# The straw that breaks the camel's back



## ThomasK

How do you render that expression in your language? (Not literally, the meaning)

Dutch: _de druppel die de emmer doet overlopen _(the drop that makes the bucket overflow)...


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## apmoy70

In Greek:

*«Η σταγόνα που ξεχείλισε το ποτήρι»* [i sta'ɣona pu kse'çilise to po'tiri] --> _ the drop that has made the glass overflow_


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## momai

In Arabic,it's literally the same القشة التي قصمت ظهر البعير


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## DearPrudence

In *French*:
*"C'est la goutte d'eau qui fait déborder le vase" *(literally: _It's the drop of water that makes the *vase *overflow_)


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## rusita preciosa

Russian:
*последняя капля, переполнившая чашу* [poslednaya kaplia prerpolnivshaya tchashu] - last drop that overflowed the cup

The entire expression is rarely used, typically they just say "it was the last drop".


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## ancalimon

Turkish:

Bardağı taşıran son damla : The last drop that made the glass overflow.


rusita preciosa said:


> Russian:
> [poslednaya kaplia prerpolnivshaya tchashu] - last drop that overflowed the cup


Is "tchashu" Turkic in origin? It seems like it's similar to "taşı" meaning "to carry, to hold inside" in Turkish.


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## Tjahzi

According to wiktionary, it's from "Proto-Slavic *čaša".

In *Swedish*, the phrase goes _droppen som fick bägaren att rinna över_ - the drop that caused the goblet to over flow.


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## rusita preciosa

Tjahzi said:


> According to wiktionary, it's from "Proto-Slavic *čaša".


I checked the Russian etymology source and it confims that. May be the transition went the other way and the Turkish word was borrowed from a Slavic language?


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## ilocas2

Czech:

To je poslední kapka. - It's last drop.
Byla to poslední kapka. - It was last drop.
etc.

Pohár trpělivosti přetekl. - Goblet of patience overflowed.


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## anipo

In Hebrew: הקש ששבר את גב הגמל. Hakash sheshabar et gav hagamal :The straw that broke the camel's back.


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## Outsider

rusita preciosa said:


> Russian:
> *последняя капля, переполнившая чашу* [poslednaya kaplia prerpolnivshaya tchashu] - last drop that overflowed the cup
> 
> The entire expression is rarely used, typically they just say "it was the last drop".


Just like in Portuguese!

*A gota que fez transbordar o copo*, but normally we just say *a última gota*.


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## SuperXW

Despite there are thousands of idioms and proverbs in Chinese, I can't think of any one have the same meaning! 
I think it can only be literally translated, or use a very boring expression...


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## sakvaka

*Finnish*: _se katkaisi kamelin selän _(it broke the camel's back) or _se oli viimeinen pisara_ (it was the last drop of water)


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## ThomasK

momai said:


> In Arabic,it's literally the same القشة التي قصمت ظهر البعير


Could you transcribe this, Momai ?


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## momai

ThomasK said:


> Could you transcribe this, Momai ?


Al-qasha altee qaSamat THahra al-b'eer :The straw that broke the camel's back.


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## Grefsen

ThomasK said:


> How do you render that expression in your language? (Not literally, the meaning)


Here's the wikipedia link for "Straw that *broke* the camel's back:"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_that_broke_the_camel's_back

I don't recall having heard any of these variations before:


"The straw that broke the donkey's back", the "melon that broke the monkey's back", the "feather that broke the camel's back", and the "straw that broke the horse's back."


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## learnerr

rusita preciosa said:


> Russian:
> *последняя капля, переполнившая чашу* [poslednaya kaplia perepolnivshaya tchashu] - last drop that overflowed the cup


I also heard one about the camel's back: "была той самой _соломинкой, переломившей спину верблюду_". Unlike the drop phrase, which refers to merely losing temper or deciding to act another way, this one seems to mean something that literally breaks the person's feeling that things are more or less okay and he can act as usual. Both phrases can refer to societies as well as to individuals.


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## abulcasis

Hey guys
i have two points 
1st : i believe this idiom propably originated in arabic language (just a guess didnt do my research)m
2nd : when you mentioned the russian word 
tchashu and its origin in slovaic is çasa 
this is actually a very old arabic word mentioned 2000 years ago in poems 
which writes like this "Kas" and then in modern arabic it's "kasa
and it means a cup or the glass you drink in 
and it has another meaning which is an organ of a flower 
and thats it peace


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## ThomasK

I am surprised there have not been more reactions…


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## anahiseri

in *Spanish*, like in so many other languages, the drop that makes the glass overflow (literally, fill up to the brim - which is less dramatic than overflow . . . )

la gota que colma el vaso

similar in *German, *container overflowing:

Der Tropfen, der das Fass zum Überlaufen bringt

not a bucket but a barrel


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## Sardokan1.0

In Italian there is the same concept of Spanish and French : 

_La goccia che fa traboccare il vaso_

While in Sardinian there is a more colourful expression :

_Como has pisciadu a fora de s'orinale (Now you pissed out of the chamber pot)_


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## djmc

In BE one might say 'It's the last straw that breaks the camel's back' or 'Eventually the worm turns'. Both meaning that there is a limit to peoples' tolerance.


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## Penyafort

*Catalan*

*Ésser la gota que fa vessar el got* = To be the drop that makes (the water in) the glass overflow

Notice how, while similar in structure to the other Romance languages, there is an extra play on words too, as _gota _'drop' has only one more letter than _got _'glass'.


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