ana dan baba dan

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winegrower

Senior Member
Thessaloniki,Greece
Greek
Hi! I'm not sure about the spelling but this is an expression (obviously stolen from turkish) we use in greek (αναντάν μπαμπαντάν) for someοne we knew from childhood/for our whole life or for something that is authentic/genuine. Do you use it in turkish?
 
    • I've never heard this Greek expression before. Is it regional perhaps? The only expression that comes to mind is "zamania ke zamania" definitely of Turkish origin for "its been ages." But that is probably not used currently. It would be interesting to post on Greek forum.
     
    I never heard it used in that meaning. "Anadan babadan" is gramaticaly right but doesn't make sense.

    For example if you want to say you know someone for a very long time, you can say:

    I know her for a long time (uzun zamandır), for years (yıllardır), since her childhood (çocukluğundan beri).

    But "anadan babadan" can not be used in this context.
     
    winegrower said:
    OK. But does it have a meaning in turkish? I checked dan and it meens from. So "from father and mother", impling maybe perpetuation/long duration?
    Click to expand...

    Yes it means what you think it means and it's obviously Turkish. It's simply not in use, not anymore and not in Turkey, at least.
     
    zeynepy said:
    I never heard it used in that meaning. "Anadan babadan" is gramaticaly right but doesn't make sense.
    Click to expand...
    The funny thing is that in Greek we don't use the translation of this phrase, but we can use other ways to express its meaning. Τhis phrase ("anadam papadam / babadam") is well known in Greece, although it may be in decline in recent years.

    Perhaps it was created by Greeks on the basis of Turkish grammar.
     
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