Omphaloskepsis

13 February 202613 February 2026 By Simon

Do you engage in omphaloskepsis?

Omphaloskepsis [ˌɒmfələˈskɛpsɪs] is a very useful word that means the comtemplation of or meditation upon one’s navel, or in other words, navel-gazing. Another definition is ‘Ratiocination* to the point of self-absorption’. It comes from Ancient Greek ὀμφαλός (omphalós – navel) & σκέψις (sképsis – perception, reflection) [source].

*Ratiocination = Reasoning, conscious deliberate inference. Thought or reasoning that is exact, valid and rational. A proposition arrived at by such thought [source].

Related words include:

omphaloskeptic = One who contemplates or meditates upon one’s navel; one who engages in omphaloscopy. Likely to, prone to, or engaged in contemplating or meditating upon one’s navel.
omphalomancy = Divination by means of a child’s navel, to learn how many children the mother may have.
omphalopsychic = Related to or characterised by navel-gazing (omphaloskepsis). Someone who engages in omphaloskepsis, a navel-gazer.

The Modern Greek word ομφαλοσκοπία (omfaloskopía – the action or effect of omphaloscopy. A method of divination involving the examination of the umbilical cord) is also related [source].

The Ancient Greek word ὀμφαλός (omphalós – navel, umbilical cord, anything navel-shaped, centre) comes from Proto-Indo-European *h₃m̥bʰ-l̥- (navel), from *h₃nebʰ- (hub, navel) [source].

Words from the same roots include umbilicus (navel, middle, centre), navel and nave in English, ombelico (navel, umbilicus) in Italian, nombril (navel, belly button, middle) in French, umbigo (navel) in Portuguese, buric (navel, belly button) in Romanian, naaf (hub, nave) in Dutch, Nabel (navel, belly button, centre, middle) in German, and imleacán (navel, belly button) in Irish [source].

By the way, I found the word omphaloskepsis while putting together a Celtiadur post about words for navel, centre and middle in Celtic languages. It appears in the definition of the Welsh word bogailsyllu [bɔɡai̯lˈsəɬɨ / boːɡai̯lˈsəɬi], which means to comtemplate one’s navel, or to engage in navel-gazing or omphaloskepsis [source]. If you are omphaloskeptic, then in Welsh you are bogailsyllol (given to navel-gazing) [source].

The bogail [ˈbɔɡai̯l / ˈboːɡai̯l] in bogailsyllu means navel, umbilicus, belly button or afterbirth, a boss on a shield, a knob a stud, a nave, the hub of a well, middle or centre [source]. It should not be confused with bogail, which means vowel.

Words that mean navel-gazing in other languages include: navlepilleri in Danish, navelstaren in Dutch, nombrillisme in French, Nabelschau in German, and navlebeskuer in Norwegian [source].

Ideophones

28 January 2026 By Simon

What does the word tututu make you think of?

It’s an ideophone from Bebe (Naami) a language spoken in parts of Cameroon, and to a speaker of Bebe, tututu suggests the sound of a grinding mill.

Other ideophones in Bebe include:

kpaŋkpaŋkpaŋ = the sound of a bell
gbaaaŋ = the sound of a door closed with force
waaa = the sound of a running water
ŋgɔɔɔŋ = the sound of a lion roaring
ŋaaaŋ = the sound of a baby crying

Source: Naami Orthography Guide, by Grace Tabah and Mkounga Tala Blaise

You can find out more about Bebe on Omniglot – this is a new page I added today, and finding out about the ideophones in this language inspired me to write this post.

An ideophone is a member of the class of words that depict sensory imagery or sensations, evoking ideas of action, sound, movement, color, or shape. They are also known as mimetics or expressives. Unlike onomatopoeic words, which imitate sounds, ideophones can also indicate action, state, intensity, smell, colour or manner. They are common in such languages as Japanese, Korean, Tamil, Yoruba and Zulu.

Here are some examples:

がぶがぶ (gabugabu) = gulping, guzzling, gulp gulp – Japanese
きびきび (kibikibi) = briskly – Japanese
しとしとと降る (shitoshito to furu) = to rain or snow quietly – Japanese
가물가물 (gamulgamul) = (light) fading away into the distance, moving away faintly, in a blurred manner – Korean
버글버글 (beogeulbeogeul) = boilingly while spreading in all directions; bubblingly while spreading in all directions – Korean
꽁냥꽁냥 (kkongnyangkkongnyang) = lovey-dovey – Korean
படபட (paṭapaṭa) = fluttering – Tamil
புசுபுசு (pucupucu) = soft and bushy, fluffy – Tamil
விறுவிறு (viṟuviṟu) = energetically, lively, spicy – Tamil
khazimula = shining brightly – Zulu
qaqa = bursting – Zulu
jabula = happily – Zulu

Does your language have ideophones, or anything similar? Do you have any interesting examples?

