Understanding which words to capitalize in German is, for the most part, easier than English. In German, all nouns are capitalized. There are, however, a few cases where words that at first appear to be nouns are not capitalized. When used with the verbs sein, bleiben, or werden, the words angst, leid, pleite, recht, and schuld become predicate adjectives and are written lower case:
Sie hat geantwortet. „Lieber Unbekannter, Sie haben völlig recht.“
She replied. "Dear stranger, you are absolutely right".
Caption 43, Die Pfefferkörner - Gerüchteküche
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As a noun, the word das Recht is written starting with upper case, but in this case the word recht is in fact a predicate adjective, not a noun. If you deconstruct the sentence and replace recht with a noun, it is immediately clear that the sentence makes no sense with anything but an adjective.
Aber hey, ich bin nicht schuld dran, ganz bestimmt nicht.
But hey, I am not to blame for it, definitely not.
Caption 55, Rapucation - Guten Appetit
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Here again, in some expressions with the verb "to be" (sein), what may appear to be a noun is actually a predicate adjective. So other than these few exceptions, capitalizing nouns in German is easy. If only noun genders were so simple!
Further Learning
Read more here about the rules of German upper and lower case. Search on Yabla German for forms of the words listed above in a real world context.
In this week's new video Mama arbeitet wieder, a construction company boss tells his foreman:
Aber bevor wir hier abziehen,
But before we pull out here,
lassen wir's noch mal richtig krachen [umgangssprachlich], was?
we'll make a really big noise [slang, celebrate], right?
Caption 4, Mama arbeitet wieder - Kapitel 2: Kompromisse zu finden ist nicht einfach
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The verb krachen is defined by the Duden dictionary as primarily "einen Krach verursachen, auslösen" or "causing a loud noise." Its slang meanings are "to have a fight with somebody" (Krach haben) or "to suffer a bankruptcy" (Krach erleiden), the latter similar to the "crash" of the stock market in English. The verb combination krachen lassen, however, usually means "to celebrate."
Da wünsch ich euch viel Spaß! Lasst es krachen [Umgangssprache]!
Then I hope you have a lot of fun! Make some noise [celebrate]!
Caption 70, Silvester - Vorsätze für das neue Jahr - Linkenheim
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A variation to the translation "to celebrate" is made in the case where a car really "makes some noise":
Und die lassen es in der brandneuen,
And they'll really, in the brand new
über zweihundert PS starken A-Klasse so richtig krachen.
over two hundred horsepower strong A-Class, make some noise [idiom: "cut loose"].
Captions 16-17, Mercedes Benz - Michael Schumacher und Nico Rosberg bei der Nationalmannschaft
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So the slang term "krachen lassen" is usually used in connection with some kind of celebration, such as a birthday party or New Year's celebration. The New Year may be some time away, but that gives you a chance to get some practice celebrations going in the meantime. Lass es krachen!
Further Learning
Search for more videos on German Yabla that use the verb krachen and watch the entire video to improve your party vocabulary!
Around 45% of English words have French origins and most of them, such as art, competition, force, machine, money, police, publicity, role, routine, and table are everyday English words spoken with English pronunciation. There are, however, a number of French words that are commonly used in English that have retained their French character and are unmistakably "French sounding" to the English listener. These foreign words that have been incorporated into the native language are called Loanwords (or Lehnwörter in German).
German too has its share of French loanwords, or Gallicisms, although German vocabulary has fewer words of French origin than English does.
Was Avantgardistisches? -Genau, genau, so kann man das sehen.
Something avant-garde? -Exactly, exactly, you can look at it like this.
Caption 16, Rat für nachhaltige Entwicklung - Mode gegen Armut
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Some terms come from cultural milieus such as art. In avantgardistisch, the German version of "avant-garde," the hyphen has been dropped, forming a single word.
Der Mohn kommt in die Vinaigrette, ein wenig Honig dazu.
The poppy seeds go into the vinaigrette, a little honey's added to it.
Caption 56, Kochhaus Berlin - Rucola-Salat-Rezept
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As with English, many French loanwords come from the culinary world. The German Vinaigrette is capitalized as a noun, but otherwise identical to the English and the French.
Du hast für PeTA 'ne ziemlich coole neue Kampagne geschossen.
