Romanian Sayings and their meanings

In a previous article, we had introduced to you some traditions in Romania, some of them funny, some of them weird or similar with traditions of other countries, but definitely, all of them are very interesting. The traditions along with the their customs, are part of a country’s culture. The same goes for «sayings». In this article, we will present you some Romanian sayings, that you may as well find funny, but on the same time, sayings that are carrying a lot of wisdom over the years.

Let’s start our Romanian Lessons of sayings with the funny and weird expression «I-a sărit muștarul» which means literally «His mustard has jumped off». No, this has nothing to do with food! This is for the situation when someone loses his temper and becomes mad or upset. Pretty catchy!

Next on the list and -allow us to say- kind of disgusting, is the famous one «A dat cu mucii în fasole». The translation of this one is «He threw his boogers in the beans» and it’s actual meaning is when someone  had messed up something very important but also, most of the times, irreparably. However, the Romanians are known for their  insistent and patient character, so be sure, that they will try to fix this!

Moving forward, another expression-saying, which as well contains food is «A vinde gogoși». This means «To sell doughnuts»! Someone will probably be wondering what is the meaning of that and having in mind the substance of the doughnuts, probably will think that is a good thing to say. But, the reality is different. It actually means that we are lying to someone which in general is not a good thing to do and for Romanians especially, is not appreciated at all.

A pretty inventive saying is «A-ți pica fisa» which we can translate as «To drop your coin». We left behind the food sayings and we moved to money… Or not? Actually we use this expression in order to show that we finally understood something, which is usually very important. Or figure out something or came up with something. Think of Archimedes!

After this, it is worth to mention a saying coming from the animal’s kingdom. This weird expression is «La Paștele Cailor» and it’s translation is «At horses’ Easter». This one is when we want to point out that something is so difficult to happen that it’s almost unrealistic. They use it mostly for wishes which will never get fulfilled.

Next saying is a very common one in their discussions (and especially when they are gossiping). It’s the «A freca menta» and it means «To rub the mint». No, this is not a profession or a hobby (we believe…) but the Romanians use it to someone who is lazy and wasting time without actually doing nothing. Generally, they don’t like lazy people.

And finally we have the saying «A băga mâna în foc pentru cineva» which means «To put your hand in fire for somebody”. This is when we want to express our full trust to someone and we are sure for his loyalty. Until, of course, he will prove us the opposite.

Of course, these were only some of the thousands of the Romanian sayings. We found them very interesting, weird and funny. We hope you will do the same!