German Idioms & Idiomatic Expressions (and their English Equivalents) Flashcards
To learn German idiomatic expressions, impress native speakers, and learn the English equivalent for translation purposes.
“press the thumbs”
“Die Daumen drucken” - English equivalent: to keep your fingers crossed
“[something]… like a pig” (exp: drunk like a pig)
[etwas] wie ein Schwein (z.B. voll vie ein Schwein) - English: drunk as a skunk
“to let the pig out”
“die Sau rauslassen - English: to let your hair down
“an eyeblink, please”
“ein Augenblick, bitte” - English: gimme a sec
“recognize my pigs by their walk”
“erkenne meine Schweine am Gang” - English: to be familiar with a situation or person
“to have pig”
“Schwein haben” - English: to be a lucky duck (to be lucky)
“we have not yet kept pigs together”
“wir haben zusammen noch keine Schweine gehütet” - English: I don’t know you like that yet (we haven’t known each other long enough to forgo formality)
“I think my pig is whistling”
“Ich glaube mein Schwein pfeift” - English: to be totally astonished
“pig-cold”
“schweinekalt” (adj) - English: cold as fuck
“pig-money”
“Schweinegeld” (noun) - English: buku money, a shitload of money
“that’s where the dog’s buried”
“da liegt der Hund begraben” - English: that’s the heart of the matter
“there weren’t any pigs there”
“kein Schwein war da” - English: nobody showed up
“where fox and hare say goodnight to one another
“wo sich Fuchs und Hase gute Nacht sagen - English: in the middle of nowhere
“that’s sausage to me”
“das ist mir Wurst” - English: I don’t care, I don’t give a shit
“she has a bird”
“sie hat einen Vogel” - English: she’s crazy (we might say, she’s a crazy cat lady)
“I only understand ‘train station’”
“ich verstehe nur Bahnhof” - English: it’s all Greek to me (I don’t understand)
“everything has an end, only the sausage has two”
“alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat zwei” - English: all good things must end
“don’t play the insulted sausage”
“spielt nicht die beleidigte Leberwurst” - English: don’t have a cow (don’t overreact)
“my German is under all pig”
“mein Deutsch ist unter aller Sau” - English: When it comes to speaking German, I’m all thumbs (I don’t speak German well); can use any language
“life is no pony farm”
“das Leben ist kein Ponyhof” - English: life isn’t all sunshine and roses (life isn’t always pretty)
“to bite into the grass”
“ins Gras beißen” - English: to bite the dust (fail spectacularly, lose, die)
“to sleep like a woodchuck”
“schlafen wie ein Murmeltier” - English: to sleep like a baby (sleep really well)
“you can tell that to your grandmother”
“das kannst du deiner Oma erzählen” - English: bullshit, yeah right, would you swear on your mother? (I don’t believe you)
“so-so, mediocre”
“Nul acht funfzehn (08-15) - English: less than great, good enough for government work (references a WWII-era rifle that was notorious for being mediocre on the battlefield)
“to leave the church in the village”
“Lassen die Kirche im Dorf” - English: no need to get carried away, stay cool
“what little Johnny can’t learn, old John will never learn”
“has Hänschen nicht lernt, lernt Hans nimmermehr” - English: you can’t teach an old dog new tricks
“to talk around the hot porridge”
“um den heißen Brei herumreden” - English: to beat around the bush, to skirt the issue (to not talk directly about something)
“you can take poison on that”
“da kannst du Gift drauf nehmen” - English: you can bet your life on it (it’s certain)
“to make an ape of oneself”
“sich zum Affen machen” - English: to make a fool of oneself
“kill two flies with one swat”
“zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe schlagen” - English: to kill to birds with one stone (to achieve two outcomes from a single action)
“to ask for an extra sausage”
“eine Extrawurst verlangen” - English: to ask for special treatment
“put heaven and hell in motion”
“Himmel und Hölle in Bewegung setzen” - English: to move heaven and earth (do whatever it takes)
“the bear dances there”
“da steppt der Bär” - English: that’s where the party’s at
“to have tomatoes on one’s eyes”
“tomaten auf den Augen haben” - English: to be blind to, oblivious to
“to hit the nail on the head”
“den Nagel auf den Kopf treffen” - English: to hit the nail on the head (to be exactly right)
“to go like warm rolls”
“weggehen wie warme Semmeln” - English: to sell like hot cakes (to sell out really quickly)
“to add their mustard”
“seinen Senf dazugeben” - English: to put one’s two cents in (to give one’s opinion)
“to know something like one’s waistcoat pocket”
“etwas wie seine Westentasche kennen” - English: to know it like the back of your hand (to be very familiar with something)
“don’t praise the day before the evening”
“Man soll den Tag nicht vor dem Abend loben” - English: don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched (don’t anticipate something that hasn’t happened)
“to chew [someone’s] ear off
“[jemand] ein Ohr abkauen” - English: to talk someone’s ear off
“clear as dumpling broth”
“klar wie Kloßbrühe” - English: crystal clear (I completely understand)
“as dumb as a bean straw”
“dumm wie Bohnenstroh” - English: dumb as a box of hair, thick as a brick (not intelligent)
