Greek to me - wikipedia Greek to me That 's Greek to me or It 's ( all ) Greek to me is an idiom in English, expressing that something is not understandable. The idiom is typically used with respect to the foreign nature, complexity or imprecision of verbal or written expression or diagram, often containing excessive use of jargon, dialect, mathematics, science, symbols, or diagrams. The metaphor makes reference to Greek ( either ancient or modern ), as an archetypal foreign form of communication both written and spoken. Technically, the phrase is classified as a dead metaphor, meaning that its components can not be used separately, unlike for example the dormant metaphor `` foot of the hill '', which permits saying `` that hill has a tree at its foot ''. Contents 1 Origins 2 Variations 2.1 In other languages 3 See also 4 References 5 External links Origins It may have been a direct translation of a similar phrase in Latin : `` Graecum est ; non legitur '' ( `` it is Greek, ( therefore ) it can not be read '' ). This phrase was increasingly used by monk scribes in the Middle Ages, as knowledge of the Greek alphabet and language was dwindling among those who were copying manuscripts in monastic libraries. 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. -- William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar ( 1599 ) 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 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 Different languages have similar formulations. Many have picked the point of reference to be a foreign language with another 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 other languages 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 ''. Also, David Moser of the University of Michigan Center for Chinese Studies made the same claim as Arnold L. Rosenberg. Language Phrase Pronunciation Translation Target language / meaning English It 's Double Dutch. / ɪts ˈdʌbəl ˈdʌtʃ / Dutch, Tutnese That 's Greek to me. / ˈðæts ˈɡriːk tʉ ˈmiː / Greek Albanian Mos fol kinezce. Do not speak Chinese. Chinese Afrikaans Dis Grieks vir my. It 's Greek to me. Greek Arabic. يتحدث باللغة الصينية Yataḥaddaṯ bil - luġah al - Ṣīnīyah ( jataˈħadːaθ bilˈluɣa ( t ) asʕːiːˈniːja ) Speaking in Chinese Chinese. يحكي كرشوني Yaḥkī Karšūnī ( jaħkiː karʃuːniː ) Garshuni Asturian Suename chinu Ta'n chinu. It sounds like Chinese to me. This is in Chinese. Chinese Bulgarian Все едно ми говориш на патагонски. Vse edno mi govoriš na patagonski. ( fse edˈnɔ mi ɡɔˈvɔriʃ na pata ' gonski ) It 's like you 're talking in Patagonian. Patagonian Catalan Això està en xinès. ( əˈʃɔ sˈta n ʃiˈnɛs ) This is in Chinese. Chinese Cebuano Nilatin Latin Latin, language in rituals by holy men such as Catholic priests, faith healers, and talisman owners. Inintsik Chinese Chinese Chavacano Aleman ese comigo. It 's German to me German Cantonese 呢 啲 係 雞 腸 呀. ( nɛː ˥ tiː ˥ hɐi ˧ ˥ kɐi ˥ t͡shœŋ ˨ ˩ a ˥ ) These are chicken intestines. Latin alphabets or cursive English writings, more commonly used to refer to English nowadays in Hong Kong. Croatian To su za mene španska sela. ( tô su za měne ʃpǎːnska sêla ) These are to me the Spanish countryside. Spanish Czech To je pro mě španělská vesnice. ( ˈto jɛ ˈpro mɲɛ ˈʃpaɲɛlskaː ˈvɛsɲɪtsɛ ) This is a Spanish village to me. Spanish Danish Det rene volapyk. This is pure gibberish. Volapük Dutch Dat is Chinees voor mij. ( dɑt ɪs ʃiˈneːs foːr mɛi ) That is Chinese to me. Chinese Ik snap er geen jota van. I do n't understand one iota of it. Reference to Matthew 5 : 18. Greek Esperanto Tio estas Volapukaĵo. ( ˈtio ˈestas ˈvolapuˈkaʒo ) That 's a Volapük thing. Volapük Estonian See on mulle hiina keel. This is Chinese to me. Chinese Filipino Parang Intsik It looks like Chinese. Chinese Finnish Täyttä hepreaa. ( tæytːæ hepreɑː ) It 's all Hebrew. Hebrew Kuulostaa siansaksalta Sounds like gibberish Alaburnese / German French C'est du chinois. ( sɛ dy ʃinwa ) It 's Chinese Chinese C'est de l'hébreu. ( sɛ də lebʁø ) It 's Hebrew Hebrew 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 Fachchinesisch specialty Chinese ( meaning technical jargon ) Chinese Kauderwelsch `` Kauder '' = trade, Welsch = any / all of the romance languages. A mix of languages, or `` lingua franca '' Romance languages Böhmische Dörfer ( ˈbøːmɪʃə ˈdœɐ̯fɐ ) Bohemian villages Not referring to a language, but likening someone 's ignorance of a term to ignorance about obscure villages in Bohemia ( considered an out - of - the - way place ). Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof. `` I understand only ' train station. ' '' Idiomatic Polnisch rückwärts Polish reversed Polish Greek, Standard Modern Αυτά μου φαίνονται κινέζικα. ( afˈta mu ˈfeno ( n ) de ciˈnezika ) This strikes me as Chinese Chinese Αυτά μου φαίνονται αλαμπουρνέζικα. ( afˈta mu ˈfeno ( n ) de ala ( m ) burˈnezika ) These seem to me gobbledygook. Alaburnese ( similar to Gibberish ) Greek, Cypriot Εν τούρτζικα που μιλάς ; ( e ‿ ˈ duɾ̥t͡ʃi̞kɐ p̬u mi ↗ ˈlɐs ) Are you speaking Turkish ? Turkish Hebrew זה סינית בשבילי Zeh Sinit bishvili. ( ze sinit biʃvili ) It 's Chinese to me ! Chinese Hungarian Ez nekem kínai. ( ɛz ˈnɛkɛm ˈkiːnɒi ) It 's Chinese to me. Chinese Icelandic Hrognamál ( ˈr̥ɔknaˌmauːl ) Fish - egg language þetta er hebreska fyrir mér `` This is Hebrew to me '' Hebrew Indonesian ( Tulisan ) Cakar ayam ( refers to unreadable writing ) Chicken feet Bahasa planet ( Other ) - planet language Alien language Italian Questo per me è arabo / aramaico / ostrogoto ( ˈkwesto per me ɛ ˈaːrabo ), ( araˈmaiko ), ( ostroˈɡɔːto ) To me this is Arabic / Aramaic / Ostrogoth Arabic, Aramaic, Ostrogoth Japanese ちんぷんかんぷん chin pun kan pun ( tɕim pɯŋ kam pɯɴ ) Mumbo jumbo Gibberish, referring to the `` Chinese '' sound of incomprehensible Chinese loanwords used by the scholarly élite Javanese Cakar pitik ( refers to unreadable writing ) Chicken feet Basa londo Dutch language Dutch Latin Graecum est ; non legitur ( ˈɡrai̯kum est non ˈleɡitur ) This is Greek ; it ca n't be read Greek Latvian Tā man ir ķīniešu ābece ( taː man ir ciːnieʃu aːbetse ) This is Chinese alphabet book to me Chinese Lithuanian Tai man kaip kinų kalba. ( taɪ mɐn kaɪp kinuˑ kɐlba ) Its Chinese to me Chinese Macedonian За мене тоа е шпанско село Za mene toa e špansko selo ( za mɛnɛ tɔa ɛ ʃpaŋskɔ sɛlɔ ) It is for me a Spanish village. Spanish Mandarin 火星 文 Huǒxīng wén Martian language Usually refers to comically unconventional writing, but also often used in the same context of unintelligible words or text. 看 起來 像 天 書. / 看 起来 像 天书. ( khan ˥ ˩ tɕhi ˨ ˩ lai̯ ˧ ˥ ɕjɑŋ ˥ ˩ thjɛn ˥ ʂu ˥ ) Looks like hieroglyphics `` Book from Heaven '' ( Referring to an unknown writing system, or god 's language, c.f. A Book from the Sky ) 這 是 鬼畫符 嗎 ? / 这 是 鬼画符 吗 ? Zhè shì guǐhuàfú ma ? Is this written in ghost 's script ? ( Referring to very poor, incomprehensible handwriting. ) Ghost 's script 聽 起來 像 鳥 語. / 听 起来 像 鸟 语. ( thiŋ ˥ tɕhi ˨ ˩ lai̯ ˧ ˥ ɕjɑŋ ˥ ˩ njɑʊ̯ ˧ ˥ y ˩ ˧ ) Sounds like the birds ( Unknown phonology system. ) `` Sounds / tongue of the Birds '' Low Saxon Dat kümmt mi spaansch vör. ( dat kymt miː spoːnʃ føɐ ) That seems like Spanish to me. Spanish Norwegian Det er helt gresk for meg. It 's complete Greek to me Greek Polish To dla mnie chińszczyzna. ( tɔ dla mɲe xjiɲˈʂtʂɨzna ) To me it 's Chinese Chinese Portuguese Isto para mim é chinês. ( ˈiʃtu pəɾə ˈmĩ ɛ ʃiˈneʃ ) This is Chinese to me Chinese ( Portugal ) Isto para mim é grego. ( ˈiʃtu pəɾə ˈmĩ ɛ ˈɣɾeɣu ) This is Greek to me Greek ( Portugal ) Não entendo grego / hebraico / aramaico. ( nɜ̃w ĩˈtẽdu ˈɡɾeɣu ), ( ĩˈtẽd eˈbɾajku ), ( ĩˈtẽd ( w ) ɜɾəˈmajku ) I do n't understand Greek / Hebrew / Aramaic Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic ( Brazil ) Não falo grego / hebraico / aramaico. ( nɜ̃w ˈfalu ˈɡɾeɣu ), ( ˈfal eˈbɾajku ), ˈ ( fal ( w ) ɜɾəˈmajku ) I do n't speak Greek / Hebrew / Aramaic Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic ( Brazil ) Você está falando grego / latim / árabe. Você fala em... ( ditto ) ( ˈse ˈta fɜˈlɜ̃du ˈɡɾeɣu ), ( lɐˈtʃĩ ), ( ˈaɾəβi ) ( voˈse ˈfalə̯ ĩ ˈɡɾeɣu (... ) ) You are speaking Greek / Latin / Arabic. Greek, Latin, Arabic ( Brazil ) Você está falando grego / latim / árabe ? ( ˈse ˈta fɜˈlɜ̃du ˈɡɾeɣu (... ) ) Are you speaking Greek / Latin / Arabic ? Greek, Latin, Arabic ( Brazil ) Não leio japonês. Não sei ler japonês / árabe. ( nɜ̃w ˈlej. ju ʒɜpuˈneʃ ) ( nɜ̃w ˈsej ˈleʁ ʒɐpoˈnes ), ( le ˈɾaɾəβi ) I ca n't read Japanese / Arabic Japanese, Arabic ( Brazil ) Romanian Parcă e chineză. ( ˈparkə je kiˈnezə ) It 's like Chinese. Chinese Russian Это для меня китайская грамота. Eto dlya menya kitaiskaya gramota. ( ˈɛtə ˈdjljæ mjɪˈnjæ kjɪˈtajskəjə ˈɡramətə ) That 's Chinese writing to me. Chinese But emphasis is put on reading rather than speaking, typically the phrase is applied to branches of knowledge like Chemistry, Maths, computers experience, etc Serbian То су за мене шпанска села. To su za mene španska sela. ( to su za mene ʃpanska sela ) These are to me a Spanish village. Spanish К'о да кинески причаш. K'o da kineski pričaš. Like speaking in Chinese Chinese Slovak To je pre mňa španielska dedina. ( to je pre mɲa ʃpaɲielska ɟeɟina ) That is a Spanish village to me. Spanish Slovene To mi je španska vas ( ˈtóː mi jɛ ˈʃpáːnska ˈʋáːs ) That is a Spanish village to me. Spanish Spanish Está en chino / arameo. Me suena a chino / arameo. ( esˈta en ˈtʃino ), ( aɾaˈmeo ) ( me ˈswenaː ˈtʃino ), ( aɾaˈmeo ) This is in Chinese / Aramaic. It sounds like Chinese / Aramaic to me. Chinese, Aramaic No entiendo ni jota ( no enˈtjendo ni ˈxota ) I do n't understand one iota of it. Reference to Matthew 5 : 18. Greek Swedish Det är rena grekiskan. ( deː æ reːna ɡreːkɪskan ) It 's all Greek Greek Turkish Konuya Fransız kaldım. ( konuja fɾansɯz kaɫˈdɯm ) I am French to the topic. Turkish, as from the viewpoint of a French person who does n't understand any Turkish. Anladıysam Arap olayım. If I could understand, I 'd be an Arab. Arabic Ukrainian Це для мене китайська грамота. Tse dlya mene kitas'ka gramota. ( tsɛ dljɑ ˈmɛne kɪˈtɑjsjkɑ ˈɦrɑmotɑ ) That 's Chinese writing to me. Chinese Venetian Par mi xe turco. ( par miː ze ˈtyɾko ) To me this is Turkish. Turkish Vietnamese Tiếng Miên. Khmer Cambodian Yiddish ס'איז תּרגום ־ לשון / טערקיש / אָץ ־ קוצץ ־ לשון / מלאָכים ־ לשון / חרטמים ־ לשון S'iz targem - loshn / terkish / ots - koytsets - loshn / malokhim - loshn / khartumim - loshn. ( sɪz tarɡemloʃn̩ ) It is the language of Targum ( Aramaic translations of the Bible ) / Turkish / gibberish / the language of the angels / the language of Pharaoh 's magicians ( i.e. hieroglyphics ). Aramaic / Turkish / Hieroglyphics See also Greeking Writing system Gringo, a word possibly derived from the notion of Greek being unintelligible References Jump up ^ Rosenberg, A. ( 1979 ). Lingvisticæ Investigationes : III 3 ( 2 ). 323 - 339 Jump up ^ Moser, D. Pīnyīn.Info. Why Chinese Is So Damn Hard. Retrieved Jun 4, 2011, http://www.pinyin.info/readings/texts/moser.html Jump up ^ 鸡 肠 噉 / 唔 知 噏 乜 -- -- -- it 's Greek to me ( in Cantonese ) Jump up ^ In isolation, voor is pronounced ( voːr ). Jump up ^ https://onzetaal.nl/taaladvies/advies/ergens-geen-jota-van-snappen Jump up ^ Modi di dire ( in Italian ) Jump up ^ Morcillo, José Juan. `` Biblismos ''. La Tribuna de Albacete. Jump up ^ http://tdk.gov.tr/TR/sozbul.ASPX?F6E10F8892433CFFAAF6AA849816B2EF05A79F75456518CA&Kelime=Frans%C4%B1z%20kalmak. Retrieved 2012 - 01 - 19. Missing or empty title = ( help ) ( in Turkish ) Jump up ^ http://hurarsiv.hurriyet.com.tr/goster/haber.aspx?id=7619601&yazarid=82 External links Look up it 's all Greek to me in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Omniglot : `` Translations of It 's all Greek / Chinese / Hebrew / Arabic to me in many languages ''. Translations of `` it 's all Greek to me '' on Wordreference.com William Shakespeare 's Julius Caesar Characters Julius Caesar Mark Antony Octavius Lepidus Flavius Marullus Cicero Calpurnia Portia Cinna Titinius Messala Young Cato Volumnius Conspirators Marcus Brutus Cassius Casca Decius Brutus Cinna Metellus Cimber Trebonius Caius Ligarius Sources Parallel Lives On screen 1950 1953 The Spread of the Eagle ( 1963 ; TV ) 1970 1979 ( TV ) 1994 ( TV ) Adaptations La morte di Cesare ( 1788 ) Shakespeare Writing `` Julius Caesar '' ( 1907 ) Caesar ( 1937 ) Die Ermordung Cäsars ( 1959 ) Dead Caesar ( 2007 ) The Karaoke King ( 2007 ) Roman Tragedies ( 2007 ) Quotes `` The dogs of war '' `` Et tu, Brute ? '' `` Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears '' `` Greek to me '' Music Julius Caesar ( overture, 1851 ) Related Cultural depictions of Julius Caesar Assassination of Julius Caesar Caesar 's Comet Ides of March Battle of Philippi Me and Orson Welles ( 2008 ) Caesar Must Die ( 2012 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Greek_to_me&oldid=828076196 '' Categories : English phrases Julius Caesar ( play ) Greek language Metaphors Cultural depictions of Cicero Hidden categories : Articles with Cantonese - language external links Articles with Italian - language external links Pages with citations lacking titles Pages with citations having bare URLs All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from December 2017 Articles with Turkish - language external links Articles containing Latin - language text All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from October 2011 Articles with unsourced statements from February 2018 Articles with unsourced quotes Articles with dead external links from October 2017 Articles with permanently dead external links Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Ελληνικά Español 한국어 עברית Magyar Suomi 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 28 February 2018, at 12 : 20. 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Question: what does casca mean it was greek to me
Answer: expressing that something is not understandable