For more information about ideophones see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideophone
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:Korean_ideophones
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:Japanese_onomatopoeias

Immersion

22 January 2026 By Simon

After 7 weeks in China, I’m now back in the UK. I arrived home on Monday afternoon, after a long journey via Zurich and Manchester.

Sok Kwu Wan, Lamma Island / 南丫島索罟灣

I spent 6 weeks staying with friends in Zhaoqing (肇庆) in Guangdong Province in the south of China, then spent a week in Hong Kong. I visited places I’d been to before in Hong Kong, and some ones that were new to me, and generally had a good time. Hong Kong felt very busy and crowded, after the relatively relaxed Zhaoqing. I was last there in 1998, and it has changed quite a bit. There seems to be a lot more of everything – people, traffic, buildings, roads, railways, etc, but I did find some things that were familiar, like the Star Ferries and the trams.

Beilingshan Forest Park, Zhaoqing / 肇庆北岭山森林公园

While in Zhaoqing, I explored the local area and saw some beautiful places, but didn’t visit any other parts of China.

Few of the local people in Zhaoqing speak English, so I had use Mandarin or Cantonese, and interpret for one of my friends, who doesn’t speak much Chinese at all. This helped me to improve both languages. However, most of my interactions with locals were short and about everyday topics, such as buying things, ordering food in restaurants, or asking directions. I did have longer conversations about various topics with some people.

Being immersed in a language, as I was, doesn’t necessarily mean that all aspects of your ability in that language will improve. You need to make an effort to speak to people about all sorts of things, to read the language as much as you can, to watch TV and films in the language, and to listen to radio, podcasts, audiobooks or other material. It also helps to make some local friends who you speak to regularly, and/or find a language exchange partner or tutor.

My Mandarin is maybe at an A2/B1 level, and my Cantonese is at an A1 level at the most. I can have long conversations about various things in Mandarin, and short ones about basic things in Cantonese. Generally, people understand me and some said that it was unusual to meet a Westerner who speaks Chinese well. When reading Chinese texts, there are always characters that I’ve forgotten or don’t know yet, but I can usually get a good idea of what the texts mean.

While I was in Hong Kong, I tried to speak Cantonese with people as much as possible, unless they preferred Mandarin or English. I was able to communicate at a basic level and understand at least some of what I heard.

Beware your shoes!

25 December 202525 December 2025 By Simon

Here are a few more signs I spotted recently that have ‘interesting’ English versions.

Sign on escalator

I saw this sign on an escalator in the local college campus. If you want to use this escalator, you have to hold the child and the pet, and if you haven’t got them, just borrow or hire them.

The use of handcarts is banned. Handcart is a translation of 手推车 (shǒutuīchē), which, based on the picture, refers to pushchairs, baby buggies, strollers, or whatever you call them. It can also mean trolley, cart, barrow, handcart or wheelbarrow, and literally means “hand push vehicle”. Other translations of pushchair / stroller include 推车 (tuīchē) and 童车 (tóngchē).

You have to watch your sreps to keep safe while waking in the mall, and you must keep your children from plating or running.

Here’s another sign from a different escalator.

Sign on escalator

Here you must hold the child’s hand, carry he pet in your arms, hold the handrail and beware your shoes. The use of carts is banned, the bulky item is forbidden in, and you should not play, slapstick, climb or look at the phone. Most people seem to look at their phones all the time, so the last one is asking a bit much, perhaps.

Rather than slapstick, 打闹 (dǎnào) could also be translated as to quarrel, squabble, be rowdy, play boisterously, or engage in horseplay. So no rowdy or boisterous playing, squabbling or quarrelling with horses on the escalator.

Sign on escalator

This sign, in Chinese, English, Japanese and Korean, forbids you from striding. A better translation might be “No Climbing on/over the fence”. Are the Japanese and Korean versions well-translated?

Here’s a sign I spotted on a litter bin / trash can:

Sign on litter bin

If you have any disposable tableware, old pottery (who carries old pottery around with them?), pericarp skins or the dust, you can dispose of it/them here. I’ve no idea where ‘pericarp’ came from – a better translation of 果皮 (guǒpí) would be ‘fruit peel’, and 瓜壳 (guāké) would be better translated as ‘melon rind’.

