In English we might say that 'when the cat's away (the mice will play)' to indicate that when the person or entity in control is absent (the cat), those they control or dominate (the mice) will take advantage and maybe misbehave and break the rules (play). Some languages have similar idioms involving cats and mice, but others may refer to other creatures.
This idiom possibly has ancient roots, and there is a version in medieval Latin - Dum felis dormit, mus gaudet et exsi litantro (When the cat sleeps, the mouse rejoices and leaps from its hole). There is a version in French from the early 14th century - Ou chat na rat regne (Where there is no cat, the rat is king). and it first appeared in writing in English in about 1470. It also appears in Shakespeare's Henry V in 1599 as Playing the mouse in absence of the cat, To tear and havoc more than she can eat [source].
| Language | Idiom |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | As die kat weg is, is die muis baas (When the cat's away the mouse is boss) |
| Albanian | Iku macja, lozin minjtë ((When) the cat is gone, the mice are playing) |
| Azerbaijani | Atlar ölüb, itlərin bayramıdır ((When) the horses are dead, it's a holiday for the dogs) |
| Breton | Pa vez ar c'hazh er-maez ag ar gêr, al logod a ra fest er solier (When the cat is out town, the mice feast in the loft) |
| Bulgarian | Когато котката я няма, мишките танцуват (Kogato kotkata ya nyama, mishkite tantsuvat) (When the cat is absent, the mice dance) |
| Chinese (Mandarin) | 山中无老虎，猴子称大王 [山中無老虎，猴子稱大王] (shānzhōng wú lǎohǔ, hóuzi chēng dàwáng) (When there is no tiger on the mountain, the monkey becomes king) 老虎不再山，猴子称大王 [老虎不再山，猴子稱大王] (lǎohǔ bù zài shān, hóuzi chēng dàwáng) ((When) the tiger is longer on the mountain, the monkey is king) |
| Cimbrian | Balda di khatz velt, di maüs tåntzan (When the cat is missing, the mice dance) |
| Croatian | Kad nema mačke, miševi plesu (When the cat is not there, the mice dance) |
| Czech | Když kocour není doma, myši mají pré (When the cat is not home, the mice have a chance) |
| Danish | Når katten er ude, spiller musene på bordet (When the cat is out, the mice play on the table.) |
| Dutch | Als de kat van huis is, dansen de muizen op tafel (When the cat's away, the mice will play on the table) |
| Estonian | Kui kassid läinud, on hiirtel pidu (When the cats are gone, the mice have a party.) |
| Finnish | Kun kissa on poissa, hiiret hyppivät pöydällä (When the cat is away, the mice jump on the table) |
| French | Quand le chat n'est pas là, les souris dansent (When the cat is not there, the mice dance) Quand le chat parti, les souris dansent (When the cat leaves, the mice dance) |
| German | Ist die Katze aus dem Haus, tanzen die Mäuse auf dem Tisch (If the cat's out of the house, the mice dance on the table) |
| Greek | Όταν λείπει η γάτα χορεύουν τα ποντίκια (Ótan leípei i gáta chorévoun ta pontíkia) (When the cat is away, the mice dance) |
| Hungarian | Ha nincs otthon a macska, cincognak az egerek (When the cat is not home, the mice squeak) |
| Icelandic | Þegar kötturinn er frá fara mýsnar á stjá (When the cat is away, the mice go on a rampage) |
| Irish | Nuair a bhíonn an cat amuigh, bíonn na lucha ag rince (When the cat's away, the mice dance) |
| Italian | Quando il gatto non c'è, i topi ballano (When the cat's not there, the mice dance) |
| Japanese | 鬼のいぬまに洗濯 / 鬼の居ぬ間に洗濯 (oni inu ma no sentaku) (Doing laundry when the devil is away) 鼬無き間の貂誇り (itachi naki ma no ten hokori) (The pride of the marten in the absence of weasels) 鼬無き間の鼠 (itachi naki ma no nezumi) (A mouse in the absence of weasels) |
| Khmer | ឆ្មាមិននៅ កណ្ដុរឡើងរាជ្យ (cmaa mɨn nɨv kɑndol laəŋ riec) (The cat is gone, the mouse is king) |
| Kikuyu | Hiti ciathiĩ mbwe ciegangara (When hyenas go away, foxes / jackals play) Ngatia ciathiĩ hiti cĩeragara (When lions have gone, hyenas dance) |
| Korean | 호랑이 없는 골에 토끼가 왕 노릇 한다 (horang'i eomneun gor-e tokki-ga wang noreut hand) (In a valley without tigers, a rabbit reigns supreme) |
| Kumyk | Мишик ёкъ ерде чычкъан баш гётерир (Mişik yoq yerde çıçqan baş göterir) (A mouse raises its head in the absence of a cat) |
| Latin | Audācem reddit fēlis absentia murem (The absence of a cat makes a mouse bold) Fēle comprehensā saltant murēs in mensā (When a cat is caught, mice dance on the table) Quō nōn versantur cattī mures dominantur (When cats are not around, mice dominate.) Dum felis dormit, mus gaudet et exsi litantro (When the cat sleeps, the mouse rejoices and leaps from its hole) |
