saw-şaw ese da
/saw-ʃaw ese da/
Idiom
Literal translation
whether he be alive-or-so
Intended meaning
Used of a person whose fate is unknown, when there is no word of whether they have survived or perished.
- Frontdan qağıt joqdu. Saw-şaw esele da, jaşlanı haparların bilmeyme, – dep, jarsıydı anaları.There is no letter from the front. Whether they are alive or dead, I have no news of the boys, — so their mother frets.
Sources
Show sources
- Tekeev 1992 · Phraseological Dictionary of the Karachay Language
- Zharashueva 2017 · Explanatory Phraseological Dictionary