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  3. Idioms / Maxims / Sayings

На душе кошки скребут

English translation: I am sick at heart

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Russian term or phrase:На душе кошки скребут
English translation:I am sick at heart
Entered by: rns

03:54 Dec 4, 2010
Russian to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Russian term or phrase: На душе кошки скребут
На душе кошки скребут
PaulinaK
United States
Local time: 20:00
I am sick at heart
Explanation:
Shakespeare (Hamlet) — http://goo.gl/grhSB — via Multitran — http://goo.gl/RDLMV
Selected response from:

rns
Grading comment
Thank you!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +6something is gnawing at his heart
GaryG
5 +1down in the mouth, down in the dumps
Mohammadreza Lorzadeh
4 +2I am sick at heart
rns
3To be in the dumps
Anton Shcheglov
3doom and gloom
Kiwiland Bear
3to feel heavy distressed
tschingite
3to have a heavy heart
Maria Fokin


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +6
something is gnawing at his heart


Explanation:
From Lubensky's R>E Dictionary of Idioms

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 mins (2010-12-04 04:01:43 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

or "X feels miserable"

GaryG
Local time: 23:00
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 40

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  cyhul
4 hrs
agree  Tokyo_Moscow
8 hrs
agree  Maria Fokin
9 hrs
agree  Leigh Mosley: Something's gnawing at me sounds very natural, assuming the original idiom means to be worried or anxious about something
11 hrs
agree  LanaUK
17 hrs
agree  Judith Hehir: something is gnawing at him
2 days 13 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
To be in the dumps


Explanation:
"Meaning
Unhappy; depressed."

"Down in the dumps; low-spirited, melancholy: jocularly said to be derived from Dumpos, a king of Egypt, who died of melancholy."

Example sentence(s):
  • To be 'in the dumps' was to be dejected and depressed
  • She's been down in the dumps ever since she lost the match

    Reference: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/down-in-the-dumps.html
    Reference: http://idioms.yourdictionary.com/down-in-the-dumps
Anton Shcheglov
Zimbabwe
Native speaker of: Russian
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Kiwiland Bear: I don't think original means depression or melancholy. It's more like apprehension, anxiety, foreboding.
1 hr
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
doom and gloom


Explanation:
He's overcome by doom and gloom.

Alternatively, you could say "something's eating him" but that doesn't adapt too well to first person while original is often used like that, talking about oneself.

Kiwiland Bear
New Zealand
Local time: 15:00
Native speaker of: Russian
PRO pts in category: 32
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
to feel heavy distressed


Explanation:
-

tschingite
Russian Federation
Local time: 06:00
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian, Native in TatarTatar
PRO pts in category: 4
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +1
down in the mouth, down in the dumps


Explanation:
It should be translated as on idiom.


    Reference: http://enc-dic.com/synonym/Na-Dushe-Koshki-Skrebut-38137.htm...
Mohammadreza Lorzadeh
Local time: 06:30
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in Persian (Farsi)Persian (Farsi)

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Alexander Mynzak
1 hr
  -> Thanks!
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6 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
I am sick at heart


Explanation:
Shakespeare (Hamlet) — http://goo.gl/grhSB — via Multitran — http://goo.gl/RDLMV


rns
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in category: 36
Grading comment
Thank you!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Leigh Mosley: This sounds the most natural to me, assuming the original means to feel depressed or discouraged
5 hrs
agree  Eric Candle: I am worried sick
8 hrs
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9 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
to have a heavy heart


Explanation:
heavy heart
- a feeling of being weighed down with sorrow, a sad feeling
http://www.idiomconnection.com/heart.html

Maria Fokin
Italy
Local time: 05:00
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in RussianRussian
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