Нога затекла / свело ногу in English
Hello everyone!

Could you please help me with these two expressions? What do you call these feelings in English?

1) "Нога затекла": e.g., when you sit in an uncomfortable position for some time and then stand up, you have to do something (jump on your leg maybe or have a walk) because one of your legs is... what? My dictionary says that "asleep" is the word but is it really what you say? A leg... went asleep...? Or what do you call it?

2) "Ногу свело": I've never experienced this but I've heard it happens sometimes: if you're swimming in really cold water, there's a danger that your leg becomes... what?... and you'll drown (or so I'm told...). If I understand everything correctly, it's much more painful. Does the word "cramp" fit here? Would it be "my leg got cramped" then?

Question

Нога затекла / свело ногу in English
Hello everyone!

Could you please help me with these two expressions? What do you call these feelings in English?

1) "Нога затекла": e.g., when you sit in an uncomfortable position for some time and then stand up, you have to do something (jump on your leg maybe or have a walk) because one of your legs is... what? My dictionary says that "asleep" is the word but is it really what you say? A leg... went asleep...? Or what do you call it?

2) "Ногу свело": I've never experienced this but I've heard it happens sometimes: if you're swimming in really cold water, there's a danger that your leg becomes... what?... and you'll drown (or so I'm told...). If I understand everything correctly, it's much more painful. Does the word "cramp" fit here? Would it be "my leg got cramped" then?

Answer

Yes we really say one of my legs is asleep.  Our legs fall asleep on us sometimes if we sit wrong.

Yes in swimming there's a danger your leg becomes cramped.  If it happened in the past 'my leg got cramped.'

Answer

1) In the UK and Australia colloquially I know this feeling as "having pins and needles". However, saying your leg is asleep will be perfectly understood

2) Correct cramp would be used in this situation. e.g. present tense: "I've got/I have  a cramp in my leg". 
past: "I had/got a cramp in my leg" or "my leg cramped up"...

Answer

Hey!

The two phrases your looking for are

1. in past tense your leg was dead, so the phrase would be "I had a dead leg" or in present tense its sleeping "My legs gone to sleep"

2. You "got a cramp" or "had a cramp" in your leg while swimming in cold water

Answer

1) Just to add (and hopefully help) although maybe this is a Liverpool thing, we would say "my leg is dead" as though it has no life in it at the moment. Pins and needles are different, they would come afterwards.

We would use the 'a dead leg' different too. I know this as a dull sudden pain that leaves numbness after you have banged (or someone has hit) your leg. Same goes for 'a dead arm' when someone had given you a sly good natured punch in it.

2) Spot in with using cramp here

Answer

1)My leg fell asleep.  It feels like pins and needles now.

2) I have never experienced this. I always thought of a cramp as being in your side (torso).  When the water is very cold, I know my legs sometimes go numb (lose feeling).  If I did, I would say my leg cramped up or I had a cramp in my leg.