German idioms to sound more German
German idioms. Learning languages sure has its moments of pleasure. What a joy to discover how people in another country, or speaking another language express their feelings with colorful expressions. Knowing those idioms is also a good way to sound more natural when speaking with native speakers.
German idioms to sound more German
Here’s a first collection of German sayings
Einen Kater haben
You had too many pilsners at your friend’s party and regret it the following morning? Well, being hungover happens and you can surely make it through the day. But if you want to tell your German friends how you feel, you’ll need to say literally ‘I have a cat’: ‘ich habe einen Kater’.
Alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat zwei
Germany is a land of sausage and poets, and that’s probably why Germans came up with this popular poetic wisdom: ‘everything has an end, only the sausage has two’. Pragmatism and simplicity: the German conception of beauty.
Da steppt der Bär
Your friends organized a party and you couldn’t wait to come. ‘There will be a dancing bear’ they said. Of course, there wasn’t. But you now know that you can use this expression to tell everyone where the fun’s at next time you throw a party.
Mist!
You missed your train? Or you were clumsy and dropped something? ‘Mist!’ is the perfect German word to express the frustration, angriness or surprise. You could translate ‘Mist’ with ‘Damn’.
Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof
This phrase literally translates to ‘I only understand train station‘, but is equivalent to ‘It is all Greek to me‘. It’s an old expression from WW1 soldiers who used to say that the only thing they understood when given orders was ‘train station’, as they hoped for the train back from the battlefront.
Ich glaube ich spinne
Sometimes, German idioms make a lot of sense, and sometimes you can’t understand the origin of the expression. This one counts towards the latter. When you feel you’re going crazy, in German you literally say ‘I believe I spider’.
Fix und fertig
You may be tired of saying ‘ich bin müde’ to express how tired you feel. Well, you can also say ‘ich bin fix und fertig’. Although this translates directly to ‘I’m quick and ready’, it actually means ‘I’m exhausted’.
Lügen haben kurze Beine
According to the Germans, ‘lies have short legs’. The meaning of this expression is pretty straight forward. It can be handy if you feel that the person who was previously ‘talking around the hot mash’ may now be lying to your face. Either way, their lies won’t get very far with those little legs.
Um den heißen Brei herumreden
Germans are allegedly cold and direct, so you probably won’t find them ‘beating around the bush’. But if you happen to want someone to get straight to the point, you can tell them: ‘Rede nicht um den heißen Brei herum’ (lit. stop talking around the hot mash).
Die Daumen drücken
‘Die Daumen drücken’ literally means to ‘press the thumbs’. It’s funny how close this is to the actual English translation, ‘to keep one’s fingers crossed’.
Tomaten auf den Augen haben
Literal translation: To have tomatoes on one’s eyes
English equivalent: To be oblivious to what’s going around you
Da kannst du Gift drauf nehmen
Literal translation: You can take poison on that
English equivalent: You can bet your life on that / you can be sure of that
Sich zum Affen machen
Literal translation: To make an ape of oneself
English equivalent: To make a fool of oneself
Zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe schlagen
Learn german idioms to sound more German.
Literal translation: Kill two flies with one swat
English equivalent: To kill two birds with one stone
Eine Extrawurst verlangen
Literal translation: To ask for an extra sausage
English equivalent: To ask for special treatment
Himmel und Hölle in Bewegung setzen
Literal translation: Put heaven and hell in motion
English equivalent: To move heaven and earth
Da steppt der Bär
Literal translation: The bear dances there
English equivalent: It will be a great party / to be a mad one
A close relative to the dancing bear is the burning air. It’s a similar phrase with an identical meaning: Da brennt die Luft!
Um den heißen Brei herumreden
Literal translation: To talk around the hot porridge
English equivalent: To beat around the bush
Den Nagel auf den Kopf treffen
Literal translation: To hit the nail on the head
English equivalent: To hit the nail on the head
Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof
Literal translation: I can only understand “train station”
English equivalent: It’s all Greek to me
Weggehen wie warme Semmeln
Literal translation: To go like warm rolls
English equivalent: To go or sell like hotcakes
German idioms
Seinen Senf dazugeben
German idioms that you should really know and use.
Literal translation: To add their mustard
English equivalent: To put their two cents in
Jemandem die Daumen drücken
Literal translation: To squeeze your thumbs for someone
English equivalent: To keep one’s fingers crossed for someone
Etwas wie seine Westentasche kennen
Literal translation: To know something like one’s waistcoat pocket
English equivalent: To know it like the back of one’s hand
Man soll den Tag nicht vor dem Abend loben
Itś teally important to master using german idioms.
Literal translation: Don’t praise the day before the evening
English equivalent: Don’t count your chicks before they hatch
Jemandem ein Ohr abkauen
Literal translation: To chew someone’s ear off
English equivalent: To talk someone’s ear off
Klar wie Kloßbrühe
Literal translation: Clear as dumpling broth
English equivalent: Crystal clear / clear as day / (when used sarcastically) clear as mud
Dumm wie Bohnenstroh
Literal translation: As dumb as a bean straw
English equivalent: As thick as a brick
Die Kirche im Dorf lassen
This german idiom is very useful to use.
Literal translation: To leave the church in the village
English equivalent: To not get carried away
Schwein haben
Literal translation: To have a pig
English equivalent: To have a stroke of luck / to get lucky
At last you are able to use these basic German idioms and to sound more German. To improve Your German download learning German app.