# to blow up, downplay



## ThomasK

We all know we can *blow up something* (out of proportions...) - also 'inflate', I guess - or *downplay* it. Do you have your own translations for that, or your own expressions, metaphors? 

Dutch:  *opblazen* (blow up) vs. *minimaliseren* (bagatelliseren - based on the French: making it into something small, lit. into a small berry, I read) 

I might find an expression for that, but it is too early now... ;-)


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## apmoy70

In Greek:
*Blow up*: «Μεγεθύνω» (meʝe'θino); from the Hellenistic «μεγεθύνω» (mĕgĕ'tʰūnō)-->_to increase in bulk, magnitude or number, enlarge_, from the noun «μέγεθος» ('mĕgĕtʰŏs, 'meʝeθos in modern pronunciation, both neuter nouns)-->_stature_ generally _size_. PIE base *meǵ-, _great_.
Colloquially, one could use «φουσκώνω» (fus'kono) or «παραφουσκώνω» (parafus'kono).
«Φουσκώνω» (fus'kono): From the Medieval/Byzantine Greek «φουσκώνω» (phus'kono)-->_to inflate_, from the Classical feminine noun «φοῦσκα ('pʰūskă), Doric «φύσκη» (''pʰūskē)-->_a cheap and popular drink, somekind of wine flavoured with herbs, that was carried in whineskins made from animal intestine, like this: http://i55.tinypic.com/142dc3q.jpg_ (similar with the Latin sour wine, _posca_). _«Φοῦσκα» ('fuska in modern pronunciation) came to describe everything that looks like a hollow globule i.e. the bubble_. PIE base *p(h)u-s-, _to blow_.
«Παραφουσκώνω» (parafus'kono): Compound formed by the joining together of the prefix and preposition «παῥὰ» (pā'rhă)-->_beside, beyond, near, from, against, contrary to_ + «φουσκώνω» (phus'kono)-->_to inflate_. «Παραφουσκώνω» lit. _to overinflate_. 
*Downplay*: «Υποβαθμίζω» (ipovaθ'mizo); a modern word constructed in order to render/translate the English _downgrade/downplay_.
Colloquially one could use «ξεφουσκώνω» (ksefus'kono)-->_deflate_. Compound formed by the joining together of the Medieval/Byzantine and Modern Greek prefix «ξε-» (kse-)-->_out of, forth from_ + «φουσκώνω» (phus'kono)-->_to inflate_. «Ξε-» (kse-) derives from the Classical prefix and preposition «ἐκ» (ĕk) that becomes «ἐξ» (ĕks) when the next word starts with a vowel. In the Medieval/Byzantine language the initial unstressed epsilon was omitted (a common phenomenon in Greek).


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## ilocas2

Czech

blow up - *nafukovat*, from _foukat_ (= to blow), *zveličovat*, from _velký_ (= big)

downplay - *zlehčovat*, from _lehký_ (= light, easy), also *bagatelizovat*


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## DearPrudence

*blow up: exagérer quelque chose
*
*play down: minimiser quelque chose*

(nothing very colourful here I'm afraid)


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## ThomasK

It is incredible: all that blowing! ;-) 

Now I have an expression: _*van een muis een olifant maken*_ -- to turn (make) a mouse into an... elephant. And I guess there is one for the opposite as well !


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## rusita preciosa

Russian:
blow up: *раздуть */razdut'/ (the prefix раз- meaning "out / in different directions" and the root -дут- meaning "blow", so "blow in different directions".

downplay: *преуменьшить* /preumenshit'/ - belittle, lessen (the first prefix *пре-* means "addition/application", the second prefix *y-* means "addition", the root *-меньш-* has the meaning of "less / smaller").



ilocas2 said:


> also *bagatelizovat*


Is it from French *bagatelle*?


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## DearPrudence

ThomasK said:


> It is incredible: all that blowing! ;-)
> 
> Now I have an expression: _*van een muis een olifant maken*_ -- to turn (make) a mouse into an... elephant. And I guess there is one for the opposite as well !


OK, if you really want a colourful one, you may go for:
"*en faire tout un plat*" : to make a big deal about sth.


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## Tjahzi

*Swedish* has _blåsa upp_ - blow up (_up_ as in "enlarge" in this context) and _tona ner_ -tone down. 

Also, you might like the metaphor _att göra en höna av en fjäder_ - to make a hen of a feather. To turn something small into something much bigger.


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## ThomasK

That makes me wonder: why do we speak in metaphors about blowing up, hardly about toning down, downplaying? 

And why always this blowing? _(Because that is the way we humans can make things bigger though we just blow bubbles, produce 'thin air' ???)_


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## Tjahzi

I imagine the "blowing up" process being similar to that of a balloon. Naturally, it's quite small, but though the addition of nothing (air, that is), it becomes big.

I really can't visualize anything for the reversed process.


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## ilocas2

rusita preciosa said:


> Is it from French *bagatelle*?



Yes, it is. There was firstly word *bagatela* with the same meaning as in French, later the verb bagatelizovat was derived from it and then bagatela stopped to be used. So today there's only the verb, not the noun.

There's also word *pakatel* (little amount of money), but it's a later loanword through German as it's seen from devoicing of B and G.


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## ThomasK

Tjahzi said:


> I imagine the "blowing up" process being similar to that of a balloon. Naturally, it's quite small, but though the addition of nothing (air, that is), it becomes big.
> 
> I really can't visualize anything for the reversed process.


 
Minimalizing reminds me of underestimating, but it is not the same of course.


