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!  

The 34 Very Best German Sayings…EVER! (XIII): Mit der Tür ins Haus fallen

Welcome, Linguaholics! Today we will take a deep dive into German sayings…and there is definitely a lot to be explored here! If your native language is English, some of these sayings might sound familiar while others most certainly won’t ring a bell.

So, without further ado, let’s get right to the point! We will start with German saying No. 1….and will end this roller coaster ride when we arrived at German saying  No. 34! Fasten your seat  belt and let’s goooo!

By Marcel Iseli

13. Mit der Tür ins Haus fallen

It is unclear where this saying actually comes from. But it certainly makes for a great saying that is easy to understand. The door (Türe) in the German saying “Mit der Tür ins Haus fallen” represents the separator of the public sphere and the private sphere. 

You could also say that it separates what happens outside (the public world) and inside (behind doors, at home, etc.). 

That said,  “Mit der Tür ins Haus fallen” signifies that somebody is not respecting that barrier between the outside and the inside world and is, therefore, going like a bull at a gate (is, for instance, asking something too private or intimate, before actually establishing a formal relationship, all by respecting the general rules of conversation.)  

 

Example: Sorry, dass ich gerade so mit der Tür ins Haus falle, aber möchtest du mit mir ins Kino gehen?  

 

Translation:

Sorry to drop in on you like this, but would you like to go to a movie with me?  

+++

Ich habe Linguaholic im Jahr 2013 gegründet, weil mich Sprache schon immer fasziniert hat.

Alles begann, als ich mein Übersetzungsstudium (Deutsch, Französisch, Englisch) in Winterthur, Schweiz, begann.

Als ich etwas später einen Urlaub in Asien machte und schließlich (per Zufall oder nennen wir es Schicksal) in China landete, war ich von der chinesischen Sprache und den chinesischen Schriftzeichen im Besonderen sehr fasziniert.

Diese Besessenheit von chinesischen Schriftzeichen und die Unmöglichkeit, mit den Menschen in China zu kommunizieren, veranlassten mich schließlich, ein weiteres Studium zu beginnen und schließlich Sinologie (Nebenfach: Linguistik) an der Universität Zürich zu studieren.

Für mich ist die Liebe zur Sprache und Linguistik eine ewige Liebe.

Und deshalb habe ich schließlich Linguaholic ins Leben gerufen: Eine Plattform, auf der Linguaholics miteinander reden, über Sprache philosophieren und ihre sprachlichen Fragen einbringen können.

Linguaholic besteht heute aus einem Sprachforum und einem Blog.

Auf dem Linguaholic-Blog schreiben mein Team und ich über Themen aus dem Bereich Sprachenlernen, mit den Schwerpunkten Englisch, Deutsch, Japanisch und Spanisch.

Linguaholic ist mir eine Herzensangelegenheit. Nicht mehr und nicht weniger.

Vielen Dank euch allen, dass ihr Teil dieser Bewegung seid!

I started Linguaholic back in 2013 because language had always fascinated me.

It all started when I began my Translation Studies (German, French, English) in Winterthur, Switzerland.

A bit later, when I went on a holiday in Asia and ultimately ended up in China (by coincidence or let’s call it destiny), I was highly fascinated by the Chinese language and Chinese characters in specific.

This obsession with Chinese characters and the impossibility to communicate with the people in China finally led me to start yet another degree and to eventually major in Sinology (Minor: Linguistics) at the University of Zurich.

For me, the love of language and linguistics is an eternal love.

And that’s why I ultimately called Linguaholic into being: A platform where Linguaholics could talk to each other, philosophize about language and bring their linguistic questions to the table.

Linguaholic as of today consists of a language forum and a blog.

On the Linguaholic blog, my team and I write about topics in the field of language learning, with a focus on English, German, Japanese and Spanish.

Linguaholic is a matter close to my heart. No more, no less.

Thank you all very much for being part of this movement!

The 34 Very Best German Sayings…EVER! (XII): Butter bei die Fische

  

By: 

Marcel Iseli

12. Butter bei die Fische

This German saying sounds a little off. In fact, it sounds ungrammatical to a speaker of modern high German. Butter BEI DIE FISCHE?

Why is it DIE and not something like BEI DEN Fischen? or maybe Butter ZUM Fisch? Well, to be honest, I don’t know. But I will investigate that, and if something comes up, I will make sure to share it with all of you guys here.

Now, let’s get to the meaning of Butter bei die Fische, though. This German saying simply means that one should get to the point. So, one should not (anymore) beat around the bush.