Merry Christmas, by the way, if that’s something you celebrate.

Godfathering

18 December 202518 December 2025 By Simon

When I explain to people I meet here that I’m the godfather of my friend’s children, they don’t seem to understand, even though I do so in Chinese.

Me, my friend Malcolm, his mother-in-law and the little monsters (his daughters / my god-daughters)

One person asked me if I was Catholic or Protestant, and seemed to know that being a godfather has something to do with Christianity. I had trouble trying to explain it in Chinese, as I wasn’t entirely sure what being a godparent involved.

The Chinese translation of godfather I’ve been using is 教父 (jiàofù), however, few people seem familiar with this term. 教父 (jiàofù) is made up of 教 (jiào), which means to teach or class, and 父 (fù), which means father. I think 教 in this context might be an abbreviation of 教堂 (jiàotáng – church, chapel) [source]

Another Chinese translation for godfather is 代父 (dàifù) or ‘substitute father’.

According to TheFreeDictionary, a godfather is:

A man who sponsors a person at baptism.
One that has a relationship to another person or to something that is the equivalent of being a baptismal sponsor.
The leader of an organized crime family.

According to Wikipedia:

Within Christianity, a godparent or sponsor is someone who bears witness to a child’s baptism (christening) and later is willing to help in their catechesis, as well as their lifelong spiritual formation. In both religious and civil views, a godparent tends to be an individual chosen by the parents to take an interest in the child’s upbringing and personal development, and to offer mentorship.

Apparently you can only be a godparent to one child, and as my god-daughters haven’t been baptised, I’m not, in a religious sense, their godfather yet.

When I was young I went to our local (Church of England) church with my parents, and was christened and confirmed there, and went to church-aided schools from 5-16. So technically, I am an Anglican Christian. However, I stopped going to church at the age of 16, and these days, only go to occasional weddings, funerals and Christmas services.

There is apparently a Chinese tradition of matching a child with a relative or family friend, who becomes the 义母/义父 (yìmǔ/yìfù) or ‘voluntary mother/father’, or the 干妈/干爹 (gānmā/gāndiē) or ‘dry mother/father’. These terms also mean adoptive mother or father, in the sense of traditional adoption, i.e. without legal ramifications. This is a non-religious tradition, usually involving a childless friend or relative, and helps strengthen ties between families.

Alternatively, a family friend might be known as 叔叔 (shūshu) – uncle, or 阿姨 (āyí) – aunt. Other words for uncle and aunt are available in Chinese [source].

To me, being a godparent means that you’re a good friend of the family, and get on well with their children. I spend quite a bit of time with my god-daughters and their parents, particularly recently as I’m currently staying with them. The little ones can be monsters at times, and angels at others, but I love them anyway.

Oceanic Lutes

10 December 202525 December 2025 By Simon

My mandolin

When looking for the names of various instruments in Chinese, as you do, I came across 洋琵琶 (yángpípá) for mandolin. 洋 (yáng) means ocean, sea, foreign or western, and the 琵琶 (pípá) is a traditional Chinese string instrument described by the MDBG Chinese dictionary as a ‘guitar-like instrument’. So it’s a ‘foreign pipa’ in Chinese [source].

The Encyclopedia Britannica describes the pipa (see above) it as a ‘short-necked Chinese lute’ that originated in Western Asia, and has been known in China since the 2nd Century AD. Apparently the Chinese name comes from the way it’s played: pí originally meant to pluck in a forward motion, and pá meant to pluck in a backward motion. Different characters with the same sounds were later chosen for the instrument’s name [source].

Chinese Pipa

The word 洋 (yáng) also appears in

洋葱 (yángcōng) = onion, or ‘foreign scallion / green onion’
洋气 (yángqì) = Western style, foreign style, trendy, fashionable, or ‘foreign steam / vapour’
洋葱 (yángcù) = potato, or ‘foreign taro’

Another Chinese word that appears in various instrument names is 琴 (qín), which on its own refers to a type of long zither with seven strings, plucked with the fingers, also known as a 古琴 (gǔqín). The 琴 (qín) is also translated as a Chinese lute or guitar [source].

