# (That is) Right/ correct !



## ThomasK

In Dutch we have a metaphorical verb for that: 

*Dat klopt.* (That knocks, literally - but why, not a clue)
*Dat sluit als een bus* (That locks (lit.)  like a box ;-))

I know the German expression:

*Das stimmt.*  (That voices (lit.),  meaning, so I think, it chimes in with a reasoning considered like a melody) 

Any in your language ?


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## sakvaka

Funny: my Dutch dictionary combines those two phrases: _Dat klopt als een bus. _

*Finnish*: _Nappiin meni. _
lit. [It] went to the button. 
"Button", as in "buttonhole".


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## ThomasK

Ouch, that is a classical contamination (wrong)! I mean: one locks (_sluit_) a box, therefore 'sluiten als een bus'... _(Good Lord, what a bad dictionary! ;-) )_

Does the Finnish expression suggest the button fits into the hole ?


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## sakvaka

ThomasK said:


> Does the Finnish expression suggest the button fits into the hole ?



Not actually. It suggests that something "hits the button". I don't think this refers to a needle getting through the holes of the button, but the _entire _object: buttons are small and hard to hit.


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## ThomasK

Do you really think so? We only try to hit the mark, not the button! ;-) I must admit that I do not know what our 'kloppen' refers to either !


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## sakvaka

I don't know what else it could mean.  However, if it referred to going _through _the button, a different case (elative) would've been used.


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## enoo

in *French*: 
- _Exact._
- _Correct._
- _C'est juste_. (that is right)
As far as I know, no nice metaphors :-(


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## itreius

Croatian

"To je točno" _(That is correct)_ or just "Točno" _(Correct)_, but I can't remember any other standard variants of that expression. 



ThomasK said:


> I know the German expression:
> 
> *Das stimmt.*


Colloquially we use "Štima" and "To štima". (To - _that_, štima - _german: stimmt_)


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## ThomasK

Are you suggesting you have copied it from German, Itreius?


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## itreius

ThomasK said:


> Are you suggesting you have copied it from German, Itreius?


Northern (non-standard) dialects of Croatian had been under heavy influence of German throughout history.
Other variations of the same root

naštimati - _einstimmen_ (different prefix and different infinitive suffix)
štimer - _Stimmer_


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## ThomasK

I see. Thanks for the cultural/ historical information! Any idea of how other Slavic languages express that ? Do they have a metaphorical term?


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## Hakro

> Originally Posted by *sakvaka*
> I don't know what else it could mean. However, if it referred to going through the button, a different case (elative) would've been used.


I think that in this case _nappi_ doesn't mean just a button but anything small, possibly the center of the target. _Osua nappiin_ means exactly the same as "hit the mark".


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## sakvaka

Hakro said:


> I think that in this case _nappi_ doesn't mean just a button but anything small, possibly the center of the target. _Osua nappiin_ means exactly the same as "hit the mark".



Yes, that's most likely a metaphor.


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## phosphore

itreius said:


> Croatian
> 
> "To je točno" _(That is correct)_ or just "Točno" _(Correct)_, but I can't remember any other standard variants of that expression.
> 
> 
> Colloquially we use "Štima" and "To štima". (To - _that_, štima - _german: stimmt_)


 
Serbian:

(To je) tačno=(That's) exact
Tako je=That is the way it is
Upravo!=Exactly!

(as for "štima" we tend to use it in the negative form)


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## Encolpius

I am afraid no other languages (Nordic?) use similar idioms. I know that only in German and Dutch. 

*Hungarian*:  Igaz. (true)

*Czech*: Správně! (Correct)

There are many other idiomatic phrases but none of them is close to the Dutch one.


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## ThomasK

Thanks. So *'prav'*, also meaning straight, I believe (see the *'rule'* thread). 

_Tačno_: any link with _tako_ ?


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## itreius

ThomasK said:


> _Tačno_: any link with _tako_ ?



The words _tačno_ & _točno_ (as well as the Russ. _tóčnyj_) are according to HJP (a comprehensive online dictionary) a calque of the German word _pünktlich_. (Punkt -> pünktlich, Točka -> točno)
The word _tako_ comes from _takav_.


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## bibax

Czech:

*Klape to.* = It works fine.

The verb klapati (Ger. klappern) expresses the sound of a water mill (like in German: es klappert die Mühle). I do not know the proper English verb (maybe to clap).

*Šlape to jako hodiny (hodinky).* = lit. It treadles like a clock (watch).

*To štimuje.* (from German: das stimmt)


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## bibax

> Thanks. So 'prav', also meaning straight, I believe (see the 'rule' thread).


No, it means "right" (hand, side). And figuratively true, just, authentic, legitimate, ...


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## apmoy70

In Greek:
-We usually just say, «σωστός» (for males), «σωστή» (for females). Adjective, σωστός-σωστή-σωστό/sos'tos (_m._)-sos'ti (_f._)-sos'to (_n._) which means "safe". Sometimes, one could hear the colloquialism «σωστά» (sos'ta, _adv._) which is roughly translated as "safely".
-Ορθός-ορθή-ορθό
Or'θos (_m._)-or'θi (_f._)-or'θo (_n._)
Adjective, which literally means "straight, erect, upright" and since ancient times implicits "right, true, correct" (e.g Orthodoxy-->true belief, orthodontics-->right teeth, orthography-->correct writing). Sometimes, one could hear the colloquialism «ορθά» (or'θa, _adv._) which is loosely translated as "correct". Lately the archaism «ορθόν» (or'θon, _n._) is common.

[θ] is a voiceless dental non-sibilant fricative


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## Encolpius

bibax said:


> Czech:
> 
> *Klape to.* = It works fine.
> 
> The verb klapati (Ger. klappern) expresses the sound of a water mill (like in German: es klappert die Mühle). I do not know the proper English verb (maybe to clap).
> 
> *Šlape to jako hodiny (hodinky).* = lit. It treadles like a clock (watch).
> 
> *To štimuje.* (from German: das stimmt)



But dat klopt & stimmt mean something else.


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## ThomasK

@ Apmoy: thanks, very interesting - but no metaphorical verb really then
@ Bibax: that is quite impressive a list, thanks !


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