Oh, and by the way, earlier in this article, we have seen that we do have a neat German saying for “to beat around the bush,” which is “um den heißen Brei reden,” remember?

But how the hell would you go about using “Butter bei die Fische” in an actual German sentence, then? Don’t worry. I will clear things up for you. NOW.  

 

Example:

A: Kannst du mir 30 Euro leihen?

B: Wozu brauchst du das denn?

A: Ich muss mir nen neuen Pullover kaufen! Geht das also in Ordnung?

B: Ich hab eben selbst nicht so viel Geld, hmm……lass mich mal überlegen….

A: Aber jetzt mal Butter bei die Fische! 30 Euro ist doch nicht viel, das kannst du mir doch ohne Probleme geben!

B: Ja, du hast eigentlich recht. Ok, hier hast du sie.   

 

Translation:

A: Can you lend me 30 euros? B: What do you need it for? A: I have to buy a new sweater! So is that okay?

B: I don’t have that much money myself, you know…let me think about it for a while…uhmm….

A: Come on, man. Let’s be real! 30 Euro is not that much, I am sure you can afford it!

B: Yes, you are actually right. Ok, here you go!    

The 34 Very Best German Sayings…EVER! (IX); Schnee von gestern

 By: 

AuthorMarcel Iseli

9 Schnee von gestern 

Schnee von gestern, literally “yesterday’s snow” is one of these German sayings that is pretty easy to grasp. 

You've heard that saying twice, and you can most likely already use it flawlessly in a German sentence (if not, don’t worry, there’s going to be an example).  But where does this saying even come from?

There’s actually a pretty interesting story behind “Schnee von gestern.” Who would have thought that? Well, I didn’t.  The saying is attributed to François Villon, a fifteenth-century French poet.    

Example:

A: Bist du noch mit Uta zusammen?

B: Nein, unsere Beziehung ist Schnee von gestern.  

 

Translation:

A: Are you still together with Uta?

B: No, our relationship is water under the bridge.

The 34 Very Best German Sayings…EVER! (VII): Aus dem Nähkästchen plaudern

 By: 

AuthorMarcel Iseli

7. aus dem Nähkästchen plaudern

‘To talk out of the sewing box.’ That would be the literal translation of “aus dem Nähkästchen” plaudern. But what the heck is that even supposed to mean? Well, it means “to give away secrets,” more specifically telling inside stories.

 That could be at work or also in the office. But where does the sewing box fit into all of this?!? Well, sewing boxes used to be a good place to hide secrets. So in earlier times, women often hid secrets in the sewing box along with their sewing tools.

The sewing box seemed to be the perfect place for secrets, as only women had access to it.  It all makes sense now, right? If not, the following example hopefully clears things up for you!  

Example:

Bei deiner Großmutter ist auch wirklich kein Geheimnis sicher! Die plaudert doch den ganzen Tag aus dem Nähkästchen!  

Translation:

No secret is safe with your grandmother! She talks all day long.  

The 34 Very Best German Sayings…EVER! (VI): Die Nase (gestrichen) voll haben

By: 

AuthorMarcel Iseli

6. die Nase (gestrichen) voll haben

Die Nase (gestrichen) voll haben (lit. to have a full nose) simply means that somebody is fed up with something or someone. This German saying is pretty popular and you will hear it often pretty often in everyday speech.  

The saying is pretty informal obviously. To make the phrase “Die Nase voll haben” even more powerful, you can add a “gestrichen” in front of voll, and at that point everybody should be aware that you are extremely fed up with that something (or someone).

 

Example:

Ich habe die Nase von der Schule gestrichen voll! Ich werde dort morgen nicht mehr hingehen!  

Translation:

I’m really sick and tired of school! I’m not going back there tomorrow!

The 34 Very Best German Sayings…EVER! (V)

By: 

AuthorMarcel Iseli

5. um den heißen Brei reden

If you beat about the bush, what you are doing is nothing else than “um den heißen Brei reden,” which literally translates to ‘talking around the hot mash.’

So whenever you are not really talking about what really matters with regards to a certain subject, what you are doing is just simply “um den heißen Brei reden.”

So maybe you won the lottery and are just telling everybody that you have a few bucks more at your disposal than it used to be or maybe you have been banned from school but are just telling everybody that for a certain reason you were not able to attend school these last few days…

Our advice: Just be honest and don’t beat about the bush (for too long)!  Example:

Jetzt hör endlich damit auf, um den heißen Brei zu reden! Wer ist denn nun der Freund von Michaela?!?  

