It’s a sausage to me

Welcome to a fresh edition of Soundczech in which you can learn new phrases with the help of song lyrics. Today’s song is by the group Vypsaná fixa and the phrase to listen out for is “je mi to jedno”.

“Je mi to jedno” means - it is all the same to me. Literally translated it means “its all one” presumably an abbreviation of “it’s all one and the same”. The phrase “je mi to jedno” can be expressed in many other, more colorful ways – such as “je mi to buřt”– it’s a sausage to me. Why the saying refers to a sausage and not some other object is a mystery. Although the same saying exists in a different version with the word “putna”–an outdated expression used to denote the huge backpacks travelers carried in olden days. “Je mi to putna” means – it’s an old backpack to me –most likely indicating it is worthless.

Another way of saying you couldn’t care less about something is to say “je mi to ukradený”– this might as well be stolen – it is something I can easily part with. Or, you may hear the rather bizarre expression “je mi to šumafuk”. “Šumafuk” is not an expression you would find in the dictionary and nobody is quite sure what it means though people tend to vaguely associate it with something disappearing into thin air.

Another funny expression Czechs use when they couldn’t care less one way or another is “to mě netankuje”–meaning that doesn’t fill me up with petrol – it doesn’t do anything for me. You may also hear “to mě nevzrušuje” that doesn’t excite me –or “to mě nepálí”– that is not an issue that burns me – it is not an issue that affects me directly.

If you couldn’t be bothered about something you can say “kašlu na to”– I cough on that, meaning you are not going to do anything about it or devote any attention to it. Kids say “kašlu na” to when they have no intention of doing their homework or whatever other duty seems a drag. When people tell you to go ahead with a plan because they don’t care one way or another they generally say “pro mě, za mě” meaning “for all I care….” And some might add “je mi to volný”– “I’m free” and is like the English “whatever”. And on that carefree note we end this edition of SoundCzech. This is Daniela Lazarová saying thanks for learning Czech with me and na shledanou.