As an italian from (near) Rome, I feel offended we're not getting the recognition we deserve for this!<p>The expression for variations of "who cares" would be "Sticazzi" (~= "these dicks") and is a particularly important expression in roman culture! "Not caring" is core to our being, in most bad and good ways :)<p>There's even a short story whose origin I can't recall:<p>When God finished making the world, God was looking at his creation and some people showed up:<p>- Lord, we'd like to ask for Power
- Let it be granted - said the Lord, and those became the Kings and Queens and Emperors<p>Then some more people showed up:<p>- Lord, we'd like to ask for Power
- The Powerful already have that
- Well, we'd like to ask for the Wealth then
- Let it be granted - said the Lord, and those became the rich people.<p>Then God saw the Romans walk by and yelled at them<p>- Hey folks, I'm sorry, there's neither Power nor Wealth left!<p>The romans looked at each other in confusion, and replied "sticazzi?"<p>God thought about it a bit:<p>- Let it be granted!
> Another French slang expression (also testicle-related) for not giving a fuck is “I’m painting my balls with the brush of indifference”<p>If anyone has an idea of the original in french, I would be interested. I am French and I have no clue what he refers to.
The dutch one is better translated as “I’ll let it rust my crack” (as in buttcrack) rather than anus.<p>It comes from the fact that we also used to use the word crack for “railtrack embedded in the pavement” as used by trams (streetcars). To let the crack oxidize is to not do proper upkeep on that section of the track.<p>Though no one uses crack to refer to railway track anymore. So the translation is definitely the connotation that modern day dutch speakers would hear.
Isn't this mostly well-timed content marketing?<p>> As we’re entering last-minute Christmas shopping time, it’d be remiss of me not to mention I have a book of lists like these
In Swedish it's not as harsh as Zero fucks given but reading some of those others I'd say "intresseklubben antecknar" is the phrase we'd use when I was growing up in the 90s.<p>It translates literally to "the club of interested people is taking notes".
> 6. I don't give a frostbitten onion (Romanian)<p>Never heard anything even close.<p>The usual is "ma doare-n pula" which translates as "it hurts in my dick", or, "da-o-n pula" = "put it / send it in dick" if you're talking about something/somebody. Or you can just say "pula" (dick) in the correct context would translate the same.<p>EDIT: Forgot to mention the "censored", non-vulgar version: "ma doare tare" = "it hurts much", or just "ma doare" = "it hurts".
In Spanish, I'd say "me importa un pepino" ("I care a cucumber") shares as much popularity as "me importa un pimiento" ("I care a pepper"). Personally I've heard/used the second one a lot more, but I guess it may depend on the region or something.<p>But there are other, more explicit, expressions equally popular. There is "me importa una mierda" ("I care a shit"), and the most vulgar one is probably "me suda la polla" ("it makes my dick sweat") or, for short, "me la suda".
While I do know both of the mentioned German/Austrian sayings:
"It's sausage to me."
"It's blood pudding to me."
I'm not sure those actually capture the feel of "zero fucks given"...<p>"It's sausage to me." is rather tame, would fit "I don't care" or "I couldn't care less.". The blood pudding is the same, but feels a bit archaic/backwardly.<p>There's also:
"This goes straight past my arse." - which might be a better match for "zero fucks" in terms of tone and vulgarity. But even that feels more like "I don't give a shit" rather then "Zero fucks given". I don't think there's a perfect German translation of "Zero fucks given" that captures all the nuances.<p>"The dog shits on it." (mentioned for another language) exists in German as well. Feels a bit more aggressive/confrontational than "It's sausage to me."
(It's also more of a "nobody cares" rather than an "I don't care")
I think most of these examples are I don't care about the thing under discussion whereas zero fucks given is a more all encompassing level of not caring about anything that might get in the way of what the person who is giving the zero fucks wants to do.
Addition in Arabic:<p>> I'll talk to her for you<p>Or, possibly better, "tuz" (or "tozz") which just means "salt" in Turkish. There's a story behind it[0] but it's universally used across the MENA region to express indifference.<p>[0] <a href="https://arabicway.tumblr.com/post/45019281929/a-lot-of-people-think-that-the-word-%D8%B7%D8%B2-tuz-is" rel="nofollow">https://arabicway.tumblr.com/post/45019281929/a-lot-of-peopl...</a>
In Spanish, in particular in Spain, "cucumber" is seldom used. The order of most used according to a recent corpus [1] and google search suggestions would be:<p>I care a ... ("Me importa un ...")<p>- Amaranth, "bledo" (a plant)<p>- Penis, "carajo"<p>- Cumin, "comino"<p>- Bell pepper, "pimiento"<p>- Ball, "huevo"<p>- Cucumber, "pepino"<p>[1] <a href="https://www.corpusdelespanol.org/" rel="nofollow">https://www.corpusdelespanol.org/</a>
In Macedonian we say "ne me boli kur" or the more prevalent "me boli kur" which mean "my dick does not hurt" or the latter more ironic version "my dick hurts".
Some expressions used in European Portuguese:<p>- "Caguei e andei." (I shat and walked)<p>- "É igual ao litro" (It's equal to the litre)<p>- "É para o lado que durmo melhor" (It's the side that I sleep best)
Variations of "jeg driter i det" (literally: I shit in it) seems to be to be common in Norway.<p>Edit: A more polite one in Norwegian I think is "det blåser jeg (en lang marsj) i" (roughly: I play a long march to that. Implied that it is played on trumpet or something since blåser equals blows).<p>Someone who knows Norwegian and English better than be should feel free to correct.
