What does the French proverb Quand on parle du loup mean? Click to learn all about it, and then come back here to share your thoughts.
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In my native language of Tamil, we have got a more positive expression. The Tamil saying when literally translated can be phrased as “The God, whom you wished to see comes to you on His own”. The exact Tamil sentence is கும்பிடப்போன தெய்வம் குறுக்கே வந்தது.
Regards,
N.Raghavan
In Italian we say “quando parli del diavolo, spuntano le corna” (speak of the devil and his horns appear).
There is exactly the same expression in my mother tongue, but it features “the wolf” in stead of “the devi”, just like French. It is very interesting that this saying exists in so many languages.
lupus in fabula!
There’s a Renaud song called, “Elle a vu le loup.” Is there any connection between the two uses of the word wolf?
When we want to say that expression in spanish, We say: Hablando del rey de Roma….y el que se asoma.
Quand en parle du roi du Rome…….
Speak of the Rome’s King…..and he appears.
Then that’s an expression absolutly possitive.
The use of “loup” reminds me of an expression my mother used, “Entre chien et loup” meaning, I think, not quite sure, not day or night, not definable.
In Colloquial arabic (Arabian Peninsula) we have a similar Saying that says “الذيب على طاريه” or ” Ath-theeb ‘ala Tareeh” which Literally means ” the Wolf is upon mentioning its name” i.e. once you speak about or mention someone in his or her absence he or she will appear. Its usually used positively and Arabs used to describe great, brave, helpfull, and daring persons as being a wolf.
If a wolf lunges at one, one last sees its tail, so the expression implies that the wolf has already arrived and it’s too late to defend what one has said. The devil can appear instantaneously; this expression makes the same point to the rural French centuries ago. Does that conjecture make sense?
This French idiom is a puzzler. There is nothing extraordinary about a wolf’s tail? If anything, it’s snout and bared teeth are far more menacing. Hundreds of years ago in Europe, wolves were feard and were very prevalent. Understandably there was a dread of them. So to alllude to someone as un loup would have engenred very disparaging emotions – that’s hardly the case with the Devil, which modern psychology has all but done away with.
Wolves died out in England in the late medieval/early Renaissance period, whereas in France they survived and remained a real threat to people – hence the great number of werewolf stories in French folklore (the Jean Grenier case is probably the most famous to English speakers). Maybe this had something to do with it.
Yes you’re right. In french folklore there is also la bête du Gevaudan.
Does it mean that this expression is used in a negative way? I mean, do you use it when you are talking negatively of someone and the one appears? Or in any case of appearance, regardless of talking positive or negative about the person, the proverb can be used?
There’s no restriction – you can use it whether talking positively or negatively about the person.
Hablando del rey de Roma, you are right Cecilia…
Similar expression exists in polish, which, by the way, is really comparable to french when it comes down to proverbs, expressions.
Polish one is: “O wilku mowa” – speak of the wolf.
English(1.1) speak of the devil
Spanish: (1.1) hablando del rey de Roma
German: (1.1) wenn man vom Teufel spricht
Russian: (1.1) лёгок на помине
Swedish: (1.1) när man talar om trollen
Ukrainian: (1.1) про вовка помовка
Ok so in English they speak about the devil and in French about the wolf. We got this proverb in Swedish too. But we are saying: “When you’re speaking about the trolls”. So we speak about trolls.
And trolls aren’t always mean but however mystified.
And to go along with that, there is a saying that a person’s ears burn when others are talking about them. So, you might ask, “were your ears burning? We were just talking about you”. Or a person who suspects that a group was talking about him when he arrives, he could ask, “My ears are burning. Were you talking about me?” It’s hard to describe when it might be said and it is rare for me, but I know the idiom.
In English the saying is “Speak of the devil and you will see his horns”. Like the wolf and his tail.
If someone appears when he is just started to being discussed, then in Urdu there are two expression. One is negative and is a translation of English expression.
But the original Urdu one is positive. It is used when we discuss someone in positive light and he appears the very moment. The expression goes like ‘barri umr he aap ki’. Translation is a bit difficult for me. probably this; ‘you are going to live a long life (we were just discussing you).