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## Selyd

роздувати, роздути - blow up аny question
пороздувати – many questions
переборщувати, гіперболізувати, брати через край, перебирати міру, робити з мухи слона - too to praise
прибільшувати – a little bit
пересолювати – for example at game of the actor
зменшувати, зменшити, зменшати – usually downplay
применшувати, применшити – slightly downplay


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## ThomasK

Would be abel to transliterate, Selyd, and maybe add something about the 'basic' meaning? Any metaphor ?


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## sakvaka

*Finnish*:
_liioitella_ - blow up, exaggerate
_vähätellä_ - downplay

The roots are _liikaa_ (too much) and _vähän_ (little).

Also: *Tehdä kärpäsestä härkänen.*
"To make a little bull out of a fly.

As for English, how about "to make a mountain out of a molehill"?


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## Selyd

роздувати, роздути /rozduvaty, rozduty/
пороздувати /porozduvaty/
переборщувати, гіперболізувати, брати через край, перебирати міру, робити з мухи слона /pereborshtuvaty, hiperbolizuvaty, braty cherez kray, perebyraty miru, robyty я muchy slona/
прибільшувати /perebil'shuvaty/
пересолювати /peresoluvaty/
зменшувати, зменшити, зменшати /zmenshuvaty, zmenshyty, zmenshaty/
применшувати, применшити /prymenshuvaty, menshyty/


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## ThomasK

@Sakvaka: 
- so no blowing this time ? Great ! ;-)
- a little bull : well, you 're less exotic than we *turning a mosquito into an elephant *(I wrote 'een muis', but I now remember: it is a mosquito !)
- and yes, _molehill/mountain_! Great again !;-)

@Selyd: I know about nothing about Slavic languages, but I think I often see prefix + V in your exemples. For example 'roz' (out ? from ?). Could you explain those prefixes and the key verb 'duv-' , 'mens', and the others? Thanks !


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## sakvaka

*Finnish*... continues.

I checked my thesaurus and discovered that I had forgotten the following alternatives:

_liioitella_ ~ paisutella (to swell), suurennella (to make bigger)

They are all frequentative aspects. _Paisutella_ is probably closest to _blowing up_.


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## ThomasK

Is _suurunnella_ like showing off ?


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## sakvaka

ThomasK said:


> Is _suurunnella_ like showing off ?



No, that's _isotella_ or _leuhkia_.

iso = big
suuri = great


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## ThomasK

I see, I was misled by _suurellinen_, which means showing off if my mini-dictionary can be relied upon...


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## Selyd

ThomasK said:


> дуть - to blow
> раздувать - /to carry out action/ выполнять действие /неоконченное действие/
> раздуть - /to execute action/ выполнить действие /oконченное действие/


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## ThomasK

Thanks, but then how do you get from 'carry out an action' to blowing up/ downplaying?


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## Selyd

ThomasK said:


> Thanks, but then how do you get from 'carry out an action' to blowing up/ downplaying?


раздувать - to blow, but to not end action
раздуть - to blow, and to end action
вик*о*нувати - to execute (en action)
в*и*конати - to execute (end)
Excuse for mine anti-English.


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## sakvaka

ThomasK said:


> I see, I was misled by _suurellinen_, which means showing off if my mini-dictionary can be relied upon...



_Suurellinen_ means the same as "suurieleinen", pompous, a little pretentious. 

Oh, and thanks, I thought the word should be written with two e's (_suureellinen_), but according to this text, that would mean "equipped with a physical quantity".


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## ThomasK

Impressive, you mean?


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## sakvaka

ThomasK said:


> Impressive, you mean?



Impressive on purpose. If I arrange a _suurellinen kampanja_ (~ campaign), I want to have a certain effect on those who attend it. Their lower jaws should be dropping on the floor of awe.


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## ThomasK

I see. I wonder if we could express that with one word. Kind of 'ambitious', but that is too general. 'Grand-scale' (_grootschalig_) is no good either, I suppose. Maybe _groots_, which in standard Dutch means large-scale, but with opgezet being added, can mean 'impressive on purpose'. Funny is : _groots_ happens to mean "big-headed" as well in my dialect! _('groots' =/= 'groot')_


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## Orlin

Bulgarian:
1. Blow up = (да) раздуя/раздувам, преувелича/преувеличавам, (да на)правя от мухата слон.
2. I'm not sure if there exists a close equivalent of "downplay", but the closest is probably "(да) омаловажа/омаловажавам" = "to make less important".


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## ThomasK

I am sorry, I always have a problem transliterating. Could you ... and explain key verb and prefixes? Thanks a lot !


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## jazyk

> *blow up: exagérer quelque chose
> *
> *play down: minimiser quelque chose*
> 
> (nothing very colourful here I'm afraid)


Same in Portuguese: exagerar and minimizar, but to blow up a tire is encher um pneu, to blow up a bridge is detonar/explodir uma ponte, to blow up a picture is ampliar uma foto, etc.


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## Orlin

Orlin said:


> Bulgarian:
> 1. Blow up = (да) раздуя/раздувам, преувелича/преувеличавам, (да на)правя от мухата слон.
> 2. I'm not sure if there exists a close equivalent of "downplay", but the closest is probably "(да) омаловажа/омаловажавам" = "to make less important".


 


ThomasK said:


> I am sorry, I always have a problem transliterating. Could you ... and explain key verb and prefixes? Thanks a lot !


(да) раздуя/раздувам (da razduya/razduvam) - the prefix raz-, whose meaning is relatively hard to explain, is added to the verb with a basic meaning "to blow"; the combined meaning is close to "to inflate"
преувелича/преувеличавам (preuvelicha/preuvelichavam) a prefix basically meaning "too much" + "to enlarge";
(да на)правя от мухата слон (da na/pravya ot muhata slon) = to make an elephant out of a fly;
(да) омаловажа/омаловажавам (da omalovazha/omalovazhavam) = "to make less important".


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## ThomasK

Great, thanks !


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