when pigs fly - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (2024)

when pigs fly

• Afrikaans: as die perde horings kry(af) (literally “if the horses get horns”)
• Arabic:

  Egyptian Arabic: فِي الْمِشْمِش (fī l-mišmiš, literally “in the apricot [season]”)

  Gulf Arabic: إِذَا حَجَّتِ الْبَقَرَة عَلَى قُرُونِهَا (ʔiḏā ḥajjati l-baqara ʕalā qurūnihā, literally “when the cow goes on pilgrimage on its horns”)

  Palestinian Arabic: لَمَّا يَنْوَر اَلْمِلْح (lammā yanwar al-milḥ, literally “when salt blossoms”)

• Armenian: երբ խոզը բարձրանա ծառը (erb xozə barjrana caṙə, literally “when the pig climbs up the tree”)
• Azerbaijani: dəvənin quyruğu yerə dəyəndə
• Belarusian: на святыя ніколі (na svjatyja nikóli, literally “on Saint Never[’s day]”)
• Breton: kentre ma moc'h kelieno
• Bulgarian: на куково лято (na kukovo ljato, literally “in a cuckoo’s summer”)
• Catalan: quan les gallines pixin(ca) (literally “when hens piss”)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 豬乸會上樹／猪乸会上树 (zyu¹ naa² wui⁵ soeng⁶ syu⁶, literally “when pig sows climb up the tree”)

  Hokkien: 天落紅雨，馬生角／天落红雨，马生角 (thiⁿ lo̍h âng-hō͘, bé seⁿ/siⁿ kak, literally “when rain is red and horses grow horns”)

  Literary Chinese: 烏頭白，馬生角 (wū tóu bái, mǎ shēng jiǎo, literally “when crows have white heads and horses grow horns”), 天雨粟，馬生角 (tiān yù sù, mǎ shēng jiǎo, literally “when it rains millets and horses grow horns”)

  Mandarin: 除非太陽從西邊出來／除非太阳从西边出来 (chúfēi tàiyáng cóng xībiān chūlái, literally “when the sun rises in the west”)

• Czech: až kohout vejce snese (literally “when roosters lay eggs”) (rare), až naprší a uschne(cs), na svatého Dyndy(cs), až půjde žid z pouti(cs)
• Dutch: wanneer Pasen en Pinksteren op één dag vallen (literally “when Easter and Pentecost fall on the same day”), met sint-juttemis (literally “on Saint Judith[’s day]”)
• Esperanto: kiam la ratoj seksumos kun la musoj (literally “when rats embrace mice”), en la tago de Sankta Neniamo (literally “on Saint Never’s day”)
• Estonian: kui kana pissib (literally “when chicken pees”)
• Finnish: kun lehmät lentävät (literally “when cows fly”)
• French: quand les poules auront des dents(fr) (literally “when chickens have teeth”), aux calendes grecques (literally “on the Greek calends”), à la Saint Glinglin (literally “on Saint Glinglin’s day”), la semaine des quatre jeudis(fr) (literally “the week with four Thursdays”), à Pâques ou à la Trinité(fr) (literally “on Easter or on Trinity [Sunday]”), à la Saint-Glinglin(fr)
• Georgian: როცა ვირი ხეზე ავა (roca viri xeze ava)
• German: am Sankt-Nimmerleins-Tag (literally “on Saint Little Never’s day”), wenn Ostern und Pfingsten auf einen Tag fallen(de) (literally “when Easter and Pentecost fall on the same day”)
• Greek: του αγίου ποτέ (tou agíou poté)
• Hebrew: כשחזירים יעופו (k'shekhazirím ya'úfu, literally “when pigs fly”)
• Hindi: सूरज पश्चिम से उगेगा (sūraj paścim se ugegā, literally “when the sun rises in the west”)
• Hungarian: majd ha fa*gy (literally “when it freezes”), holnapután kiskedden, majd ha piros hó esik (literally “when red snow falls”), majd ha cigánygyerekek potyognak az égből, sohanapján(hu)
• Inuktitut: ᑐᓗᒃᑲᑦ ᖃᑯᖅᓯᒃᐸᑕ (tolokkat qakoqsikpata, literally “when the ravens turn white”)
• Irish: lá Philib an Chleite, lá Thaidhg na dTadhgann
• Italian: quando gli asini voleranno (literally “when donkeys fly”), alle calende greche (literally “on the Greek calends”)
• Japanese: 枯れ木に花咲く (kareki ni hana saku, literally “dead trees blossom”)
• Latin: ad kalendas Graecas (literally “on the Greek calends”), cum mula peperit
• Latvian: kad cūkas lidos, kad pūcei aste ziedēs
• Macedonian: на куково лето (na kukovo leto)
• Malayalam: കാക്ക മലന്നു പറക്കും (kākka malannu paṟakkuṁ, literally “the crow will fly upside down”)
• Persian: وقت گل نی (vaght e gol e ney, literally “when the reed plant blossoms”)
• Polish: na świętego nigdy (literally “on Saint Never[’s day]”)
• Portuguese: quando os porcos voarem (literally “when pigs fly”), no Dia de São Nunca (literally “on Saint Never’s day”), no Dia de São Nunca à tarde (literally “on Saint Never’s day’s evening”)
• Romanian: când o zbura porcul (literally “when pigs fly”), când va face plopul pere (literally “when the poplar makes pears”), la paștele cailor (literally “at the horse’s Easter”), când mi-oi vedea ceafa (literally “when I see my nape”), la Sfîntu-așteaptă (literally “on Saint-Wait’s day”)
• Russian: когда́ рак на горе́ сви́стнет(ru) (kogdá rak na goré svístnet, literally “when a crayfish whistles on the mountain”), по́сле до́ждичка в четве́рг(ru) (pósle dóždička v četvérg, literally “after a small rain on Thursday”)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: кад на врби роди грожђе (literally “when grapes grow on willows”)

  Roman: kad na vrbi rodi grožđe (literally “when grapes grow on willows”)

• Spanish: el día que las vacas vuelen (literally “the day that cows fly”), cuando las ranas críen pelo(es) (literally “when frogs grow hair”), cuando San Juan agache el dedo (literally “when Saint John bends his finger”)
• Sranan Tongo: te kakafowru kisi tifi (literally “when the rooster grows teeth”)
• Swedish: när grisar flyger (literally “when pigs fly”)
• Tagalog: sa pagputi ng uwak (literally “when the crow turns white”), sa pag-itim ng tagak (literally “when the heron turns black”)
• Turkish: ^{(please verify)} balık kavağa çıkınca(tr) (literally “when fish climb poplars”), ^{(please verify)} çıkmaz ayın son çarşambası(tr) (literally “on the last Wednesday in Never-month”)
• Ukrainian: коли рак на горі свисне (koly rak na hori svysne), не бачити як свого носа (ne bačyty jak svoho nosa), коли на долоні волосся виросте (koly na doloni volossja vyroste)
• Urdu: جب زمین اور آسمان ایک ہونگے (jab zamīn aur āsmān ek hōngē, literally “when the sky and the Earth meet”)
• West Frisian: as de keallen op it iis dûnsje (literally “if the calves dance on the ice”)
• Yiddish: װען משיח װעט קומען (ven moshiyekh vet kumen) (literally "when the Messiah comes"), ווען ס׳וועט זײַן דרײַ טעג ראש־⁠חודש (ven s'vet zayn dray teg reshkhoydesh) (literally "when it's Rosh Chodesh for three days")

List of idioms of improbability