The 34 Very Best German Sayings…EVER!

By: AuthorMarcel Iseli

14. wer A sagt, muss auch B sagen

This German expression is very easy to understand. The literal translation would be something along the lines of “Who says A, also needs to say B”.  The exact origin of this German saying is up for debate.

There are a couple of possible explanations for this.  The easiest one being is that this German saying is simply based on the alphabet because there ―who would have thought it― B follows A. 
There are other possible origins, though. One possible explanation is related to the German legal system. It’s a little bit complicated, though. It has something to do with two different verbs that are used in that context, “anklagen” and “besagen.” 

As you can see, “anklagen” starts with the letter A, and “besagen” starts with the letter B. 

 

Example:

Du hast mir diese Playstation bezahlt, dann musst du jetzt auch mit mir spielen. Wer A sagt, der muss auch B sagen!  

 

Translation:

You bought this Playstation for me, so now you have to play with me too. Whoever says A must also say B!