# [It is] the other way (a)round?



## ThomasK

Just imagine someone saying: "The egg is more important/.... than the chicken". Someone could reply: "But no, it is the other way (a)round!"

I wonder what expressions you use or can use to express that idea in your language. Some comments on the etymology or the metaphor is welcome!


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## ThomasK

Dutch: "Het is net *omgekeerd*!" Lit. : it is just "turned upside down"!

_Omkeren_: you can turn a bottle upside down (if that is said in English) ---- whereas you can also _omdraaien _a bottle, which means that you turn it around horizontally, showing the backside.


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## Penyafort

*Catalan*:

_- L'ou és més important que no el pollet.
- I ara, és ben bé *a l'inrevés*! 
or:
- I ara, *(ben) al contrari*!_


*A l'inrevés* < Latin _in reversu_ "the other way round" < _re_- 'back' + _verto_ 'turn'
*Al contrari* < Latin _contrarius_ "contrary, opposite" < _contra_ 'against' + -_arius_


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## alfaalfa

Ciao,



Penyafort said:


> *Al contrari* < Latin _contrarius_ "contrary, opposite" < _contra_ 'against' + -_arius_


The same in Italian
_Al contrario!_


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## Abaye

Hebrew: there are several ways to say it, two of them:

* נהפוך הוא, a rare infinitive form of a root ה-פ-כ , a root that means "to turn over". Appears in the biblical book of Esther.

*אדרבא, literally "following is a greater (contradicting argument)". Borrowed from Jewish Babylonian Aramaic.


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## סייבר־שד

In Spanish it's just the same as in Catalan and Italian:

*"¡Al contrario!/¡Por el contrario!"

"¡Al revés!"*

You could also reply with something like:

*"De hecho, ¡es (exactamente) lo opuesto!"*


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## apmoy70

In Greek we say *«είναι το αντίστροφο»* [ˈi.ne̞.ˌt̠o̞.aŋ.ˈdi.s̠t̠ro̞.fo̞] --> _it is the reversed_.

The adjective is *«αντίστροφος, -φη, -φο»* [aŋ.ˈdi.s̠t̠ro̞.fo̞s̠] (masc.), [aŋ.ˈdi.s̠t̠ro̞.fi] (fem.), [aŋ.ˈdi.s̠t̠ro̞.fo̞] (neut.) --> _reversed, inverted, anti-clockwise_, a Classical compound: *«ἀντίστροφος, -φος, -φον» ăntístrŏpʰŏs* (masc. & fem.), *ăntístrŏpʰŏn* (neut.) --> lit. _turned so as to face one another_, metaph. _inverted, reversed, crosswise_; Classical prefix & preposition *«ἀντί» ăntí* + Classical feminine noun *«στροφή» strŏpʰḗ*, o-grade deverbative from the verb *«στρέφω» strépʰō*


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## ThomasK

Abaye said:


> Hebrew: there are several ways to say it, two of them:
> 
> * נהפוך הוא, a rare infinitive form of a root ה-פ-כ , a root that means "to turn over". Appears in the biblical book of Esther.
> 
> *אדרבא, literally "following is a greater (contradicting argument)". Borrowed from Jewish Babylonian Aramaic.


I'd be interested to learn where in the book of Esther you come across the expression. Thanks a lot!


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## ThomasK

apmoy70 said:


> In Greek we say *«είναι το αντίστροφο»* [ˈi.ne̞.ˌt̠o̞.aŋ.ˈdi.s̠t̠ro̞.fo̞] --> _it is the reversed_.
> 
> The adjective is *«αντίστροφος, -φη, -φο»* [aŋ.ˈdi.s̠t̠ro̞.fo̞s̠] (masc.), [aŋ.ˈdi.s̠t̠ro̞.fi] (fem.), [aŋ.ˈdi.s̠t̠ro̞.fo̞] (neut.) --> _reversed, inverted, anti-clockwise_, a Classical compound: *«ἀντίστροφος, -φος, -φον» ăntístrŏpʰŏs* (masc. & fem.), *ăntístrŏpʰŏn* (neut.) --> lit. _turned so as to face one another_, metaph. _inverted, reversed, crosswise_; Classical prefix & preposition *«ἀντί» ăntí* + Classical feminine noun *«στροφή» strŏpʰḗ*, o-grade deverbative from the verb *«στρέφω» strépʰō*


There is a lot of turning when we talk about "the other way round"... I thought there is also the expression "the world turned upside down", but that is not quite the same...


