# To fire, to sack



## ThomasK

How do you translate or say that in your language? I am interested in verbs (and metaphors), incl. expressions. 

Dutch: 
- ontslaan (lit. dis-beat, so dis-charge - but 'slaan' is _to beat_, lit.) 
- de laan uitsturen (lit. send out/off on the street)
- op straat zetten (to put on the street)
(etc.)


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## omerdurmus

in Turkish;

*Kovmak* or *İşten çıkarmak/atmak* : to fire


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## ThomasK

The google trick tells me - but it might be completely wrong -: 
- to chase 
- to throw off work/ company ???


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## sakvaka

More in *English*: _lay off, give notice, dismiss_

And now, *Finnish*:

_erottaa _= separate; distinguish; tell apart; expel; fire; ...
_irtisanoa_ (= _sanoa irti_) = "loosesay", "say loose"
_antaa potkut_ = "give the kicks" (remember Donald Duck?)


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## rusita preciosa

Russian:
*уволить */uvolit'/ - the prefix у- means "away"; the root -вол- means "freedom", so literally something like "to free away"
*сократить* /sokratit'/ - to reduce


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## ThomasK

@ Signor Sakvaka: 
- can you express those 5 meanings in one word ? (You must be complex !)
- can you use _say/speak loose_ in other contexts, with other meanings ? (We know vrijspreken when acquitting someone, discharging someone at court

@Rusita: 
- I do think the 'freeing' has a negative ring, or doesn't it? 
- why do you use 'reduce' in this connection? Is it like in rationalisation ? Does it have to do with cutting down on labour, as an organisational/ managerial measure?


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## sakvaka

ThomasK said:


> @ Signor Sakvaka:
> - can you express those 5 meanings in one word ? (You must be complex !)
> - can you use _say/speak loose_ in other contexts, with other meanings ? (We know vrijspreken when acquitting someone, discharging someone at court



Meneer ThomasK,
- Doesn't that just make it easier if there are less words to study?  I also remember a good joke about telling apart identical Swedish twins in a sauna. But maybe I'll just skip it now...
- Only metaphorically:

_Meinaatteko te kiivetä ikkunasta ulos? Minä sanon itseni irti tästä!
_Are you guys going to climb out of the window? I sack myself from this! (= I am not coming with you)


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## ThomasK

Well, some complexities make life harder rather than simpler, but thanks !


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## rusita preciosa

> - I guess the "freeing" in itself does not have a negative ring; the perfix "away" gives it to the word (this is my own feeling, not an "official" linguistic POV )
> - "to reduce" is only used in situations where an overall reduction of work force takes place and the person was dismissed within it.


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## ilocas2

Czech:


*propustit* - "drop through" - most used, standard, without negative connotations

*dát výpověď* - "give ..." - official, used on paper

*vyhodit* - "throw out" - most used in colloquial language

*vykopnout* - "kick out" - used in colloquial language, with negative connotations

*dát padáka* - "give parachute" - not much used nowadays


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## catlady60

sakvaka said:


> More in *English*: _lay off, give notice, dismiss_
> 
> And now, *Finnish*:
> 
> _erottaa _= separate; distinguish; tell apart; expel; fire; ...
> _irtisanoa_ (= _sanoa irti_) = "loosesay", "say loose"
> _antaa potkut_ = "give the kicks" (remember Donald Duck?)



Also, in *American English:* _downsize, outsource, let go, relieve so of one's duties
_


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## Orlin

Bulgarian:
(да) уволня/уволнявам (perf./imperf.) (to dismiss) and also (да) съкратя/съкращавам (perf./imperf.) = to reduce.


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## ThomasK

I think it might be best to refer to one person only, not to structural measures, because those are very often euphemisms of their own nature. 

Like 'reducing': it does not refer to one person but to the 'labour force' as such. There is no idea of (kicking) out someone, it is all way neater, euphemistic...


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## Orlin

In Bulgarian it's also possible to say "да изпратя накого на улицата" (to send somebody on the street), but it's rare. And (да) освободя/освобождавам (to release) is also used.


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## enoo

French:

*licencier*: to fire (or sometimes, to give a license, althout this meaning is more often encountered with "être licencié": to be fired or to have a license.)
*mettre à la porte*: to sack ("to put/throw (out) at the door". Colloquial)
*renvoyer*: to fire, dismiss ; to send back
*virer*: to sack, (lit. "to remove". Colloquial)
*congédier*: to fire, dismiss
*remercier*: to thank, and also a very soft way to say 'to fire' (so soft it often turns ironic)


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## ThomasK

Congédier seems quite ironical, but it is not, is it? It does not refer to holiday, I guess...


