German Idioms

Not only will learning idioms improve your German comprehension, but it’ll also give you insight into German culture and history. German idioms are chock-full of references to popular German foods like sausages, bread rolls and mustard.

I Only Understand Train Station

German: Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof

Meaning: I don’t understand anything. It’s all Greek to me.

To Feel Like A Fish On The Dry

German: sich wie ein Fisch auf dem Trockenen fühlen

Meaning: Fish out of water

That’s Where The Dog Is Buried

German: Da liegt der Hund begraben

Meaning: That’s the heart of the matter

Press The Thumbs!

German: Die Daumen drücken!

Meaning: Keep your fingers crossed!

Where Fox And Hare Say Goodnight To One Another

German: Wo sich Fuchs und Hase gute Nacht sagen

Meaning: In the middle of nowhere

I’m Done And Ready

German: Ich bin fix und fertig

Meaning: I’m wiped out or I’m exhausted

You’re Taking Me On The Arm!

German: Du nimmst mich auf den Arm!

Meaning: You’re pulling my leg!

That’s A Cat’s Jump

German: Das ist ein Katzensprung

Meaning: It’s a stone’s throw away

Sleep Like A Groundhog

German: Schlafen wie ein Murmeltier

Meaning: Sleep like a log

To Talk Around The Hot Porridge

German: Um den heißen Brei herumreden

Meaning: To beat around the bush

You Can Take Poison On That

German: Da kannst du Gift drauf nehmen

Meaning: You can bet your life on that

Make An Ape Of Yourself

German: Sich zum Affen machen

Meaning: Make a fool of yourself

Kill Two Flies With One Swat

German: Zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe schlagen

Meaning: Kill two birds with one stone

To Ask For An Extra Sausage

German: Eine Extrawurst haben

Meaning: To ask for special treatment

The Bear Dances There

German: Da steppt der Bär

Meaning: It is a good party

The Air Burns!

German: Da brennt die Luft!

Meaning: Heated atmosphere – tension

To Have Tomatoes On One’s Eyes

German: Tomaten auf den Augen haben

Meaning: Not to see obvious things/to be blind

To Add Your Mustard To It

German: Seinen Senf dazugeben

Meaning: Give your opinion / give your two cents

To Know Something Like One’s Vest Pocket

German: Wie seine Westentasche kennen

Meaning: To know smth. like the back of one’s hand

Don’t Praise The Day Before The Evening

German: Man soll den Tag nicht vor dem Abend loben

Meaning: Don’t count your chicks before they hatch

Clear As Dumpling Broth

German: Klar wie Kloßbrühe

Meaning: Crystal clear

To Leave The Church In The Village

German: Die Kirche im Dorf lassen

Meaning: To not get carried away

To Have A Pig

German: Schwein haben

Meaning: To get lucky

Lies Have Short Legs

German: Lügen haben kurze Beine

Meaning: Lies don’t get you far

I Believe I Spider

German: Ich glaube ich spinne

Meaning: I think I’m going crazy

To Have A Cat

German: Einen Kater haben

Meaning: To have a hangover

You Can Steal Horses With Him

German: Mit jemandem Pferde stehlen

Meaning: Someone that is trustworthy / someone to do unsual things with

To Have A Bird

German: Einen Vogel haben

Meaning: To be a little cuckoo

To Look Too Deep Into The Glass

German: Zu tief ins Glas schauen

Meaning: To drink too much

Small Cattle Also Make Poop

German: Kleinvieh macht auch Mist

Meaning: Small wins also count/small wins add up

Under All Pig

German: Unter aller Sau

Meaning: Catastrophic

Under All Cannon

German: Unter aller Kanone

Meaning: To be really lousy

To Play The Offended Liver Sausage

German: Die beleidigte Leberwurst spielen

Meaning: Being unnecessarily pouty

To Give Someone A Basket

German: Einen Korb geben

Meaning: To be stood up

All In Butter

German: Alles in Butter

Meaning: Everything is ok

To Tie A Bear To Someone

German: Jemandem einen Bären aufbinden

Meaning: To lie to someone in a joking matter

To Hit Someone Over The Ear

German: Jemanden übers Ohr hauen

Meaning: To bamboozle/trick someone

Why Is The Banana Curved?

