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Nadal
durar de Nadal a Sant Esteve
short-lived, ephemeral, fast fading
per Nadal cada ovella al seu corral
everyone should be home for Christmas

nafres: ase magre, ple de nafres — bad luck plagues the unfortunate

naftalina: bola de naftalina — mothball

naixement: acta de naixement — birth certificate

naps
ara per naps, ara per cols
if not for one thing, then another; for one thing or another
cada cosa al seu temps (i els naps a l'Advent)
we'll cross that bridge when we come to it
com ara plouen naps!
horsefeathers!, poppycock!, fiddledeedee!; pull the other one (it's got bells on it)!
entre naps i cols
what with one thing and another
que si naps, que si cols
blah blah blah, yammer yammer yammer
tant se li'n dóna naps com cols
be six of one and half-a-dozen of the other; it's all the same, it doesn't matter
nas
arrufar el nas
frown, scowl; look askance, knit one's brow; turn up one's nose
fer el nas
to drop in
no veure-hi més enllà del nas
be weak-minded, simple-minded, slow-witted
pujar-li (a algú) la mosca al nas
take offense, get one's nose out of joint
quedar amb un pam de nas
be disappointed
quedar-se amb un pam de nas
be in for a surprise
riure per sota el nas
laugh up one's sleeve
tenir bon nas
have a good sense of smell
tenir nas
be clear-sighted, perceptive
treure el nas
drop in, show up
nassos
als nassos de
under the nose of
caure de nassos
fall on one's face, fall flat
fins als nassos
fed up
l'home dels nassos
[lit.] the man with the noses; on December 31st children are urged to seek him out, for he has as many noses as there are days left in the year!
pels nassos
point-blank, no holds barred
tancar la porta pels nassos
tell someone to get lost, to go away, to take a hike, to beat it, to hit the road; send someone packing
tenir els nassos plens
be fed up, be up to here, have had it
tocar els nassos
to bother, annoy, irritate, pester, plague

nata: la flor i nata — the cream of the crop

natació: natació sincronitzada — synchronized swimming

natura
contra natura
unnatural, abnormal
natura morta
still life

natural: al natural — au naturel; true-to-life, unadorned, unembellished

naus: cremar les naus — burn one's bridges

navegar: perdre la carta de navegar — lose one's bearings

necesitat: de primera necesitat — absolutely essential

necessitat: fer de la necessitat virtut — make a virtue of necessity

nedar
nedar entre dues aigües
play both ends against the middle
nedar i guardar la roba
play both ends against the middle; profit from a situation without risking oneself or making a commitment
nedar sense carbasses
to shift for oneself

nefas: per fas o per nefas — for better or worse; for one reason or another, for whatever reason

negada
mala negada!
dammit! [vulg.], damnation! [vulg.], darn it!, dang!
ser negat/negada per a
be bad/terrible/hopeless at
negar
negar el pa i la sal a algú
have nothing to do with someone
negar la cara a algú
to cut someone (dead); to snub
negar-se en un got d'aigua
make a mountain out of a molehill

negat: ser negat/negada per a — be bad/terrible/hopeless at

negats: amb els ulls negats — crying like a baby, weeping

negoci
fer el negoci d'en Robert de les cabres
get swindled, get conned, make a bad deal
fer negoci
do business; [obtenir guany] make a profit

negocis: home de negocis — businessman

negra
a negra nit
in the wee hours, in the dead of night, late at night
bèstia negra
nemesis
el corb diu negra a la garsa
the pot calling the kettle black
negra nit
pitch black
passar-la negra
go through hard times; be down and out, dirt poor, needy, indigent
negre
haver-hi un punt negre
there be a risk/uncertainty
i un be negre!
horsefeathers!, poppycock!, fiddledeedee!; pull the other one (it's got bells on it)!
negre com el corb/quitrà/sutge
black as night/coal/pitch
negre com una gola de llop
black as night/pitch
veure's negre
be in a pickle, in a jam; to find oneself in difficulties
veure-ho (tot) negre
be doubtful/pessimistic/gloomy; be in a tight spot, in hot water, out on a limb
néixer
néixer amb (la flor al cul / un pa sota el braç)
be born with a silver spoon in one's mouth
tornar a néixer
have a brush with death

nen: nen bord — foundling

nerviós: col·lapse nerviós — nervous breakdown

nerviosa: crisi nerviosa — nervous breakdown

nervis
atac de nervis
fit of hysterics
crispar/atacar els nervis
get on someone's nerves; annoy, aggravate, nettle
perdre els nervis
lose one's temper, fly off the handle, hit the ceiling
tenir nervis
be nervous/anxious/tense/uneasy
un manat/feix de nervis
a bundle of nerves

