German Sayings in English

German Sayings and the English Equivalent

Below is a table of German sayings translated into English. We have included the literal translation of the saying into English so you can truly understand what is being said. We hope you enjoy these, please add your own in the comments section below 🙂

Saying	Literal Translation	Meaning
Friede, Freude, Eierkuchen	freedom, joy and omelette	everything’s hunky-dory
Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof.	I only understand train station.	It’s all Greek to me.
Ich habe keinen Bock.	I have no buck.	I can’t be bothered.
Das ist nicht das gelbe vom Ei.	That’s not the yolk of the egg.	It’s not exactly brilliant.
ein Auge zudrücken	to close one eye	to make an exception
jemanden auf der Nase rumtanzen	to dance on someones nose	to walk all over someone
die Sau raus lassen	to let the sow out	to let your hair down
wenn alle Stricke reissen	if all strings tear	if all else fails
nicht alle Tassen im Schrank haben	not to have all mugs in the cupboard	to be one sandwich short of a picnic
Das kommt mir spanisch vor.	That sounds Spanish to me.	That doesn’t sound right to me.
Geh dahin wo der Pfeffer wächst!	Go where the pepper is growing!	Go take a long walk off a short pier!
Alles ist im grünen Bereich.	Everything is in the green area.	Everything is under control.
Ich seh schwarz.	I see black.	I have a bad feeling about that.
aus einer Mücke einen Elefanten machen	to make an elephant out of a mosquito	to make a mountain out of a molehill
Wer’s glaubt wird selig!	the one who believes it becomes blessed	A likely story!
mit dem linken Fuß aufstehen	got up with the left foot	to have “one of those days”
blöd aus der Wäsche gucken	to look silly out of the washing	to look silly
ganz aus dem Häuschen sein	to be out of his/her house	to be so excited
das Gleiche in grün	the same in green	one and the same thing
die Haare vom Kopf fressen	to eat the hair from someone’s head	to eat someone out of house and home