German Phrases for Work and Play

The associations we make with the German language are not always the most flattering. Although Mark Twain made no secret about his love for German, for instance, he nevertheless took great pleasure in poking fun at its grammatical intricacy and long-winded nature. And although many of us might tend to associate German with Hitler's mad diatribes or that somewhat humorless German obsession with order and bureaucracy, the fewest of us are aware of just how colorful and full of humor this complex and beautiful language is. Here is a small collection of common German sayings that will hopefully provide an insight into the little-appreciated lighter side of German thinking. So if you are ready to touch up on your German, whether your German exists yet or not, try a few of these handy phrases out for size - on unsuspecting friends and family first, I would recommend. And if you are worried that you will not be able to pronounce the German properly, and believe me, you probably won't be able to, just feel free to use the literal English meaning or the proper translation instead. Also, ab geht die Post!

„Ab geht die Post."
Literal meaning: There goes the post.
In other words: Let's get on with it.

„Da haben Sie mich überfragt."
Literal meaning: You over-asked me there.
In other words: You just made the mistake of asking me a question I can't answer.

„Ich bin auf der Arbeit und nicht auf der
Flucht."
Literal meaning: I'm at work, not on the run.
In other words: I'll get to your matter after I finish this one.

„Darauf kannst du Gift nehmen."
Literal meaning: You can take poison on that one.
In other words: You can bet your life on it.

„Er ist dummer als die Polizei erlaubt."
Literal meaning: He's dumber than the police allow.
In other words: This guy's a bit on the slow side.

„Es gibt Sachen, die gibt's gar nicht."
Literal meaning: There exist certain things out there that don't really exist.
In other words: I can't believe this is happening.

„Alles für die Katz."
Literal meaning: Everything for the cat.
In other words: It was all for naught.