needle in a haystack

English

Pronunciation

Audio (Australia): (file)

Noun

needle in a haystack (plural needles in a haystack or needles in haystacks)

(idiomatic) Something that is difficult or impossible to locate.
You'll never find the paper you need on her desk. You're looking for a needle in a haystack.

Translations

idiomatic

Arabic: إِبْرَةٌ فِي كَوْمَةِ قَشٍّ f (ʔibratun fī kawmati qaššin)
Catalan: cercar una agulla en un paller, buscar una agulla en un paller, agulla en un paller
Chinese:
Mandarin: 大海撈針 / 大海捞针 (zh) (dàhǎilāozhēn) (verb or verbal noun), 海底撈針 / 海底捞针 (zh) (hǎidǐlāozhēn)
Czech: jehla v kupce sena f
Dutch: naald in een hooiberg
Finnish: neula heinäsuovassa
French: chercher une aiguille dans une botte de foin (fr) (verb)
German: Nadel im Heuhaufen f
Greek: βελόνα στ’ άχυρο f (velóna st’ áchyro), ψύλλους στ’ άχυρο m pl (psýllous st’ áchyro)
Hebrew: מַחַט בַּעֲרֵמָת שַׁחַת (he) (máẖat ba'aremát sháẖat)
Hungarian: tű a szénakazalban (hu)
Icelandic: saumnál í heystakki f
Irish: táilliúir i mbruth faoi thír m
Italian: ago in un pagliaio m
Japanese: 干し草の山の針 (ほしくさのやまのはり, hoshikusa-no yama-no hari)
Latin: nodum in scirpo quaerere (literally “to seek a knot in a bulrush”)
Macedonian: и́гла во стог се́но (ígla vo stog séno)
Polish: igła w stogu siana f
Portuguese: agulha num palheiro
Romanian: acul în carul cu fân n
Russian: иго́лка в сто́ге се́на f (igólka v stóge séna), иска́ть иго́лку в сто́ге се́на (ru) (iskátʹ igólku v stóge séna)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: ѝгла у пла̑сту сије̑на f / ѝгла у пла̑сту се̑на f

Latin: ìgla u plȃstu sijȇna f / ìgla u plȃstu sȇna f
Spanish: aguja en un pajar (es)
Swedish: nål i en höstack
Turkish: samanlıkta iğne

References