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 chickens 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 können
Meaning: Someone that is trustworthy / someone to do unusual 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 (vulgar)
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: Jemandem einen Korb geben
Meaning: To turn someone down / to reject someone
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 manner
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 For/Find A Hair In The Soup
German: Das Haar in der Suppe suchen/finden
Meaning: To nitpick / to find fault with something
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 (vulgar)
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 all 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 defuse 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: Jemandem 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 ruin 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