You shot a pretty cool new campaign for PeTA.
Caption 30, Tierfreund Mario Barth - Der Tätowierer der Stars
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Many other French loanwords in German come from politics and military jargon. In this last example, the spelling of the original French word campagne is Germanized as die Kampagne, and the English spelling "campaign" is different as well! In most cases, however, loanwords retain the original spellings and diacritical marks.
Further Learning
Go to the German Wikipedia listing of Gallicisms, and when you find a familiar word, do a video search on Yabla German and see how the French loanword is used in German.
In a video launched last week, German comedian Bastian Pastewka — yes, the same actor who narrates the animated Märchen series — plays himself in an eponymous TV series. In one scene, another actor says:
Das ist Bastian Pastewka, einer der beleibtesten Komiker Deutschlands.
On a first reading, you might think the actor saying that Pastewka is one of the "most beloved comedians in Germany," but if you look closer, you see that word is not beliebtesten but rather beleibtesten:
Das ist Bastian Pastewka,
That is Bastian Pastewka,
einer der beleibtesten Komiker Deutschlands.
one of the most obese comedians of Germany.
Caption 12, Pastewka - Neue Serie für Kessler
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So simply switching the letters "ie" with "ei" results in the word changing from beliebt (beloved) to beleibt (obese). Rearranging the letters in a word to form a word with a different meaning is called an anagram. Such subtleties are often the basis for humorous wordplays or Wortspiele in many languages.
Other kinds of wordplays focus on associating two words in unexpected ways. In the following example from the animated Piggeldy und Frederick series, the young Piggeldy notices a sheep bleating "baa", which in German is transcribed as mäh. He then says:
Es hat eben gesagt, was es den ganzen Tag tut.
It just said what it does the whole day.
Es mäht [ein Wortspiel] das Gras.
It's mowing [a play on words] the grass.
Captions 33-34, Piggeldy und Frederick - Das Schaf
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So in German, the word for a sheep's "baa" (mäh) is similar to the German verb for mowing (mähen). Using an incorrect word in place of a word with a similar sound is called a malapropism.
In a video celebrating World Pi Day, (yes, the mathematical constant "pi" has its own holiday), someone asks the riddle, "Which tower has a downward lean of 3.1415 percent?" The answer is:
Der Schiefe Turm von „Pi-Tag"!
The Leaning Tower of "Pi Day"!
Caption 59, Welt-Pi-Tag - Unser Leben mit der Kreiszahl
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The invented word Pi-Tag or "Pi Day" is a pun on the word "Pisa" from the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Puns are, of course, the source of a lot of very corny jokes and wordplays. The 1996 French film Ridicule even goes so far as to call puns "the death of wit!"
Further Learning
Learn more about English types of wordplay on English Wikipedia and German wordplays on German Wikipedia and find some of your new German vocabulary words in a real world context in videos on German Yabla.
When was the last time you had a swine? Do you only understand "train station?" Is your life like a pony ranch? Is your nose full of it? Is it really about the wurst? Are you pressing your thumbs for me? If any of these phrases seem odd to you, now is the time catch up on some of the most common German idioms!
„Wir haben ganz schön Schwein gehabt", sagte Frederick.
"We pretty much had a swine [idiom: were lucky]," said Frederick.
Caption 33, Piggeldy und Frederick - Reise nach Schweinebrück
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Maybe villages used to award pigs at farmer bingo games, but whatever the reason, "having a swine" means you're in luck in German!
Also, ich versteh' nur Bahnhof.
Well, I only understand "train station" [idiom: I don't understand anything].
Caption 27, Die Pfefferkörner - Gerüchteküche
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"Bahnhof" might be one of the first words a new arrival to Germany learns, so if you only understand "Bahnhof," then you don't understand very much at all.
Ist das Leben für Sie ein Ponyhof?
Is life a pony ranch [idiom, easy, fun] for you?
Caption 3, Oktoberfest München - Auf der Wiesn
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Apparently a pony ranch is the German idea of a "bowl of cherries"...
Aber seit dem gestrigen Halbfinale hab ich die Nase voll!
But since yesterday's semi-finals, I have the nose full [idiom: am very disenchanted]!