Other types of 琴 (qín) include:

钢琴 [鋼琴] (gāngqín) = piano, or ‘steel qin’.
风琴 [風琴] (fēngqín) = organ, or ‘wind qin’.
口琴 (kǒuqín) = mouth organ, harmonica, or ‘mouth qin’.
竖琴 [竪琴] (shùqín) = (Western-style harp). or ‘vertical qin’.
小提琴 (xiǎotíqínqín) = violin, or ‘small hand-held qin’.
中提琴 (zhōngtíqín) = viola, or ‘medium-sized hand-held qin’.
大提琴 (dàtíqín) = cello, or ‘big hand-held qin’.
低音大提琴 (dīyīn(dà)tíqín) = double bass or ‘low sound (big) hand-held qin’.
班卓琴 (bānzhuóqín) = banjo, or ‘banjo qin’ – the Chinese characters sound similiar to the word banjo

I think it’s interesting that in Chinese, non-Chinese instruments and other things are referred to as variants on traditional Chinese instruments, etc, while in English, Chinese instruments are referred to as versions of ‘Western’ instruments like guitars, lutes and zithers.

No Fierce Action

5 December 202525 December 2025 By Simon

One of the joys of being in foreign parts for a language nerd like me is spotting badly or interestingly translated signs, notices and other texts. I haven’t seen very many yet, but here’s a notice from the lift in the building where I’m staying:

Lift notice

You have to avoid taking your pets in the lift during the rush hour, whenever that is. Most of the flats in this building are empty, so there isn’t really a rush hour. Maybe there will be when most or all of them are occupied.

You also have to make sure that you don’t push the button with any hard stuff or tine. A better translation might be “Do not use any hard or sharp objects to press the buttons”

In an emergency, you shouldn’t “try to and grill the door”, whatever that means. A better translation might be “Do not force the doors or try to exit through the shaft”.

And finally, fierce action in the lift must be avoided at all times. Or maybe they mean “No strenuous exercise in the lift”. Light or moderate exercise is probably okay, but nothing too strenuous.

I saw this sign at a local KFC and thought it might be a bit of questionable English translation, but it seems to be a genuine KFC slogan. Do they use this in other countries?

Everyone has a place at my bucket

This certainly wouldn’t entice me into a restaurant.

Guangdong Business and Technology University library

This is one of the places we visited this week – Guangdong Business and Technology University (广东工商职业技术大学) – which has some rather elaborate architecture. The building pictured above is the library, which is even more impressive inside (see below). You can see my goddaughters and their parents in the foreground. I just noticed that the sign saying library is in traditional characters rather than simplified characters. The sign over their main gate is the same. I’ll look out for other uses of traditional characters.

Guangdong Business and Technology University library

A Complete Canard!

21 November 2025 By Simon

One of the words that came up in the French conversation group last night was canard, which means duck in French, but is also used in English.

In French, meanings of canard [ka.naʁ] include:

A duck, duckling, drake (male duck)
A canard, hoax, fake news, a lie
A newspaper (of little value), a rag (slang)
A lump of sugar dipped in a liquid, especially coffee or brandy, before being eaten.
A high-pitched, false note produced by a wind instrument, most often a reed instrument [source].

It comes from Middle French canard (duck), from Old French canart, quanart (duck), from cane (female duck, boat), perhaps from caner (to cackle, prattle), or from Frankish *kanō (boat, floating vessel), from Proto-Germanic *kanô (vessel, vat, tub, boat), from Proto-Indo-European *gan(dʰ)- (vessel, tub) [source].

Some expressions featuring canards include:

canard boîteux = lame duck
vilain petit canard = ugly duckling
ne pas casser trois pattes à un canard = not worth writing home about, not all it’s cracked up to be – to be very ordinary, to be on the verge of mediocrity
faire le canard = to suck up to; to flatter too much
froid de canard = bitter cold, brass monkeys weather
il y a plusieurs façons de plumer un canard = there’s more than one way to skin a cat [a problem generally has more than one solution] [source].

Ce matin, il a fait froid de canard ici à Bangor avec du givre partout. (This morning it was rather chilly here in Bangor with frost everywhere).

Words from the same roots include can in English, kanna (jug, pot, can) in Swedish, kane (swan-shapped vessel) in Norwegian, Kahn (a small flat-bottomed boat such as a punt, used on inland waters; a ship, especially when old or in need of repair) in German, and canot (dinghy) in French [source].

In English, canard [kəˈnɑːd / kəˈnɑɹd] can mean:

A false or misleading report or story, especially if deliberately so.
A type of aircraft in which the primary horizontal control and stabilization surfaces are in front of the main wing.
Any small winglike structure on a vehicle, usually used for stabilization.

