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Adel verpflichtet.
o Translation: Aristocracy obligates
o Meaning: [Said on third attempt, strike, or similar third-ness. It does not usually
invoke luck.]
o Equivalent: Third time is a charm.
o Meaning: The old and wise are less likely to get tricked.
Alte Liebe rostet nicht.
o Translation: Old love does not rust.
Altes Brot ist nicht hart, kein Brot, das ist hart.
o Translation: Old bread isn't hard, no bread, that is hard.
o Meaning: Fear will make you do things you would deem impossible in a different
situation.
Arbeit adelt.
o Translation: Work ennobles.
o Similar equivalent: Women are like wine; the older the better.
Aus Schaden wird man klug. (Darum ist einer nicht genug.)
o Translation: From damage one becomes intelligent. (Sometimes you need more of
these.)
o Equivalent: One learns from their mistakes.
[edit] B
Bäume wachsen nicht in den Himmel.
o Translation: Trees do not grow into the sky.
Bescheidenheit ist eine Zier, doch weiter kommt man ohne ihr.
o Translation: Modesty is an adornment, but you come further without it.
o Translation: Modesty may be a grace; forget it if you want to win the race.
o Meaning: Adornment is tought to the people but the succesful ones don't care.
(The rhyme is achieved by false German grammar. This symbolises, that people,
who don't care too much about rules will succeed).
Besser ein Spatz in der Hand, als eine Taube auf dem Dach.
o Translation: A sparrow in the hand is better than a pigeon on the roof
[edit] D
Dankbarkeit und Weizen gedeihen nur auf gutem Boden.
o Translation: Gratitude and wheat prosper only on good soil.
o Meaning: Something - clothes normally - fits very good, like specially made just
for that person
o English equivalent: It fits like a glove.
Das passt wie Arsch auf Eimer. (not a traditional proverb - slang)
o Translation: It fits like an ass on a bucket.
o Meaning: like the one above, but in a more vulgarly way and actually not meant
in case of clothes rather than in situations
Dem Hahn, der zu früh kräht, dreht man den Hals um.
o Translation: A cock that crows too early gets a twisted neck.
Demut, diese schöne Tugend, ehrt das Alter und die Jugend.
o Translation: Humility, this beautiful virtue, honors the age and the youth.
o Meaning.: Just do it. You will find out that it's fun while doing it.
Der Knochen kommt nicht zum Hund, sondern der Hund zum Knochen.
o Translation: The bone doesn't come to the dog, but the dog goes to the bone.
o Meaning: You must pursue your dreams, they won't come to you.
Der Lauscher an der Wand hört nur die eigene Schand'.
o Translation: The eavesdropper at the wall hears only his own dishonor.
o The variation puts the 1st part of the proverb grammatically into the past.
o Used when someone (usually German himself) has just made an embarrassing
German grammar mistake.
o General saying about the language.
o Meaning: To pay for something you haven´t seen or you know nothing about.
o Meaning: Piling up money won't serve you anything once you're dead.
o Meaning: Someone with limited means can only be considered superior by people
with even more limited means.
o Meaning: self-explanatory
o Equivalent: Blonds have more fun
o Meaning: You only see the details, but not the big picture.
[edit] E
Eile mit Weile.
o Translation: Hurry with leisure.
o Equivalent: Slow and steady wins the race. Haste makes waste. More haste, less
speed.
o English equivalent: Make haste slowly.
o Meaning: Do not look for faults when something has been received as a gift.
o Meaning: Used often as an excuse for trying something again after the first try or
to make somebody prove him/herself again.
o Meaning 2: A first time offence should be forgiven.
o Note: Sometimes extended to Einmal ist keinmal, aber zweimal ist dreimal
o Translation: Once is never, but twice is thrice. It all rhymes in German, as you can
see
o Note: Sometimes extended to Einmal ist keinmal, aber zweimal ist einmal zuviel.
o Meaning: A first time offence should be forgiven, but a second one will have
consequences.
o Meaning: Higher ethics are not of much use to people whose basic needs are not
met.
o those were the original meanings from the Threepenny's Opera, however the
saying got a life of its own and now in the semiliterate public means also and
primarily: Morals can wait until pockets are full.
o Similar: It's a dog-eat-dog world.
o Meaning: Maximum theoretical damage (like from laws, statues, future problem)
is not standard in practice, you usually get cut some slack.
Et hät noch immer joot jejange. (Es ist noch jedesmal gut gegangen.)
o Translation: It went well everytime.
[edit] F
Freunde in der Not, gehen 1000 auf ein Lot.
o Translation: In time of need, 1000 friends shrink to a lot (16.5 grams).
o Equivalent: Remember man and keep in mind: A faithful friend is hard to find.
[edit] G
Gebranntes Kind scheut das Feuer.
o Translation: The burned kid avoids the fire.
o Meaning: Gifts are final. (Ironically, they are not always under German law.)
[edit] H
Hochmut kommt vor dem Fall.
o Literal Translation: Arrogance comes before the fall.
