Like English, German has many idioms that involve parts of the body. If you read our past newsletter about idioms that relate to feet, you can see the German idiom von Kopf bis Fuß — from head to foot — and note right away that there is a similar idiom in English. Like its German counterpart, "from head to toe" also means "completely" or "thoroughly."

Often, idioms with the same meaning in both languages will be similar, but not identical. Have a look:

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Kopf hoch! Wie heißt es doch so schön?

Head up! What is it indeed that they say?

Caption 34, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Die Prinzessin auf der Erbse

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In English, we say "chin up" when we are encouraging someone to remain optimistic. Another expression for this in German is halt die Ohren steif.

Wir drücken die Daumen.

We'll press the thumbs.

Caption 40, Die Pfefferkörner - Eigentor

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In English, we "keep our fingers crossed" when we are wishing for a positive outcome.

Essen kann er auch in Ruh'. Vater drückt ein Auge zu.

He can eat in peace. Father turns a blind eye.

Caption 4, Der Struwwelpeter - Ausschnitte

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"To turn a blind eye" is the equivalent expression in English.

Und jetzt willst du für ihn den Kopf hinhalten?

And now you want to hold your head out for him?

Caption 24, Die Pfefferkörner - Endspurt

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English-speakers wouldn't "hold their head out" for someone and take the blame for them. Instead, they would "stick their neck out."

„Eine Hand wäscht die andere“ bedeutet,

"One hand washes the other" means

dass Hilfsbereitschaft auf Gegenseitigkeit beruht.

that helpfulness is based on reciprocity.

Captions 50-51, Cettina erklärt - Sitten und Bräuche

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In English, there is an expression with a similar meaning, which is "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours."

Further Learning
You will find more idioms on Yabla German (for example, in this video) and on the Yabla German lessons page. Look up the following German idioms and see if you can figure out their English equivalents: sich ins Knie schießen, jemandem auf die Füße treten, sich Hals über Kopf verlieben, jemandem ein Dorn im Auge sein, das Herz auf der Zunge tragen, and viel um die Ohren haben. 

The German adjectival prefix Extra- can often be translated as the English adjective "extra." If you wish to use "extra" as an adjective in German, it is not usually a freestanding word (excepting certain anglicisms such as extra dry) but is instead added to whatever noun is being modified. Let's first take a look at examples of the German adjectival prefix Extra-:

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Niemand hat einen Extrapullover für Catherine? Leute!

Nobody has an extra pullover for Catherine? People!

Caption 49, Deutschkurs in Tübingen - Die Konjunktion „dass“

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Ein Extrapaar Schuhe ist auch immer praktisch.

An extra pair of shoes is also always practical.

Caption 21, Christiane - fährt in den Urlaub

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Note that it would not be correct to write extra Pullover or extra Paar, instead the adjectival prefix Extra- is placed together with the noun: Extrapullover and Extrapaar. In some cases where extra is required to modify another adjective, it is still written in lower case, such as in extragroß ("extra large") and extrastark ("extra strong").

The German adverb extra, however, is usually a false friend, meaning it is written the same way in both languages but has a different meaning:

Die hab ich dir jetzt extra geholt, jetzt komm schon.

I got it especially for you, now come on.

Caption 58, Die Pfefferkörner - Eigentor

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Ach so, stimmt! Extra hergeflogen aus Saudi-Arabien.

Oh, that's right! Especially flown here from Saudi Arabia.

Caption 30, Fasching - mit Cettina

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As you see in the above examples, the German adverb extra is usually translated into English as "especially." However, sometimes the word "especially" is a bit too simplistic for the context, and it is better to use a more tailored translation such as "for the occasion" or "for that reason": 

Manfred Schoof hat extra 'ne einfache Melodie komponiert.

Manfred Schoof composed a simple melody for the occasion.

Caption 5, Bibliothek der Sachgeschichten - Müllmännerlied

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Und die Hölzer kommen dort meist nicht

And the wood there does not usually come

von extra angelegten Plantagen.

from plantations cultivated for that reason.

Caption 27, Umweltschutz - WWF zur Rettung des Regenwaldes

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Further Learning
Come up with a good phrase that you can use as a mnemonic device for remembering the difference between the adjectival prefix Extra- and the adverb extra. Here's such an example that works for me — as do most things chocolate:

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Ich habe einen Extrariegel Schokolade extra für dich mitgenommen.
I've taken an extra bar of chocolate along especially for you.

Look for other examples of the German adjectival prefix Extra- and adverb extra in use in a real-world context on Yabla German and learn some other ways in which the word can be used.