Meine Lieblingswörter und Redewendungen
Thanks to Hitler’s ranting speeches and Hollywood WWII movies, the German language has a less than ideal reputation as a foreign language. Among most people who do not speak it (and even among some who do), German is regarded as harsh and unpoetic. French? Voila! Spanish? A bit fast but cool sounding. ¿Cómo no? Italian? Ciao bella! Of all the major European languages, German, rated for its sound and appearance, probably places last.
Unlike British espionage author John le Carré (David John Moore Cornwell, 1931-2020), who fell in love with German “at first sound,” most English-speakers do not. Le Carré credits a good teacher, and that while WWII was raging! The future diplomat and spy novelist listened to recordings of German poetry spoken by classical actors on old-fashioned records that made clicking, popping sounds as they played.
To quote Charlemagne: “To have another language is to possess a second soul.” He might have added that to teach another language is to implant a second soul.
– John le Carré in the GUARDIAN article cited/linked above
And German poetry (Lyrik) can indeed be beautiful. My own high school students read and listened to verse written by Brecht, Goethe, Heine, Hesse, Rilke, Schiller, and other German poets. They also read and heard literary excerpts by witty German authors: Kästner, Morgenstern, Tucholsky, Alexander Spoerl. Yes, Germans can be humorous and clever! Try an audio book with works by the above writers.
But please don’t fall into the trap of accepting the false notion that German can’t be beautiful.
So, here are some of my personal German-language favorites – words and phrases that strike me as artful, amusing, beautiful, or all three.
German Language Favorites
Listed alphabetically
Abendland – Morgenland (das)
(“evening land” – “morning land”)
the West (Occident) – the East (Asia, Orient)
blau adj. / Blau, das
blue – The color blue in German has many different meanings, as in these expressions:
die blaue Stunde twilight (“the blue hour”)
ein blauer Brief 1. notice of termination; 2. failure notice/warning (school)
ins Blaue reisen/träumen to travel/dream aimlessly (“into the blue”)
Er ist blau. He’s drunk.
ein blaues Auge a black eye (black and blue)
Sie hat schöne blaue Augen. She has pretty blue eyes.
ein blauer Fleck a bruise (“a blue spot”)
blaue Flecken haben to be bruised up (“have blue spots”)
mit einem blauen Auge davonkommen to get off lightly (with only a black eye)
einen Vogel haben
(“to have a bird”)
to be crazy, not be all there
Er hat einen Vogel.
He’s got a screw loose. He’s nuts/crazy.
[This expression goes back to an old belief that mental problems were caused by birds nesting in someone’s head.]
jemandem den Vogel zeigen
to tap one’s forehead with a finger, indicating that someone is crazy or stupid
[This is a punishable offense in Germany, for which you can be fined.]
gang und gäbe sein
to be the normal/usual thing
Bei uns ist das gang und gäbe.
For us that’s just the normal way of doing things.
Gassi gehen
(“to go down the lane” – related to Gasse, lane, alley)
to walk the dog, take the dog out, go walkies (Brit.)
grell (adj./adv.)
shrill, piercing (voice, sound); garish, gaudy (color); loud, flashy (style); glaring, dazzling (light, sun)
grellbunt gaudily/brightly colored
grellrot bright/garish red
grün adj. / Grün, das
green – The color green is often used as in English, but here are some variations:
alles im grünen Bereich
(“everything in the green zone”)
All is running well. Everything’s okay.
Das ist dasselbe in Grün.
(“That’s the same thing in green.”)
It’s all the same thing. – There’s no real difference.
grüne Welle
(“green wave”)
coordinated/synchronized traffic signals
Grüne Welle bei 70 km/h.
Signals synchronized for 70 km per hour.
Grüner wird’s nicht.
It won’t get any greener.
(Said to a driver who is slow to react to a green light.)
The Wernesgrüner brewery in Wernesgrün, Germany dates back to 1436, 56 years before Columbus sailed to the New World. Referring to the green in its name, it uses the slogan above. IMAGE: Wernesgrüner Brauerei
heimlich, still und leise
(“secretly, quietly, and softly”)
furtively, like a thief in the night, on the hush-hush, on the QT, on the sly; quietly and unobtrusively
Heimlich, still und leise schlich der Dieb durch das Haus.
Furtively the thief crept through the house.
Heimlich, still und leise renovieren wir das Hotel, während sein normaler Betrieb weiterläuft.
Quietly in the background we are renovating the hotel while its normal operations continue.
Jahrgang, der
(“year of birth/manufacture/birth/issue/”)
Sie ist Jahrgang 1985.
She was born in 1985.
Er ist mein Jahrgang.
He and I were born in the same year.
Welcher Jahrgang ist dieser Wein?
Which vintage/year is this wine?
Kaiserwetter, das
(“emperor’s weather”)
glorious weather; blue skies and sunshine
Wir hatten Kaiserwetter in Wien
We had glorious weather in Vienna.
Considered dated, ‘Kaiserwetter’ is still used in a nostalgic, humorous way.
Mangelware sein
(Mangel + Ware > “shortage” + “commodity”)
to be scarce/be in short supply/not grow on trees
Gute Ärzte und Ärztinnen sind Mangelware.
Good doctors don’t grow on trees.
Sonne ist dagegen Mangelware.
On the other hand, sunshine will be hard to find.
Ohrwurm, der
(“ear worm”; earwig zool.)
ein Ohrwurm sein
to be a catchy tune/melody
Papagei, der
parrot
I just like the sound of this German word. The German probably comes from Old French papegai (le perroquet in modern French). The Spanish is similar: el papagayo.
Er plappert alles wie ein Papagei nach.
He parrots everything. He repeats everything like a parrot.
plappern
to prattle, chatter; talk nonsense; blab, blather
Schmetterling, der
butterfly
Like Papagei above, I just like the sound of the German word. It also regularly tops lists of favorite words by German-speakers.
NOTE: A monarch butterfly is actually ein Monarchfalter in German. Latin name: Danaus plexippus (der Falter = butterfly, not “moth”; divided into Tagfalter [day] and Nachtfalter [night]; the monarch is a Tagfalter)
A string of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) at Pismo Preserve in San Luis Obispo County, California. PHOTO: Steve Corey (Wikimedia Commons)
Schnapsfahne, die
(“schnapps flag”)
booze breath; smelling like a whiskey bottle
NOTE: The German noun der Schnaps refers to distilled spirits of any kind with a high alcohol content, not just schnapps in the English sense.
Schnapsidee, die
(“schnapps idea”)
crackpot/crazy idea, stupid notion
NOTE: The German word reflects the aspect of thinking influenced by too much alcohol.
schwarzfahren/Schwarzfahrer|in
(“to ride/travel black”/”black rider”)
to ride without a ticket/fare dodger
NOTE: The idea is similar to “black” in “black market,” implying illegality.
der Tapetenwechsel
(“change of wallpaper”)
a change of scenery/surroundings
überfragt/Da bin ich überfragt.
(“over-asked” / “There I’m over-asked.”)
stumped/You’ve got me there. That I don’t know.
zwischen den Jahren
(“between the years”)
the period of time between Christmas and New Year’s Day
In Swiss German it’s called Altjahrswoche (“old-year-week”).
Obviously there are more great German words and expressions. Do you have a favorite to add? Please leave a comment below.
– HF
Also see our German Way English-German/German-English glossaries and other language-related pages: German Language.
I’m an English speaker who finds German very beautiful. Especially when spoken by women and children.