# what people from your culture would say if you broke a glass / plate



## cfu507

Every time I drop a glass or a plate and it breaks, everyone around me yells, "_Mazal tov_!"

_Mazal tov _is a kind of _congratulations!_ in Hebrew.
I belive that this custom comes from the greetings when a Jewish man breaks the glass with his foot at his wedding (please correct me if I'm wrong about it).

I was wondering what would people from your culture say if you broke a glass / plate.

Many thanks


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## erwin rommel

In Mexico , the common denominator for what people would tell you if you break a glass or a plate is: fue un accidente (that was an accident) .


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## thelastchoice

Usually , Saudi and most Arabs in Arabian Peninsula will say سلمت "May you be safe!"
or اسلم literally "Be Safe!" but the intention is a wish for that person to be safe.


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## Deea

If you broke a plate or a glass in Romania, people usually tell you "Noroc" which means "Good luck!".


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## aslan

" Ok Don t worry *It breaks the hex*"  (*Nazarını alır) *


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## cherine

In Egypt we have two main expressions:
- khad esh-sharr w'ráH خد الشر وراح (If the broken object is feminine, we say: khadet esh-sharr w'ráHet خدت الشر وراحت) which means: it took the evil/harm and went (sort of: it took the evil/harm away from you).
- fadák فـداك (to a girl we say: fadáki فـداكي) which means that the thing was sort of "sacrificed" for you, or was broken instead of your getting harmed.

The general meaning of the two expressions (and please forget me for the lousy translations above ) is to say that we shouldn't be sad over a broken thing, as it was -in a way- replacing us in taking the harm coming our way. (a bit superstitious, yes  ).


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## Outsider

If you break a glass in Portugal, I'm afraid people will just stare at you.


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## palomnik

I've run across differing answers.  My wife, who is Russian, will always say "glass breaks for happiness", although I can't escape the feeling that this is an attempt to ward off bad luck - which is what I think the Arabic phrases mean as well.

In my family background, breaking glass was always a bad omen, particularly breaking a mirror, and I've heard that quite often.


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## elroy

In Palestinian Arabic we say انكسر الشر (_nkasar ish-shar_) - literally "May evil be broken."


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## Athaulf

In Croatia, people sometimes exclaim _"Bit će muško!"_, which literally means "It's going to be a male!".   I think the expression comes from some old superstition that if the bride breaks a glass at a wedding, the first child in the marriage will be a boy. Nowadays, however, this expression is often used as a sarcastic comment in all sorts of situations when someone accidentally does some damage that's not very serious, but which is still loud and noticeable, such as breaking a glass.


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## PABLO DE SOTO

In Spain nobody breaks a plate or a glass for pleasure or as part of a celebration as I have seen it happens in other cultures.
If you unfortunately break a glass  you can say nothing or you can utter a swearword like _coño, joder _etc.


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## Yin Zhen_2910

in France when some one breaks a glass or a mirror, we're used to say him/her "you'll have seven years of happiness"
maybe it is a way to switch the frustration of having broke something by accident and to feel confused in a positive thing : the hope that something good will happen.


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## Bilma

PABLO DE SOTO said:


> In Spain nobody breaks a plate or a glass for pleasure or as part of a celebration as I have seen it happens in other cultures.
> If you unfortunately break a glass you can say nothing or you can utter a swearword like _coño, joder _etc.


 

A chef does after "'cutting" the "cochinillo" .  Yummie!


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## PABLO DE SOTO

Bilma said:


> A chef does after "'cutting" the "cochinillo" . Yummie!


 

Well...mmm I mean In Spain nobody, but chefs in Segovia, breaks......


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## alexacohen

PABLO DE SOTO said:


> Well...mmm I mean In Spain nobody, but chefs in Segovia, breaks......


Oh yes, we do break glasses. What is said when we break them may be.

"Pay attention to what you're doing", from Mums.
"You'll have to pay for it", from  salesmen.

But whatever we say, it has no hidden meaning.


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## mirx

I think in México it would depend on one's own reaction.

If you act scared and worried. _It's just a glass, don't worry._
If you act careless and clumsy. _This idiot just broke another glass._
If you are calm and act normal. _Most probably no one would say anything._
If you are stressed out. _Calm down it's just natural_.

I don't think it has any other association, I know some people believe that if you break a mirror it means bad luck.


