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Greek to me

Idiom for knowledge not understandable

Idiom for knowledge not understandable

That's Greek to me or it's (all) Greek to me is an idiom in English referring to material that the speaker finds difficult or impossible to understand. It is commonly used in reference to a complex or imprecise verbal or written expression, that may use unfamiliar jargon, dialect, or symbols. The metaphor refers to the Greek language, which is unfamiliar to most English speakers, and additionally uses a largely dissimilar alphabet.

Origins

It may have been a direct translation of a similar phrase in ("it is Greek, [therefore] it cannot be read"). The phrase is widely believed to have its origins among medieval scribes. While most scribes were familiar with Latin, few people in medieval Western Europe, even among the intellectual classes, were schooled in Greek. When copying classic manuscripts they would frequently encounter passages and quotations in Greek which they would have no way of translating, and as such would note the phrase in the margins.

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:

CASSIUS: Did Cicero say any thing?

CASCA: Ay, he spoke Greek.

CASSIUS: To what effect?

CASCA: Nay, an I tell you that, I'll ne'er look you i' the face again: but those that understood him smiled at one another and shook their heads; but, for mine own part, it was Greek to me. I could tell you more news too: Marullus and Flavius, for pulling scarfs off Caesar's images, are put to silence. Fare you well. There was more foolery yet, if I could remember it.

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 of this period to use the expression. It was also used in 1603 by Thomas Dekker in his play Patient Grissel:

FAR: Asking for a Greek poet, to him he fails. I'll be sworn he knows not so much as one character of the tongue.

RIC: Why, then it's Greek to him.

The expression is almost exclusively used with reference to the speaker (generally "Greek to me"); Dekker's "Greek to him" is rare.

Variations

Other languages have similar formulations, some referring to Greek but many referring to foreign languages such as Chinese or Spanish. Many refer to a language with a different 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 (one who babbles), Nemec (Slavic for "the mute one," indicating Germans).

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". David Moser of the University of Michigan Center for Chinese Studies reached a similar conclusion.

