Like many countries, Colombians have many sayings and terms that everyone in the country understands but are almost impossible to translate into another language. Whether it’s because of the historical isolation of the country, or that special spark in the souls of Colombian people, many sayings in Colombia can only really be understood by natives. These phrases and words, affectionately known as being a part of the «Chibchombiano» language (Colombian instead of Spanish), represent a huge challenge for any interpreter. With the goal of putting a smile on your face, and to give you an insight into one of the conundrums faced by interpreters working in Colombia, we have prepared a short list of some of our favorite «Chibcha» sayings.

1. «A soldier warned never dies in war». This saying comes up a lot in conversations about disaster risks and social problems. However, if I interpret it literally into English, the client will look at me with a confused face because we weren’t talking about the armed conflict. One client leaned over and asked “is a warning enough? Maybe a weapon too?”.
2. «And this miracle?”. An expression used when you haven’t seen someone for a while, which could be years or a couple of days. In English, miracles are reserved for when something inexplicable and magical happens about once a century, like the apparition of a deity. In Colombia, the miracle of seeing someone you have previously met happens every day.
3. «They talk out of their elbows». If someone talks a lot, which is a common thing in Colombia, they say that their additional words have to come out through their elbows because their mouth is already so busy talking.
4. «Every child comes with a loaf of bread under his arm». In Colombia, children are considered a blessing for each family and they are treasured. This saying sees the arrival of a baby as a harbinger of good fortune, no matter the economic situation of the parents, which is why they are bringing the metaphorical bread.
5. «Weeds never die». Maybe it is because of all the violence that the country has experienced, but in Colombia there are many sayings about bad people. This one refers to the injustice of how bad people seem to live a lot longer than good people.
6. «Tree that grows crooked, branches will never straighten». There are many sayings in Colombia that allude to the negative aspects of life, especially corrupt politicians who steal public funds. This phrase describes the general belief that these people will never learn to act decently.
7. «More dangerous than a cough with diarrhea». A wonderful example of Colombian black humor. There are a lot of sayings about risks and dangers in this country, which is a consequence of the historically high levels of crime generated by drug trafficking and the armed conflict. A number of them draw on Colombians’ general love of slapstick and gross-out humor.

ONG Traducciones offers interpreting and written translations in English and Spanish and we do our absolute best with Chibchombiano. You can find out more about these services here.