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## enoo

ThomasK said:


> Congédier seems quite ironical, but it is not, is it? It does not refer to holiday, I guess...



Yes, it's rather soft so it can be a bit ironical too. And it refers to holiday, or at least, to a leave.
Un congé = a leave or a holiday
congédier = to give a leave / to allow to leave / to give holidays


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## ThomasK

Merci, merci !


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## Outsider

Portuguese: *despedir* (lit. to dis-petition, to dis-request), to dismiss; *dispensar* (lit. to dispense), to discharge. The former is the most common; the latter is slightly euphemistic. Another possibility, *pôr na rua* (to put/throw out on the street), is downright colloquial and derogatory, and really has a broader meaning, which can include "to throw out (of one's house)".


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## phosphore

In Serbian there is otpustiti (od-pust+infinitive marker), akin to pustiti meaning to let go, but otpustiti means rather specifically to fire and has no negative connotation. However the construction dati otkaz=to give notice, where otkaz=discharge is from otkazati=to cancel, is probably more used. I can also think of some metaphors like šutnuti=to kick or izbaciti s posla=to throw out from work, but they are rather rude and strictly colloquial.


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## Orlin

phosphore said:


> I can also think of some metaphors like šutnuti=to kick or izbaciti s posla=to throw out from work, but they are rather rude and strictly colloquial.


 
This applies to Bulgarian (да) изритам/изхвърля от работа too.


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## jazyk

> *pôr na rua* (to put/throw out on the street),


Also pôr no olho da rua (lit. to put in the eye of the street).


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## ThomasK

The eye of the street ? Is that a metaphor for cobbled stone, or does it mean one will be exposed to everyone staring at you on the street? Can't guess, I must admit...


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## Outsider

I think the "eye" in this case means the middle. The middle of the street.


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## ThomasK

Really? Well, you're real poets... ;-)


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## ThomasK

_(In the meantime I have collected all these *fire*-words in a document, along with the *hire*-words. You can get them, if you send me a PM.)_

So strange that only the English-speaking use fire to kick someone out ! ;-)


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## merquiades

Spanish
Despedir:  fire
Echar: throw out

A good proper expression in English not mentioned yet is
to give someone the pink slip

Another French expression which is harsh
limoger quelqu'un:  get rid of


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## ThomasK

Would you have any idea of the etymology/ origin of those expressions, M ?


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## merquiades

ThomasK said:


> Would you have any idea of the etymology/ origin of those expressions, M ?



Humm

Pedir is to ask for, request, or demand, literally to petition
Des is the prefix (un), the contrary
So Despedir is literally  to un ask for someone's work,  maybe revoke in fancy English, to de petition


Echar is literally to toss out or throw, same origin as jeter in French, gettare in Italian, but it's not used that way in those languages


pink slip, perhaps at one time for bureaucratic reasons they had to give you a slip that was pink, when they fired you


Limoger, has to do with the city of Limoges in France.  It has historical relevancy but I no longer remember why.  I see if I can find something


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## ThomasK

Great, thanks !


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## apmoy70

In Greek:
«Απολύω» (apo'lio); from the classical verb «ἀπολύω» (ăpŏ'luō)-->_set free, release, relieve from, fire_.
One can also hear «παύω» ('pavo) from the classical verb «παύω» ('păuō)-->_to bring to an end, depose_; cognate with Latin _pavire_ (to beat, strike; push down)


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## OneStroke

Cantonese:
炒魷魚​- stir-fry (fish)


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## ThomasK

Do you mean that in Cantonese you stir-fry people when you fire them ?  That seems quite cruel. We could use 'have someone fry [Dutch _stoven_] in his own fat' (leave him/her alone, not bother), but we do not stirfry them... ;-)



merquiades said:


> _*Limoger*_, has to do with the city of Limoges in France. It has historical relevancy but I no longer remember why. I see if I can find something



I found this explanation:



> Do you mean that in Cantonese you stir-fry people when you fire them ? ;-) That seems quite cruel. We could use 'have someone fry [Dutch _stoven_] in his own fat' (leave him/her alone, not bother), but we do not stirfry them... ;-)


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## Favara

Catalan: _Acomiadar_ (to fire, to license, to say goodbye, to evict).
From _comiat,_ a license to leave one's superior (i.e. a squire leaving his knight)_, _itself from Latin _commeātu__._


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## ThomasK

I see, like French licencier, I suppose. No expressions (painful...) ?


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## ancalimon

In Turkish we have two verbs that mean "to fire"

at and kov.
"at" is a very special word that can mean lots of different things when used in different contexts.
"at" means "to end someones life in some place (so that person starts another life in another place)" so it also used to mean "death" in Proto-Turkic.