nesples: amb temps i palla, maduren les nesples — slowly but surely does it

net
clar i net
frankly, forthrightly; when all is said and done, at the end of the day
fer cau i net
finish off, exhaust
fer net
make a clean sweep
joc net
fair play
jugar net
play fair, play by the rules
net com una patena
spic-and-span, clean as a (whistle / new pin)
net de culpa
innocent, blameless, above suspicion
net i cru/pelat
point-blank, bluntly, frankly, no holds barred
no haver-n'hi un pam de net
there be rampant corruption, strange/questionable goings-on
passar en net
[un document] make a fair copy
ser net de clatell
have a lot on the ball; be on one's toes
tenir el cor net
have a clear conscience
treure'n en net
make sense of

netes: amb les mans netes — honorably, lawfully, righteously

neu: blanca com la neu — white as snow

neula: ser un/una neula — 1 [de poc valor] be a piece of junk/trash/waste 2 [fleuma] be a (wimp / weak sister); someone who is affected and weak

neulers: carregar els neulers a algú — blame someone, make someone bear the brunt of something

ni
ni als mils
never, not in a million years
ni amb fum de sabatots
by no means, no way (shape or form), nothing doing, not on your life
ni carn ni peix
neither fish nor fowl
ni de (bon tros / lluny / molt / broma)
not at all, not by any means, no way; not by a long (shot [Am.] / chalk [Br.])
ni en forat ni en finestra
nowhere, anywhere
ni en pintura!
at all! (ex.: No els vull veure, ni en pintura! = I want nothing at all to do with them!)
ni fa ni fum
make no difference, be of no importance, be irrellevant
ni ganes!/mai!
no way!, don't even think about it!
ni gota de
not a bit of
ni gota
not at all
ni mai que
[neg.] if only
ni menys
not even
ni més ni menys
exactly, in every respect, precisely
ni (mica / per remei)
not even a little/bit
ni molla ni crosta
neither fish nor fowl
ni parlar-ne!/pensar-ho!/pensar-hi!/somiar-ho!
not on your life!, no way!, don't even think about it!
ni per medecina
by no means, nothing doing, not on your life
ni per pensament
not even for a moment
ni poc ni gaire/gens
not at all, not in the least
ni que em/el matin
not for (anything / love or money / all the world)
ni que
even if
ni que només fos
even if it were only
ni una ànima
not a soul
ni (una malla / un clau)
not a penny
no poc ni gaire
a great deal, a lot (ex.: Vam beure no poc ni gaire = We drank a lot)

nineta: la nineta dels ulls — the apple of someone's eye

nit
a boca de nit
at dusk/twilight/nightfall
a boqueta de nit
evening, nightfall
a negra nit
in the wee hours, in the dead of night, late at night
a nit batent
in the wee hours, in the dead of night, late at night
a poqueta/boqueta nit
at dusk/twilight/nightfall
bona nit cresol!
that's it!, that's all she wrote!, end of story!
bona nit i tapa't!
that's it!, that's all she wrote!, end of story!
com de la nit al dia
like night and day, completely different
de la nit al dia
suddenly, out of the blue, unexpectedly
de nit
night (ex.: vol de nit = night flight)
fer de la nit dia
burn the midnight oil
fer nit
to spend the night
fer-se de nit
get dark
la nit de cap d'any
New Year's Eve
la nit porta consell
things will look better/different in the morning
negra nit
pitch black
nit i dia
day and night
ocell de nit
night owl
passar la nit del lloro
make a night of it, go out on a binge
passar la nit en blanc/vetlla
not sleep a wink; have a sleepless night
niu
caure/sortir del niu
be wet behind the ears, callow
fer niu de tota brossa
make good use of everything
saber-ne un niu
know one's way around, be an expert
un niu de
a great number of; lots of, tons of, loads of
nivell
a nivell de
in the field/province/purview of
a nivell
level, even, flush, horizontal
no
cavall vell no aprèn trot nou
you can't teach an old dog new tricks
no em (rota / ve de gust)
I don't feel like it
no fotem!
let's not kid ourselves!
no m'hi va res
it means nothing to me
no n'has de fer res!
none of your business!
no poc ni gaire
a great deal, a lot (ex.: Vam beure no poc ni gaire = We drank a lot)
no poder suportar/sofrir
can't stand/bear
no tenir més remei que
can't help [+gerundi]
vuits i nous i cartes que no lliguen
useless, of no account