"Horseradish" aside (lol) my favorite Russian euphemism for this is:<p>"[I] spun [this] on my dick" (на хую вертел). Spun as in "to spin", "to rotate", "to twirl." The imagery is a bit absurd, as is the case with most of these. The Greek one with the flowers and the bees is 10/10 as well.<p>I had a good laugh. Thanks, author.
Some additional French delicacies:<p>- Rien à foutre : "Nothing to cum for"<p>- Ca m'en touche une sans m'en faire bouger l'autre: "It touches one of my balls without moving the other one". Actually popularize by French President Chirac :)<p>- Je m'en branle : "I wank about it"<p>Seems like involving sexual organs is pretty much international.
Portuguese is apparently missing in the thread, here are 2 of the most popular:<p>Brazil: I'm not even there ("Não estou nem aí")<p>Portugal: Would I want to know ("Quero lá saber")
Some additional ones would be:<p>"On my testicles" (short for: "I've noted it on my testicles", i.e. I don't care about it), also said as "I write it (meaning scribled/noted) on my testicles").<p>"Something is going on at the gypsie camp" (as such camps are lively, there's usually always something going there. So something "going on" there would be a common occurence/irrelevant, and by extension, we don't give a fuck about it).<p>"The mare shat on the field" (as horses do that all the time, it means it's a trivial thing, and by extension, we don't give a fuck about it).
Being Italian, I find queer that I never heard anything even similar to the two cited sayings:<p>>I will talk about it with my horse (Italian)<p>>I don’t give a cabbage (Italy)<p>EDIT: Ok, correction, the second one, as "I don't care a cabbage" is fine.
In french there's <i>"je m'en fous comme de l'an 40"</i> or <i>"je m'en moque comme de l'an 40"</i>: <i>"I don't care, as if it was year 40"</i>. But the funny thing is nobody really knows about which year 40 this is. It's not 1940 for the saying goes back at least 200 years.<p><a href="https://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/se_foutre_comme_de_l%E2%80%99an_quarante_de" rel="nofollow">https://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/se_foutre_comme_de_l%E2%80%99...</a>
The fun thing about Romance languages. What is Latin for Witness?<p>Testis.<p>What is the central message of "zero fucks given"?<p>I have seen it, and am unmoved.<p>I am not at all surprised there seems to be a high correlation with phraseology involving testicles/genitalia and the message of having more important things to attend to.<p>Much more interesting is the variance in terms of how some of these turns of phrase are associated with (the speaker|something else in the world|some situation in the world) as subject.<p>I'd go on, but I'd have to deposit 25 fucks for the next five minutes, and I'm fresh out.
In Polish, it’s “mam to w dupie”, or “I have it up my ass”, which actually sounds painful/rather a lot of effort about something you’re indifferent to.
>it's horseradish to me (Russian)<p>"Horseradish" is a euphemism for "dick" (a similar sounding word). There's a different, original variant which has "dick" instead of horseradish. When you want to say "fuck you" you say "go [and sit] on the dick". The original phrase for "zero fucks given" therefore, means more like "it is around the area of the dick".
For Finnish, I think the more common expression is "The rocks are interested too". Its easier to quip in discussion. Of course the listed one is a bit more lively, so more fun in lists like these :)<p>Also, some years ago it was almost a meme to use "EVVK", short for "couldn't care less", in so much that it got spelled as such spoken language too. I don't hear that as much anymore.
One could make a list comparable to that by simply focusing on Russian variants. We have a pretty rich variety of ways to not give it. As you may have guessed, many of them refer to having diverse sex or other obscene acts (feel free to fantasize) with a subject in different ways, to not having a desire to do that, or a subject being claimed as not really fitting this purpose.
Dutch here. We also like to say (at least where I am from): "Je kunt mijn rug op en mijn reet af" -> "You can go on my back and off my ass".
BTW: the translated part from the Dutch "It can oxidize on my anus" is in Dutch: "Het kan aan mijn reet roesten"
In French, the one with the paint is not common. However “je m’en branle” (I wank myself with it?) and “j’en ai rien à branler/foutre/secouer” (I have nothing to wank/jerk/shake with it) are _very_ common.
As we are discussing the delicate art of slang :) I'll add this video [1] which is a popular meme around "We slaps our balls" in french.<p>There is also the gorgeous expression "On s'en tamponne le coquillard" [2] which is one of my favorite.<p>[1]: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoDY9vFAaG8" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoDY9vFAaG8</a><p>[2]: <a href="https://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/s%E2%80%99en_tamponner_le_coquillard" rel="nofollow">https://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/s%E2%80%99en_tamponner_le_coq...</a>
I try to translate another two popular German sayings that were not mentioned here before:<p>The first one is for the intellectuals:<p>- This is not tangent to me.<p>The second one is more difficult to translate. I try:<p>- This is not tangent to my ass.<p>- This does not touch my ass.<p>- This in an anus fly-by.
Why doe these not have the original language version behind the English one? Or am I missing that (dunno what Nitter is). Like the Dutch one is: 'Het zal me aan mijn reet roesten'.
Scrolling down a bit in the thread the list of collective nouns of people is pretty hilarious.<p>'A slick of lawyers'
'A notherweek of builders'
A bit crass, but in Punjabi (India), we used to say “Bund ni maardey”, literally translated to “we don’t do it in the ass”. Not sure why it became synonymous with “we don’t give a fuck”.
<a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/zero_fucks_given" rel="nofollow">https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/zero_fucks_given</a> needs some love
I think Hungarian (not present on the list) is also nice:<p>_Leszarom_<p>> Meaning: I shit on it.<p>Another one is:<p>_Baszok rá_<p>> Meaning: I fuck on it (which makes no sense in English)
I feel like these have been translated in an over-technical way to deliberately make them seem more ridiculous. Is <i>It can oxidize on my anus</i> not really "it can rust on my ass"?