Caption 23, Konjugation - Das Verb „mögen“
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One can only surmise that having your nose stuffed up could get pretty uncomfortable.
OK, jetzt geht's wirklich um die Wurst.
OK, now it's really about the wurst [idiom: getting serious].
Caption 35, rheinmain Szene - Miss Interkontinental
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Germans traditionally take their sausages very seriously, so if it's "about the wurst", everybody is paying serious attention!
Deswegen müsst ihr mir ganz doll die Daumen drücken.
For that reason you have to press the thumbs [idiom, "cross your fingers"] for me very much.
Caption 25, Summer Cheergirl - Vorstellung der Kandidatinnen
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Much in the same way that (as shown in the well-known scene in the film Inglourious Basterds) that a European will indicate "three" with the thumb and first two fingers, and an American with only the first three fingers, so too in Germany the thumbs are pressed rather than fingers crossed for luck.
Further Learning
Look up some common English idioms and see if you can find the German equivalents in a real world context in videos on German Yabla.
A pseudo-anglicism describes a word borrowed from English but used in other languages in ways that native speakers may not easily understand. For a native English speaker learning German, these pseudo English words can be a common source of misunderstanding, and German has more than its fair share of them!
Most people would think of a "cutter" as someone in the clothing trade who cuts cloth, or a cutting machine or a boat, but in German der Cutter (or in this case, die Cutterin) has a different primary meaning:
Es gibt eine Regie, es gibt einen Tontechniker, es gibt eine Cutterin.
There is a director, there is a sound technician, there is an [female] editor.
Caption 32, Christian Brückner - Synchronstimme von Robert De Niro
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If somebody offers to play Flipper with you in German, they aren't talking about playing with a talking dolphin:
Früher, da stand in jeder anständigen Kneipe ein Flipper.
There used to be a pinball machine in every decent pub.
Caption 19, Flipperautomaten - Kunstwerke für flinke Kugeln
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If a German speaker ever asks you to find out about an Oldtimer, he doesn't mean an old man:
Sie sammelt sämtliche Informationen über Oldtimer.
It gathers all the information about classic cars.
Caption 39, Porsche 356 - Der erste Porsche
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In English news, a Shooting would be a tragic event, but in German:
Ich nehm' euch mit auf die coolsten Shootings.
I'll take you along to the coolest [photo] shoots.
Caption 10, Palina Rojinski - News for Original Girls
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The German word Shooting is short for Fotoshooting, whose meaning should be pretty obvious by now!
Further Learning
Das Happy End, das Handy, das No-Go, das Public Viewing, der Smoking — the list of German words based on misconstrued English is a long one. Take a look at German Wikipedia and see if you can find some "fake English" words used in context on Yabla German.
Although the German words was für may translate directly as "what for" as separate words, when you put them together they have a different meaning. If somebody asks you to do something in German and you want to know "What for?", you would properly respond with "Warum?" ("why") or "Wofür?", which is another way of saying "why."
In English, the word combination was für usually means "what" or "what kind":
Was für ein Geschenk soll ich dir mitbringen?
What kind of present should I bring [back] with me for you?
Caption 14, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Die Schöne und das Biest
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Hach Gott, was für ein Tag!
Oh god, what a day!
Caption 8, Kein Kredit - im Land der Klone
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The phrase was für in other contexts can also mean "something for":
Also, wär' der Modeljob definitiv was für dich?
So, would the modelling job definitely be something for you?
Caption 10, RNZ Top Model - Casting 2010
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In the example above, the word was is functioning as a shortened version of etwas, which means "something."
Further Learning
Go to Yabla German and put in the search words "what kind" to see the different ways that was für is used in different contexts.
The German noun die Stellung is usually defined as "position" in English. As in English, to know the specific meaning of the word, it is important to know the context in which it is used.
In this short TV ad, a provocatively dressed woman makes the suggestion:
Dann gehen wir schon mal hoch, 'n paar neue Stellungen ausprobieren.
Then we'll go on up and try out a few new positions.
Caption 5, Klicksafe-Werbung - Wo ist Klaus?
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The "positions" she is referring to are the primary definition of Stellung in Duden, the German standard dictionary: to place the body in a particular posture.
In the next video, the speaker is referring to a celebrity who has been a patron of their non-profit activities:
Der Bülent hatte hier auch eine Stellung.
