic meaning.
5. ChineseWang Ba Dan
The ancient Chinese blend subtlety with harshness, giving rise to this insulting term, which translates roughly as 'turtle’s egg.' You may wonder why this would be an insult. The reason is that turtle eggs hatch in the father’s absence, implying that being called one means you don’t know your father—you’re a bastard. Additionally, Chinese female turtles have a reputation for promiscuity.
In China, other insults revolve around formal education—or the lack thereof. The country has a long history of state-run exams that provide access to higher education, and failing one can ruin any authority you might have. Thus, being called 'uneducated' or 'peasant' carries far more weight than in Western cultures.
4. SpanishMe Cago En La Leche Que Mamaste
It’s unpleasant when someone insults your mother. But the cruelty intensifies when it involves your mother's milk mixed with waste.
This Spanish curse literally translates to: “I defecate in the milk you suckled.” It was once believed that the milk you drank shaped your character. A sour personality is still referred to as having mala leche (bad milk), and something truly amazing is called la leche. Some theorize that this expression alludes to semen, adding a layer of vulgarity and homophobia.
Spanish swearing often delves into the sacred and the scatological. Low-quality items are insultingly referred to as nordos (turds). The insult comemierda (turd eater) gained notoriety through a famous prank call to Fidel Castro.
3. RussianMat
Would you be interested in speaking a dialect composed entirely of offensive words? Russia has one, and it’s named after the object English speakers place at their front door, likely because, like our doormats, it collects all the dirt.
Standard Russian is quite vivid, but it tends to avoid certain vulgar words that are reserved for mat. No schools teach it, and many mat terms are absent from most Russian dictionaries, yet it’s the everyday speech of blue-collar workers in their occupations.
One story tells of a manager so horrified by his workers’ use of profanity that he banned the use of mat altogether. The next month’s production fell by 50%—the employees didn’t know the names of their tools and processes without referring to them as “the f—kingamajig” or “f—king the s—t out of that c—t.”
Mat has been used by writers as refined as Pushkin, Lermontov, and Tolstoy, and Solzhenitsyn in the 20th century helped bring it to wider attention. Criminals, on the other hand, use a completely different language known as fenya, a thieves’ cant.
2. FrenchSacre Quebecois
This expression literally translates to “Quebec Sacred,” but it’s actually quite the opposite. It refers to the collection of curse words used in Quebec French. While it isn’t a dialect made entirely of profanities, it’s still a vivid array of obscenities that combines insults, blasphemy, and general taboos. It incorporates liturgical terms like calice (chalice) and tabarnac (tabernacle) because people curse what holds them back. In traditionally Catholic Quebec, this repression came from the authority of the Church.
The use of the sacred to express the profane can also be found in other Catholic cultures, such as the Spanish, who curse the hostia (the Sacred Host) just as Quebecers curse their hostie. After all, why curse something you don’t believe in? For a curse to be truly subversive, there has to be some belief in the religious element.
1. GermanDu Kannst Diesen Scheiszdreck Hinter Den Ohren Schmieren
This German phrase, equivalent to non me ne frega un cazzo, gained attention during the Brazil World Cup. Striker Thomas Muller used this Bavarian expression when asked about not winning the Golden Boot (the award for the tournament's top scorer). It literally translates to, “You can smear that crap behind your ears.”
The Golden Boot was awarded to a Colombian, and the reporter was Colombian too. With this phrase, Muller showed his indifference to her country’s insignificant trophy, having already claimed the ultimate prize—the World Cup.
