10 idioms in German
Monday, 3rd August 2009
There are many interesting idiomatic expressions in German; some are similar to English idioms, others are quite different.
Idioms don’t always make sense if you try to understand them by looking at the individual meanings of the words. Instead they have to be taken as a whole, and some don’t make sense unless you know their background.
Here is a selection of interesting German idioms:
Alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat zwei, which literally means “everything has an end - only the sausage has two”. Other versions of this idiom include, alles hat ein Ende, nur der Durst hat keins (everything has an end, only thirst has none), alles hat ein Ende, nur Weihnachten nicht (everything has an end, only Christmas doesn‘t) and alles hat ein Ende, nur dieser Film hat zwei (everything has an end, only this film has two).
Another sausage-related idiom is, es geht um die Wurst/Wurscht (it’s a matter of sausage), which is equivalent to ‘it’s do or die”, “it’s now or never” or “the moment of truth”.
A German idiom for the toilet refers to it as the place where the Kaiser goes on foot - wo der Kaiser zu Fuß hingeht. Other idioms for the same place include, das stille Örtchen (the quiet place), and wo der Köing allein hingeht (where the king goes alone).
Another idiom involving the Kaiser is das ist ein Streit um des Kaisers Bart (that is an argument over the emperor’s beard). This is equivalent to ‘splitting hairs’ in English.
An isolated place in the back of beyond / middle of nowhere is referred to as a place where the foxes say good night – wo sich die Füchse gute Nacht sagen. Or where the hen and fox say good night – wo sich Fuchs und Hase gute Nacht sagen.
If something doesn’t worry you very much, you could say that you’re not going to lose any sleep over it. In German you say, ich lasse mir keine grauen Haare darüber wachsen (I won’t let any grey hairs grow over it),
In German sound sleep is compared to sleeping like a marmot, wie ein Murmeltier schlafen.
In English you might describe someone who is audacious or bold as having cheek, in German they say such a person has a forehead – er hat die Stirn.
Two idioms that are the same in German and English are, er geht mir auf die Nerven (he’s getting on my nerves), and bei ihr ist eine Schraube los (she’s got a screw loose).
Posted by Simon Ager 2009-08 under Vocabulary,
Permalink
Posted by Comedy Brighton on 01/15 at 05:19 AM
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting.