# Greek to me

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 Latin: Graecum est, non legitur ("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 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.
| Language | Phrase | Pronunciation | Translation | Target language / meaning |
| English | It's Double Dutch. | | | Double Dutch (Tutnese) |
| English | That's Greek to me. | | | Greek |
| English | Chicken scratch. | | | illegible writing |
| Albanian | Mos fol kinezce. | | Do not speak Chinese. | Chinese |
| Afrikaans | Dis Grieks vir my. | | It's Greek to me. | Greek |
| Ancient Greek | Αὐτὸ ἐστὶ σηρικὸν περὶ ἐμοί. | [au̯ˌto esˌti sɛːriˌkon peˌri eˈmoi̯] | It's Chinese to me. | Chinese |
| Arabic | يتحدث باللغة الصينية | yataḥaddaṯ bil-luġah aṣ-Ṣīnīyah | He's speaking Chinese. | Chinese The verb in the example can be conjugated in other forms. |
| Arabic, Syrian Colloquial | يحكي كرشوني | yaḥki 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 بالهندي | byatkallam 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?" |
| Cantonese | 火星話 / 火星话 | fo2 sing1 waa6 | Martian | No specific set phrase, treated like any ordinary language, eg. "Is this ghost script?" "Is this written in Martian?" |
| Catalan | Com si diguessis Llúcia | | As if you say Lucy; not referring to a language | |
| Cebuano | Linatin | | Latin | Latin, a language used in rituals by holy men such as Catholic priests, faith healers, and talisman owners. |
| Cebuano | Ininsik | | Chinese | Chinese |
| Chavacano | Aleman ese comigo. | | It's German to me. | German |
| Croatian | To su za mene španska sela. | | These are to me the Spanish countryside. | Spanish |
| Czech | To je pro mě španělská vesnice. | | This is a Spanish village to me. | Spanish |
| Danish | Det rene volapyk. | | This is pure Volapük | Volapük, a 19th century constructed language |
| Danish | Det er en by i Rusland. | | This is a town in Russia. | Russian |
| Danish | Kaudervælsk | | Romansh | Romansh, a Rhaeto-Romance language spoken in Switzerland |
| Dutch | Dat is Chinees voor mij. | | That is Chinese to me. | Chinese |
| Dutch | Ik snap er geen jota van. | | I don't understand one iota of it. Reference to Matthew 5:18. | Greek |
| Esperanto | Tio estas volapukaĵo. | [ˈtio ˈestas volapuˈkaʒo] | It's all Volapük. | Volapük, a 19th century constructed language |
| Estonian | See on mulle hiina keel. | | This is Chinese to me. | Chinese |
| Filipino | Parang Intsik | | It looks like Chinese. | Chinese |
| Finnish | Täyttä hepreaa. | | It's all Hebrew. | Hebrew |
| Finnish | Kuulostaa siansaksalta | | Sounds like pig's German | gibberish |
| Finnish | harakanvarpaita (refers to undecipherable writing) | | Magpie's toes | unintelligible writing (gibberish) |
| French | C'est du chinois. C'est de l'hébreu. C'est du russe. | [s‿ɛ dy ʃinwa] [s‿ɛ də l‿ebʁø] [s‿ɛ dy ʁys] | It's Chinese. It's Hebrew. It's Russian. | Chinese Hebrew Russian |
| German | Das kommt mir spanisch vor. | | That sounds like Spanish to me. (usually meant to indicate something is fishy) | Spanish |
| German | Spreche ich Chinesisch? | | Am I speaking Chinese? | Chinese |
| German | Fachchinesisch | | specialty Chinese (meaning technical jargon) | Chinese |
| German | Kauderwelsch | | trade Romance | Mediterranean Lingua Franca |
| German | Das sind böhmische Dörfer für mich | | These are Bohemian villages to me | Czech, Bohemia being a region of the neighbouring Czech Republic that is nearest to Germany. |
| German | Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof | | All I understand is "train station." | |
| German | Polnisch rückwärts | | Polish [spoken] in reverse | Polish |
| Greek, Standard Modern | Αυτά μου φαίνονται κινέζικα. | | This strikes me as Chinese | Chinese |
| Greek, Standard Modern | Αυτά μου φαίνονται αλαμπουρνέζικα. | | These seem to me gobbledygook. | "Alaburnese" (similar to gibberish) |
| Greek, Cypriot | Εν τούρτζικα που μιλάς; | [e‿ˈⁿduɾ̥t͡ʃi̞kɐ p̬u mi↗ˈlɐs] | Are you speaking Turkish? | Turkish |
| Hebrew | זה סינית בשבילי | | It's Chinese to me! | Chinese |
| Hindi, Urdu | क्या मैं फ़ारसी बोल रहा हूँ? کیا میں فارسی بول رہا ہوں؟ | 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 ayam | | Chicken feet | gibberish Refers to unreadable writing. |
| Indonesian | Bahasa planet | | (Other-)planet language | alien language |
| Italian | Questo per me è arabo/aramaico/ostrogoto/turco/cinese | ,,,, | This is Arabic/Aramaic/Ostrogoth/Turkish/Chinese to me | Arabic, 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 | ꦕꦺꦏꦺꦂꦥꦶꦛꦶꦏ꧀ | | Chicken scratch | illegible handwriting |
| Javanese | ꦧꦱꦮꦭꦺꦴꦟ꧀ꦝ | | Dutch language | Dutch |
| Korean | 횡설수설하고 있다 | Hoengseolsuseolhago itta | They are speaking horizontally and vertically. | gibberish, especially for unrecognizable spoken language or incoherence. |
| Korean | 괴발개발 (refers to unreadable writing) | Goebalgaebal | Cat's footprints and dog's footprints | gibberish |
| Korean | 아무 말이나 한다 | Amu marina handa | They are speaking out random words. | gibberish |
| Korean | 외계어를 한다 | Oegyeeoreul handa | They are speaking in an alien language. | alien language |
| Korean | 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] illegible | Greek |
| Latvian | Tā man ir ķīniešu ābece | | This is Chinese alphabet book to me | Chinese |
| Lithuanian | Tai man kaip kinų kalba. | | It's Chinese to me | Chinese |
| Lojban | ti itku'ile ga'a mi | | It's Ithkuil to me | Ithkuil |
| Macedonian | За мене тоа е шпанско село. | Za mene toa e špansko selo. | It is for me a Spanish village. | Spanish |
| Malay | (Tulisan) Cakar ayam | | Chicken feet | gibberish 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, c.f. A Book from the Sky. |
| Mandarin | 鬼畫符 / 鬼画符 | Zhè shì guǐhuàfú ma? | ghost-drawn marks | "ghost language" Refers to very poor, incomprehensible handwriting. |
| Mandarin | 鳥語。/ 鸟语 | Niǎo Yǔ | bird language. | "bird language" (bird song) Refers to incomprehensible speech. |
| Mandarin | 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. |
| 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 |
| Persian | مگه ترکی حرف میزنم؟ | | Am I speaking Turkish? | Turkish |
| Polish | To dla mnie chińszczyzna. | | To me it's Chinese | Chinese |
| Polish | Siedzieć jak na tureckim kazaniu | | Sit as in a Turkish sermon | Turkish |
| Polish | Czeski film | | Czech 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 me | Chinese (Portugal) |
| Portuguese | Isto para mim é grego. | | This is Greek to me | Greek (Portugal) |
| Proto-Germanic | *Þat isti Walhiskǭ/Winidiskǭ furi mek. | [θɑt ˈis.ti ˈwɑlxis.kɔ̃ː/ˈwiniðiskɔ̃ː ˈɸuri mek] | It's Proto-Italic/Proto-Slavic for me. | Proto-Italic, Proto-Slavic |
| Proto-Slavic | *To estь Němьčьskъjь/Volšьskъjь děľa mę. | [tɔ ɛstɪ nɛːmɪt͡ʃɪskʊjɪ/ʋɔlʃɪskʊjɪ dɛːʎɑː mɛ̃ː] | It's Proto-Germanic/Proto-Italic for me. | Proto-Germanic, Proto-Italic |
| Romanian | Parcă e chineză. | | It's like Chinese. | Chinese |
| Romanian | Ești turc? | | Are you Turkish? | Turkish |
| Romanian | 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. |
| Russian | 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 |
| Serbian | К'о да кинески причаш. K'o da kineski pričaš. | | Like speaking in Chinese | Chinese |
| Slovak | To je pre mňa španielska dedina. | | That is a Spanish village to me. | Spanish |
| Slovene | To mi je španska vas | | That 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 |
| Spanish | No entiendo ni jota | | I 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 |
| Swedish | (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. |
| 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 Khmer | Khmer |
| Yiddish | תּרגום־לשון טערקיש אָץ־קוצץ־לשון מלאָכים־לשון חרטמים־לשון | targem-loshn terkish ots-koytsets-loshn malokhim-loshn khartumim-loshn | targum 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 |