LanguagePhrasePronunciationTranslationTarget language / meaning
**English**It's Double Dutch.
That's Greek to me.Greek
Chicken scratch.illegible writing
**Albanian**Mos fol kinezce.Do not speak Chinese.Chinese
**Afrikaans**Dis Grieks vir my.It's Greek to me.Greek
**Arabic**يتحدث باللغة الصينيةyataḥaddaṯ bil-luġah aṣ-Ṣīnīyah
He's speaking Chinese.Chinese
The verb in the example can be conjugated in other forms.
**Arabic, Syrian Colloquial**يحكي كرشونيyaḥki Karšūni
He's speaking Syriac.Syriac, using the Garshuni (Arabic) script as a reference to it.
The verb in the example can be conjugated in other forms.
**Arabic, Egyptian Colloquial**بيتكلم بالهنديbyatkallam 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 as if you're talking in Patagonian."Patagonian" (not a real language)
**Cantonese**鬼畫符 / 鬼画符gwai2 waak6 fu4
Ghost script?No specific set phrase, treated like any ordinary language, eg. "Is this ghost script?" "Is this written in Martian?"
火星話 / 火星话fo2 sing1 waa6
Martian
**Catalan**Com si diguessis LlúciaAs if you say Lucy; not referring to a language
**Cebuano**LinatinLatinLatin, a language used in rituals by holy men such as Catholic priests, faith healers, and talisman owners.
IninsikChineseChinese
**Chavacano**Aleman ese comigo.It's German to me.German
**Croatian**To su za mene španska sela.[This is] "like a Spanish village".Spanish
**Czech**To je pro mě španělská vesnice.This is a Spanish village to me.Spanish
**Danish**Det rene volapyk.This is pure VolapükVolapük, a 19th century constructed language
Det er en by i Rusland.This is a town in Russia.Russian
KaudervælskRomanshRomansh, a Rhaeto-Romance language spoken in Switzerland
**Dutch**Dat is Chinees voor mij.That is Chinese to me.Chinese
Ik snap er geen jota van.I don't understand one iota of it. Reference to Matthew 5:18.Greek
**Esperanto**Tio estas volapukaĵo.It's all Volapük.Volapük, a 19th century constructed language
**Estonian**See on mulle hiina keel.This is Chinese to me.Chinese
**Filipino**Parang IntsikIt looks like Chinese.Chinese
**Finnish**Täyttä hepreaa.It's all Hebrew.Hebrew
Kuulostaa siansaksaltaSounds like pig's Germangibberish
harakanvarpaita (refers to undecipherable writing)Magpie's toesunintelligible writing (gibberish)
**French**C'est du chinois.
C'est de l'hébreu
C'est du javanais.
C'est du russe.[s‿ɛ dy ʃinwa]
[s‿ɛ də l‿ebʁø]
[s‿ɛ dy ʒavanɛ]
[s‿ɛ dy ʁys]It's Chinese.
It's Hebrew.
It's Javanese.
It's Russian.Chinese
Hebrew
Javanese
Russian
**German**Das kommt mir spanisch vor.That sounds like Spanish to me. (usually meant to indicate something is fishy)Spanish
Spreche ich Chinesisch?Am I speaking Chinese?Chinese
Fachchinesischspecialty Chinese (meaning technical jargon)Chinese
Kauderwelsch{{Citationurl = https://www.dwds.de/wb/kauderwelschtitle = kauderwelshwork = DWDSaccess-date = 21 January 2026
Das sind böhmische Dörfer für michThese are Bohemian villages to meCzech, Bohemia being a region of the neighbouring Czech Republic that is nearest to Germany.
Ich verstehe nur BahnhofAll I understand is "train station."
Polnisch rückwärtsPolish [spoken] in reversePolish
**Greek, Standard Modern**Αυτά μου φαίνονται κινέζικα.This strikes me as ChineseChinese
Αυτά μου φαίνονται αλαμπουρνέζικα.These seem to me gobbledygook."Alaburnese" (similar to gibberish)
**Greek, Cypriot**Εν τούρτζικα που μιλάς;Are you speaking Turkish?Turkish
**Hebrew**זה סינית בשביליIt's Chinese to me!Chinese
**Hindi,**क्या मैं फ़ारसी बोल रहा हूँ?Kyā maĩ fārsī bol rahā hū̃?Am I speaking Persian?Persian
**Hungarian**Ez nekem kínai.It's Chinese to me.Chinese
**Icelandic**Þetta kemur mér spánskt fyrir sjónir.This looks like Spanish to me.Spanish
**Indonesian**(Tulisan) Cakar ayamChicken feetgibberish
Refers to unreadable writing.
Bahasa planet(Other-)planet languagealien language
**Italian**Questo per me è arabo/aramaico/ostrogoto/turco/cinese, , , ,This is Arabic/Aramaic/Ostrogoth/Turkish/Chinese to meArabic, Aramaic, Ostrogoth, Turkish, Chinese
**Japanese**珍紛漢紛
ちんぷんかんぷんChinpun kanpun
"Ching chong"formal speech
Refers to the "Chinese" sound of incomprehensible Chinese loanwords.
**Javanese**ꦕꦺꦏꦺꦂꦥꦶꦛꦶꦏ꧀Chicken scratchillegible handwriting
ꦧꦱꦮꦭꦺꦴꦟ꧀ꦝDutch languageDutch
**Korean**횡설수설하고 있다*Hoengseolsuseolhago itta*They are speaking horizontally and vertically.gibberish, especially for unrecognizable spoken language or incoherence.
괴발개발
(refers to unreadable writing)*Goebalgaebal*Cat's footprints and dog's footprintsgibberish
아무 말이나 한다*Amu marina handa*They are speaking out random words.gibberish
외계어를 한다*Oegyeeoreul handa*They are speaking in an alien language.alien language
개소리를 한다*Gaesorireul handa*They are making a dog's sound.gibberish
**Latin**Graecum est; nōn legitur[It] is Greek; [it is] not legible/[it is] illegibleGreek
**Latvian**Tā man ir ķīniešu ābeceThis is Chinese alphabet book to meChinese
**Lithuanian**Tai man kaip kinų kalba.It's Chinese to meChinese
Paukščių kalba.Bird's languagegibberish
**Lojban**ti itku'ile ga'a miIt's Ithkuil to meIthkuil
**Macedonian**За мене тоа е шпанско село.*Za mene toa e špansko selo.*
It is for me a Spanish village.Spanish
**Malay**(Tulisan) Cakar ayamChicken feetgibberish
Refers to unreadable writing.
**Mandarin**天書/ 天书。Kànqǐlái xiàng tiān shū
Looks like a book from Heaven"Heaven's language"
Refers to an unknown writing system, or incomprehensible content, cf. *A Book from the Sky*.
鬼畫符 / 鬼画符Zhè shì guǐhuàfú ma?
ghost-drawn marks"ghost language"
Refers to very poor, incomprehensible handwriting.
鳥語。/ 鸟语Niǎo Yǔ
bird language.
"bird language" (bird song)
Refers to incomprehensible speech.
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.
**Marathi**मी हिब्रू बोलतो का?Mī hibrū bōlatō kāAm I speaking Hebrew?Hebrew
**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 meGreek
**Persian**مگه ترکی حرف میزنم؟Am I speaking Turkish?Turkish
**Polish**To dla mnie chińszczyzna.To me it's ChineseChinese
Siedzieć jak na tureckim kazaniuSit as in a Turkish sermonTurkish
Czeski filmCzech movie (this one refers to an incomprehensible situation rather than words, coined after a wave of absurdist movies in Czech cinematography)Czech
**Portuguese**Isto para mim é chinês.This is Chinese to meChinese (Portugal)
Isto para mim é grego.This is Greek to meGreek (Portugal)
**Romanian**Parcă e chineză.
It's like Chinese.Chinese
Ești turc?Are you Turkish?Turkish
Nu înțeleg o iotă.[nu ɨnˈt͡se.leɡ o jo.tə]I don't understand one iota of it. Reference to Matthew 5:18.Greek
**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.
Как курица лапой.Like [scribbled by] 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
К'о да кинески причаш.
K'o da kineski pričaš.Like speaking in ChineseChinese
**Slovak**To je pre mňa španielska dedina.That is a Spanish village to me.Spanish
**Slovene**To mi je španska vasThat is a Spanish village to me.Spanish
**Spanish**Está en chino/arameo/ruso.
Me suena a chino/arameo/ruso.,
,This is in Chinese/Aramaic/Russian.
It sounds like Chinese/Aramaic/Russian to me.Chinese, Aramaic, Russian
No entiendo ni jotaI don't understand one iota of it.
Reference to Matthew 5:18.Greek
**Swedish**Det är rena grekiskan
Det låter som/det är rena rama grekiskan.-It is pure Greek
It sound like/it is pure Greek.Greek
(Jag fattar) inte ett jota(I don't understand) one iota of it
Reference to Matthew 5:18.Greek
**Turkish**Konuya Fransız kaldım.I am French to the topic.French, as from the viewpoint of a French person who doesn't understand any Turkish.
Anladıysam Arap olayım.let me blacken, get dark skin ("*turn into Arab*") if I understood it
(in Turkish "Arap olayım" is used in idioms in similar sense to "God strike me down if ...", to emphasize that something is not true)
(informal, old-fashioned, offensive)None (Arab doesn't refer to nationality or language, but skin color)
**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**Nhìn/nghe như tiếng Miên.(It) looks/sounds like KhmerKhmer
**Yiddish**תּרגום־לשון
טערקיש
אָץ־קוצץ־לשון
מלאָכים־לשון
חרטמים־לשוןtargem-loshn
terkish
ots-koytsets-loshn
malokhim-loshn
khartumim-loshntargum language (i.e. that of Aramaic translations of the Bible)
Turkish
gibberish
the language of angels
the language of a pharaoh's magicians (i.e. hieroglyphics)Aramaic / Turkish / gibberish / angelic language / Hieroglyphics

