What's the meaning of "I'm a goldfish"? Is there such idiom in English? (2024)

If you say this it means you are comparing yourself in some manner to a pet goldfish that's usually kept trapped and on display in a small bowl. As an example, I've heard often the expression "I feel like a goldfish". That is, I am on display/centre of attention to everyone, I don't want this but I can't do anything about it (like how a pet goldfish trapped in a bowl is on display to people).

There is one idiom to do with goldfishes If you are in a goldfish bowl - it means that your life is visible to everyone, so imagine the life of a president or a very famous rock star. Pretty much everything they do is seen by the public, and its like living in a goldfish bowl.Goldfish are notorious for having 7 second memories. So another meaning may be that the person has a very short memory.Does this question have any context? Where did you hear this being said?

The common way to say this is - "I feel like I'm living in a goldfish bowl".This term often used by famous people to describe their lives.When your activities are continually recorded by photographers or journalists, you feel as visible as a goldfish in a glass bowl.

Hi Larysa, English speakers can say someone “has the memory of a goldfish”, meaning they almost completely lack short term memory. It would be something you say self-deprecatingly about yourself.

Thanks everyone for the answers.Really I heard this phrase twice or thrice, when somebody asked me to remind something. So I think people meant they have too short memory:)