[edit] I
Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof
o Translation: I only understand Trainstation
Iss, was gar ist, trink, was klar ist, und sprich, was wahr ist. (obsolescent)
o Translation: Eat what's been well cooked, drink liquids which are clear, and speak
what is true.
o More modern (and vulgar) form: Fressen was gar ist, trinken was klar ist, ficken
was da ist.
o Translation: Gorge what's been well cooked, drink what's available (alcohol)
["klar" -> clear OR available/ready (colloquial)] fuck what's around.
o Meaning: Silly saying either ironically loathing the taste of bread or those who
prefer the sausage.
o Meaning: Used when explaining why you could not discern one thing from the
other, either literally or as a metaphor. (Polite)
o other Meaning: If it is late enough and I am drunk enough I don´t care what my
one-night-stand looks like. (Vulgar)
[edit] J
Jacke wie Hose.
o Translation: Jacket like pants.
Jeder Jeck ist anders. Used mainly in the Rheinland (Cologne etc.).
o Translation: Every loony is different.
[edit] K
Sich nicht um ungelegte Eier kümmern.
o Literally: Don't worry about eggs that haven't been laid.
Kräht der Hahn auf dem Mist, ändert sich's Wetter oder 's bleibt wie's ist.
o Literally: If the cock crows on the dung heap, the weather will change or stay the
way it is.
o Meaning : Do not rely upon proverbs! or The opinion of loud but insignificant
people has no influence on the world.
o Meaning: Satirizing bad science or old wives' tales.
o Meaning: Don´t mess with other peoples business, better take care of your own.
Klug zu reden ist doch schwer, klug zu schweigen noch viel mehr
o Literally: It's indeed hard to talk cleverly, still harder to be silent cleverly
o Explanation: It's a pun: "macht Muh" is the german equivalent to "makes a moo
(sound)". The grammatical plural form would be "machen Mühe" [make moo
(sounds)] but something "macht Mühe" means "gives trouble", "makes work"
["Mühe = trouble, effort ...]
[edit] L
Leben wie Gott in Frankreich.
o Lit. translation: To live like God in France. (Sometimes, other
Countries/Regions/Cities etc. than France are used. The meaning stays the same:
"To live like God in ...", or to live the comfortable life of people in ...")
o English equivalent: To live the life of Riley.
Lieber ein Ende mit Schmerzen als Schmerzen ohne Ende. or Lieber ein Ende mit
Schrecken als ein Schrecken ohne Ende. ( Sophie Scholl )
o Translation: Better an end with pain than pain without end. or Better an end with
horror than a horror without end.
o Meaning: Cut your losses.
[edit] M
Man sollte das Fell des Bären nicht verkaufen, bevor man ihn erlegt hat.
o Translation: One shouldn't sell the bear's fur before it has been killed.
o In German this is a pun: Man (one) ist (is), was (what) man (one) isst (eats).
Mit Geduld und Spucke fängt man eine Mucke [actually: Mücke]. (humorous,
obsolescent)
o Lit. translation: With patience and spit one gets the midge (gnat/mosquito).
o English equivalent: You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.
[edit] N
Neue Besen kehren gut ... (Part 1 often used without part 2)
o Translation: New brooms clean well...
o Meaning: ...but old things can still be better on the second look.
o Meaning: People who do not possess willpower and individuality will simply
follow the majority, doing what everyone else does, without thinking.
[edit] O
["ohne" = "without"]
o No pain, no gain.
o No mon(ey), no fun.
o Alternative meaning: Paper will listen when people won't. Write a diary.
[edit] Q
Quatsch keine Opern. (slang, derog, not traditional)
o Translation: Don´t talk operas.
[edit] R
Reden ist Silber, Schweigen ist Gold
o Lit.: Talking is Silver, Silence is Gold
Rein in die Kartoffeln - raus aus den Kartoffeln. oder Mal so, mal so oder ... wie das
Fähnchen im Winde. oder Mal hüh, mal hott
o Literal translation: [Jump] into the potatoes, [jump] out of the potatoes.
o Meaning: Do not meddle in affairs or careers which are too high over your head
or social standing.
o Meaning: In medieval times peoples living in free cities were free from a
sovereign. They were not bond-slaves like the people in rural areas. So living in a
city - ´breathing city air´- meant to be free from bond-slavery to a sovereign.
People living in cities could express their own opinion without being harassed. If
people escaped to a free city and lived there for one year and one day, they were
free of any previous bond to a sovereign.
[edit] T
Taten statt Wörter! or Taten sagen mehr als Wörter. or Lass Wörtern Taten folgen! or
Lass Taten sprechen!
o Translation: Actions instead of words! or Actions speak louder than words" (lit.
Actions say more than words.) or Let actions result from your words! or Let
actions speak!
o Meaning: A little less conversation - a little more action.
[edit] U
Übung macht den Meister
o Translation: Practice makes the master.
