🤖 Literally, in English
“May God have mercy!”
Хай Бог милує! Khay Boh myluye
🤨 What does it ACTUALLY mean? →
🇬🇧 What you'd actually say
“God forbid!”
also: “Heaven forbid!” · “Let's hope that never happens.”
- 📖 Meaning
- Said to ward off a bad possibility someone has just mentioned.
- 💡 Why it's funny
- The literal version sounds far graver than the actual usage, which is often triggered by something as small as a mention of rain at a wedding.
- 🧭 Closest English idiom
- “God forbid!”
- 📝 Explanation
- Reflexive and near-universal, including among non-believers. Often accompanied by a small gesture or a knock on wood.
🧠 Learn
- God forbid (phrase) — used to say you hope something bad will not happen — не дай Боже “God forbid anything happens to them.”
- ward off (phrase) — to prevent something bad from happening — відвернути, відганяти “They wore charms to ward off bad luck.”
🗣 In context
А якщо він знову захворіє? Хай Бог милує!
And if he gets ill again? God forbid!
🎧 Hear the contrast
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