An idiom is a phrase you cannot translate word for word. Here are the 24 most common Macedonian idioms, ranked by how often you will actually meet them, each with its literal translation, real meaning, the closest English idiom where one exists, and an example sentence with an English translation, so you know what natives actually mean.
Common Macedonian idioms are everyday expressions whose meaning cannot be guessed from the individual words. For example, фаќа магла literally means "to catch fog" but is used to mean to flee or vanish suddenly, especially to dodge a duty or trouble. This free page ranks the 24 most common Macedonian idioms by how often you meet them, each with its literal translation, meaning, the closest English idiom where one exists, and an example sentence with an English translation.
All 24 idioms, most common first.
Guess the meaning, then tap a card to check.
Idiom list verified as of August 2026.
фаќа магла
Literally to catch fog
Means to flee or vanish suddenly, especially to dodge a duty or trouble
English idiom make oneself scarce
Example Штом требаше да ја плати сметката, тој фати магла.
The moment he had to pay the bill, he made himself scarce.
бере гајле
Literally to gather worry
Means to worry, to fret over something
Example Не бери гајле, работите ќе се средат.
Don't worry, things will sort themselves out.
Note Гајле is a Turkish loanword, and the negative form не бери гајле is by far the most common use.
прави од мува слон
Literally to make an elephant out of a fly
Means to exaggerate something small into something huge
English idiom make a mountain out of a molehill
Example Само доцнев десет минути, не прави од мува слон.
I was only ten minutes late, don't make a mountain out of a molehill.
му дојде преку глава
Literally it came to him over the head
Means to have reached the limit of what one can put up with
English idiom have had it up to here
Example Ми дојде преку глава од нивните вечни оправдувања.
I have had it up to here with their endless excuses.
влече за нос
Literally to pull by the nose
Means to keep someone hoping while deceiving them
English idiom string someone along
Example Веќе месеци ме влече за нос со празни ветувања.
He has been stringing me along with empty promises for months.
гледа низ прсти
Literally to look through fingers
Means to deliberately overlook someone's faults
English idiom turn a blind eye
Example Таткото им гледа низ прсти на децата за нивните мали лаги.
The father turns a blind eye to his children's little lies.
тера мајтап
Literally to drive a joke
Means to joke around with someone, to tease them
English idiom pull someone's leg
Example Не се лути, само терам мајтап со тебе.
Don't get upset, I'm just pulling your leg.
Note Мајтап is a Turkish loanword, very informal, fine among friends but out of place in writing.
како гром од ведро небо
Literally like thunder from a clear sky
Means completely unexpected, with no warning at all
English idiom a bolt from the blue
Example Веста за неговото заминување дојде како гром од ведро небо.
The news of his departure came like a bolt from the blue.
виси на конец
Literally to hang on a thread
Means to be in a precarious situation that could collapse at any moment
English idiom hang by a thread
Example По операцијата, неговиот живот висеше на конец.
After the surgery, his life hung by a thread.
тепа време
Literally to beat time
Means to pass idle time with nothing useful to do
English idiom kill time
Example Го чекав автобусот и тепав време на телефонот.
I was waiting for the bus and killing time on my phone.
фаќа око
Literally to catch the eye
Means to stand out and draw attention
English idiom catch the eye
Example Овој фустан навистина фаќа око.
This dress really catches the eye.
си ги мие рацете
Literally to wash one's hands
Means to refuse any further responsibility for something
English idiom wash one's hands of something
Example Кога проектот пропадна, тој си ги изми рацете и нè остави сами.
When the project fell apart, he washed his hands of it and left us on our own.
ја открива Америка
Literally to discover America
Means to announce something obvious as if it were a big discovery
Example Штотуку ми кажа дека зимата е студена, како да ја откри Америка.
He just told me that winter is cold, as if he had discovered America.
фаќа сеир
Literally to catch a spectacle
Means to stand by and enjoy the show while someone else is in trouble
Example Кога избувна караницата, соседите излегоа само да фаќаат сеир.
When the argument broke out, the neighbours came out just to enjoy the show.
Note Сеир is a Turkish loanword, and the phrase has a gossipy, mocking ring to it.
