A recent post on r/linguisticshumor asked a deceptively simple question: “How many lives do cats have in your language?” Posted by u/EtruscanFolk, the thread drew attention (218 votes and 86 comments) from users curious about how different languages and cultures treat this familiar feline legend.
The discussion nods to an English proverb often cited by dictionaries as a source for the idea: “A cat has nine lives. For three he plays, for three he strays, and for the last three he stays.” That line captures the quirky, almost mythical resilience we attribute to cats and helps explain why the question sparks so much interest across languages.
What makes the Reddit prompt enjoyable is its invitation to compare—readers are encouraged to share translations, local sayings, and the little cultural twists that turn a single superstition into many variations. Even if you don’t speak another language, the thread is a reminder of how a simple image—a cat landing on its feet—can become a shared piece of folklore with unexpected regional flavors.
Whether you subscribe to nine lives or something else, the conversation on r/linguisticshumor shows how language and humor bring us together to celebrate the small mysteries of everyday life—especially when those mysteries involve whiskers, curiosity, and impossible recoveries.
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