# Tit for tat



## panjabigator

How do you express "tit for tat" in your language?


----------



## Chazzwozzer

*Turkish: *kısasa kısas, dişe diş, kana kan
*Latin:* quid pro quo
*German: *Wie du mir, so ich dir (?)


----------



## barbiegood

In Hungarian:

szemet szemért, fogat fogért - (eyes for eyes, tooth for tooth)


----------



## dn88

I think that in Polish it can be expressed in this way:

_oko za oko, ząb za ząb _(an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth)

Or perhaps:

_jak ty mi, tak ja tobie_


----------



## noncasper

in Vietnamese:
Ăn miếng trả miếng


----------



## sabrinita85

*Italian*: *occhio per occhio, dente per dente.*


----------



## Lopes

I'm not sure what 'tit for tat' means, but ' an eye for an eye' in Dutch is ' oog om oog, tand om tand'


----------



## Spectre scolaire

Lopes said:
			
		

> I'm not sure what 'tit for tat' means


 If you don’t mind departing from French *Œil pour œil, dent pour dent*, here is the history of the expression: http://www.linternaute.com/expression/langue-francaise/231/il-pour-oeil-dent-pour-dent/.
 ​


----------



## Demov

Spanish : Ojo por ojo, diente por diente


----------



## Spectre scolaire

Chazzwozzer said:
			
		

> *German: *Wie du mir, so ich dir (?)


 The German equivalent is *Auge um Auge, Zahn um Zahn*. Note the preposition _um_!
​


----------



## Lopes

Spectre scolaire said:


> If you don’t mind departing from French *Œil pour œil, dent pour dent*, here is the history of the expression: http://www.linternaute.com/expression/langue-francaise/231/il-pour-oeil-dent-pour-dent/.
> ​


 
I do actually, my French hasn't improved much since high school..  
But if it means ' eye for eye, tooth for tooth', I get it


----------



## Outsider

panjabigator said:


> How do you express "tit for tat" in your language?


I'm a bit unsure about the meaning of this expression. Could you tell us a bit more about it?


----------



## deine

Lithuanian:

akis už akį, dantis už dantį (an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth)


----------



## Athaulf

Outsider said:


> I'm a bit unsure about the meaning of this expression. Could you tell us a bit more about it?



It's actually an extremely interesting topic, and summarizing it in a way that wouldn't drift into off-topic definitely wouldn't do it justice. I'd recommend this article too.


----------



## Whodunit

Spectre scolaire said:


> The German equivalent is *Auge um Auge, Zahn um Zahn*. Note the preposition _um_!


Both are correct. I, personally, think that _*Wie du mir, so ich dir*_ is more common. It is also more understandable.


----------



## Alijsh

Persian: *in be ân dar*


----------



## Nizo

In Esperanto, it can be said o_kulon pro okulo, denton pro dento _(an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth) or _taŭga bato, taŭga rebato_.


----------



## noncasper

I don't think this phrase is expressing something like"an eye for an eye..."
"He hit me,so I hit him back,it was tit for tat" In this expression show us that we don't give any concessions.


----------



## Spectre scolaire

Whodunit said:
			
		

> Both are correct. I, personally, think that *Wie du mir, so ich dir* is more common. It is also more understandable.


 I agree! My “Auge um Auge [...]” was meant to be put together with my posting #8,
but I had serious problems with the link which unexpectedly changed its wording every time I put it into the url brackets, so eventually that was the only sentence which remained. 

Some minutes later I did write “The German equivalent [...]” - which it incidentally is.  In German there is also a ...gastronomical version, “Wurst wider Wurst”*) which may be even more colloquial.

Now, the _Greek_ equivalent expression is stuck in old language:

οφθαλμόν αντί οφθαλμού (και οδόντα αντί οδόντος)​The part in parenthesis can be skipped.

***οφθαλμός [ophthalmós] is Classical Greek (and _katharevousa_ [ofθalmós]), whereas Modern Greek has μάτι [máti].

***οδούς [odús] is the corresponding old term for modern δόντι [ðó(n)di]. Both (old) words are respectively put in the accusative and genitive in the idiom. I don’t think the modern words could replace the older ones when it comes to an expression like this. The alternative is to create a new expression like μία μου και μία σου, “One for me, one for you”. You can also say in Greek “Pay with the same coin”.

The Greek expression above is taken right out of the bible – Matth. 5,38 to be exact. The verse _in extenso_ runs like this (in King James version):

Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth

The introduction to the idiom indicates that it is _relata refero_; the expression is older than the bible. 
 *) Mit Senf, bitte... ​


----------



## suslik

In Estonian:

silm silma, hammas hamba vastu


----------



## Maja

My EN -> SR dictionary says: "*milo za drago*" or "šilo za ognjilo". The second I don't  think I ever heard though.


----------



## halfminded

suslik said:


> In Estonian:
> 
> silm silma, hammas hamba vastu



It could also be "vorst vorsti vastu"


----------



## OldAvatar

sabrinita85 said:


> *Italian*: *occhio per occhio, dente per dente.*



Romanian:

Ochi pentru ochi, dinte pentru dinte.


----------



## Lugubert

The Hammurabi/Bible expression is _Öga för öga, tand för tand_ in Swedish.
For 'tit for tat' my dictionary proposes _lika för lika_ 'equal for equal', and a chiding comment you can make on executing a tit for tat move is _Betalt kvitteras_ 'Paid receipted'.


----------



## Just one more question...

In Finnish "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" is "silmä silmästä, hammas hampaasta".


----------



## Outsider

Portuguese:

pagar na mesma moeda -- to pay(back) in the same coin


----------



## Lugubert

Outsider said:


> Portuguese:
> 
> pagar na mesma moeda -- to pay(back) in the same coin


I didn't think of that one: it's _betala tillbaka med samma mynt_ in Swedish.


----------



## apmoy70

Greek:

(1) *«Μία σου και μία μου»* [ˈmi.a su ce ˈmi.a mu] --> _one for you and one for me_
(2) *«Ὀφθαλμός ἀντί ὀφθαλμοῦ»* [ɔf.θalˈmɔs anˈdi ɔf.θalˈmu] (MoGr pronunciation) --> _an eye for an eye_

(1) is preferred in the vernacular, (2) is from the Septuagint (Levit. 24:20-21) & the Christian Gospels (Matth. 5:38) and used as a saying/proverb.


----------



## Yendred

French is similar to Italian and other languages : _oeil pour oeil, dent pour dent _(lit. eye for eye, tooth for tooth) 
The expression comes from the _lex talionis_ (law of retaliation) written on the Hammurabi stone stele.


----------



## bibax

*Tit for tat* is an English saying meaning "equivalent retaliation". It is also a highly effective strategy in game theory.

Czech:

*veta za vetu* (idiomatic expression)
*oko za oko,* *zub za zub* (lit. eye for eye, tooth for tooth)

*veta* (from OHG wette), *odveta* = retaliation, vengeance;

_"Veta za vetu"_ is also the traditional Czech title of Shakespeare's play "_Measure for Measure"._

Polish has similar expression: *wet za wet*


----------



## hui

Finnish:

*[maksaa] potut pottuina,* lit. [to pay] spuds as spuds  (= potatoes)


----------



## Armas

More Finnish:
*maksaa kalavelkoja* lit. "to pay fish-debts"
*antaa samalla mitalla takaisin* lit. "to give back with the same measure"


----------



## asad7080

in urdu:  اینٹ کا جواب پتھر ۔ جیسے کو تیسا


----------