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## avok

Hmm. As I remember, in Turkey, if someone breaks a mirror, it is believed that this will bring bad luck and the person who happens to break the mirror shall not be able to get married for 7 years. But nothing special is said.


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## pickypuck

avok said:


> Hmm. As I remember, in Turkey, if someone breaks a mirror, it is believed that this will bring bad luck and the person who happens to break the mirror shall not be able to get married for 7 years. But nothing special is said.


 
In Spain too, but just 7 years of bad luck.

Greetings!


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## sokol

Breaking glass _may _be followed in German by "Scherben bringen Glück!" which means "broken glass will bring you luck" - this one too (as already said by Palomnik), in my opinion, to ward off bad luck.

But it is not as if you'd say this anytime someone breaks glass. As far as I know the Jewish 'mazal tov' is a completely different thing, used much more frequent; this phrase also was widely used in Yiddish and, at a time when Vienna still had a huge Jewish community, in Vienna too. Nowadays you won't hear 'masseltov' in Vienna anywhere in public (though the short form 'massel' has survived in colloquial language and still is widely used, however in the meaning of 'to have luck').

A broken mirror of course is a completely different thing - as well as spilt salt, a broken mirror means bad luck here in Austria (and elsewhere, it seems).


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## Calamitintin

If a glass is broken in a French school restaurant, no doubt that everyone is going to cheer and applaud.


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## tvdxer

There's no set phrase for this occurrence in the U.S.

Most people will try to "comfort" the glass-breaker, saying something like "Oh, don't worry about that!" or "Oh, don't worry, just an accident" or something like that.


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## asong_mula_sa_hilaga

Here in the Philippines if someone breaks a glass or a plate, people near that someone would say, "Ingat ka sa mga bubog"  which means "take care, there are shards everywhere". 

Or just like in Mexico, as mirx said, at times if you acted careless & clumsy someone would say like "Ang tanga mo kasi eh." or "you're an idiot."

As for broken mirrors, I can't remember any old myth here regarding that.


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## Mahaodeh

elroy said:


> In Palestinian Arabic we say انكسر الشر (_nkasar ish-shar_) - literally "May evil be broken."


 
This is the same expression in Iraq.


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## anglomania1

I think most British people would just swear -  Oh sod it!! or something like that!!!


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## jinti

In some informal restaurants in the US, I've heard applause when a waiter or busboy drops a load of something. But I don't think that's very nice....


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## Yin Zhen_2910

jinti said:


> In some informal restaurants in the US, I've heard applause when a waiter or busboy drops a load of something. But I don't think that's very nice....



on the contrary,  I find this reaction quite nice, a way to de-dramatize the incident, to turn it into a joke...


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## bibliolept

jinti said:


> In some informal restaurants in the US, I've heard applause when a waiter or busboy drops a load of something. But I don't think that's very nice....



And neither is our other obnoxious and sarcastic response: "Just put that anywhere."


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## dana Haleana

cfu507 said:


> Every time I drop a glass or a plate and it breaks, everyone around me yells, "_Mazal tov_!"
> 
> _Mazal tov _is a kind of _congratulations!_ in Hebrew.
> I belive that this custom comes from the greetings when a Jewish man breaks the glass with his foot at his wedding (please correct me if I'm wrong about it).
> 
> I was wondering what would people from your culture say if you broke a glass / plate.
> 
> Many thanks


 

My friend once broke a glass or a plate (I could not remember anymore which one but she did break either of it ) 
and we were told that it's a sign of a bad omen. For instance, an accident of your loved ones. We also reminded 
our friend to be careful of the shards and not allow anyone to go near the area.


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## fran+k

erwin rommel said:


> In Mexico , the common denominator for what people would tell you if you break a glass or a plate is: fue un accidente (that was an accident) .


 It is common for people to make jokes about the accident or mock the person involved. But I believe it’s a friendly gesture to keep that person from feeling uncomfortable or embarrassed, since that kind of things can happen to anyone. In the case of a glass breaking, or a bottle, we usually comment on a person’s ability to hold his drink, things like “Ok, no more drinks for this guy!”


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## nahash

In Philippines We always say (magingat ka may masamang babala yan) its like a bad omen and  7 years of bad luck.


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## YourBoyV

PABLO DE SOTO said:


> In Spain nobody breaks a plate or a glass for pleasure or as part of a celebration as I have seen it happens in other cultures.
> If you unfortunately break a glass you can say nothing or you can utter a swearword like _coño, joder _etc.