| Luxembourgish | Wann d'Kaz fort ass, sinn d'Mais Meeschter (When the cat is gone, the mice are masters) |
| Manx | Tra vees yn kayt mooie bee ny lughee daunsin (When the cat is gone, the mice will dance) |
| Norwegian | Når katten er borte, danser musene på bordet (When the cat is away, the mice are dancing on the table) |
| Persian | در خانه کسی که گربه نباشد موش کدخداست (dar khaneh kasi keh garbeh nabashod moosh kadkhodast) (In the house of someone who doesn't have a cat, there is a mouse) |
| Polish | Gdy kota nie ma, myszy harcują (When the cat's not there, the mice are playing) Hulaj dusza – piekła nie ma (Revel in the soul - there is no hell) |
| Portuguese | Quando o gato sai, os ratos fazem a festa (When the cat leaves, the rats have a party) |
| Romanian | Când pisica nu-i acasă, joacă șoarecii pe masă (When the cat isn't at home, the mice play on the table) |
| Russian | Без кота мыша́м раздолье (Bez kotá myšám razdólʹje) (Without a cat, the mice have free rein) |
| Scottish Gaelic | Tha fios aig an luch nach eil an cat a-staigh (The mouse knows the cat is not inside) |
| Serbian | Где мачке у кући нема ту мишеви коло воде (Gde mačke u kući nema tu miševi kolo vode) (Where there is no cat in the house, there are mice around the water) |
| Slovenian | Ko mačke ni doma miši plešejo (When the cat is not home, the mice dance) |
| Spanish | Cuando el gato no está, bailan los ratones (When the cat's not there, the mice dance) Cuando el gato no está los ratones están de fiesta (When the cat's not there, the mice party) Cuando el gato no está, los ratones bailan (When the cat's not there, the mice dance) |
| Swedish | När katten är borta, dansar råttorna på bordet (When the cat's away, the rats dance on the table) |
| Tagalog | Kapag wala ang pusa, naglalaro ang mga daga (When the cat's away, the mice are playing) Kapag wala ang pusa ay pista ng mga daga (When the cat's away, it's a festival of mice) |
| Telugu | రౌతు మెత్తనైతే గుర్రం మూడు కాళ్ళ మీద పరిగెత్తుతుంది (autu mettanaitē gurraṁ mūḍu kāḷḷa mīda parigettutundi) (If the rider is gentle, the horse will run on three legs) |
| Thai | แมวไม่อยู่ หนูระเริง (maew mâi yùu nŭu râa rerng) (When the cat is not home, the mice are happy) |
| Turkish | Kedi olmayan yerde meydan farelere kalır Where there are no cats, mice are left to their own devices) Kedi olmayınca fareler cirit atar (When there is no cat, the mice throw javelins) |
| Vietnamese | Vắng chủ nhà, gà vọc niêu tôm (When the owner is absent, the chicken play with the shrimp pot) |
| Welsh | Llon llygod lle ni bo cath (Happy mice where there is no cat) |
| Language | Idiom |
|---|---|
| Esperanto | Kiam kato promenas, la musoj festenas (When a cat walks, the mice feast) |
If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.
Information about the translations of this idiom
https://www.theidioms.com/when-the-cats-away-the-mice-will-play/">
https://www.thehistoryofenglish.com/while-the-cats-away-the-mice-will-play">
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/when_the_cat's_away_the_mice_will_play
https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/when-the-cats-away-the-mice-will-play.1764464/
Here's a song I wrote in October 2025 inspired by these idioms and sayings.
It's all Greek to me | It's raining cats and dogs | As easy as falling off a log | A sandwich short of a picnic | It's small world | When pigs fly | Out of sight, out of mind | Crystal-clear | Penny Pinching | Practice makes perfect | The grass is always greener | As Snug as a Bug in a Rug | When the Cat's Away
Czech | French | Greek | Icelandic | Lithuanian | Manx | Russian | Slovak | Spanish | Swedish | Welsh
Useful phrases | Silly phrases | Numbers | Numerals | Colours | Telling the time | Dates | Weather words | Family words | Terms of endearment | Language names | Country names | Idioms | Proverbs | Tongue twisters | Signs | Compass directions | UDHR | Tower of Babel | Songs | Omniglot | Seven dwarfs | Zodiac signs | Computer parts | Compass directions | Animal sounds
[top]
You can support this site by Buying Me A Coffee, and if you like what you see on this page, you can use the buttons below to share it with people you know.
If you like this site and find it useful, you can support it by making a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or by contributing in other ways. Omniglot is how I make my living.
Note: all links on this site to Amazon.com
[top]
