Mon ventre crie famine.

English translation: My stomach/tummy is talking.

01:32 Apr 2, 2007

French to English translations [PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters

French term or phrase: Mon ventre crie famine.

Expression que j'utilise lorsque mon estomac gargouille, lorsque j'ai faim...

Comment rendre cette expression en anglais en conservant son cote ... amusant (Well, ici en occident).

Merci pour vos suggestions !

Frenchnative Japanese Translation KudoZ activity Questions: 32 (none open) (4 closed without grading) Answers: 58 France
Local time: 20:52

English translation:My stomach/tummy is talking.

Explanation:
Just a thought. ;)

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Note added at 7 days (2007-04-10 00:06:32 GMT) Post-grading
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Here's something even better, more colloquial, understandable, etc:
My stomach is growling.

Selected response from:

Marianna Staroselsky
United States
Local time: 13:52

Grading comment

Thanks for your contribution ! I like the idea of talking !
2 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

4 +11

My stomach's growling / My stomach's crying for food

kironne

4 +8

My stomach thinks my throat's cut

sporran

5 +1

My stomach screams for food.

Evi Prokopi (X)

my stomach/belly is crying famine

Richard Benham

My stomach/tummy is talking.

Marianna Staroselsky

Discussion entries: 2

Answers

25 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

My stomach screams for food.

Explanation:
:-)

Reference: http://tinyurl.com/235kgm

Evi Prokopi (X)
Local time: 21:52
Does not meet criteria
Works in field
Native speaker of:

Greek

35 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +8

My stomach thinks my throat's cut

Explanation:
This is what we say in Scotland, but I've also heard it said by the Irish :-)

sporran
France
Local time: 20:52
Meets criteria
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English,

French

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

David Hollywood: that's what we say :)

50 mins

-> thanks David:-)

agree

Tony M: I've usually heard it as "...thinks my throat's been cut"

1 hr

-> thanks Tony - I've heard both, but this is obviously more grammatically correct:-)

agree

David Goward: with Tony: "...been cut"

2 hrs

-> Thanks David:-)

neutral

Claire Chapman: I had never heard this before and it shocked me when I saw it. I believe all of you but I've never heard it before.//Yes, I was actually glad to learn that people said it :-)

2 hrs

-> Thanks Claire - it's an interesting one, isn't it:-)

agree

Melzie

3 hrs

-> Thanks Melzie:-)

agree

Assimina Vavoula

5 hrs

-> Thanks Assimina:-)

agree

EJP: definitely "been cut"

6 hrs

-> Thanks EJP:-)

agree

Swatchka

9 hrs

-> Thanks, Swatchka:-)

agree

Miranda Joubioux (X)

1 day 6 hrs

-> thanks Miranda:-)

41 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +11

My stomach's growling / My stomach's crying for food

Explanation:

I'm hungry.

I'm as hungry as a horse.

I'm starved.

My stomach's growling.

I'm starving.

I'm famished.

My tummy's rumbling.

I could eat for three.

I am ravished

I'm as hungry as a bear. I'm ravenous.

I'm so hungry that I could eat...
a cow
a horse

I could eat a horse between two breadvans

I'm so hungry, my stomach thinks my throat's been cut!

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Note added at 45 mins (2007-04-02 02:18:17 GMT)
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Other beauties...

I am so hungry I could eat the horns off a billy goat.

I'm so hungry I could eat the south end of a north-bound horse

http://www.rootsweb.com/~genepool/amerispeak.htm

kironne
Chile
Local time: 14:52
Meets criteria
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English

Notes to answerer

Asker: Many thanks for all your propositions ! I like the idea of Growling. as well as Marianna's idea of Talking... Too bad I cannot give points to both of you...

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

Tony M: ...rumbling... is probbaly the closest to the idea of 'making a noise because it's empty' mentioned in the question

1 hr

-> Yes, thanks, Tony

agree

Claire Chapman: People in my part of the world usually say "my stomach's growling" for that sound.

