حمار (ḥimār)
Meaning: A stubborn fool — the donkey being the universal symbol of obstinacy in Arabic culture.
Language: Arabic
Literally: Donkey
Category: Insult
Origin: Used across the Arabic-speaking world as a mild, everyday insult for someone being especially thick or stubborn.
More compliments & insults — Insult
- Sei un salame — You're a clumsy, dopey softie — said with a smile.
- Eres más corto que las mangas de un chaleco — You're not the sharpest — a bit slow on the uptake.
- Du bist nicht die hellste Kerze auf der Torte — You're a little dim — not the smartest in the room.
- Tu as une cervelle de moineau — You're scatterbrained and forgetful.
- Без царя в голове (Bez tsarya v golove) — Foolish and reckless — with no one in charge upstairs.
- Cabeça de alho chocho — A forgetful scatterbrain whose thoughts won't stay put.
From our idioms
- يعمل من الحبة قبة (Ya'mal min al-ḥabba qubba) — To blow something tiny completely out of proportion.
- اللي على راسه بطحة بيحسس عليها (illi ʿala rasu baṭḥa byiḥassis ʿalayha) — The guilty person gives himself away.
- حبل الكذب قصير (ḥabl al-kadhib qaṣīr) — Lies never last; they are soon exposed.