Englishfall on deaf ears
Meaning: To be heard but ignored, or to be heard but to have no effect.
Example: “The teacher's warnings about the test fell on deaf ears.”
Equivalents in other languages
German: in den Wind sprechen Literally: To speak into the wind
Portuguese: falar com as paredes Literally: To speak with the walls- Portuguese: cair em saco roto Literally: To fall into a torn sack
Dutch: voor dovemansoren Literally: For deaf men's ears
Origin: Documented from the first half of the 1400s and common enough to appear in proverb collections from 1546 onward, making it one of the older idioms built around literal deafness standing in for willful inattention: words spoken to someone who genuinely cannot hear accomplish nothing, no matter how clearly or forcefully they're said, and the same futility describes a request or warning that gets ignored by someone who chooses not to listen. Jonathan Swift's poem "Dingley and Brent" uses the closely related "turn a deaf ear" for the listener's side of the same exchange — one phrase describing the message's failure to land, the other describing the deliberate refusal that caused it.
More English idioms
- filthy rich Extremely wealthy.
- fits and starts In short bursts of motion or effort.
- fix someone's wagon To return an irritation caused by a person through some form of mild revenge.
- flat broke Have absolutely no money.
- follow in someone's footsteps To follow the same career or lifestyle as someone else.
- food for thought Something to think about.
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