Ich fahr' heut' in Urlaub und zeig' euch, was ich alles mitnehmen werde.

I'm going on vacation today and I'll show you everything that I'm taking with me.

Caption 2, Christiane - fährt in den Urlaub

 Play Caption

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Did you know that the summer vacation for some federal states in Germany is only beginning now? In many states, it doesn't start until mid-July. This break is called die Sommerferien. This is an exciting time because many people plan their Urlaub. Der Urlaub also means vacation, but implies travel. Look at the last example of this newsletter for clarification on the difference between der Urlaub and die Ferien. 

Of course, in order to take a vacation, you have to have time off work. In German, the expression for this is frei haben.

Timo Uetz hat frei und verdient schon sein eigenes Geld.

Timo Uetz is off work and is already earning his own money.

Caption 72, Deutsche Welle - Lieber Ausbildung als Studium

 Play Caption

Sobald ich mal frei habe,

As soon as I have a free day

könnten wir vielleicht alle zusammen essen gehen. -OK.

we could all go out to eat together. -OK.

Captions 30-31, Eva erklärt - temporale Konnektoren

 Play Caption

Some people don't get time off, and have to make do with taking short breaks at work. The phrase for this is eine Pause machen.

Na gut. Wir können ja 'ne kurze Pause machen.

Well, OK. We can indeed take a short break.

Caption 17, JoNaLu - Ein Tag am Meer

 Play Caption

When the evenings are long and the weather is nice, der Feierabend is particularly enjoyable. This word has no direct equivalent in English, but it basically describes the leisure time after the work day is over. 

Hast du wieder 'nen Zahnarzttermin?

Do you have another dentist appointment?

-Ich mach' Feierabend.

-I'm stopping work for the day.

Caption 21, Mama arbeitet wieder - Kapitel 3: Papa ist weg

 Play Caption

Timo Uetz hat endlich Feierabend.

For Timo Uetz, it's finally the end of the work day.

Caption 60, Deutsche Welle - Lieber Ausbildung als Studium

 Play Caption

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Further Learning

Make sure you have memorized the gender of der Urlaub and die Ferien, and look for more implementations of the expressions frei haben, Pause machen, Feierabend machen and Feierabend haben on Yabla German. 

You probably fall well within the standard psychological definitions of a sane person, but it's possible nevertheless that, at some point, somebody might accuse you in German of being bonkers, nuts, cuckoo, psycho, mad, cracked, bonkers, potty, barmy, mental, unhinged, or just plain crazy. If you are familiar with a few of the German adjectives on the topic, you will be better prepared to react calmly and rationally, belying the accusation by the very coolness of your manner. 

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Sag mal, spinnst du?

Tell me, are you crazy?

Caption 58, Mama arbeitet wieder: Kapitel 3: Papa ist weg

 Play Caption

The verb spinnen in formal usage is the spinning of wool, but "are you spinning?" is a slang idiom for "are you crazy?"

Bei euch piept's wohl!

It's really chirping with you!

Caption 41, JoNaLu: Prinz Dreckspatz

 Play Caption

The verb piepen in its standard usage means to make a high, whistling sound like a bird, but bei jemandem piept es is a slang idiom for suggesting they are crazy. 

Hast du eine Macke oder was?

Do you have a defect or something?

Caption 6, Einsatz für Christophorus: Gehwegradler

 Play Caption

The noun die Macke in formal usage is "defect," but in casual use eine Macke haben means to be crazy, to "have a screw loose" so to speak.

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Further Learning
Some formal German adjectives referring to a loss of sanity include irrsinnig, psychotisch, geistig behindert, and geistig gestört. The term geisteskrank was a formal term in decades past, but is now considered outdated. As in English, there are very many informal or slang adjectives, including verrückt, wahnsinnig, irre, blödsinnig, blöd, and bescheuert, to name a few. Go to Yabla German and see how they are used in a real world context, but be careful how you use these words out there. The person you are accusing might really be crazy, after all!

The German language has a colorful variety of idioms for describing when a situation is in decline or when things have gone badly.

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

If something is "in the bucket" in German, at least it's not as bad as "kicking the bucket" in English!

Wenn Thorsten nicht genommen wird,

If Thorsten is not accepted

ist seine Karriere im Eimer.

his career will be in the bucket [idiom, ruined].

Captions 18-19, Die Pfefferkörner - Eigentor

 Play Caption

The less polite version of the above is im Arsch, which for politeness' sake is perhaps best left untranslated.

Whereas something going badly is said to be "going downhill" in English, in German the expression relates to water rather than mountains.

Seit ich wieder angefangen hab', geht unsere Ehe den Bach runter.

Since I started again, our marriage has been going downstream [idiom, falling apart].

Caption 7, Mama arbeitet wieder - Kapitel 3: Papa ist weg

 Play Caption

If things get too bad, maybe it's high time you hightail it out of there!

...und macht sich aus dem Staub.

...and makes herself out of the dust [idiom, absconds].

Caption 45, Alpenseen - Kühle Schönheiten

 Play Caption

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Further Learning
This extensive listing of German idioms is amusing for the fact that the English translations are all literal and intentionally humorous. Pick out a few whose real meaning is unclear to you and look online to discover what the expressions really express, then search for some examples used in real conversations on Yabla German.