when pigs fly

English

Alternative forms

• when pigs can fly

Etymology

Referencing the fact that pigs do not have wings and cannot fly.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪ

Adverb

when pigs fly

1. (idiomatic) Never.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:never

   • 1920, James Stephens, Irish Fairy Tales, Mongan's Frenzy:

     "You know, my friend," said Mongan, "that I can't get Duv Laca back unless the King of Leinster asks me to take her back, for a bargain is a bargain."
     "That will happen when pigs fly," said mac an Dáv, "and," said he, "I did not make any bargain with any king that is in the world."

Translations

never, expressed by an idiom

• Afrikaans: as die perde horings kry (af) (literally “if the horses get horns”)
• Arabic:

  Egyptian Arabic: فِي الْمِشْمِش (fī l-mišmiš, literally “in the apricot [season]”)

  Gulf Arabic: إِذَا حَجَّتِ الْبَقَرَة عَلَى قُرُونِهَا (ʔiḏā ḥajjati l-baqara ʕalā qurūnihā, literally “when the cow goes on pilgrimage on its horns”)

  South Levantine Arabic: لَمَّا يَنْوَر اَلْمِلْح (lammā yanwar al-milḥ, literally “when salt blossoms”) (Palestine)

• Armenian: երբ խոզը բարձրանա ծառը (erb xozə barjrana caṙə, literally “when the pig climbs up the tree”)
• Azerbaijani: dəvənin quyruğu yerə dəyəndə
• Basque: haizerik ez den urtean (literally “in a year without wind”)
• Belarusian: на святыя ніколі (na svjatyja nikóli, literally “on Saint Never[’s day]”)
• Betawi: ampé lebaran monyèt (literally “until the Eid of monkeys”)
• Breton: kentre ma moc'h kelieno
• Bulgarian: на куково лято (na kukovo ljato, literally “in a cuckoo’s summer”)
• Catalan: quan les gallines pixin (ca) (literally “when hens piss”)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 豬乸會上樹 / 猪乸会上树 (zyu¹ naa² wui⁵ soeng⁶ syu⁶, literally “when pig sows climb up the tree”)

  Hokkien: 天落紅雨，馬生角 / 天落红雨，马生角 (thiⁿ lo̍h âng-hō͘, bé seⁿ/siⁿ kak, literally “when rain is red and horses grow horns”)

  Literary Chinese: 烏頭白，馬生角 (wū tóu bái, mǎ shēng jiǎo, literally “when crows have white heads and horses grow horns”), 天雨粟，馬生角 (tiān yù sù, mǎ shēng jiǎo, literally “when it rains millets and horses grow horns”)

  Mandarin: 除非太陽從西邊出來 / 除非太阳从西边出来 (chúfēi tàiyáng cóng xībiān chūlái, literally “when the sun rises in the west”)

• Czech: až kohout vejce snese (literally “when roosters lay eggs”) (rare), až naprší a uschne (cs), na svatého Dyndy (cs), až půjde žid z pouti (cs)
• Dutch: wanneer Pasen en Pinksteren op één dag vallen (literally “when Easter and Pentecost fall on the same day”), met sint-juttemis (literally “on Saint Judith[’s day]”)
• Esperanto: kiam la ratoj seksumos kun la musoj (literally “when rats embrace mice”), en la tago de Sankta Neniamo (literally “on Saint Never’s day”)
• Estonian: kui kana pissib (literally “when chicken pees”)
• Finnish: kun lehmät lentävät (literally “when cows fly”)
• French: quand les poules auront des dents (fr) (literally “when chickens have teeth”), aux calendes grecques (literally “on the Greek calends”), à la Saint Glinglin (literally “on Saint Glinglin’s day”), la semaine des quatre jeudis (fr) (literally “the week with four Thursdays”), à Pâques ou à la Trinité (fr) (literally “on Easter or on Trinity [Sunday]”), à la Saint-Glinglin (fr)
• Frisian:

  West Frisian: as de keallen op it iis dûnsje (literally “if the calves dance on the ice”)

