kaikua kuuroille korville

Finnish

Etymology

kaikua (“to echo”) + kuuroille (“to deaf”) + korville (“to ears”)

Verb

kaikua kuuroille korville

  1. (idiomatic) to turn a deaf ear (to refuse to listen or hear something)
    Yritin puhua hänelle, mutta se kaikui kuuroille korville.
    I tried to speak to her, but she turned a deaf ear.

Usage notes

The construction is slightly different in English and in Finnish. In English the listener actively turns a deaf ear, but in Finnish the speaker's words echo over deaf ears. The meaning is the same. See examples above.

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.