2 hrs

-> Thanks, Claire

neutral

martine paulin: omg... you had me in stitches over the horse between two bread vans! thanks for the laugh!

3 hrs

-> LOL! Well, I started with the list and there were so many funny ones I said, "what the heck, I'll write all of them"! Glad to make you smile

agree

Raymonde Gagnier: Growling is the closest to "crie"...

3 hrs

-> I had intended to put "my stomach cries for food", but I made a mistake. That was a good one, too. Thanks, rousselures

agree

Melzie

3 hrs

-> Thanks, Melzie

agree

Sheila Wilson: not too keen on the 'ravished' one though

4 hrs

-> Haha, yes, young people change "ravenous" for "ravished". It was supposed to be funny... Thanks!

agree

Assimina Vavoula

5 hrs

-> Thanks, Assimina

agree

Jacqui Audouy: My tummy's rumbling is the one used in my Anglo-Irish family!

5 hrs

-> Mine, a mix of Italian-German grandparents on one side, French-Basque gradparents on the other (very odd, I know), use a mix of different things. Thanks, Jacqui

agree

cjohnstone

10 hrs

-> Thanks, Catherine

agree

Gacela20: 'my stomach's growling' is what we say here

16 hrs

-> Thanks, Gacela. In terms of "sound", I like growling and rumbling.

agree

Richard Benham: Some of these are hilarious, but there's actually no problem with "my stomach's crying famine".

1 day 11 mins

-> Thanks, Richard. I actually like "My stomach cries "Famine!"/"Food!" better. It feels more like an accusation to the tummy's owner... :) I should have put it that way

agree

Patrick and Carol Collins: Funny to read all the different versions. In my Canadian family (Scots & London grandparents) we always said my tummy's rumbling. I have never actually heard the one about crying famine.

1 day 6 hrs

-> I love the mixes that happen to happen in life as people from different origins decide to share life together. It's so rich and interesting! I had never heard of "crie famine", but it's so... severe! I like it!

1 day 45 mins confidence:

my stomach/belly is crying famine

Explanation:
If I had to stake my life on where the French expression came from; I'd say it had been calqued from English, althought it could just be the other way around.... Anyway, the expression exists in both languages, and certainly would be understood in English.

(There are quite a few other "cry ..." expressions in English: "cry poor" , "cry havoc", .... So "cry famine" seems pretty idiomatically English to me, quite apart from my already being familiar with it.)

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Note added at 1 day51 mins (2007-04-03 02:24:15 GMT)
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BTW I am aware that the expression is more common in French. Therefore, it is likely to be more effective if used in English.

Also, in both languages, the expression seems to be used more of countries, regions, organisations, etc. None of which stops you applying it to your stomach.

Richard Benham
France
Local time: 20:52
Meets criteria
Native speaker of:

English

Notes to answerer

Asker: Richard Benham: ... Japan is in the Occident??? - Oui, assurement <b>sur le plan</b> technologique, recherche, economique, etc... ! Donc faire reference a son ventre qui gargouille, en Europe, Amerique du Nord ou au Japon peut etre tout aussi amusant je pense. Sinon, merci pour votre contribution ! Cette expression "Mon ventre crie famine" est la mienne. Je ne pense pas l'avoir entendu par quiconque...

Asker: Richard Benham: ... Japan is in the Occident??? - Oui, assurement <b>sur le plan</b> technologique, recherche, economique, etc... ! Donc faire reference a son ventre qui gargouille, en Europe, Amerique du Nord ou au Japon peut etre tout aussi amusant je pense. Sinon, merci pour votre contribution. Cette expression est la mienne propre. Je ne pense pas l'avoir entendu par quiconque...

6 mins confidence:

My stomach/tummy is talking.

Marianna Staroselsky
United States
Local time: 13:52
Meets criteria
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 2

Grading comment

Thanks for your contribution ! I like the idea of talking !

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