• Georgian: როცა ვირი ხეზე ავა (roca viri xeze ava, literally “when a donkey climbs a tree”), უხუთშაბათო კვირას (uxutšabato ḳviras, literally “in a Thursday-less week”), როცა ბაყაყს კბილი ამოუვა (roca baq̇aq̇s ḳbili amouva, literally “when a frog grows teeth”)
• German: am Sankt-Nimmerleins-Tag (literally “on Saint Little Never’s day”), wenn Ostern und Pfingsten auf einen Tag fallen (de) (literally “when Easter and Pentecost fall on the same day”)
• Greek: του αγίου ποτέ (tou agíou poté)
• Hebrew: כשחזירים יעופו (k'shekhazirím ya'úfu, literally “when pigs fly”)
• Hindi: सूरज पश्चिम से उगेगा (sūraj paścim se ugegā, literally “when the sun rises in the west”)
• Hungarian: majd ha fagy (literally “when it freezes”), holnapután kiskedden, majd ha piros hó esik (literally “when red snow falls”), majd ha cigánygyerekek potyognak az égből, sohanapján (hu)
• Indonesian: sampai lebaran monyet (literally “until the Eid of monkeys”), sampai lebaran kuda (literally “until the Eid of horses”), menunggu ayam bayar pajak (literally “waiting for chicken to pay taxes”)
• Inuktitut: ᑐᓗᒃᑲᑦ ᖃᑯᖅᓯᒃᐸᑕ (tolokkat qakoqsikpata, literally “when the ravens turn white”)
• Irish: lá Philib an Chleite, lá Thaidhg na dTadhgann
• Italian: quando gli asini voleranno (literally “when donkeys fly”), alle calende greche (literally “on the Greek calends”), il giorno di San Mai (literally “on the day of Saint Never”)
• Japanese: 枯れ木に花咲く (kareki ni hana saku, literally “dead trees blossom”)
• Korean: 해가 서쪽에서 뜨다 (hae-ga seojjog-eseo tteuda, literally “the sun rises in the west”)
• Latin: ad kalendas Graecas (literally “on the Greek calends”), cum mula peperit, prius pariet locusta Lucam bovem (literally “a locust would sooner give birth to an elephant”)
• Latvian: kad cūkas lidos, kad pūcei aste ziedēs
• Macedonian: на куково лето (na kukovo leto)
• Malay: menunggu kucing bertanduk (literally “waiting for cats to grow horns”)
• Malayalam: കാക്ക മലന്നു പറക്കും (kākka malannu paṟakkuṁ, literally “the crow will fly upside down”)
• Persian: وقت گل نی (vaght e gol e ney, literally “when the reed plant blossoms”)
• Polish: na świętego nigdy (literally “on Saint Never[’s day]”), w grudniu po południu (pl)
• Portuguese: quando os porcos voarem (literally “when pigs fly”), no Dia de São Nunca (literally “on Saint Never’s day”), no Dia de São Nunca à tarde (literally “on Saint Never’s day’s evening”)
• Romanian: când o zbura porcul (literally “when pigs fly”), când va face plopul pere (literally “when the poplar makes pears”), la paștele cailor (literally “at the horse’s Easter”), când mi-oi vedea ceafa (literally “when I see my nape”), la Sfîntu-așteaptă (literally “on Saint-Wait’s day”)
• Russian: когда́ рак на горе́ сви́стнет (ru) (kogdá rak na goré svístnet, literally “when a crayfish whistles on the mountain”), по́сле до́ждичка в четве́рг (ru) (pósle dóždička v četvérg, literally “after a small rain on Thursday”)
• Scottish Gaelic: gu Là Luain m (literally “until Monday day”), an latha a bheireas an cuilean an t-ugh (literally “the day that a puppy lays an egg”), nuair a gheibh thu nead na cuthaige (literally “when you find the cuckoo's nest”)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: кад на врби роди грожђе (literally “when grapes grow on willows”)

  Latin: kad na vrbi rodi grožđe (literally “when grapes grow on willows”)

• Spanish: el día que las vacas vuelen (literally “the day that cows fly”), cuando las ranas críen pelo (es) (literally “when frogs grow hair”), cuando San Juan agache el dedo (literally “when Saint John bends his finger”)
• Sranan Tongo: te kakafowru kisi tifi (literally “when the rooster grows teeth”)
• Swedish: när grisar flyger (literally “when pigs fly”)
• Tagalog: sa pagputi ng uwak (literally “when the crow turns white”), sa pag-itim ng tagak (literally “when the heron turns black”)
• Turkish: ^{(please verify)} balık kavağa çıkınca (tr) (literally “when fish climb poplars”), ^{(please verify)} çıkmaz ayın son çarşambası (tr) (literally “on the last Wednesday in Never-month”)
• Ukrainian: коли рак на горі свисне (koly rak na hori svysne, literally “when the crab whistles on the mountain”), не бачити як свого носа (ne bačyty jak svoho nosa), коли на долоні волосся виросте (koly na doloni volossja vyroste)
• Urdu: جب زمین اور آسمان ایک ہونگے (jab zamīn aur āsmān ek hōngē, literally “when the sky and the Earth meet”)
• Yiddish: װען משיח װעט קומען (ven moshiyekh vet kumen) (literally "when the Messiah comes"), ווען ס׳וועט זײַן דרײַ טעג ראש־⁠חודש (ven s'vet zayn dray teg reshkhoydesh) (literally "when it's Rosh Chodesh for three days")

See also

• pigs might fly
• camel through the eye of a needle
• a cold day in Hell
• ad kalendas Graecas
• first of never
• never in a month of Sundays
• snowball's chance in hell
• when Hell freezes over