/me ˈswena a ˈt͡ʃino/ lit. ‘it sounds like Chinese to me’
Spanish idiom, everyday. I can’t understand any of it.
Draft Not yet checked by a native Spanish speaker.
How do people use Me suena a chino
?
Everyday and friendly, used all over the Spanish-speaking world. The verb changes with the person who’s lost: “me suena a chino” (it’s Greek to me), “te suena a chino”, “todo esto me suena a chino”. People say it about jargon, instructions, math homework and foreign languages alike.
Also said sonar a chino, esto es chino para mí
Me suena a chino
in real sentences
-
Esto me suena a chino.
That’s Greek to me.
Tatoeba, sentence by al_ex_an_der, translation by al_ex_an_der, CC BY 2.0 FR
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Todo esto me suena a chino.
This is all Greek to me.
Tatoeba, sentence by Seael, translation by CK, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Me suena a chino
come from?
There’s no recorded origin story. Spanish just picked Chinese as the most unfamiliar language it could think of, the way English picked Greek: English Wiktionary traces “it was Greek to me” to Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar (1599). Spanish Wiktionary lists a whole family of Chinese idioms, such as “hablar en chino” and “cuento chino” (a tall tale), so the image is well established.
Mistakes learners make with Me suena a chino
Saying “es griego para mí” because English picked Greek. Spanish speakers would understand, but the language that sounds hopeless in Spanish is Chinese.
Other Spanish idioms like Me suena a chino
Spot a mistake in Me suena a chino
?
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