German: Warum ist die Banane krumm?

Meaning: I don’t know either

The Fish Stinks From The Head

German: Der Fisch stinkt vom Kopf her

Meaning: The problems start at the top (in an organization)

I Am Not A Cow To Be Milked

German: Ich bin keine Kuh, die man melken kann!

Meaning: You can’t take advantage of me

To Go Down With Drums And Trumpets

German: Mit Pauken und Trompeten durchfallen

Meaning: To fail gloriously, guns blazing

That Is An Argument Over The Emperor’s Beard

German: Das ist ein Streit um des Kaisers Bart

Meaning: To get lost in the details

To Put A Monkey Theater On Stage

German: Ein Affentheater aufführen

Meaning: To perform a charade

To Stick Under One Blanket

German: Unter einer Decke stecken

Meaning: To do something secretly with someone

The Egg Of Columbus

German: Das Ei des Kolumbus

Meaning: An easy solution to a problem that appears difficult to solve

Search/ Find For A Hair In The Soup

German: Haar in der Suppe suchen/finden

Meaning: To see a glass half empty

I Think My Pig Whistles

German: Ich glaube mein Schwein pfeift

Meaning: That’s absurd

I Even Eat A Broom

German: Da fresse ich glatt einen Besen

Meaning: I can’t believe it

There We Have The Salad

German: Da haben wir den Salat

Meaning: Now we have a problem

We Sit Beautifully In The Ink

German: Wir sitzen schön in der Tinte!

Meaning: We are in a bad situation

It Goes Off Like The Cat Of Schmitz’

German: Das geht ab wie Schmitz’ Katze

Meaning: It’s great, it’s a lot of fun

That Is Sausage For Me

German: Das ist mir Wurst

Meaning: I don’t care

The Poop Is Steaming

German: Die Kacke ist am dampfen

Meaning: We are in trouble

Sponge Over

German: Schwamm drüber

Meaning: Don’t worry about it

Now Butter At The Fish

German: Jetzt Butter bei die Fische

Meaning: To speak the truth, get to work, give extra effort

Human, Meier

German: Mensch, Meier

Meaning: Jeez!

