Have you ever heard these sayings? 

It's common to hear idioms in the workplace, but the following group of words can have far different meanings when said across different cultures and countries. An idiom, or group of words that invokes a specific meaning, often can seem like nonsense to those who do not know the context. For example, “it's raining cats and dogs” seems like kind of an insane thing to say if you haven't been raised to know it means a heavy downpour. Or when we say something like, "it cost an arm and a leg," someone unfamiliar with the idiom may think we have a vastly different way of doing business.

With so much professional work being done online nowadays, it's more common to find oneself working with people from all over the world. So, in order for you to  

Unusual International Idioms

German idioms:

“Tomaten auf den Augen haben”
This translates to “You have tomatoes on your eyes” and means that one cannot see what others are seeing. This is referring to literal objects, not abstract ideas. 

“Die Katze im Sack kaufen”
This translates to  “To buy a cat in a sack.” It is used to refer to when someone purchases something without looking at or inspecting it first.  

Check out the videos below to learn how to say these and several other German idioms: 

French idioms:

“Les carottes sont cuites!”
When translated this phrase means "The carrots are cooked!" Basically, it means that a situation cannot be changed or undone, it is what it is. The saying has a similar feel to the English saying, "There is no use crying over spilled milk."

Learn how to pronounce more French idioms in the video below: 

Italian idioms:

“Uncane in chisesa”
This translates to a “dog in the church” and refers to someone being unwelcome or uninvited. In English, this might also be called “wearing out your welcome”, when someone has stayed somewhere beyond the acceptable amount of time.

Learn some other common Italian idioms in the video below: 

Polish idioms:

“Wypchać się sianem”
This Polish saying is translated to “get stuffed with hay," and it means exactly that. If a Polish person says this to you, they are not pleased with you. 

We could go on for days with all the idioms we found, so to save you some time, check out this list from the Ted Talks translators. There's also this one from FluentU. 

The video below has some more silly English idioms all based around food:

What is the weirdest idiom in the workplace you've heard? Leave a comment below.