# When the cat's away, the mice will play.



## Encolpius

Hello, do you also use that proverb in your langauges? Thanks. 

*Hungarian*: Nincs otthon a macska, cincognak az egerek. [isn't at home the cat, squeak the mice]


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## enoo

*French*: Quand le chat n'est pas là, les souris dansent. (word for word: When the cat isn't there, the mice dance)


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## effeundici

Italian:
_Quando il gatto non c'è, i topi ballano_
Word by word : [_When the cat there isn't, the mice dance]_


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## Hakro

*Finnish:*

_Kun kissa on poissa, hiiret tanssivat pöydällä_ (When the cat is away, the mice are dancing on the table)
or
_Kun kissa on poissa, hiiret hyppivät pöydällä_ (When the cat is away, the mice are jumping on the table)

I think that the first version is the classic one, but the second version seems to be more common today.


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## la_machy

*Español de México,*

_Cuando el gato sale, los ratones se pasean._


Saludos


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## Natalisha

*Russian:* Без кота мышам раздолье. [bez kat*a* mysh*a*m razd*o*lje] - Without a cat there is freedom/spaciousness for mice.


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## apmoy70

In Greek:
«Όταν λείπει η γάτα χορεύουν τα ποντίκια»
'otan 'lipi i 'ɣata xo'revun ta pon'dicia*
lit. "when the cat's absent the mice dance"
Like in French & Italian, our mice dance when the cat isn't here

*The word for mouce is «μῦς» (mūs, _m._) in ancient Greek, «μυς» (mis, _m._ in modern Greek); there was a kind of rodent native to the Pontus area of Minor Asia (the shores of the Black Sea) named in ancient times «ποντικός μῦς» (i.e. the Pontic mouce). In the Hellenistic times the adj. «ποντικός» slowly began to prevail and since the Byzantine times the word for mouce colloquially is «ποντικός» (pondi'kos, _m.-->the pontic_) or its diminutive «ποντίκιον» (pon'dicion, _n._)-->«ποντίκι» (pon'dici, _n.-->the little pontic_)

[x] is a voiceless velar fricative, known as the hard ch
[c] is a voiceless palatal plosive


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## jazyk

The version I'm familiar with in Portuguese: quando o gato sai, os ratos fazem a festa (lit. when the cat goes out, the mice/rats make a party).


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## phosphore

Serbian:

"Kad mačke nema, miševi kolo vode"=literally "When the cat's not around, the mice dance"


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## Encolpius

phosphore said:


> Serbian:
> 
> "Kad mačke nema, miševi kolo vode"=literally "When the cat's not around, the mice dance"



Does _kolo vode_ mean to dance?


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## phosphore

Well, _kolo_ is a kind of traditional dance, and _voditi_ means _to conduct_, so it does mean _to dance_, but that construction is used only in this expression. Otherwise we say _igrati_=to play, to dance or more rarely _plesati_=to dance.


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## Rallino

In Turkish:

_"Kedi olmayınca fareler cirit atar"_ = literally "when the cat doesn't exist, the mice throw javelins"


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## Encolpius

Rallino said:


> In Turkish:
> 
> _"Kedi olmayınca fareler cirit atar"_ = literally "when the cat doesn't exist, the mice throw javelins"



First, keep using that colourful marking system, because it is very useful and I hope it hasn't been copyrighted yet because I'd like to use it, too. 

Does that saying exist in Turkish? It seems it does, because you use quite an interesting collocation: cirit atar, what do you mean by that collocation exactly, is it used in other cases as well? thanks.


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## Rallino

Encolpius said:


> First, keep using that colourful marking system, because it is very useful and I hope it hasn't been copyrighted yet because I'd like to use it, too.



Yes it's really useful, and fun 



> Does that saying exist in Turkish? It seems it does, because you use quite an interesting collocation: cirit atar, what do you mean by that collocation exactly, is it used in other cases as well? thanks.


*Cirit atma*, is the name of an olympic game, I don't know the exact English Term but, the athletes throw javelins or staves, the farther the better.

BUT,

Cirit atmak (infinitive), is an expression in Turkish. It means, some things or some people are abundant in a place _and aren't doing anything useful._ 


_P.S. Could it be because Turks think that this sport is useless? _


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## Orlin

Bulgarian: Когато котката я няма, мишките танцуват. = When the cat is absent, (lit .the) mice dance.
Bulgarians who know French have told me that 1:1 matching French expression exists (so the Bulgarian expression is probably a literal translation from French but because I don't speak French can't confirm this).


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## bibax

Czech:

Když kocour není doma, myši mají pré.

When the tomcat is not home, the mice have a "pré".

pré (= _coll._ latitude/abandonment) is from French "avoir préference"


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## The Machine of Zhu

Dutch: Als de kat van huis is, dansen de muizen op tafel.


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## ThomasK

Dutch (addition) : that might be the origin (had not thought of that), but I have only heard the short version, i.e., without the table. But the table-version might well be the original. 

_(I do think I'll go for a Dutch translation of the Turkish version from now on: so colourful ! ;-))_


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## Candle9000

I've heard it in two ways: _Cuando el gato está ausente, los ratones bailan_ or _se divierten_.
"When the cat's away, mice dance/have fun".

gato = cat
ratones = mice
bailar = to dance
divertirse = to have fun

But it's not one of the most popular proverbs.


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## jana.bo99

Croatian:

Kad nema mačke, miševi plesu

Slovenian:

Ko mačke ni doma miši plešejo

(When the cat is not at the home, mouses play)


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## Orlin

jana.bo99 said:


> Croatian:
> 
> Kad nema mačke, miševi plešu
> 
> Slovenian:
> 
> Ko mačke ni doma miši plešejo
> 
> (When the cat is not at the home, mouses play)


 
Mala ispravka (typo?): http://hjp.srce.hr/index.php?show=search_by_id&id=eV1hWRE%3D.


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## jana.bo99

Hi Orlin,

Thank you for correction of my translation.

If I am always in English Forums in that case I forget Croatian: š!


jana.bo


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## mataripis

Yes it is common in Tagalog.It is used when the villain is in the scenes of doing evil. "  Pag wala ang Pusa, Nandyan nga ang Daga"


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## bollovan

In Romanian:


Cand pisica nu-i acasa, soarecii joaca pe masa.

When the cat isn't at home, the mice dance on the table.


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## swift

Hi,

*Costa Rica*, Spanish: _Cuando el gato se va, los ratones hacen fiesta _(when the cat's away, the mice make a party)

And welcome to the forums, Bollovan. 

Feliz domingo.


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## djara

Tunisian Arabic: Ghaab il-guit, il3ab ya faar. The cat absented himself, play mouse


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## Explorer41

Orlin said:


> Bulgarian: Когато котката я няма, мишките танцуват. = When the cat is absent, (lit .the) mice dance.
> Bulgarians who know French have told me that 1:1 matching French expression exists (so the Bulgarian expression is probably a literal translation from French but because I don't speak French can't confirm this).


*Russian*: Кот из дому — мыши в пляс.

Literally: when the cat goes out of the home, mice start to make dancing. In the Russian sentence the verbs are omitted, but implied, as it is usual for figurative emotional speech and proverbs like this. "when" is also implied by the intonation; in writing, the dash serves to reflect its meaning.


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## AutumnOwl

_*Swedish: *När katten är borta dansar råttorna på bordet_ - when the cat is away the rats dance on the table, no small mice here.


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