[edit] V
Vater werden ist nicht schwer, Vater sein dagegen sehr (Wilhelm Busch)
o Translation: It's easy to become a father, but hard to be one
o Meaning: There may be more than one way to solve this problem.
o Or: In the end, it doesn't matter how you reached your aim.
o Or: You cannot really avoid or miss [whatever Rome stands for]
o Meaning: You're in a sticky situation where you don't have much of a choice
among a wide variety of gourmet meals. In a wider sense, you've got to make do
with some unpleasant prospect because the alternative is even worse.
o English equivalent: It's sink or swim.
o There's an outdated expression in English that was current at the time of the Civil
War: "Root, hog, or die!"
o Meaning: Going from one unpleasant situation into one that is even worse. The
idea seems to be that you are coming from the rain to stand under the edge of the
eaves, where the water collected from the whole roof is going to pour onto your
head.
o English equivalent: Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
o Meaning: The outcome of your effort is related to the effort you put into it. If you
don't try, you aren't going to get any results.
o English equvivalent: You can't make something out of nothing.
[edit] W
Was dem einen recht ist, ist dem anderen billig.
o Translation: "What's right for one, is fair for the other."
o English equivalent: "What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander."
o Meaning: Used when criticizing someone for refusing to try new ways of doing
something.,
Was man sich eingebrockt hat, das muss man auch auslöffeln.
o Literal translation: "What one dishes out, he must also eat."
o Meaning: If something (usually bad) true has been said about you, better to accept
it than to disagree.
o Meaning2: If something bad has been said about someone, this person reacts
angrily only if it is true.
o English equivalent: "If the shoe fits, wear it."
o English equivalent2: ??
o Meaning: Secret or criminal acts can only be kept a secret as long as the
perpetrators do not quarrel among themselves.
Wer A sagt, muss auch B sagen. (Plattdeutsche Variante: De A seggt, mut ok B seggen")
o Translation: If you say A, you have to say B as well.
o Meaning: If you want or assert A and it turns out to involve B, you have to put up
with B too.
o Meaning: Follow through [don't wimp out]
Wer den Pfennig nicht ehrt, ist des Talers nicht wert oder Wer den Cent nicht ehrt, ist
den Euro nicht wert.
o Translation: You aren't worth the Taler (ancient German currency) if you don't
honor the Pfennig. (f. G. c.) or You aren't worth the Euro if you don't honor the
Cent.
o Meaning: Slightly oponionated reply to a refused offer. "So you are provided for
already")
o Meaning: Used in situations where somebody who desires something must make
himself heard, or lose some benefit ("Who wants the last slice of pizza?").
o Similar English idioms: "Use it or lose it." "Speak now or forever hold your
peace."
Wein auf Bier, das rat' ich dir. Bier auf Wein, das lass sein. (humorous)
o Translation: "Wine on beer, I recommend to you. Beer on wine, leave alone."
o Meaning: "Cider on beer, never fear; beer upon cider, makes a bad rider."
o Alternate: "Liquor before beer, all is clear; beer before liquor, get sicker and
sicker."
o American: "Beer on whiskey, pretty risky; Whiskey on beer, have no fear." or
"Liquor before beer, you're in the clear; beer before liquor, never been sicker."
o Meaning: Bad language may have other causes than innate bad character.
o Meaning: "E.g. good friends, who are inseparable or/and make all together, are
like pitch and sulphur."
o Meaning: If something non-trivial gets done there are non-perfect aspects to it.
o Meaning: "If you don't want to listen to what I tell you, you will get to feel a
spanking." (as a threat to children)
o Other Meaning: "I told you better but you didn't listen. Now you have to deal with
the problem."
o English equivalent: "Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no
other." (Benjamin Franklin)
o Meaning: "If you stop moving (in both a physical and an intellectual meaning) it
gets harder to start moving again."
o English proverb: "A rolling stone gathers no moss."
Wenn das Wörtchen wenn nicht wär, wär mein Vater Millionär.
o Lit. translation: "If there wasn't the little word if, my father would be a
millionaire."
o Meaning: a) "There is no use in thinking about impossible possibilities.
Concentrate on reality."
o English proverb: "If wishes were horses..."
o Meaning: Said when someone sees the way he must go (the obvious solution), yet
he's afraid to go it.
[edit] Z
Zeit ist Geld.
o Translation: Time is money. (Henry Ford)
Zwei Seelen und ein Gedanke, Zwei Herzen, und ein Schlag. (obsolescent)
o Translation: Two souls, one thought, Two hearts, one beat.
Zwei Dumme, ein Gedanke. , also: Zwei Kranke, ein Gedanke. (vulgar) (nontraditional)
o Translation: Two idiots, one thought.
o Explanation: Usually said referring to oneself and someone else who has had the
same idea. Generally considered banter and thus not as offensive as it may sound.
o Meaning: Two people had the same (dumb or obvious) idea at the same time.
o Explanation: "Flasche" can mean "bottle" or "twerp" (idiot). Less offensive than
"Zwei Kranke, ein Gedanke", but may not be understood as easily even by native
speakers.