GermanSayings.com collects memorable German proverbs, idiomatic expressions and figurative phrases, with English translations and short commentary that explains their meaning, imagery, and cultural flavor.
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Traditional German proverbs and self-contained sayings that express general truths, observations, or cultural wisdom.
Closest English equivalent: You make your money when you buy, not when you sell.
Literal image: The profit lies in the purchase.
Meaning: In business or investing, profit often depends on buying at the right price from the start.
Example: Er verhandelt hart mit den Lieferanten, denn im Einkauf liegt der Gewinn.
Closest English equivalent: The beginning is always the hardest part.
Literal: Every beginning is difficult.
Meaning: Starting something new is often the most difficult stage.
Tiny language note: Aller Anfang is a compact, slightly elevated way of saying “every beginning” or “the beginning of everything.”
Literal: In darkness there is good whispering.
Meaning: Darkness in the literal sense, or lack of disclosure or transparency in the figurative sense, breed secret exchanges, arrangements and dealings.
Closest English equivalent: Darkness favors secret dealings. In English, the opposite of this might be "Sunlight is the best disinfectant," a phrase first used by attorney and soon-to-be U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis purportedly in a 1913 Harper's Weekly article.
Tiny language note: The verb munkeln here means to whisper although it can also mean to gossip or to spread a rumor.
Literal: Morning hour has gold in its mouth.
Meaning: The early part of the day is especially valuable; getting started early brings reward.
Closest English equivalent: The early bird catches the worm.
Tiny language note: Morgenstund is a compact, somewhat old-fashioned form meaning “morning hour.” The saying is normally singular: Morgenstund, not Morgenstunden.
Closest English equivalent: Breaking glass brings good luck.
Literal: Shards bring luck.
Meaning: Broken pottery or glass can be interpreted as a sign of good fortune.
Tiny language note: Scherben are shards or broken pieces. The saying is especially associated with celebratory customs, including weddings.
Closest English equivalent: Practice makes perfect.
Literal: Practice makes the master.
Meaning: Skill comes through repeated practice.
Tiny language note: Der Meister can mean “master,” “expert,” or “craftsman.” The saying emphasizes mastery through practice, not instant talent.
Common German expressions that convey figurative meaning, sometimes as complete statements and sometimes as flexible phrases used within a sentence.
Closest English equivalent: Don’t tempt fate.
Literal image: Don’t paint the devil on the wall.
Meaning: Don’t speak too darkly or pessimistically about something, as if naming the danger might help bring it about.
Example: Vielleicht geht alles schief. — Malen Sie nicht gleich den Teufel an die Wand!
Closest English equivalent: Go jump in a lake.
Literal image: Go to where the pepper grows.
Meaning: A dismissive way of telling someone to go far away and stop bothering you.
Example: Wenn du nur meckern willst, geh doch dahin, wo der Pfeffer wächst!
Closest English equivalent: Everything is fine.
Literal: Everything is in butter.
Meaning: Everything is all right; there is no problem.
Tiny language note: Alles in Butter is casual and reassuring. It is often used where English might say “all good” or “no worries.”
Closest English equivalent: It’s all Greek to me.
Literal image: I only understand train station.
Meaning: I do not understand anything at all.
Example: Bei dieser Erklärung verstehe ich nur Bahnhof.
Closest English equivalent: You can bet your life on it.
Literal: You can take poison on that.
Meaning: You can be absolutely certain that something is true or will happen.
Tiny language note: Darauf means “on that” or “about that.” The phrase is forceful and colorful, but normally idiomatic rather than literally threatening.
Closest English equivalent: Well, I’ll be damned.
Literal image: That makes the dog in the pan go crazy.
Meaning: An expression of great surprise, disbelief, or astonishment.
Example: Du hast im Lotto gewonnen? Da wird ja der Hund in der Pfanne verrückt!
Closest English equivalent: It dawns on me.
Literal: A light goes on for me.
Meaning: I suddenly understand something.
Tiny language note: The dative mir gives the sense that understanding comes to the speaker: Mir geht ein Licht auf — “Now I get it.”
Closest English equivalent: That’s where I failed.
Literal: At that I failed.
Meaning: That was the point, task, or obstacle that defeated me.
Tiny language note: Das ist mir nicht gelungen is another way to say that you failed, or that you were not successful, or one can say, das ist mir misslungen for “that turned out badly for me.”
Closest English equivalent: That’s the crux of the matter.
Literal image: That’s where the dog is buried.
Meaning: This is the real problem, the hidden cause, or the key point.
Example: Wir reden die ganze Zeit über die Kosten, aber da liegt nicht der Hund begraben.
Closest English equivalent: Now we’ve got a mess on our hands.
Literal image: Now we have the salad.
Meaning: Something has gone wrong, often because of a bad decision or avoidable mistake.
Example: Niemand hat die Rechnung bezahlt, und jetzt haben wir den Salat.
Closest English equivalent: That place is really lively.