му падна камен од срце
Literally a stone fell off his heart
Means to feel sudden relief once a worry is over
English idiom a weight off one's shoulders
Example Кога слушнав дека стигнала безбедно, ми падна камен од срце.
When I heard she had arrived safely, it was a weight off my shoulders.
ни лук јал, ни лук мирисал
Literally neither ate garlic nor smelled garlic
Means to have had absolutely nothing to do with something
Example Кога го прашаа за парите, тој рече дека ни лук јал, ни лук мирисал.
When they asked him about the money, he said he had nothing at all to do with it.
Note The verb forms are old reported-past forms, so the phrase stays fixed and never changes shape.
капка во морето
Literally a drop in the sea
Means an amount far too small to make any difference
English idiom a drop in the ocean
Example Тие пари се само капка во морето за толкав долг.
That money is just a drop in the ocean against a debt that size.
игла во стог сено
Literally needle in a stack of hay
Means something practically impossible to find
English idiom a needle in a haystack
Example Да го најдеш вистинскиот клуч во таа фиока е како да бараш игла во стог сено.
Finding the right key in that drawer is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
живее како бубрег во лој
Literally to live like a kidney in fat
Means to live in complete comfort, with everything one needs
English idiom live in clover
Example Откако се пресели кај вујко си, живее како бубрег во лој.
Since he moved in with his uncle, he has been living in clover.
Note Usually said with a hint of envy about someone who has it easy.
коски и кожа
Literally bones and skin
Means extremely thin, wasted away
English idiom skin and bone
Example По болеста остана само коски и кожа.
After the illness he was nothing but skin and bone.
се врти како мачка околу врела каша
Literally to circle like a cat around hot porridge
Means to circle around a topic without getting to the point
English idiom beat around the bush
Example Кажи ми директно, не врти како мачка околу врела каша.
Just tell me straight, stop beating around the bush.
нашол кој да збори
Literally found who to talk
Means said to someone who criticises a fault they have themselves
English idiom look who's talking
Example Ти ми велиш дека доцнам? Нашол кој да збори!
You're telling me I'm late? Look who's talking!
Note Sharp and confrontational, so it belongs in an argument rather than in polite conversation.
фрла прашина во очи
Literally to throw dust into the eyes
Means to create a false impression so people miss the real situation
English idiom pull the wool over someone's eyes
Example Со тие бројки само им фрлаат прашина во очите на гласачите.
With those figures they are just pulling the wool over the voters' eyes.
му падна секирата во мед
Literally his axe fell into honey
Means to land an unexpected stroke of good fortune
English idiom hit the jackpot
Example Со таа работа му падна секирата во мед.
With that job he really hit the jackpot.
Note The image comes from old honey hunters whose axe would break into a hollow full of wild honey.
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: Фаќа магла comes out as "to catch fog", which makes no sense until you know it means to flee or vanish suddenly, especially to dodge a duty or trouble.
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 Macedonian sentence and check what it means without breaking your reading. That is what reading in Lingo7 is built for.
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The most common Macedonian idioms, ranked by everyday frequency, start with фаќа магла, бере гајле, прави од мува слон, му дојде преку глава, влече за нос. Each one means something you could not guess from the words alone, which is exactly why learners have to meet them in context. This page lists 24 of them with meanings and example sentences.
In Macedonian, "фаќа магла" translates literally as "to catch fog", but it actually means to flee or vanish suddenly, especially to dodge a duty or trouble. The closest English idiom is "make oneself scarce". Example: Штом требаше да ја плати сметката, тој фати магла. ("The moment he had to pay the bill, he made himself scarce.")
The Macedonian equivalent is "фаќа магла", literally "to catch fog". Example: Штом требаше да ја плати сметката, тој фати магла. ("The moment he had to pay the bill, he made himself scarce.")
In Macedonian, an idiom is called фразеологизам, and a proverb is поговорка. A фразеологизам (also called идиом) is a fixed figurative phrase used inside a sentence, while a поговорка is a complete folk saying that states a lesson on its own.
Idioms are non-compositional: their meaning is fixed by convention, not built from the individual words. Фаќа магла translates literally as "to catch fog", yet it means to flee or vanish suddenly, especially to dodge a duty or trouble. 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 Macedonian with tap-to-translate, the way Lingo7 works, turns every page into idiom practice.