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## Yendred

In French:
_Mais non, c'est l'inverse / c'est le contraire !_

(similarly to other Romance languages mentioned above, as I can see )


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## Abaye

ThomasK said:


> I'd be interested to learn where in the book of Esther you come across the expression. Thanks a lot!


Esther 9:1, where the expression is translated to English as "the tables were turned", "quite the opposite happened", "the reverse occured", and alike. See many English translations here: Esther 9:1.


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## amikama

Abaye said:


> Hebrew: there are several ways to say it, two of them:
> 
> * נהפוך הוא, a rare infinitive form of a root ה-פ-כ , a root that means "to turn over". Appears in the biblical book of Esther.
> 
> *אדרבא, literally "following is a greater (contradicting argument)". Borrowed from Jewish Babylonian Aramaic.


A third way (and more common) is להיפך, literally "to opposite/contrary". 

And also ההיפך הוא הנכון (lit. "the opposite/contrary is the right one").


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## Abaye

Aramaic: as there aren't many Arameans around, I'll take the liberty of mentioning yet another Aramaic alternative: איפכא מסתברא - Wiktionary, literally "the opposite turns out".


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## Awwal12

Russian: наоборот (naoborót), literally ~~"on-turning" (as if something has been turned before you so you're facing its opposite side). Cf. оборот (oborót) "a single rotation; a back side", and also обратный (obrátnyi) "reverse, opposite" (from Church Slavonic).


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## ThomasK

> Esther 9:1, where the expression is translated to English as "the tables were turned", "quite the opposite happened", "the reverse occured", and alike. See many English translations here: Esther 9:1.



Thanks a lot for this information. Strictly speaking it is the adverbial/ adjectival phrase I am most interested in, as in "The Israelites had hoped to rule over them, it did not work. *On the contrary *rather" [_Something like that at least; I hope it sounds good in English_]. I was not really thinking of something like "the opposite" really.


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## Uncreative Name

Penyafort said:


> _- I ara, *(ben) al contrari*!_





alfaalfa said:


> _Al contrario!_





סייבר־שד said:


> *"¡Al contrario!/¡Por el contrario!"*





Yendred said:


> _c'est le contraire !_
> 
> (similarly to other Romance languages mentioned above, as I can see )


Even English adopts "On the contrary" as a direct translation of the saying from the Romance languages; I've also heard people just say "au contraire" without translating it.


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## Yendred

Uncreative Name said:


> I've also heard people just say "au contraire" without translating it.


Surprising!


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## Welsh_Sion

Mind you, it's being 'your actual French', it can be a bit 'showy' and pretentious, sometimes. (Depends on the tone of voice.)


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## Awwal12

Yendred said:


> Surprising!


I've encountered that expression more than once in English, though, like pretty much any French in English, it's kind of poshy (as Welsh_Sion has also noted just before me). 

P.S.: Curiously, it hasn't infiltrated Russian (probably because Russian has its counterpart which is easier to pronounce).


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## elroy

Arabic: بالعكس 

Literally, “in the opposite”

The root ع-ك-س also means “to reflect.”


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## ThomasK

intriguing: the root meaning "opposite" and "to reflect", but I suppose the re- is the key to the answer: re- is "back" but also "against". A mirror confronts (against) but also gives back. And resisting = standing (up?) against...


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## ThomasK

apmoy70 said:


> In Greek we say *«είναι το αντίστροφο»* [ˈi.ne̞.ˌt̠o̞.aŋ.ˈdi.s̠t̠ro̞.fo̞] --> _it is the reversed_.
> 
> The adjective is *«αντίστροφος, -φη, -φο»* [aŋ.ˈdi.s̠t̠ro̞.fo̞s̠] (masc.), [aŋ.ˈdi.s̠t̠ro̞.fi] (fem.), [aŋ.ˈdi.s̠t̠ro̞.fo̞] (neut.) --> _reversed, inverted, anti-clockwise_, a Classical compound: *«ἀντίστροφος, -φος, -φον» ăntístrŏpʰŏs* (masc. & fem.), *ăntístrŏpʰŏn* (neut.) --> lit. _turned so as to face one another_, metaph. _inverted, reversed, crosswise_; Classical prefix & preposition *«ἀντί» ăntí* + Classical feminine noun *«στροφή» strŏpʰḗ*, o-grade deverbative from the verb *«στρέφω» strépʰō*


Apmoy70 added elsewhere: 



> Adverb *«αντιθέτως»* [aŋ.d̠i.ˈθe̞.t̠o̞s̠] or the demotic *«αντίθετα»* [aŋ.ˈd̠i.θe̞.t̠a] --> _conversely, by contrast, contrastingly_.


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