Literal image: The bear is dancing there.
Meaning: A place or event is full of energy, activity, and excitement.
Example: Am Samstagabend steppt in der Innenstadt der Bär.
Figurative German phrases that are not complete sentences on their own but are used within speech to express specific ideas or situations.
Closest English equivalent: to know every trick in the book.
Literal image: to have been washed with all waters.
Meaning: to be very experienced, shrewd, and hard to fool, often because one has seen or tried many things before.
Example: Bei Vertragsverhandlungen ist sie mit allen Wassern gewaschen.
Closest English equivalent: to be blind to what is obvious.
Literal image: to have tomatoes on one’s eyes.
Meaning: to fail to notice something obvious.
Example: Die Schlüssel liegen direkt vor dir — hast du Tomaten auf den Augen?
Closest English equivalent: to tell someone a tall tale.
Literal image: to tie a bear onto someone.
Meaning: to trick someone by telling them something unbelievable or false.
Example: Das glaube ich dir nicht — du willst mir doch einen Bären aufbinden.
Closest English equivalent: to be tight-fisted/cheap.
Literal image: to have a hedgehog in one's pocket.
Meaning: to be stingy and reluctant to spend money.
Example: Er lädt nie jemanden ein — der hat wirklich einen Igel in der Tasche.
Closest English equivalent: to go to the dogs.
Literal: to come onto the dog.
Meaning: to decline badly, fall into ruin, or end up in poor circumstances.
Tiny language note: This expression is usually negative and can refer to a person, business, place, or situation that has deteriorated.
Closest English equivalent: to kick the bucket.
Literal image: to hand over the spoon.
Meaning: A humorous or informal way to say that someone has died.
Example: Keine Sorge, so schnell gebe ich den Löffel nicht ab.
Closest English equivalent: to leave someone in the lurch.
Literal: to leave someone in the stab.
Meaning: to abandon someone when they need help or support.
Tiny language note: The fixed phrase is im Stich, not in Stich. Example: Er hat mich im Stich gelassen — “He left me in the lurch.”
Closest English equivalent: Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
Literal: to come out of the rain into the eaves-drip.
Meaning: to escape one bad situation only to land in an even worse one.
Tiny language note: Die Traufe is the place where water drips from the edge of a roof. The image is not escape from rain into safety, but from rain into concentrated roof runoff.
Closest English equivalent: to get something wrapped up.
Literal: to bring something under roof and compartment.
Meaning: to finalize something, complete it, or bring it safely to conclusion.
Tiny language note: The full phrase often includes an object: Wir haben den Vertrag unter Dach und Fach gebracht — “We got the contract finalized.”
Closest English equivalent: Don’t get carried away.
Literal image: Leave the church in the village.
Meaning: Stay reasonable; do not exaggerate.
Example: Natürlich ist das ärgerlich, aber lass mal die Kirche im Dorf.
Closest English equivalent: to be barking up the wrong tree; to be completely on the wrong track.
Literal image: to be on the logging path.
Meaning: to be mistaken; to be pursuing the wrong idea, explanation, or solution.
Example:
Mein Mann hat versucht, den Sicherungskasten selbst zu reparieren,
aber ich fürchte, dass er damit völlig auf dem Holzweg ist. Als er
eine Pause gemacht hat, habe ich einen richtigen Elektriker
angerufen.
My husband tried to fix the electrical panel himself, but I’m
afraid he’s completely on the wrong track. When he took a break, I
called a real electrician.
Closest English equivalent: to keep one’s fingers crossed for someone.
Literal: to press one’s thumbs for someone.
Meaning: to wish someone luck or hope that something turns out well for them.
Tiny language note: The person being wished luck takes the dative: Ich drücke dir die Daumen — “I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you.”
Closest English equivalent: to lose one’s train of thought.
Literal: to lose the thread.
Meaning: to lose track of what one was saying, thinking, or doing.
Tiny language note: Der Faden means “thread.” German uses the image of losing the thread of a conversation, argument, or story.
Compact German words whose imagery, history, or emotional range makes them especially memorable in English.
Closest English equivalent: blind obedience; unquestioning obedience.
Literal image: corpse obedience; obedience like a cadaver.
Meaning: absolute, unthinking obedience to authority, with no independent judgment or moral resistance.
Example: Kadavergehorsam hat in einer offenen Gesellschaft keinen Platz.
Tiny language note: Der Kadaver means "carcass" or "cadaver," and der Gehorsam means "obedience." The compound is strongly critical, not neutral.
Closest English equivalent: wanderlust; longing for faraway places.
Literal image: far-sickness; an ache for the distance.
Meaning: a deep longing to travel, leave familiar surroundings, or be somewhere far away.
Example: Wenn ich Bilder vom Meer sehe, packt mich sofort das Fernweh.
Tiny language note: Das Fernweh is often presented as the counterpart to das Heimweh, homesickness. One pulls you home; the other pulls you away.