Bülent also had a position here.
Caption 65, Sallys Tortenwelt und Kochwelt - Backen mit Kindern & Auftritt bei Radio Rumms
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Here the Stellung being referred to is a job position or a role.
The word Stellung is also the first half of the word Stellungnahme, which means "statement" in the sense of a document that announces the position one is taking on a topic:
Grund für die Stellungnahme...
Reason for the statement...
Caption 21, Aufklärung der NSU-Verbrechen - SPD fordert Sonderkommission
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This week's new video "Mama arbeitet wieder" shows us an idiomatic use of Stellung:
Ich halte hier seit fünfzehn Uhr die Stellung.
I've been holding the position [idiom: taking responsibility] since three o'clock.
Caption 2, Mama arbeitet wieder - Kapitel 2: Kompromisse zu finden ist nicht einfach
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A looser literary translation might use the American English idiom "holding down the fort" (just "hold the fort" in British English), a military phrase dating from the middle ages meaning to keep a military installation occupied to prevent enemy takeover. Apparently the US State Department was objecting to its use as politically incorrect a few years ago.
Further Learning
Watch the above videos on Yabla German to get a better sense of the use of the noun die Stellung in real world context.
Using the German adjective verlegen and the verb verlegen could lead to some embarrassing mix-ups if their meanings are not clearly understood. As you can see in this week's premiere episode of a new season of Die Pfefferkörner, the meaning of the adjective verlegen is... embarrassed!
Um eine Ausrede bist du ja nie verlegen.
You are never embarrassed to make an excuse.
Caption 6, Die Pfefferkörner - Gerüchteküche
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The German verlegen is often also translated to English as shy, awkward, bashful, or as you see in its adverbial form in this video on Yabla:
„Ach so, hm“, meinte Frederick verlegen.
"Ah, so, hm," said Frederick sheepishly.
Caption 34, Piggeldy und Frederick - Das Lachen
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On the other hand, the verb verlegen has to do with more concrete matters:
... um eine ganz normale Hartsteinbetonplatte, die wir verlegen.
... with a totally normal hard stone concrete panel that we are installing.
Caption 19, Schadstoffarme Straßen - Neue Gehwegplatten für reinere Luft
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Hundert Jahre nachdem das berühmte Kinderbuch erschienen ist,
A hundred years after the famous children's book was published,
hat der Regisseur die Story in den Zweiten Weltkrieg verlegt.
the director has relocated the story to the Second World War.
Captions 35-37, Kinotipp - Battleship und Unter Wölfen
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The verb verlegen can also be translated as to publish, postpone, or evacuate. The German word for "publisher," which you see in nearly every German book, is der Verlag. Here you can easily see the connection to the verb verlegen.
Further Learning
For some advanced learning on the topic, go to the online Wiktionary and see some other examples of verlegen in context and some other related words.
The "royal we" form is mostly found today in fairy tales, medieval fiction, and fantasy literature such as The Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones. In centuries past, it was common for royalty and religious leaders to be referred to (and to refer to themselves) in the plural tense, based upon the conceit that, in referring to themselves, they were referring to "God and I." German uses the Latin term Pluralis Majestatis to denote the "royal we."
This obsolete form of personal pronoun does not present any grammatical problems in English, since it is commonly either rendered in modern English as "we" or "you" (in the plural sense), or in archaic English as thee, thou, thine etc., although these forms are also merely archaic and not necessarily reflecting the "royal we" form.
In German, however, the use of "royal we" can be initially perplexing. For the nominative second person singular pronoun, instead of the modern Sie (you), the "royal we" form uses Ihr, with the Ihr always capitalized. Initially this may appear to be the same as the plural pronoun ihr, but is actually addressed to a single person:
Majestät, Ihr [Pluralis Majestatis] seid die Schönste hier.
Majesty, you are the most beautiful here.
Caption 86, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Schneewittchen
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In standard German, the above sentence would have been written: Sie sind die Schönste hier. The "royal we" case Ihr conjugates the verb the same as the plural nominative second person pronoun ihr.
The accusative second person singular pronoun Sie (you), in a similar fashion, uses for the "royal we" form of the capitalized version of the accusative second person plural Euch:
Ich befreie Euch [Pluralis Majestatis] von dem Versprechen, Prinzessin!