 
[FONT=Porky's]*If i say coño or joder i get a 'colleja' right away, that's a hard slap to the back of the head if anyone wants to know that. I'm better off just stayin 'calladito' and cleaning the mess up. They'll probably say something like 'Ay mi madre, cuantas veces te he dicho que tengas cuidado con los platos! [old woman voice], basically moan at you for a bit but then let you off.  *[/FONT]


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## chics

Yin Zhen_2910 said:


> in France when some one breaks a glass or a mirror, we're used to say him/her "you'll have seven years of happiness".


Interesting! In my country, breaking a mirror means "seven years of _bad _luck"... 

By the way, I'll never heard it in France , but something like "you're so _maladroite_!" (grrr), so the same that in Spain, but without _joder_ or_ la mare que la va parir_!


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## Zsanna

Breaking glasses or plates does not mean any more than clumsiness (and maybe annoyance accompanying it) in Hungary so whatever one says in such a situation can vary from the mild (and euphemistic): Már csak ez hiányzott! (= This is what was missing! i.e. to my happiness) or an exclamation like:  Juj! (= Oops!) to stronger language, I'd rather not evoke. (We are very bad for that...)
(I wish we said cheerful things I've read so far instead!)

We have the same superstition as the one Avok mentioned in a Turkish context concerning breaking mirrors. (The one who broke it "won't get married for 7 years".)


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## spanish in ohio?

I was wondering about what I was always told with Spanish.  Grammatically, can't you say "Me rompio."  You blame the glass for breaking?  Is that still true?  I remember learning it a long time ago.  Just like you can say, "Se me olvido la tarea" (with an accent on the last o)  It forgot itself....  I have seen posters for the classroom written in either way.


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## ireney

It really depends. You may hear something like "good luck, good luck" (γούρι, γούρι) meaning that it will actually bring good luck (obviously not for mirrors) something that we use in many embarassing situations of the kind (i.e. spilling some of the coffe into the saucer).
Another one is "Break them!" (Σπάσ' τα!). It may be from the habbit many have to break plates and glasses when revelling.


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## mirx

spanish in ohio? said:


> I was wondering about what I was always told with Spanish. Grammatically, can't you say "Me rompio." You blame the glass for breaking? Is that still true? I remember learning it a long time ago. Just like you can say, "Se me olvido la tarea" (with an accent on the last o) It forgot itself.... I have seen posters for the classroom written in either way.


 
You are right. This is probably what *the breaker* would say.


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## dudasd

In central Serbia - when anything is broken by accident, not only a plate or a glass - I've often heard "_Na njegovu glavu!_" - lit.: "Upon its head!" - meaning that the evil struck that thing instead of you, so you should be thankful and confirm that aloud. Generally I think it's not only superstitious people who say that, there's something nice in the thought that the plate (or whatever) is broken and not your head... and it's also a kind of comfort in case you are inclined to mourn over your dishes and similar things.


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## tilywinn

In Australia we have a funny saying for when someone drops and unintentionally breaks a glass. The surrounding people say "Taxi!" and also some people may cheer. The idea behind it is that the person is so drunk that they should go home and certainly can't drive, so they need to take a Taxi. Although, most of the time the person isn't actually drunk, it's just a joke. This saying tends to be used by a younger audience/ in a pub. I'm not sure how widely known it is in other circumstances. As for plate smashing, nothing immediately comes to mind. I think over here we're most familiar with the Greeks smashing of plates as weddings and saying 'γούρι' (thanks for that spelling Ireney).


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## oasis_angel

Usually in Algeria, if some1 breaks a glass, we would say: da-shar or rah-shar which means it took the evil away or the evil is gone!! sounds strange but it means we care about you , at least u are not hurt

Anyway, break as much glasses as you can 
_________

Nassima


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## alicea

Yin Zhen_2910 said:


> in France when some one breaks a glass or a mirror, we're used to say him/her "you'll have seven years of happiness"
> maybe it is a way to switch the frustration of having broke something by accident and to feel confused in a positive thing : the hope that something good will happen.



I'm sorry I do not agree with this: If you break a mirror, someone will kindly warn you that 7 years of unhappiness are waiting for you 

If you break a glass incidentally, a good soul will applause and tell you how lucky you are since it is white glass. Luck is with you from now on!