References

References

  1. (17 April 2011). "Etymology of Gringo".
  2. Rosenberg, Arnold L.. (January 1979). "The Hardest Natural Languages". Lingvisticæ Investigationes.
  3. Moser, D. Pīnyīn.Info. Why Chinese Is So Damn Hard. Retrieved Jun 4, 2011, http://www.pinyin.info/readings/texts/moser.html {{Webarchive. link. (2011-05-21)
  4. In isolation, ''voor'' is pronounced {{IPA. nl. voːr. .
  5. "Ergens geen jota van snappen".
  6. "volapukaĵo -- Plena Ilustrita Vortaro de Esperanto".
  7. Katja Grundmann, [https://www.geo.de/geolino/redewendungen/5199-rtkl-fuer-mich-sind-das-boehmische-doerfer "Böhmische Dörfer"], ''[[Geo (magazine). GEO (GEOlino)]]''.
  8. "itku'ile in English - Lojban-English Dictionary {{!}} Glosbe".
  9. Note also a related occurrence: Rachel Gardener's [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gv0QIbGc8i8&t=27s “lo nabmi” (“The problem”) song at 00:27]: “.i .ia nadme'a fa la .itku'ile .'enai” (“I think Ithkuil would be easier than this”).
  10. (2024-07-24). "Откуда произошло выражение «китайская грамота»".
  11. (2024-08-15). "Как появилось выражение «писать как курица лапой» (ему уже больше 2000 лет)".
  12. "Biblismos".
  13. "Biblismos".
  14. "Güncel Türkçe Sözlük'te Söz Arama".
  15. "Hürriyet Arama".
  16. "Güncel Türkçe Sözlük'te Söz Arama".
  17. (7 January 2021). ""Anladıysam Arap olayım" sözü rafa mı kalkıyor?".
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