I free you from the promise, Princess!
Caption 58, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Hans mein Igel
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In standard German, the above sentence would have been written: Ich befreie Sie von dem Versprechen.
Further Learning
To further familiarize yourself with the use of the "royal we," go through the videos (listed on the right hand side of this lesson) on Yabla German that include extensive examples of Pluralis Majestatis.
I have been speaking German for well over three decades, and although I've only lived in Germany and spoken German on a daily basis for about 15 of those years, I still get confused occasionally by verb prefixes. As I was formulating a freelance job offer the other day, it struck me that I wasn't entirely sure about the difference between bieten and anbieten, both of which are commonly defined as "to offer" in English.
To confuse matters even further, the Duden dictionary, which sets the standards for the German language, gives the primary definitions as: anbieten: zur Verfügung stellen und seine Bereitschaft dazu erkennen lassen, zeigen and bieten: anbieten, zur Verfügung, in Aussicht stellen. As you see, the meanings seem nearly identical; in fact, the first definition of bieten is anbieten!
There is, however, a rule of thumb that can help you remember the main difference between the two: anbieten is the specific process or act of making an offer, whereas bieten is a general state or condition, that is, a standing offer or a feature.
To illustrate, here are a few examples of anbieten from Yabla German, first in present tense, then in past tense, then in simple tense as a separable verb:
Kann ich Ihnen einen Kaffee anbieten?
Can I offer you a coffee?
Caption 19, George und Donna - Die Milch macht's
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Deutsch wird als zweite Sprache ab Stufe eins angeboten.
German is offered as a second language from the first grade.
Caption 40, Strothoff International School - Imagefilm
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Wir bieten unseren Tieren saisonale Produkte an, wie beispielsweise Weihnachtsbäume.
We offer our animals seasonal products like, for example, Christmas trees.
Caption 48, Umfragen - Zootiere im Winter
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And some examples of bieten from Yabla German, first in present tense, then in past tense:
Yabla bietet dir das weltweit fortschrittlichste System.
Yabla offers you the most advanced system worldwide.
Caption 3, German Intro - Jenny
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Und auch dieses Jahr ist wieder allerhand für Jung und Alt geboten.
And this year too, a lot is offered again for young and old.
Caption 5, Das Tollwood-Festival - BAP und Clueso in der Musik-Arena
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Lastly, when someone is bidding in an auction you would always use the word bieten (or steigern), but never anbieten.
Further Learning
Make up some sentence examples in English using the word "offer" and then translate them into German to see if you understand the principal difference between bieten and anbieten. Also, do a search on German Yabla for both of the words to find some examples of their usage in a real-world context.
The title of this week's mini-lesson is from an American depression-era novel of the same title by John Fante, and is an allusion that can be taken both literally and figuratively. In most contexts, however, words take on their literal original meaning, as in the use of the word "dust" (German: der Staub) here:
Die Mischung aus Staub und Sonnenstrahlen
The mixture of dust and sunbeams
ließ das gleißende Licht entstehen,
gave rise to the glistening light,
das die tödliche Hitze im Film so glaubhaft macht.
that makes the deadly heat in the film so believable.
Captions 28-30, Hell - Science-Fiction-Kinotipp
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This week’s video release, Alpenseen, however, uses the word “dust” in an idiomatic sense meaning “to leave.” The English idiom “to dust out” and the 1920s-era slang "to take a powder" have similar meanings.
...und macht sich aus dem Staub.
...and makes herself out of the dust [idiom, absconds].
Caption 45, Alpenseen - Kühle Schönheiten
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Further Learning
Take a look at this German Wikipedia list of German sayings and do a search on German Yabla to see if you can find some of the sayings used in context in a video.
The made-for-TV miniseries Mama arbeitet wieder explores the roles that men and women play at home and in the workplace in Germany. Studies show that for the fifth consecutive year, women earn on average 22% less than men in the same job positions, ranking Germany as one of the most wage discriminatory countries based on gender in the industrialized world.