noblesa: noblesa obliga — it's nothing, it's the least I could do

noces
noces d'or
golden wedding anniversary
noces de plata
silver wedding anniversary
pa de noces
honeymoon; the first few weeks/months of a marriage
nom
dir (a algú) el nom del porc
vilify, haul/rake someone over the coals, tell someone what's what, bawl someone out; give someone (what for / a dressing down / a piece of one's mind)
dir les coses pel seu nom
talk straight, tell it like it is, hold/keep nothing back
donar nom a
1 [batejar] name, baptize, christen 2 [acreditar] make famous, give/do credit to
el nom no fa la cosa
a rose by any other name would smell as sweet
en nom de
on behalf of
fer-se un nom
succeed, find a place for oneself, do well
no tenir nom
1 [inàudit] be unprecedented, extraordinary 2 [reprovable] be abominable, shocking, detestable
nom de fonts/pila
first name, forename
sortir amb bon nom
come out smelling like a rose

nombre: sens nombre — countless, innumerable

només
ni que només fos
even if it were only
només caldria això
that's all I, we, etc. need
només faltaria això
that's all I/we/etc. need
només faltava aquesta!
this is the final straw!

non: fer non-non — [infantil] go to sleep (ex.: Fes non-non, fillet meu! = Go to sleep, my little son)

nones: fer nones — [infantil] go nighty-night; go to sleep/bed

nord: perdre el nord — lose one's bearings

normal: escola normal — teachers' college, normal school

nós: nós amb nós — just between you and me

nosa
fer nosa
be in the way, hinder, impede, thwart, hamper, obstruct; make a nuisance of oneself
nosa a la sabata
pain in the neck

nosaltres: entre nosaltres — between ourselves, between you and me

nostrada: a la nostrada — in our own particular, traditional way

nostre: el nostre pa de cada dia — our daily bread

nota
anar per nota
stand out, be prominent; attract attention
donar la nota
be the center of attention
prendre nota
take into account, bear in mind; take note of

notarial: acta notarial — affidavit

notícia: donar notícia — make known, call/draw attention to, highlight, point out

nou
cavall vell no aprèn trot nou
you can't teach an old dog new tricks
de (bell) nou
again, anew, afresh; once more
de cap i de nou
from scratch, from square one, from the ground up
de nou en nou
brand-new
de nou/fresc
recently, freshly, newly
fer foc nou
go back to square one, go back to the drawing board, start from scratch
l'amo nou tot ho remou
a new broom sweeps clean (ex.: El nou president diu que ja no serà "el mateix de sempre": l'amo nou tot ho remou! = The new president says it will no longer be "business as usual": this new broom is going to sweep clean!)
nou de trinca
brand-new
nou del coll
Adam's apple (ex.: És cert que només els homes tenen la nou de coll = Is it true that only men have Adam's apples?)?)
què hi ha de nou?
what's new?
venir de nou
be surprising/unexpected; come as a surprise
nous
vuits i nous
fiddle-faddle, minutia, trivia, small potatoes
vuits i nous i cartes que no lliguen
useless, of no account
nova
de nova planta
new construction
fer una cara nova a algú
to beat someone up
saba nova
new blood

novel·la: novel·la rosa — romance novel (ex.: Les novel·les roses tenen com a centre d'interès les relacions amoroses = The main focus of romance novels is on romantic love)

noves: fer passar amb noves — make excuses

nu
a ull nu
with the naked eye
nu i cru
point-blank, bluntly, frankly, no holds barred
número
fer el número
make a scene
prendre el número a algú
pull someone's leg, fool/kid someone, put someone on

números: fer números — add/tote/tally up, calculate

nus
fer-li un nus a la cua
there's no hope, there's nothing you can do, it's too late
fer-se un nus a la gola
get a lump in one's throat (ex.: Cada vegada que sento aquesta cançó se'm fa un nus a la gola = Every time I hear this song I get a lump in my throat)
tenir un nus a l'estómac
have butterflies in one's stomach

nuvis: viatge de nuvis — honeymoon

núvols
caure dels núvols
1 [inesperadament] come like a bolt from the blue 2 [enfrontar-se a la realitat] come back to the real world
com caigut dels núvols
like a bolt from the blue
estar/viure als núvols
be (impractical / in the clouds)

nyac: estar nyic-i-nyac — arguing, bickering, quarreling

nyam: fer nyam-nyam — [infantil] eat up, gobble up

nyap: fer un nyap — foul up, blunder, screw up [vulg.]; make a mess/hash of something

nyec: fer nyec-nyec — to nag, carp, find fault, criticize

nyeu: nyeu-nyeu — hypocritical talk

nyic
estar nyic-i-nyac
arguing, bickering, quarreling
fer nyic-nyic
to nag, carp, find fault, criticize

nyigo: nyigo-nyigo — squeaky-screechy (the sound of a violin badly played)

nyigui: de nyigui-nyogui — feeble, rickety, jerrybuilt

nyogui: de nyigui-nyogui — feeble, rickety, jerrybuilt

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