How do you say “It's all Greek to me” in French?
The closest natural French equivalent is c'est du chinois pour moi, which literally means “it's Chinese to me”. English speakers use it's all greek to me to mean that you do not understand something at all. French uses Chinese in the comparison. “Je n'y comprends rien” avoids naming a language. Register: informal. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural French
c'est du chinois pour moi
/sɛ dy ʃinwa puʁ mwa/
- Literal meaning
- “it's Chinese to me”
- Register
- informal
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
95 out of 100
What a native French speaker would actually say
A form, manual or set of equations can be “du chinois” to someone. As in English, the phrase is a casual admission of confusion, not a description of the actual language.
“Je n'y comprends rien” is equally natural if you want to avoid the language comparison or ask for help directly.
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning5 out of 5
- Tone5 out of 5
- Context5 out of 5
- Literal similarity4 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
What are other ways to say it in French?
je n'y comprends rien
Literally: “I understand nothing of it”
A plain alternative without naming another language.
c'est incompréhensible pour moi
Literally: “it's incomprehensible to me”
More neutral and suitable in a careful explanation.
In context
English
These equations are all Greek to me.
French
Ces équations, c'est du chinois pour moi.
English
It's all Greek to me. Could you explain the first line?
French
Je n'y comprends rien. Tu pourrais expliquer la première ligne ?
Related expressions
- What “It's all Greek to me” means in English
- Read between the lines, Find hidden meaning in what is said
- Off the top of my head, From memory without checking facts
Last updated 2026-09-16