Idioms are combinations of words with connotations beyond their literal meanings. Most idioms in English when considered in isolation without any background knowledge do not particularly make too much sense, and, to put it bluntly, sound very bizarre. In the English language alone there are estimated to be over twenty-five thousand idioms, some of these with fairly established origins, but many with theoretical and hypothesized beginnings. While these commonly used phrases within our own language may seem strange, they get even more outlandish when diluted by translation of a foreign language.

Idioms also possess a way of communicating certain concepts which are difficult to word and have risen from the limitations of vocabulary. A few common idioms include: "action speak louder than words," "add insult to injury," and "blessing in disguise". Through constant repetition of hearing these common combinations of words with contextual cues, fluent English speakers become extremely familiar with the elected meaning behind these phrases.

The established meaning of idioms becomes challenged from non-native speakers and upon translation into other languages or divergent dialects.

Difficulty in translation of idioms often arises from the multiple meanings assigned to particular words. For instance, consider the English idiom: "kill two birds with one stone". The intended meaning underlying this phrase is essentially to resolve two issues with one single solution, or one single action. However, if you were to translate this into another language it becomes increasingly more complicated and misconstrued; the words kill, bird and stone have several possible definitions.

To kill can mean to cause the death of a living being, to put an end to something, to ruin the effect of, or to spend unprofitably. Many of these have similar uses, but actually bear different implications.

A bird is mostly commonly known as a species of warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrates possessing wings, feathers, a beak and the ability to fly. Moreover, it can alternatively be used to refer to a person with a unique quality or character.

A stone can represent a concentration of mineral matter, a unit of weight, a playing piece, a state or a type of table with a smooth, flat top. Beyond these definitions established and identified by the dictionary, there are numerous slang connotations for kill, stone and birds, which may not be formally addressed but nonetheless their meanings are widespread and well-understood amongst English speakers.

When combining these words into a phrase, native speakers are able to determine which definition to apply given the context of the sentence and years of familiarity with the language. But when attempting to translate into a different language, these specified meanings are often misplaced.

Further, all languages do not possess direct conversions of at least some specific words. For example, the word "fundraiser" in English does not have a direct translation in Spanish. There are combinations of words that can be used to describe what a fundraiser is, such as "recaudación de fondos", but no single word effectively conveys the exact same meaning. Many Spanish words also exist that have no clear translation into English.

Translation between English and other languages becomes even more diluted and abstruse when the language has different roots. Most English words derive from either Greek or Latin roots, and Spanish similarly developed primarily from Latin origins. Since the languages share many cognates and maintain relatively comparable grammatical structure, it is a much simpler and coherent process to translate between the two, than for languages of distant ancestry.

Contrastingly, deciphering between English and a dialect of Chinese such as Mandarin, results with many phrases and words that are lost in the process of translation. Unlike English, Mandarin evolved from Old Chinese and contains a completely distinct sentence structure and alphabet. For instance, a Chinese word "shān zhài", literally translates to "mountain stronghold" in English. It's actual meaning signifies a sort of knock-off or cheap item found throughout China, but has no English counterpart.

Ultimately, the meaning of words and idioms can easily become blurred and distorted in the process of switching languages.

Below is a list of 10 examples of these idioms in which literal translation to English simply does not do them justice:

1. Idiom: In bocca al lupo

Language: Italian

Literal translation: in the mouth of the wolf

Intended meaning: Good luck. It is often responded with "crepi il lupo" which means "may the wolf die". It is typically used for opera and theatre in the same way English utilizes "break a leg!" The phrase originally began as a superstitious use of a negative wish as a way of bringing about good luck with hunters. They would wish dangerous situations upon each other in hopes that the opposite would occur. A wolf in western culture is typically viewed as an aggressive animal and one of perpetual danger.

2. Idiom: Det är ingen ko på isen

Language: Swedish

Literal translation: there is no cow on the ice

Intended meaning: Don't worry. The intention of this idiom is to convey that there is no immediate danger. The English interpretation is that since the weight of a cow is immense and ice is unpredictable, having a cow on ice is potentially problematic as it may break the ice. By saying there is no cow on the ice, there is no possibility of the cow falling into ice water and thus no problem.

3. Idiom: Muda Labudova

Language: Croatian

Literal translation: balls of a swan

Intended meaning: Something is impossible. This idiom is a perfect demonstration for the incompatibility of languages; various speculations may be done, but there is no definite interpretation of this idiom in English.

4. Idiom: Вешать лапшу на уши

Language: Russian

Literal translation: To hang noodles on one's ears

Intended meaning: To tell lies. Noodles are supposed to signify long rags of cloth, and hanging noodles is intended to mean a covering of the ears so a person cannot hear correctly or clearly. It may be a bit of a stretch in English, but the underlying connection is the lies are equivalent to person being obstructed from hearing properly or hearing the truth.

The remaining idioms do not have clearly or intuitively deductable meanings, but here are the intended signficances:

5. Idiom: Mónésó'táhoenôtse kosa?

Language: Cheyenne

Literal translation: are you still riding the goat?

Intended meaning: To be separated from your spouse.

6. Idiom: kuman di seberang lautan tampak, gajah di pelupuk mata tak tampak

Language: Indonesian

Literal translation: the bacterium across the sea is seen, but the elephant on eyelid is not seen

Intended meaning: It's easier to see the faults of others than our own.

7. Idiom: 똥묻은개가겨묻은개나무란다

Language: Korean

Literal translation: a dog with feces scolds a dog with husks of grain

Intended meaning: Do not talk down to someone of higher social standing when you have nothing to back it up with.

8. Idiom: Les doigts dans le nez

Language: French

Literal translation: the fingers in the nose

Intended meaning: To do something easily, with my eyes closed.

9. Idiom: Tonący brzytwy się chwyta

Language: Polish

Literal translation: the drowning man catches a cut throat razor

Intended meaning: A drowning man will clutch at a straw.

10. Idiom: Pagar el pato

Language: Portuguese

Literal translation: pay the duck

Intended meaning: To take blame for something you did not do.