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All About Feet, Part III

In Part II, we took a look at the German phrases mit einem Fuß im, am Fuß des, einen Fuß in etwas reinkriegen, auf falschem Fuß, and auf die Füße treten. In this lesson, the final Part III about feet expressions, let's check out some other German phrases using der Fuß.
 

Und das war der Moment, wo wir Angst bekamen, kalte Füße.

And that was the moment where we got scared, cold feet.

Caption 18, TEDx Der Supermarkt der Zukunft

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The idiom kalte Füße bekommen (to get cold feet) is the same as the English expression. It means, as the video implies, "to become afraid."

 

Ich nehme mein Herz und leg's dir zu Füßen.

I'll take my heart and lay it at your feet.

Caption 3, Deutsche Musik: Chris und Croissant

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Die Welt liegt uns zu Füßen.

The world lies at our feet.

Caption 21, Heino: Neue Volkslieder

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The phrase etwas zu Füßen legen means "to give something to somebody." Compare this to die Welt zu Füßen legen: To "have the world at your feet" means that you have many opportunities open to you, perhaps relating to career improvements.

 

Da können Sie sich dann hinsetzen und ganz entspannt die Füße hochlegen.

Then you can kick back and put your feet up in total relaxation.

Captions 45-46, extra 3: Das ehrliche Reisebüro

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The expression die Füße hochlegen, or "to put your feet up," may be literally just that, but it also is a general expression meaning "to rest."

 

Was ich absolut nicht gebrauchen kann, ist jemand, der alles, was mir etwas bedeutet, mit Füßen tritt.

What I absolutely don't need is someone who stomps on everything that means something to me.

Captions 5-6, Küss mich, Frosch: Sei kein Frosch

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Mit Füßen treten literally means "to kick with your feet " or "to step on something with your feet." But its figurative meaning is that somebody treating you or something of yours disrespectfully.

 

Und das war, bevor Sie mir diesen Quotenleichnam vor die Füße geworfen haben.

And that was before you threw that cadaver of a quota down at my feet.

Captions 53-54, Lerchenberg: Die Zombieklinik

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If somebody throws something at your feet (vor die Füße werfen), it means they've "burdened you with a responsibility."

 

Further Learning
Review Part I and Part II of the All About Feet series and see if you remember the meaning of the German phrases from these two previous lessons. If you want to dive deeper into the topic, read the article Redewendungen mit Fuß / Füße in German. You can also search for other videos using the search words Fuß, Füße, and Füßen on Yabla German to get a better feel for the contexts in which they are used.

Using um... zu... 

In English, when we talk about something being done for a purpose, we might use the phrase "in order to" or simply "to." In German, you will see the prepositions um and zu used in combination to express this, but they have to be implemented in a certain way.

In both of the examples below, one action is taken so that another may happen. Notice that the "to" in each English sentence could also be replaced with "in order to."

 

Wir lesen sie, um zu erfahren, was in der Welt passiert.

We read it to find out what's happening in the world.

Caption 2, Deutsch mit Eylin - Denk schnell!

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Die Seekuh muss mindestens einmal alle zwanzig Minuten auftauchen, um zu atmen.

The manatee must surface at least once every twenty minutes to breathe.

Captions 60-61, Die Top Ten - Die 12 freundlichsten Meerestiere der Welt

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In some more complex examples with direct objects and dependent clauses, you can see that there can actually be quite a lot of space between um and zu. However, zu and the infinitive are always at the very end. 

 

Und es wird benutzt, um Dinge und Lebewesen zu identifizieren.

And it's used to identify objects and living things.

Caption 49, Deutsch mit Eylin - Haben und Sein

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Wir beide arbeiteten,

We both worked

um neben der Schule etwas Geld zu verdienen.

to earn some money alongside school.

Captions 17-18, Konjugation - Das Verb „arbeiten“

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Da können Sie dann im Wartebereich das Mobiliar zerhacken,

With that, you can then chop up the furnishings in the waiting area

um sich ein Lagerfeuer zu machen.

to make yourselves a campfire.

Captions 16-17, Extra 3 - Das ehrliche Reisebüro

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Dann bist du nämlich ziemlich bald startklar,

Then pretty soon you'll be ready

um über Zukünftiges auf Deutsch zu sprechen.

to talk about the future in German.

Captions 63-64, Deutsch mit Eylin - Das Futur bilden

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Have you noticed that there is always a comma before um in these sentences that involve the um... zu... structure? This is a rather easy rule that you should keep in mind when writing. 

 

Further Learning
There are many examples of this construction on Yabla German, but why not also make up some sentences that are related to your life?