In one scene of part 4 of Mama arbeitet wieder, Mark tells his boss that his wife is going back to work and requests to delay his transfer to Dubai. His boss responds:
Wenn das Mädel [Umgangssprache] weiter Zicken macht,
If the girl continues to be bitchy,
dann schaff' dir ein Exemplar der alten Gattung an.
then get yourself an example of the old species [a more traditional woman].
Captions 23-24, Mama arbeitet wieder - Kapitel 1: Alle haben sich lieb
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This is misogynistic on several levels: first of all, he calls Mark's wife a Mädel, which is an ironic and often demeaning term for a woman (equivalent to "stupid girl"); he then employs the term Zicken (literally a "she-goat") to classify her behavior as bitchy; he then suggests that Mark find a more "traditional woman."
The message of the series is actually pro gender equality, and the scriptwriters purposefully use such provocative and sexist language to point out how common gender stereotyping is in Germany. The writers additionally added racial stereotyping to the script. Directly after telling Mark to get a more "traditional" wife, the boss says to a worker walking by, who was not privy to the conversation:
Da gibt's nämlich nie Probleme, was, Mehmet?
With that there are namely never problems, right, Mehmet?
Caption 25, Mama arbeitet wieder - Kapitel 1: Alle haben sich lieb
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The name "Mehmet" is Turkish, and the worker's appearance suggests that he or his family originally came from the Middle East. Mark's boss is putting forth racial, religious and gender stereotypes in a single sentence by suggesting that men from the Middle East, or Moslems, always force the women in their households into "traditional" subservient roles.
Racism is strictly taboo in Germany due to its Nazi past, and by equating sexism and racism, the scriptwriters are attempting to heighten awareness of the seriousness of the problems that Germany currently faces in regard to gender discrimination.
Mama arbeitet wieder shows how a German man comes to terms in a positive way with modernizing his views and learning to drop stereotypes of a woman's role in the household and in the workplace. Watch the entire series on Yabla German.
This week saw the introduction of an exciting new nature series on German Yabla. Alpenseen: Kühle Schönheiten is a beautifully filmed documentary about wildlife deep in the icy lakes of the Alps. If the summer heat is starting to get to you, cool down with this video and learn the German names of some very curious plants and animals while you're at it:
Die Alpen haben vielfältige Gesichter.
The Alps have many faces.
Luchse und Steinböcke gehören dazu...
Lynxes and ibexes are part of this...
Captions 2-3, Alpenseen - Kühle Schönheiten
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Wenn Gemsen mit scharfen Hufen
When chamois with sharp hooves
Pflanzentriebe, Moose und Flechten freischarren,
scratch up plant shoots, moss and lichen,
müssen sie aufpassen.
they must be careful.
Captions 23-24, Alpenseen - Kühle Schönheiten
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Auch die Bergmolche zieht es hier oben später zum Wasser
Even the alpine newts take to the water later up here
als ihre Artgenossen im Tiefland.
than their species counterparts in the lowlands.
Captions 41-42, Alpenseen - Kühle Schönheiten
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Doch daneben existiert noch eine andere Welt.
But next to it exists yet another world.
Sie liegt verborgen unterm Eis...
It lies hidden beneath the ice...
Captions 5-6, Alpenseen - Kühle Schönheiten
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So chill out with Yabla German when the heat gets be too much, and bleibt cool beim Deutschlernen!
Germany is one of the most advanced countries in world in terms of environmentally-friendly energy. Chancellor Angela Merkel announced in 2011 that all German nuclear power plants will be closed by 2022 as part of a plan to gain a competitive edge worldwide in renewable energy.
This week's new video, Green-Region-Konferenz zur Nachhaltigkeit, uses a number of energy-related terms (below in bold text) that can give you a good jump start in improving your environmental vocabulary.
Eine Energie-Effizienz-Revolution soll her.
An energy-efficiency revolution should happen.
Caption 6, Rhein-Main-TV - Green-Region-Konferenz zur Nachhaltigkeit
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Um die Klimaschutzziele in Deutschland zu erreichen...
In order to achieve the climate protection targets in Germany...
Caption 22, Rhein-Main-TV - Green-Region-Konferenz zur Nachhaltigkeit
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Rund um Darmstadt bedeutet das vor allem
Around Darmstadt, that means, above all,
den Ausbau der Windkraft
the expansion of wind power
sowie mehr Geothermie-Anlagen und Biomasse-Kraftwerke.
and more geothermal plants and biomass power plants.
