душа пайшла ў пяткі
Literally the soul went into the heels
Means to become extremely frightened, scared stiff
Example Пачуўшы гэты крык, я адчуў, як душа пайшла ў пяткі.
An idiom is a phrase you cannot translate word for word. Here are 14 of the most common Belarusian idioms, each with its literal translation, real meaning, and an example sentence, so you know what natives actually mean.
Common Belarusian idioms are everyday expressions whose meaning cannot be guessed from the individual words. For example, душа пайшла ў пяткі literally means "the soul went into the heels" but is used to mean to become extremely frightened, scared stiff. This free tool lists 14 real Belarusian idioms, each with its literal translation, meaning, and an example sentence.
All 14 Belarusian idioms, with meanings and examples.
Guess the meaning, then tap a card to check.
Idiom list verified as of July 2026.
душа пайшла ў пяткі
Literally the soul went into the heels
Means to become extremely frightened, scared stiff
Example Пачуўшы гэты крык, я адчуў, як душа пайшла ў пяткі.
як снег на галаву
Literally like snow onto the head
Means completely unexpectedly, out of the blue
Example Госці прыехалі як снег на галаву, і мы не паспелі нічога прыгатаваць.
ні з таго ні з сяго
Literally neither from that, nor from this
Means suddenly, for no apparent reason, out of nowhere
Example Ні з таго ні з сяго ён устаў і выйшаў з пакоя.
кот наплакаў
Literally a cat cried
Means very little, next to nothing
Example Грошай засталося кот наплакаў.
вадзіць за нос
Literally to lead by the nose
Means to deceive someone, to string someone along
Example Ён ужо два месяцы водзіць мяне за нос, абяцаючы вярнуць доўг.
жыць як кот з сабакам
Literally to live like a cat with a dog
Means to constantly quarrel, to be at each other's throats
Example Яны жывуць як кот з сабакам, увесь час сварацца.
стары верабей
Literally an old sparrow
Means a shrewd, experienced person who cannot easily be fooled
Example Яго не так проста ашукаць, ён стары верабей.
сёмая вада на кісялі
Literally the seventh water on the kissel
Means a very distant, barely related relative
Example Ён мне нейкі далёкі родзіч, сёмая вада на кісялі.
чытаць паміж радкоў
Literally to read between the lines
Means to infer a meaning that is not directly stated
Example Трэба ўмець чытаць паміж радкоў, каб зразумець, што ён меў на ўвазе.
важная птушка
Literally an important bird
Means a very important person, a big shot, a VIP
Example Ён паводзіць сябе так, быццам ён важная птушка.
лезці на ражон
Literally to climb onto the spike
Means to knowingly court danger or trouble, take a needless risk
Example Не лезь на ражон, лепш пачакай спакойна.
рабіць з мухі слана
Literally to make an elephant out of a fly
Means to blow something out of proportion, to exaggerate wildly
Example Не трэба рабіць з мухі слана, гэта звычайная драбніца.
іграць другую скрыпку
Literally to play the second violin
Means to play a subordinate, secondary role
Example У гэтай кампаніі ён заўсёды іграе другую скрыпку.
быць сямі пядзяў у лбе
Literally to be of seven spans in the forehead
Means to be exceptionally intelligent, a genius
Example Не трэба быць сямі пядзяў у лбе, каб зразумець такую простую рэч.
Idioms stick when you see them in context, not on a list. Lingo7 lets you read real Belarusian 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: Душа пайшла ў пяткі comes out as "the soul went into the heels", which makes no sense until you know it means to become extremely frightened, scared stiff.
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 Belarusian sentence and check what it means without breaking your reading. That is what reading in Lingo7 is built for.
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Some of the most common Belarusian idioms are душа пайшла ў пяткі, як снег на галаву, ні з таго ні з сяго, кот наплакаў. 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 Belarusian, "душа пайшла ў пяткі" translates literally as "the soul went into the heels", but it actually means to become extremely frightened, scared stiff. You would use it like this: Пачуўшы гэты крык, я адчуў, як душа пайшла ў пяткі.
Idioms are non-compositional: their meaning is fixed by convention, not built from the individual words. Душа пайшла ў пяткі translates literally as "the soul went into the heels", yet it means to become extremely frightened, scared stiff. 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 Belarusian with tap-to-translate, the way Lingo7 works, turns every page into idiom practice.