English
Etymology
Newcastle upon Tyne (in England) was a major coal -exporting city, so sending coal there would be pointless.
Pronunciation
Verb
carry coals to Newcastle (third-person singular simple present carries coals to Newcastle , present participle carrying coals to Newcastle , simple past and past participle carried coals to Newcastle )
( idiomatic ) To do something that is unneeded or redundant .
1851 , Herman Melville , chapter 81, in Moby-Dick [1] :However curious it may seem for an oil-ship to be borrowing oil on the whale-ground, and however much it may invertedly contradict the old proverb about carrying coals to Newcastle , yet sometimes such a thing really happens; and in the present case Captain Derick De Deer did indubitably conduct a lamp-feeder as Flask did declare.
1960 , P. G. Wodehouse , chapter II, in Jeeves in the Offing :He's the fellow who likes to let off stink bombs in night clubs, which rather falls under the head of carrying coals to Newcastle [ …]
Synonym: bring owls to Athens
Coordinate terms
Translations
do something unneeded or redundant
Arabic: اِسْتَبْضِعَ التَّمْرَ إِلَى هَجَر ( istabḍiʕa t-tamra ʔilā hajar , literally “ carry dates to Hajar ” )
Catalan: portar aigua al mar ( literally “ carry water to the sea ” )
Chinese:
Mandarin: 多此一舉 / 多此一举 (zh) ( duōcǐyījǔ ) , 多此一举 (zh) ( duōcǐyījǔ , literally “ this one action is too much ” )
Czech: nosit dříví do lesa (cs) ( literally “ carry wood into the forest ” ) , nosit sovy do Atén ( literally “ carry owls to Athens ” )
Danish: give bagerbørn hvedebrød ( literally “ give wheat bread to bakers' children ” )
Dutch: uilen naar Athene dragen ( literally “ carry owls to Athens ” ) , water naar de zee dragen ( literally “ carry water to the sea ” )
Esperanto: porti akvon al rivero ( literally “ carry water to the river ” ) , porti strigojn al Ateno ( literally “ carry owls to Athens ” )
Estonian: kilplasetööd tegema ( literally “ do the [?] work ” )
Finnish: kantaa vettä kaivoon ( literally "carry water to the well" )
French: porter de l’eau à la rivière (fr) ( literally “ carry water to the river ” )
Georgian: ზღვას ქვიშას უმატებენო ( zɣvas kvišas umaṭebeno , literally “ bring sand to the beach ” ) , ტყესი შეშის შეტანა ( ṭq̇esi šešis šeṭana , literally “ carry firewood into the forest ” )
German: Eulen nach Athen tragen (de) ( literally “ carry owls to Athens ” ) ; Holz in den Wald tragen (de) ( literally “ carry wood to the forest ” ) ; Wasser ins Meer tragen (de) ( literally “ carry water to the sea ” )
Greek: κομίζω γλαύκα εις Αθήνας ( komízo gláfka eis Athínas , literally “ carry owls to Athens ” )
Ancient: γλαῦκ' εἰς Ἀθήνας ( glaûk' eis Athḗnas ) , γλαῦκ' Ἀθήναζε ( glaûk' Athḗnaze , literally “ owls to Athens ” )
Hindi: उल्टे बाँस बरेली को लेना ( ulṭe bā̃s barelī ko lenā , literally “ take bamboo to Bareilly ” )
Icelandic: bera í bakkafullan lækinn ( literally “ carry water to an overflowing stream ” )
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Italian: portare nottole ad Atene ( literally “ carry noctules to Athens ” ) , portare civette ad Atene ( literally “ carry owls to Athens ” ) , portare vasi a Samo ( literally “ carry jars to Samos ” )
Latin: in silvam ligna ferō ( literally “ carry wood into the forest ” )
Norwegian:
Bokmål: gi bakerens barn brød ( literally “ give bread to the baker's children ” ) , gå over bekken etter vann (no) ( literally “ cross the river in search of water ” )
Nynorsk: gje brød til bakaren sine born ( literally “ give bread to the baker's children ” )
Persian: زیره به کرمان بردن ( zire be kermân bordan , literally “ bring caraway to Kerman ” )
Polish: wozić drewno do lasu (pl) ( literally “ carry wood into the forest ” )
Portuguese: levar água ao mar ( literally “ carry water to the sea ” ) , chover no molhado (pt) ( literally "rain in the wet" )
Russian: е́здить в Ту́лу со свои́м самова́ром (ru) ( jézditʹ v Túlu so svoím samovárom , literally “ go to Tula with your own samovar ” ) , в лес дрова́ вози́ть (ru) ( v les drová vozítʹ , literally “ carry wood into the forest ” )
Slovak: voziť drevo do hory ( literally “ carry wood into the forest ” ) , nosiť sovy do Atén ( literally “ carry owls to Athens ” )
Spanish: llevar leña al monte ( literally “ carry wood upon the mountain ” )
Swedish: bära ugglor till Aten ( literally “ carry owls to Athens ” )
Thai: เอามะพร้าวห้าวไปขายสวน (th) ( ao má-práao-hâao bpai kǎai sǔuan , literally “ sell ripe coconuts to an orchard ” ) , เอาแป้งนวลไปขายชาววัง ( ao bpɛ̂ɛng-nuual bpai kǎai chaao-wang , literally “ sell face powders to palace ladies ” )
Turkish: denize su götürmek ( literally “ carry water to the sea ” )
Welsh: cario glo i Fflint ( literally "carry coal to Flint" )
Yiddish: פֿירן שטרוי קיין מצרים ( firn shtroy keyn mitsraym , literally “ carry straw to Egypt ” )