Don’t Bring Me On The Palm Tree

German: Bring mich nicht auf die Palme

Meaning: Don’t get me started, don’t get me angry

To Laugh Into One’s Small Fist

German: Sich ins Fäustchen lachen

Meaning: To laugh up one’s sleeve – To rejoice or be amused secretly

That Is Jacket As Pants

German: Das ist Jacke wie Hose

Meaning: It doesn’t matter, there is no difference

To Put Everything On One Card

German: Alles auf eine Karte setzen

Meaning: Put your eggs in one basket

Bang And Fall

German: Knall und Fall

Meaning: Suddenly

Get The Cow Off The Ice

German: Die Kuh vom Eis holen

Meaning: Avert imminent danger/ to difuse a difficult situation

Those Are Two Pairs Of Boots

German: Das sind zwei Paar Stiefel

Meaning: Those are two different unrelated matters

To Turn The Skewer

German: Den Spieß umdrehen

Meaning: To switch roles / to retaliate

To See Something Through Pink Glasses

German: Etwas durch die rosarote Brille sehen

Meaning: To be naive / too optimistic

To Let Down One’s Pants

German: Die Hosen runterlassen

Meaning: To come clean

That’s Not The Yellow Of The Egg

German: Das ist nicht das Gelbe vom Ei

Meaning: To be insufficient / not the best

Here Is Dead Pants

German: Hier ist Tote Hose

Meaning: Nothing is happening here / It’s boring

Until The Dolls

German: Bis in die Puppen

Meaning: Until late

To Go Around The Corner

German: Um die Ecke gehen

Meaning: To go to the bathroom

To Shoot Cannons At Sparrows

German: Mit Kanonen auf Spatzen schießen

Meaning: Overkill

I Make Me From The Field

German: Ich mache mich vom Acker

Meaning: I am leaving

To Make The Fly

German: Die Fliege machen

Meaning: To leave

To Have The Nose/Snout Full

German: Die Nase/Die Schnauze voll haben

Meaning: To be fed up

Like A Rock In The Surf

German: Wie ein Fels in der Brandung

Meaning: Solid as a rock

Nonsense With Sauce

German: Quatsch mit Soße

Meaning: Total nonsense

That Is Not My Beer

German: Das ist nicht mein Bier

Meaning: That is none of my business

Until The Doctor Comes

German: Bis der Arzt kommt

Meaning: Excessively

To Not Have All Cups In The Cupboard

German: Nicht alle Tassen im Schrank haben

Meaning: To be bonkers

To Say Something Through The Flower

German: Etwas durch die Blume sagen

Meaning: To break something to someone gently

To Not Have A Buck

German: Keinen Bock haben

Meaning: To not be in the mood

Sport Is Murder

German: Sport ist Mord

Meaning: Sport can be dangerous /exhausting

That Is To Milk The Mice

German: Das ist zum Mäusemelken

Meaning: To become desperate

That Is The Hammer!

German: Das ist der Hammer!

Meaning: That’s awesome!

For An Apple And An Egg

German: Für einen Apfel und ein Ei

Meaning: A bargain / a steal

To Pull Something Out Of Someone’s Nose

German: Jemandem etwas aus der Nase ziehen

Meaning: To force conversation with someone

To Let The Pig Out

German: Die Sau rauslassen

Meaning: To party hard / to paint the town red

To Look Dumb From The Laundry

German: Dumm aus der Wäsche gucken

Meaning: To look surprised

To Dance On Someone’s Nose

German: Jemanden auf der Nase herumtanzen

Meaning: To walk all over someone / To be disrespectful

Stay Where The Pepper Is Grown!

German: Bleib wo der Pfeffer wächst!

Meaning: Stay away!

Oh You Green Nines!

German: Ach du grüne Neune!

Meaning: Good heavens!

I Sit On You

German: Ich setz auf dich

Meaning: I count on you

Three Cheeses High

German: Dreikäsehoch

Meaning: A small smart and curious child

Could’ve Could’ve Bike Chain

German: Hätte hätte Fahrradkette

Meaning: Hindsight is easier than foresight

To Not Be Able To Pass Someone The Water

German: Jemandem nicht das Wasser reichen können

Meaning: Can’t hold a candle to someone – inferior to someone or smth.

To Keep The Ball Leveled

German: Den Ball flach halten

Meaning: To not exaggerate

To Act Like A Dying Swan

German: Den sterbenden Schwan markieren

Meaning: To exaggerate injury/pain

The Morning Hour Has Gold In The Mouth

German: Morgenstund hat Gold im Mund

Meaning: The early bird catches the worm

That Seems Spanish To Me

German: Das kommt mir Spanisch vor

Meaning: Something is off/something is fishy

To Make A Polish

German: Einen Polnischen machen

Meaning: To sneak away without saying good-bye (e.g. at a party)

Here Goes The Post Mail Off!

German: Hier geht die Post ab!

Meaning: It’s all happening here!

It’s Five To Twelve

German: Es ist fünf vor zwölf

Meaning: It’s high time

To Have Hair On One’s Teeth

German: Haare auf den Zähnen haben

Meaning: To be confrontational/bossy

That Goes In The Pants!

German: Das geht in die Hose!

Meaning: It will fail!

To Promise The Blue Of The Sky

German: Das blaue vom Himmel versprechen

Meaning: To uninhibitedly promise the impossible

To Dance Out Of Line

German: Aus der Reihe tanzen

Meaning: To not stick to the rules/agreement

To Be The Little Tongue On The Scale

German: Das Zünglein an der Waage sein

Meaning: To hold the balance of power

To Smear Honey Around Someone’s Mouth

German: Jemandem Honig um den Mund schmieren

Meaning: To butter someone up

Stay With The Ball!

German: Bleib am Ball!

Meaning: Keep at it!

To Draw A Line Through Someone’s Calculation

German: Einen Strich durch die Rechnung machen

Meaning: To ruins someone’s plans

Everything Has An Ending, Only The Sausage Has Two

German: Alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat zwei

Meaning: Everything will come to an end eventually