(PM correcting my mistakes are welcome)


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## chics

That makes me remember when I was at school... when somebody broke a glass or something incidentally, everybody whistlered and clapped! (But it was the same if someone's telephone rang in the library, for example, so...). Nothing to do avec good luck.


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## cfu507

ireney said:


> It really depends. You may hear something like "good luck, good luck" (γούρι, γούρι) meaning that it will actually bring good luck (obviously not for mirrors) something that we use in many embarassing situations of the kind (i.e. spilling some of the coffe into the saucer).
> Another one is "Break them!" (Σπάσ' τα!). It may be from the habbit many have to break plates and glasses when revelling.


 
Hi, I've heard about this habit. There is a TV commercial for dairy products in which a Greek drops and braeks a plate (accidentally), everyone say _yasu_ (=yes in Greek) and start to dance. Is it common also to say _yasu_?


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## ireney

Well, "yasu" probably is "γεια σου" which is something we usually use for "hello" and "goodbye". It can be used as "Allright!" though, especially when accompanied by a name (i.e. "γειά σου Γιώργο", "yasou Giorgo" ). It's not something we'd say if someone broke a plate by accident, but since this particular commercial it makes tongue in the cheek fun of our "clumsy" habbits  and our tendency to have fun at the drop of a plate hat, the accidental breaking of a plate is seen as a signal for us to start dancing. We are not _that _bad however, although the commercial sounds like fun!


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## Orpington

In my country, you would be asked to pay for it before you were allowed to leave the house, otherwise it would be considered extremely rude. In a restaurant it would'nt matter too much.


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## Chaska Ñawi

Orpington said:


> In my country, you would be asked to pay for it before you were allowed to leave the house, otherwise it would be considered extremely rude. In a restaurant it would'nt matter too much.



Here it would be considered the height of rudeness to ask a guest to pay for a broken plate.


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## raptor

Here I think, most people would simply say, "watch out" but sometimes, for example if a waitor/waitress drops plates or whatever, people will clap 
I'm not quite sure why, but it's not meant to be rude or mocking.


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## lablady

raptor said:


> ... if a waitor/waitress drops plates or whatever, people will clap
> I'm not quite sure why, but it's not meant to be rude or mocking.


 
I suspect it's a joking way to show appreciation for the "entertainment" by applauding. Perhaps it's an attempt to relieve some of the stress the waitperson is most likely feeling at the moment.

In the U.S., when a couple goes out for the evening, many of them go to dinner and then to some sort of show (a movie, stage play, concert, etc.). Some restaurants feature both food and some form of entertainment. If a waiter/waitress dropped some dishes or something else, I could easily imagine someone in the restaurant turning to their date and jokingly saying, "Oh look, dear, dinner _and_ a show!" (Especially if whatever was dropped attracted a lot of attention). 

Not everyone in the U.S. would say that. Others of us would show concern.


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## mirx

Orpington said:


> In my country, you would be asked to pay for it before you were allowed to leave the house, otherwise it would be considered extremely rude. In a restaurant it would'nt matter too much.


 
This must be a joke.

Any other Brittish to confirm this?


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## mally pense

mirx said:


> This must be a joke.
> 
> Any other Brittish to confirm this?


 
Not to confirm it, no! In fact, I've never heard of this happening, and if it happened to me I'd be surprised beyond belief. OK,. I exaggerate, nothing is that surprising, but in fact I'd expect the most usual thing would be for the person who broke it to offer to pay for it and for the owner to politely decline the offer.

EDIT: Even then, it would only be if the plate/glass appeared valuable. An ordinary item would really just be dismissed by the host of being of little importance: "Oh it's nothing, don't worry, etc."


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## zooz

elroy said:


> In Palestinian Arabic we say انكسر الشر (_nkasar ish-shar_) - literally "May evil be broken."



We say the same in Syria.


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## Lugubert

A normal exclamation from the culprit, especially among younger people, would in Sweden be "Shit" (yes, English). My youngest niece (atheist like not only me in the family) would probably cry "Jeeesus!". The spectators would in all probability be discreetly silent. The "7 years of bad luck" theory for breaking a mirror went out of fashion generations ago.


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## Etcetera

palomnik said:


> My wife, who is Russian, will always say "glass breaks for happiness", although I can't escape the feeling that this is an attempt to ward off bad luck - which is what I think the Arabic phrases mean as well.


Yes, that's what Russian people would normally say on such an occasion.

My impression is that it's a way of consoling the one who has broken the glass, especially if it's something really valuable.


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## torcuatogemini

erwin rommel said:


> In Mexico , the common denominator for what people would tell you if you break a glass or a plate is: fue un accidente (that was an accident) .


 

That's not what I usually see.

If you break a glass, most people whistle making fun of you.


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## mirx

torcuatogemini said:


> That's not what I usually see.
> 
> If you break a glass, most people whistle making fun of you.


 
I disagree with this, that would only happen -_as I mentioned above_-, in a situation of complete informality, and when the person is known for being clumsy with the hands, and with close friends.

It wouldn't be usual for a customer to whistle when a waiter breaks a glass, in all fairness this is actually unheard of for me. But hey, don't mind me much perhpas in other parts of México they have other costums.


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## xupxup

Where I live is usual to say "_Ja s'ha mort_" (Literally: It already died / Se murió) It has nothing to see with good or bad luck, it's just an euphemism you say at that moment. When something drops without breaking we usually say "_De terra no passa_" (Del suelo no pasa / It won't go far than the floor (please excuse my english)
Also, I would never clap when that happens to someone. Only in the case he is a really good friend and we are in a really relaxed moment. In a restaurant, or with someone I don't know, this would be really embarassing. Breaking a glass can be ashameing, and clapping would only increase that feeling.

Please, excuse my really bad english.


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## anothersmith

When I was young, people used to say:  "There's no use crying over spilled milk."  It meant what's done is done; there's no use getting upset over it.

I haven't heard that expression in many years, though.


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## jess oh seven

If it were in my house, I would say "Would you quit wrecking the joint?!" 

In a public place, however, people in the UK tend to cheer! hehe


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## Grosvenor1

People in Britain tend to raise a cheer. Not the most sensitive inhabitants of planet Earth, I'm afraid...


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## WAMORZINHO

Outsider said:


> If you break a glass in Portugal, I'm afraid people will just stare at you.


 
In Brasil I think that it's the same!
I broke one yesterday and nobody said nothing


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## divina

In the US it would honestly depend on the context of the situation. Where you are, the time of day (or night), your state (drunk vs. sober), etc.


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## YALAK

Hi 

If a glass is broken, in Angola we think that the person is not paying enough attention to what he/she doing at the moment.He/she is on mental movies while pretending to work.


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## Gévy

Hi,

In France, when you broke a glass of _champagne_ (but just in that case), it's good luck for you.

Bisous,

Gévy


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## Martina.M

In Spain, if you are at the university or school canteen (is that the right term?) and you break a plate or a glass, people will probably clap and go "bravo!", to make you blush as much as they can.

That's how nice we are.


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## Unrealevil

"Ah shit..."

Depending on where you are of course, that could change to, "Ah jeez..."

I have never heard someone say something special when a glass breaks.


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## Lingvisten

I have polish friend. She told me, that in her family, if a glass or plate breaks by falling of the wall by itself, it means, that someone has died. She said, that she had experienced it herself twice.

I don't know if the broken plate is a common bad omen in Poland, or if it's a local thing.

As for Denmark, I've never heard any sayings or folk belief connected to breaking glass or plates. I wouldn't be suprised though if it existed.


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## Lusitania

PABLO DE SOTO said:


> In Spain nobody breaks a plate or a glass for pleasure or as part of a celebration as I have seen it happens in other cultures.
> If you unfortunately break a glass you can say nothing or you can utter a swearword like _coño, joder _etc.


 

Exactly as in Portugal.  However, my family one of my grandmothers and an aunt say that it's not a good sign when I ask why they just say that it's not a good sign. So it's probably a sign of bad luck coming.


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## MOC

I have the same opinion as the previous portuguese replies in most cases. 
However, when I was in college, if some plate or glass was broken in the school canteen, the students would all shout at one voice "paga!", which basically means "pay (it)!" and then would go back to eating as if nothing happened.


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## clipper

I have been in a bar in the UK when a loud sound of breaking crockery was heard coming from the kitchen. In the relative silence that followed one customer shouted out "you'll have to order some more of those !", much to the amusement of the others.

Sorry for providing a personal experience, I hope it can be excused this once....


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## Darina

elroy said:


> In Palestinian Arabic we say انكسر الشر (_nkasar ish-shar_) - literally "May evil be broken."


 
I like this one!

In Bulgaria they will most probably ask you to pay it. Now seriously, we say "zdrave da e", which literary means "may there be health".


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