Translate a proverb/idiom from your native language literally into English

[noname223]

German into English.
I often wanted to use "sich im Grabe umdrehen" it can be translated as "rotating/ turn in your own grave".
It can be used as following. Someone who is already dead would be very angry about something. Then he turns due to that in his grave.

There is the anxiety rabbit (Angsthase). In English you would call that a scaredy cat.

 

[lostundead]

Both "Nicht mehr alle Tassen im Schrank haben"(="not having all cups in the cupboard") and "Nicht mehr richtig ticken"(="not ticking right anymore") mean being crazy.

"Leck mich doch am Arsch!"(="Lick my ass"). Germans say it in a number of occasions, e.g when you're suprised, shocked, in disbelief, annoyed etc. It doesn't have a negative connotation per se.

"Schwein gehabt"(="had pork") means you (just barely) dodged a negative situation with luck.

 

[MG_39]

Swedish to English.
"När katten är borta dansar råttorna på bordet" directly translated to English "When the cat's away, the rats dance on the table"

But the English equivalent idiom is "When the cat's away the mice will play"

 

[yive]

"насильно мил не будешь". it means "you can't win love by force", that love cannot be compelled, and if you try to force a person to love something or someone it will end badly

 

[Remember-Me-Not]

My favorite Korean proverb: "빈수레가 요란하다."

It translates literally to: "The empty cart makes noise."

English also has this proverb too, like, "The empty can rattles the most," or "Empty vessel makes the most noise."

I like it because it validates that even though others don't know my achievements, I know them.

 

[orange]

Spanish into English: "El que no corre vuela." translates literally to "those who don't run, fly" and it's used in reference to fierce competition for a resource, be it a small pie that grandma baked and that your cousins already ate almost whole, or money that some corrupt politician stole.

 

[narval]

"Quien a hierro mata, a hierro muere".

I've searched a little as i believe that in english there's something simmilar:
"live by the sword, die by the sword"

More or less, the meaning is that, if you live fucking with people, sooner or later someone will fuck you