 

Translation:

Stop beating around the bush. Who is Michaela’s boyfriend?

 

The 34 Very Best German Sayings…EVER! (II)

 Marcel Iseli

2. dumm wie Bohnenstroh

“Dumm wie Bohnenstroh” literally translates to “dumb as bean straw.” So if somebody calls you just that, you should probably not be all too happy about it. But why is bean straw dumb?

I guess this is the main question we need to figure out, right? The German saying “as dumb as bean straw” originates from the time when people equipped their beds with straw sacks or mattresses filled with straw.

Very poor people could not afford crop straw and therefore resorted to the cheaper bean straw. 

Okay, great. But why does this make these people dumb?

It is believed that poor people were sometimes automatically considered to be dumb(er) because they had lesser education and therefore, also a lack of intelligence.

Example:

A: Ich glaube die Prüfung von morgen wird ziemlich einfach. Ich mache mir darüber absolut keine Gedanken.

B: Ja, ich glaube auch. Das sollte für uns kein Problem sein. Aber für Stefan wirds wohl schwierig. Der Typ ist echt dumm wie Bohnenstroh! 

 

Translation: A: I think tomorrow’s exam will be pretty easy. I don’t worry about it at all. B: Yes, I think so too. That shouldn’t be a problem for us. But for Stefan, it will probably be difficult. The guy is really dumb as a post!  

The 34 Very Best German Sayings…EVER!

By: 

AuthorMarcel Iseli

Posted on

Welcome, Linguaholics! Today we will take a deep dive into German sayings…and there is definitely a lot to be explored here! If your native language is English, some of these sayings might sound familiar while others most certainly won’t ring a bell.

So, without further ado, let’s get right to the point! We will start with German saying Nr. 1….and will end this rollercoaster ride when we arrived at German saying Nr. 34! Fasten your seatbelt and let’s goooo!

The Best German Sayings

1. brüllen wie am Spieß
2. dumm wie Bohnenstroh         
3. in den sauren Apfel beißen
4. um den heißen Brei reden
5. die Nase (gestrichen) voll haben
6. aus dem Nähkästchen plaudern
7. ins Gras beißen
8. Schnne von gestern
9. Morgenstund hat Gold im Mund
10. Lügen haben kurze Beine
11. Butter bei die Fische
12. mit der Tür ins Haus fallen
13. wer A sagt, muss auch B sagen
14. etwas im Schilde führen          
15. auf großem Fuß leben
16. die Katze im Sack kaufen
17. den Braten riechen
18. kein Blatt vor den Mund nehmen
19. in den Sand setzen
20. jemandem Löcher in den Bauch fragen
21. Krokodilstränen weine
22. übers Ohr hauen
23. auf Wolke 7 schweben
24. sich einen hinter die Binde kippen
25. Mein Name ist Hase, ich weiß von nichts
26. Mit jemandem ist nicht gut Kirschen essen
27. man muss die Kirche im Dorf lassen
28. sich auf die Socken machen
29. auf dem Holzweg sein
30. Schlafen wie ein Murmeltier
31. wie Pilze aus dem Boden schießen
32. da scheiden sich die Geister
33. auf dem falschen Dampfer sein

1. brüllen (schreien) wie am Spieß

If what you are doing is “Brüllen wie am Spieß” you are most likely in pain, be it physical or mental.  The German saying “Brüllen wie am Spieß” literally translates to ‘roar like on a roasting spit (pike)’.
Now, in German, we got the noun “Spieß”. This “Spieß” could either be a roasting spit but it could also be a “Spieß” that was used in war times, something along the lines of a ‘war pike’. 

In fact, the etymology of this German saying is pretty unclear. But we know for a fact that it has been around for quite a long time, since the 16th century, to be more exact.  So, that also sort of increases the probability that this German saying is actually related to war (pikes used in war).

In German, there is also the verb “aufspießen,” in English ‘to impale’ which refers to the brutal act of spearing someone with a spear. 

So how do you put “Brüllen wie am Spieß” to good use in German? You can use “Brüllen wie am Spieß”  in a metaphorical way when someone is either in deep physical pain but also if someone, usually a child, is crying very heavily because of something (not necessarily related to physical pain).  

 

Example:

Als ich ihm die Schokolade weggenommen habe, fing er an zu Brüllen wie am Spieß 

Translation:

When I took away his chocolate, he started screaming like a banshee