Ancient Turks believed that life was thrown like an arrow. AT also means to throw. So I think it's got some ceremonial meaning too.

For example "ata" has a meaning of "to be given a new title or to be given a new job"

About the "fire that burns things" meaning. I don't know if there is a relation but in Turkish fire is "ATEŞ" and the old word is "OD".  There might be a relation between AT and OD. But I'm not aware about such a thing at the moment. "to fire an arrow or a bullet" is also "ateş" in Turkish.

"KOV" originally means "to make someone or something go"


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## mataripis

ThomasK said:


> How do you translate or say that in your language? I am interested in verbs (and metaphors), incl. expressions.
> 
> Dutch:
> - ontslaan (lit. dis-beat, so dis-charge - but 'slaan' is _to beat_, lit.)
> - de laan uitsturen (lit. send out/off on the street)
> - op straat zetten (to put on the street)
> (etc.)


Pilipino: 1.) Interesado ako na makaalam ng maraming mga salita.    **Tagalog= Hilig kong mag aral ng iba't ibang mga salita.


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## OneStroke

That post was a little messy! Let me organise it again.

Cantonese:
炒(魷(魚)) - Stir-fry (squid (fish))

This site offers an explanation: http://mail.ljjh.tc.edu.tw/~c9501/knowledge4.htm. This paragraph is widely circulated around the internet; however, I can't find the origin of it.


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## Gavril

More terms for "fire" / "sack":

Icelandic _reka (úr vinnu) = _"drive (out of a job)"
Welsh _diswyddo _= _di- _(prefix of negation) + _swydd_ "office, position" + -_o _(infinitive suffix)

The expression "say loose" (Finnish _sanoa irti_) is used in some other Nordic countries, though not with exactly the same meaning: in Icelandic,_ segja lausum/lausri/lausu_ means "relinquish/resign (from a position)". Here the adjective _laus _"loose" is in the dative and agrees with the gender of whatever is being relinquished.


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## Encolpius

*Hungarian *--- kirúg [lit.. kick out]


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## ger4

Some German expressions (just a small selection; there are probably many more I can't think of right now) : 
o = official terms
i = informal language
o - kündigen - lit. < kundtun - 'to make known'  
o - entlassen - lit. 'to disleave'
o - freistellen - lit. 'to free_put' 
i -  feuern - lit. 'to fire' 
i - rausschmeißen - lit. 'to out_cast'
i - auf die Straße setzen - lit. 'to set on(to) the street'


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## Gavril

sakvaka said:


> More in *English*: _lay off, give notice, dismiss_



_to give notice_ doesn't mean "to fire/sack" -- it means "to announce that one is quitting" (i.e. it is something the employee does, not the boss). 

Other English terms for firing someone that I have not seen mentioned: _*can* _("I just got canned"), _*terminate*_ (a formal term, e.g., "There were three terminations at the company this year"). 

The usage of _can_ for this meaning is possibly based on the metaphor of "throwing" a fired employee into the trash can.


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## ilocas2

Encolpius said:


> *Hungarian *--- kirúg [lit.. kick out]



Is this the only way how to say it in Hungarian?


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## 810senior

Japanese:

[official]解雇するkaiko-suru (lit. make someone out of employment)

[informal]首にするkubi-ni-suru (lit. make someone a neck), 首になるkubi-ni-naru (lit. become a neck)
*kubi here means "fired state".

[informal]お払い箱oharaibako (lit. a box for purification)
*figurative word.

[formal]お役御免oyakugomen (lit.being relieved of one's post)


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## 123xyz

Macedonian:

отпушта (impf)/отпушти (pf) (also means "to release" or "to let go" generally)
дава (impf)/даде (pf) отказ (literally "to give firing/sacking"; when used without an indirect object, the meaning is passive, i.e. "to resign"; this phrase can also be used for withdrawal from things other than jobs, e.g. a friendship, but this produces humorous/sarcastic effect and is not standard)


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## Luxiaofeng

In Vietnamese: 

*Sa thải* (Sino-Vietnamese word) which is commonly and officially used in daily life. Another word to describe the act of sacking an employee is *"đuổi/đuổi việc"* (the employer does) or *"bị đuổi việc"* (to get fired - employee who suffers the dismissal). Some lesser-used are "thải hồi", "đá đít" (Lit. to kick someone's ass out) or "tiễn lên đường" (Lit. to expel), "cuốn gói/cuốn xéo" (to pack and get out) etc. Interestingly, *"cuốn gói/cuốn xéo"* are two words that share the same image with 炒 魷 魚 as employee who gets fired usually packs his/her things like the fish fried and encased in flour.

Cheers,
LXF.


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