In addition to an important cultural richness, bilingualism in our community has also brought a good dose of humor. In Valencia we speak a Castilian language that is sometimes a bit peculiar due to the influence of Valencian. A language that has also given us expressions loaded with sarcasm, aggressiveness or mischievousness that do not hurt anyone.
Or we have a conversation in Valencian, full of espardenyàs and untranslatable phrases in another language. And the latter is precisely what we group in this article. Probably the most unique and untranslatable Valencian phrases that are used daily in different parts of the Valencian Community.
1. T’ha bufat o t’ha fet air
If we translate it literally, it means “he has blown you or made you air”. And you will say, the what? You will hear this unique phrase when someone gives another person a dialectical slap in the face with a phrase that puts them in their place.
2. Torna-li la trompa al xic
It is one of the most recurrent. Basically, it comes to say, don’t insist on your resolutions anymore. So that you don’t take up a discussion that has already ended. Literally means: “Give the spinning top back to the boy.”
3. On va la corda, va el poal
It is a phrase used when someone follows you all the time, wherever you go. And it is that “where the rope goes, the bucket goes”.
4. Et vull més que un bon cagar
Among the untranslatable phrases, we owe much to the scatological Valencian. In this case, “I love you more than a good shit” really means that you have a lot of appreciation for a person, because shitting can be a sign of good health.
5. Having your asses peeled
In Spanish it would be “tener los cojones pelados“. It is used when you want to highlight the years and experience of a person. Surely the one your grandfather will use to give more value to his arguments.
6. To go as a shitter through the woods
Word for word it means “to go like a cairn down a ditch”. You will use it when you feel that events (the force of the water) are dragging you down without you being able to remedy it, when you have lost control of the situation.
7. Fem foc o fugim?
When the plan is not clear among friends, the most common is to resort to this phrase. It is very “cuadrilla del poble“. Pronouncing it will force a decision, such as moving from the place you are in or going somewhere else. In Spanish it means “we make fire or we flee”.
8. A la taula i al llit, al primer crit
Your family must have told you this ad nauseam. The hierarchy is clear: the table and the bed do not wait. At the first order, you have to go. When asked. So to eat and to bed, “at the first cry”.
9. De veres de veres, com si menjares peres i les cagares senceres
Yes, yes. For real… Like if you ate pears and shit them out whole. We could even say it’s a proverb. It is used when you tell something to your interlocutor and he/she is skeptical, distrustful. You will make me believe you.