e bën rrush e kumbulla
Literally to make it grapes and plums
Means to squander a fortune or money recklessly
Example Trashëgiminë e babait e bëri rrush e kumbulla brenda dy vjetësh.
An idiom is a phrase you cannot translate word for word. Here are 14 of the most common Albanian idioms, each with its literal translation, real meaning, and an example sentence, so you know what natives actually mean.
Common Albanian idioms are everyday expressions whose meaning cannot be guessed from the individual words. For example, e bën rrush e kumbulla literally means "to make it grapes and plums" but is used to mean to squander a fortune or money recklessly. This free tool lists 14 real Albanian idioms, each with its literal translation, meaning, and an example sentence.
All 14 Albanian idioms, with meanings and examples.
Guess the meaning, then tap a card to check.
Idiom list verified as of July 2026.
e bën rrush e kumbulla
Literally to make it grapes and plums
Means to squander a fortune or money recklessly
Example Trashëgiminë e babait e bëri rrush e kumbulla brenda dy vjetësh.
e ka si bukë e djathë
Literally to have it like bread and cheese
Means to find something very easy, a piece of cake
Example Ai e ka si bukë e djathë të zgjidhë çdo problem të matematikës.
ka një dërrasë mangët
Literally to have one plank missing
Means to be a bit crazy, not all there
Example Mos e merr seriozisht, ai ka një dërrasë mangët.
nuk bëhet gjaku ujë
Literally blood does not become water
Means blood is thicker than water, family ties cannot be broken
Example Edhe pse u zunë, gjaku nuk bëhet ujë, janë vëllezër.
e humbi mendjen
Literally to lose the mind
Means to lose one's mind, go crazy or become overwhelmed with emotion
Example Kur mori lajmin e mirë, e humbi mendjen nga gëzimi.
i fluturoi mendja
Literally the mind flew away from him
Means to have one's mind wander off, get distracted or daydream
Example Në mes të mësimit i fluturoi mendja diku tjetër.
larg sysh, larg zemrës
Literally far from eyes, far from heart
Means out of sight, out of mind
Example Që kur u largua, s'e kujton njeri, larg sysh, larg zemrës.
i vjen për dore
Literally it comes to the hand for him
Means to have a knack for something, to do it skillfully with ease
Example Asaj punët e kuzhinës i vijnë shumë për dore.
ka kapur qiellin me dorë
Literally to have caught the sky with one's hand
Means to think one has achieved the impossible, to be full of oneself (said ironically)
Example Fitoi një lojë dhe tani mendon se ka kapur qiellin me dorë.
qoftë larg
Literally may it be far
Means heaven forbid, touch wood (said to ward off misfortune)
Example Qoftë larg, po sikur të na ndodhë diçka e keqe rrugës?
i hedh hi syve
Literally to throw ash in someone's eyes
Means to deceive someone, pull the wool over their eyes
Example Mos u përpiq të më hedhësh hi syve, e di të vërtetën.
doli në shesh
Literally it came out into the square
Means the truth came to light, it came out into the open
Example Pas shumë vitesh heshtje, e vërteta doli në shesh.
e bën qimen tra
Literally to turn a hair into a beam
Means to make a mountain out of a molehill, to exaggerate
Example Mos e bëj qimen tra, s'ka ndodhur asgjë e tmerrshme.
bie në sy
Literally to fall into the eye
Means to stand out, catch the eye, be noticeable
Example Talenti i tij bie në sy që në fillim.
Idioms stick when you see them in context, not on a list. Lingo7 lets you read real Albanian books with sentence-aligned translation and native-narrated audio, so you meet idioms in the wild and tap any line you do not get. Save them and review later. Free to start.
An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is fixed by convention, not built from its words. That is why a word-for-word translation fails: E bën rrush e kumbulla comes out as "to make it grapes and plums", which makes no sense until you know it means to squander a fortune or money recklessly.
Learn a few at a time, not a whole list. Pick the ones you keep running into, say them out loud in a real sentence, and you will remember them far longer than by drilling flashcards.
The most reliable way to absorb idioms is to meet them in context, again and again, in things you actually read. Parallel text and audio let you catch an idiom in a real Albanian sentence and check what it means without breaking your reading. That is what reading in Lingo7 is built for.
Start reading Albanian with Lingo7 →
Find Albanian books at your level (A1 to C1) →
Not sure of your level? Take the CEFR test (A1-C2) →
Some of the most common Albanian idioms are e bën rrush e kumbulla, e ka si bukë e djathë, ka një dërrasë mangët, nuk bëhet gjaku ujë. Each one means something you could not guess from the words alone, which is exactly why learners have to meet them in context. This tool lists 14 of them with their meaning and an example sentence.
In Albanian, "e bën rrush e kumbulla" translates literally as "to make it grapes and plums", but it actually means to squander a fortune or money recklessly. You would use it like this: Trashëgiminë e babait e bëri rrush e kumbulla brenda dy vjetësh.
Idioms are non-compositional: their meaning is fixed by convention, not built from the individual words. E bën rrush e kumbulla translates literally as "to make it grapes and plums", yet it means to squander a fortune or money recklessly. Translate word for word and you get nonsense, so idioms have to be learned as whole units.
The fastest way is to meet them in context and reuse them, not to memorize a list. Learn a handful at a time, notice them while reading and listening, and try them in your own sentences. Reading real Albanian with tap-to-translate, the way Lingo7 works, turns every page into idiom practice.