If you've ever had a conversation with someone from Bosnia and Herzegovina, you've probably noticed something: we rarely just say a thing is "very" anything. Very tired, very cold, very ugly — boring. Where's the fun in that?
Instead, Bosnian language reaches for comparisons. Weird, vivid, sometimes brutal comparisons involving dogs, cannons, thieves, and — yes — slaughtered animals. Nobody really remembers who came up with these expressions or why a spritzer became the gold standard for "cold," but every Bosnian household uses them without a second thought.
In Bosnia, we don't say:
He lies a lot.
Instead, we say:
Laže ko pas.
[He lies like a dog]
We honestly don't know why dogs got blamed for this. We actually like dogs.
In Bosnia, we don't say:
Very soft.
Instead, we say:
Mekan ko duša.
[Soft as a soul]
Souls aren't exactly touchable, but Bosnians will still tell you they're soft.
In Bosnia, we don't say:
Very wet.
Instead, we say:
Mokar ko miš.
[Wet as a mouse]
Have you ever seen a wet mouse? Neither have most of us, but everyone knows exactly what this means.
In Bosnia, we don't say:
Very cold man.
Instead, we say:
Hladan ko špricer.
[Cold as a spritzer]
In Bosnia, if your spritzer isn't ice cold, it's probably going back to the waiter. That's why anything extremely cold is "cold as a spritzer."
In Bosnia, we don't say:
Very deaf
Instead, we say:
Gluh ko top.
[Deaf as a cannon]
Cannons aren't famous for their hearing. They're famous for making everyone else deaf.
In Bosnia, we don't say:
Very beautiful
Instead, we say:
Lijep ko slika.
[Beautiful as a picture]
Not every picture is beautiful… but apparently every beautiful person looks like one.
In Bosnia, we don't say:
Sleeps very deeply
Instead, we say:
Spava ko zaklan.
[Sleeps like the slaughtered]
It's a dark expression, but in Bosnia it simply means someone is sleeping unbelievably deeply.
In Bosnia, we don't say:
Very strong
Instead, we say:
Jak ko zemlja.
[Strong as the earth]
The earth has been carrying all of us for a while, so we think that's a fair comparison.
In Bosnia, we don't say:
Very ugly
Instead, we say:
Ružan ko lopov.
[Ugly as a thief]
We don't know what thieves looked like back then, but apparently… not great.
That's the beauty of Bosnian folk expressions — they don't explain, they don't apologize, they just paint the picture and move on.