Apparently, the meaning of a hoax or false or misleading story comes from the Medieval French expression “vendre un canard à moitié”, which means ‘to sell half a duck’ or ‘to half-sell a duck’. It perhaps comes from a joke or story [source].

Better Safe than Sorry

13 November 202513 November 2025 By Simon

In the past week or so I’ve had a number of vaccinations to prepare for my trip to China, and have more to come. As they say, better safe than sorry, but what do they say in other languages?

The phrase better safe than sorry means it is preferable to be cautious in one’s choices and actions than to act recklessly and suffer afterwards.

Phrases with similar meanings in English include:

err on the side of caution
measure twice, cut once
play it safe
prevention is better than cure
an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

Equivalent phrases in other languages include:

Azerbaijani – htiyat igidin yaraşığıdır
(“prudence is the adornment of a brave man”)
Bulgarian – който сам се пази и Бог го пази (koĭto sam se pazi i Bog go pazi) – (“He who protects himself and God protects him”)
Chinese (Mandarin) – 小心驶得万年船 [小心駛得萬年船]
(xiǎoxīn shǐ dé wànnián chuán) – (“If you are careful, you can steer your ship safely for a myriad of years”)
French – mieux vaut prévenir que guérir
(“prevention is better than cure”)
German – Vorsicht ist besser als Nachsicht
(“caution is better than clemency”)
Greek – κάλλιο γαϊδουρόδενε παρά γαϊδουρογύρευε (kállio gaïdouródene pará gaïdourogýreve) – (“Better to tie a donkey than to ride a donkey.”)
Irish – is fearr glas ná amhras
(“better a lock than a doubt”)
Japanese – 転ばぬ先の杖 (korobanu saki no tsue) – (“a walking stick before stumbling”)
Korean – 돌다리도 두들겨 보고 건너라 (doldalido dudeulgyeo bogo geonneola) – (“even if you cross a stone bridge, test it first.”)
Polish – żeby kózka nie skakała, toby nóżki nie złamała
(“if the goat had not been jumping, it would not have broken its leg”)
Welsh – gwell diogel nac edifar
(“better safe than sorry”)

Source: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/better_safe_than_sorry

How about in other languages?

Once in a Blue Moon

6 November 20256 November 2025 By Simon

If something doesn’t happen very often, you might say that it happens once in a blue moon English. What about in other languages?

The phrase once in a blue moon first appeared in first around 1821 and refers to something that happens very rarely, very infrequently or almost never. An alternative version is apparently once in a purple moon [source].

A blue moon is a second full moon during a calendar month, which happens once every 32 months. A blue moon can also refer to a full moon that appears to be blue and bigger than usual [source].

In (Mandarin) Chinese, the equivalent is 千载难逢 [千載難逢] (qiānzǎinánféng), which means “an opportunity difficult to come by even in a thousand years”. This expression comes from folk tales, in which such rare opportunities might lead to success or life-changing events [source].

In Czech, the equivalent is jednou za uherský rok , which means ‘once in a Hungarian year’. Apparently this idiom dates from the Turkish wars, when Czech soldiers were hired in Hungary for a certain period of time, which was constantly extended [source]. The Slovak equivalent, raz za uhorský rok (“once a Hungarian year”), probably comes from the same roots.

In Polish, they say raz na ruski rok (“once in a Ruthenian year”), which refers to the fact that the Gregorian calendar used by East Slavs has longer months [source]. Alternatively, they say od wielkiego dzwonu (“from the big bell”), which refers to The Sigismund Bell, the largest of the five bells in the Sigismund Tower of Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, which is used only on special occasions [source].

In French, you might say tous les trente-six du mois (“every 36th of the month”) or une fois toutes les lunes (“once every moon”) [source].

In German, you could say alle Jubeljahre (“every jubilee year”), which refers to biblical jubliees that come round every 50 years [source].

In Russian, they say раз в сто лет (“once every hundred years”) [source].

In Spanish, they say cada muerte de obispo (“every death of a bishop”), or de Pascuas a Ramos (“from Easter (Day) til Palm Sunday”) – Palm Sunday comes before Easter Day [source].

In Welsh, one equivalent is unwaith yn y pedwar amser (“once in the four seasons”) and another is unwaith yn y pedwar gwynt (“once in the four winds”) [source].

Are there interesting similar idioms in other languages?

Omniglot Blog

Adventures in the world of words and language

Tag: English

Omphaloskepsis

Ideophones

Immersion

Beware your shoes!

Godfathering

Oceanic Lutes

No Fierce Action

A Complete Canard!

Better Safe than Sorry

Once in a Blue Moon