Captions 25-26, Rhein-Main-TV - Green-Region-Konferenz zur Nachhaltigkeit
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Further Learning
Watch the complete video above and add any new German terms to your vocabulary learning list. The Urban Climate website of the University of Freiburg has created an extensive German-English glossary of environmental protection terms. See if you can find some of these words used in context in Yabla German videos.
English has quite a few idioms using the word "foot," and the German language also "puts its best foot forward" in this regard!
Some German foot expressions are very similar to English:
Ich nehm' 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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Sometimes, a German expression is close to English, but with a spin of its own:
Er war von Kopf bis Fuß grün angezogen.
He was dressed in green from head to foot [idiom: completely].
Caption 23, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Ein Topf voll Gold
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The above expression is very similar, of course, to the English "from head to toe." Most German idiomatic expressions with the word Fuß are quite different, however:
Und die Besucher müssen wirklich gut zu Fuß sein.
And the visitors must be really good to foot [idiom: agile].
Captions 18-19, Internationale Automobilausstellung - IAA in Frankfurt öffnet die Pforten
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The English foot idiom that comes closest is "light on their feet." At Yabla, we translate idioms literally (word for word), and then add a dictionary-style definition for clarity.
Be careful you don't "put your foot in it" though, as some expressions sound similar to English, but have a completely different meaning:
Was Henne gesagt hat, hat ja eigentlich auch Hand und Fuß.
But I think what Henne has said also actually has a hand and a foot [idiom: makes sense].
Caption 48, Luxuslärm - Interview
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If you recall the English saying "to wait on someone hand and foot," you might falsely interpret the German to mean that Henne was being servile, when in fact she was making sense!
Further Learning
Learn some more expressions about other parts of the body here, and go to Yabla German and see how the word Fuß is used in different contexts.
This week's new video, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Die Wichtelmänner, uses the prepositional phrase mit (etwas) umgehen:
Sie war keine Schneiderin,
She was not a seamstress,
konnte aber gut mit Nadel und Faden umgehen.
but could manage well with a needle and thread.
Caption 70, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Die Wichtelmänner
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The word umgehen on its own usually means to avoid, to circumvent, or to get around something, but when you put it with an adjective and the preposition mit, its meaning is broadened to mean how something is handled, dealt with, or treated. Here are a couple more examples from Yabla videos:
Ich werde dir beibringen, wie du damit umgehen kannst.
I will teach you how you can deal with that.
Caption 18, Lektionen - Morgen
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Da muss man sehr sauber arbeiten,
[There] you must work very cleanly,
muss sehr pfleglich mit seinen Grundstoffen umgehen.
[you] must handle your basic materials very carefully.
Captions 67-68, Whesskey - Whiskey aus Hessen
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Further Learning
Go to this link on Yabla German and see how the word umgehen is used in different contexts.
Idiomatic expressions can be difficult, because even if you know what all of the words mean, it can sometimes be nearly impossible to understand what the phrase means. Just think about how some standard English idioms sound if you try to understand them literally: "It's raining cats and dogs," or "Don't spill the beans." Neither cats, nor dogs, nor beans have anything to do with what is really being expressed! This week's new Yabla video, the film trailer from "Frau Müller muss weg!," contains a number of colorful German idioms:
Das ist die Realität. Aus die Maus.
That is the reality. The mouse is out [idiom, it's over and done].
Caption 2, Filmtrailer - Frau Müller muss weg!
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Although German idioms often don’t have a direct English equivalent, a more literal translation might be: “The game is up."
Fassen Sie sich gefälligst an Ihre eigenen Nasen.
Kindly grab your own noses [idiom, mind your own concerns], please.
Caption 15, Filmtrailer - Frau Müller muss weg!
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The English idioms "keep your nose out of my business" and "mind your own business" have similar meanings.
Wenn's um Konflikte geht,
Whenever it's about conflicts,
wird das hier immer unterirdisch.
it always ends up underground [idiom, things become abysmal] here.
Caption 21, Filmtrailer - Frau Müller muss weg!
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Yabla German always provides you with a direct word-for-word translation as well as the direct meaning of the phrase to help you better understand these idiomatic expressions.
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