Signification
Someone without maternal feelings
Contexte culturel
Fish is a central part of the diet and culture. Almost every idiom involving animals in Bengali uses fish, reflecting the riverine geography. The 'cruel stepmother' or 'heartless mother-in-law' is a staple trope where this idiom is frequently used to build drama. There is a folk belief that some fish eat their own eggs to survive, which solidified this idiom in the collective consciousness. Bengali literature often uses 'Macher mayer putroshok' to criticize political hypocrisy.
Be Careful!
Never use this to describe your own mother or someone's mother to their face. It is a very strong insult.
Use the full version
If you want to sound more sophisticated, use 'মাছের মায়ের পুত্রশোক' to describe someone's fake sadness.
Signification
Someone without maternal feelings
Be Careful!
Never use this to describe your own mother or someone's mother to their face. It is a very strong insult.
Use the full version
If you want to sound more sophisticated, use 'মাছের মায়ের পুত্রশোক' to describe someone's fake sadness.
Context Matters
This idiom is more common in rural or traditional settings than in modern corporate urban life.
Teste-toi
Fill in the blank with the correct idiom.
সে তার বাচ্চার বিপদেও হাসছে, সে তো আস্ত একটা _______।
'মাছের মা' is the correct idiom for a heartless woman.
What does 'মাছের মায়ের পুত্রশোক' mean?
Choose the best meaning:
This is the extended figurative meaning of the idiom.
Match the situation to the phrase.
A woman is pretending to be sad about a neighbor's loss, but she actually caused it.
This specifically refers to insincere grief.
Complete the dialogue.
A: রহিমা তার মেয়েকে একা ফেলে চলে গেল! B: কী আর বলব, ও তো একদম _______।
The context of abandoning a child fits the 'Macher Ma' idiom.
🎉 Score : /4
Aides visuelles
Banque d exercices
4 exercicesসে তার বাচ্চার বিপদেও হাসছে, সে তো আস্ত একটা _______।
'মাছের মা' is the correct idiom for a heartless woman.
Choose the best meaning:
This is the extended figurative meaning of the idiom.
A woman is pretending to be sad about a neighbor's loss, but she actually caused it.
This specifically refers to insincere grief.
A: রহিমা তার মেয়েকে একা ফেলে চলে গেল! B: কী আর বলব, ও তো একদম _______।
The context of abandoning a child fits the 'Macher Ma' idiom.
🎉 Score : /4
Questions fréquentes
5 questionsTechnically no. It specifically uses 'Ma' (Mother). For a man, you would use 'পাষাণ' (Pashan) or 'নিষ্ঠুর' (Nishthur).
Yes, it is very common in literature, movies, and daily gossip, though less so in formal speech.
No, it has nothing to do with eating or liking fish. It's purely about emotional coldness.
The closest equivalent for the full phrase is 'Crocodile tears'. For the short phrase, 'Heart of stone' or 'Cold-hearted' works.
Yes, it is considered an insult as it attacks someone's character and maternal instincts.
Expressions liées
মাছের মায়ের পুত্রশোক
specialized formCrocodile tears
পাষাণ হৃদয়
synonymHeart of stone
মায়াহীন
similarWithout affection
সৎ মা
similarStepmother
