like a duck takes to water

English

Alternative forms

• as a duck takes to water
• like a duck to water

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Prepositional phrase

like a duck takes to water

1. (simile, idiomatic) Very naturally; without effort.

   She started skating and learned quickly, like a duck takes to water.

Usage notes

Often in phrases like take to something like a duck to water, take to something like a duck takes to water, take to something as a duck takes to water.

Synonyms

• like a knife through butter

Translations

Very naturally

• Catalan: com peix a l'aigua (ca)
• Dutch: als een vis in het water
• Finnish: kuin kala vedessä
• French: comme un poisson dans l’eau (fr)
• German: wie ein Fisch im Wasser
• Hungarian: könnyedén (hu), gyorsan (hu), természetesen (hu)
• Japanese: 水を得た魚 (mizu o eta uo)
• Latvian: kā zivs ūdenī
• Polish: jak ryba w wodzie
• Russian: (like a fish in the water) как ры́ба в воде́ (ru) (kak rýba v vodé)
• Slovene: kot riba v vodi
• Spanish: como pez en el agua (es)
• Yiddish: ווי אַ פֿיש אין וואַסער (vi a fish in vaser)

See also

• like water off a duck's back