Meanings
present singular third person goes in one ear and out the other · participle present going in one ear and out the other · past went in one ear and out the other · participle past gone in one ear and out the other · alternative go in at one ear and at out the other
- idiomaticTo be heard but not attended to, when a person fails to pay attention.
He told me whom he saw, but it went in one ear and out the other.
Synonyms & antonyms
Translations
Chinese Cantonese 左耳入，右耳出
- 左耳入，右耳出 (zo² ji⁵ jap⁶, jau⁶ ji⁵ ceot¹)to be heard but not attended to
Chinese Mandarin 當耳邊風 /当耳边风, 左耳朵進，右耳朵出 /左耳朵进
- 當耳邊風 /当耳边风 (dàng ěrbiānfēng)to be heard but not attended to
- 左耳朵進，右耳朵出 /左耳朵进to be heard but not attended to
- 右耳朵出 (zuǒ ěrduo jìn, yòu ěrduo chū)to be heard but not attended to
- 左耳進，右耳出 /左耳进to be heard but not attended to
- 右耳出 (zuǒ'ěr jìn, yòu'ěr chū)to be heard but not attended to
Dutch het ene oor in, het andere uit gaan
- het ene oor in, het andere uit gaanto be heard but not attended to
Finnish mennä yhdestä korvasta sisään ja toisesta ulos
- mennä yhdestä korvasta sisään ja toisesta ulosto be heard but not attended to
French entrer par une oreille et sortir par l'autre
- entrer par une oreille et sortir par l'autreto be heard but not attended to
German zum einen Ohr hinein- und zum anderen wieder hinausgehen
- zum einen Ohr hinein- und zum anderen wieder hinausgehento be heard but not attended to
Hebrew נִכְנַס בְּאֹזֶן אַחַת וְיָצָא דֶּרֶךְ הָאׂזְן הַשְּׁנִיָּה
- נִכְנַס בְּאֹזֶן אַחַת וְיָצָא דֶּרֶךְ הָאׂזְן הַשְּׁנִיָּה (nichnás b'ózen aẖát vyatzá dérech haózen hashniyá)to be heard but not attended to
Hungarian egyik fülén be, a másikon ki
- egyik fülén be, a másikon kito be heard but not attended to
Icelandic innum eitt eyrað og útum hitt
- innum eitt eyrað og útum hittto be heard but not attended to
Indonesian masuk kuping kiri, keluar kuping kanan, masuk telinga kanan, keluar telinga kiri
- masuk kuping kiri, keluar kuping kananto be heard but not attended to
- masuk telinga kanan, keluar telinga kirito be heard but not attended to
- masuk dari kuping kiri, keluar lewat kuping kananto be heard but not attended to
Korean 한쪽 귀로 듣고 한쪽 귀로 흘려버리다
- 한쪽 귀로 듣고 한쪽 귀로 흘려버리다 (hanjjok gwiro deutgo hanjjok gwiro heullyeobeorida)to be heard but not attended to
Malay masuk telinga kanan, keluar telinga kiri
- masuk telinga kanan, keluar telinga kirito be heard but not attended to
Polish jednym uchem wchodzi, a drugim wychodzi
- jednym uchem wchodzi, a drugim wychodzito be heard but not attended to
Portuguese entrar por um ouvido e sair pelo outro, entrar por um ouvido e sair por outro
- entrar por um ouvido e sair pelo outroto be heard but not attended to
- entrar por um ouvido e sair por outroto be heard but not attended to
Spanish entrar por un oído y salir por el otro
- entrar por un oído y salir por el otroto be heard but not attended to
Thai เข้าหูซ้ายทะลุหูขวา
- เข้าหูซ้ายทะลุหูขวาto be heard but not attended to
Turkish bir kulağından girip öbür kulağından çıkmak
- bir kulağından girip öbür kulağından çıkmakto be heard but not attended to
Ukrainian в одне вухо влітає, в інше вилітає
- в одне вухо влітає, в інше вилітає (v odne vuxo vlitaje, v inše vylitaje)to be heard but not attended to
Vietnamese nói đâu quên đấy
- nói đâu quên đấyto be heard but not attended to
Cite this entry
go in one ear and out the other. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20in%20one%20ear%20and%20out%20the%20other
“go in one ear and out the other.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20in%20one%20ear%20and%20out%20the%20other. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “go in one ear and out the other,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20in%20one%20ear%20and%20out%20the%20other.
Source: go in one ear and out the other on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.