English Idioms with German Translations: 60 Expressions and What Germans Get Wrong

1Why idioms are the last thing you learn and the first thing people notice

German speakers reach a good level of English faster than almost anyone. The languages are cousins, the grammar overlaps, and two thousand words are near-identical. Then progress stops, and the thing that stops it is almost always idioms.

An idiom is a phrase whose meaning cannot be worked out from its words. Kick the bucket has nothing to do with buckets. Den Loeffel abgeben has nothing to do with spoons. Both mean to die. You cannot reason your way to either one; you can only know it or not know it.

For German speakers there is a specific trap. Because German and English are related, a surprising number of idioms are shared, which trains you to expect the pattern to hold. Das Eis brechen really is to break the ice. Zwischen den Zeilen lesen really is to read between the lines. Then you say I am on cloud seven, because German says Wolke sieben, and the pattern breaks without warning.

So there are three groups to learn, and they need three different approaches: the ones that transfer, which you already know; the ones that nearly transfer, which are the dangerous ones; and the ones that do not exist in the other language at all, which are simply vocabulary.

Tip: Do not study idioms alphabetically. Study them by which of those three groups they fall into. The middle group is small and it is where all your errors are.

2The safe list: same image in both languages

These transfer directly. Same picture, same meaning, same register. You can translate them word for word and be right, which is rare enough to be worth listing.

• das Eis brechen is to break the ice, and both mean to ease the first awkwardness
• mit dem Feuer spielen is to play with fire
• zwischen den Zeilen lesen is to read between the lines
• die Spitze des Eisbergs is the tip of the iceberg
• im selben Boot sitzen is to be in the same boat
• ganz Ohr sein is to be all ears
• alle Haende voll zu tun haben is to have your hands full
• einen gruenen Daumen haben is to have green fingers in British English and a green thumb in American English, so the plural changes but the image does not
• Schmetterlinge im Bauch haben is to have butterflies in your stomach
• die Katze aus dem Sack lassen is to let the cat out of the bag
• alle Bruecken hinter sich abbrechen is to burn your bridges
• das Handtuch werfen is to throw in the towel
• den Nagel auf den Kopf treffen is to hit the nail on the head
• einen Bogen um jemanden machen is to give someone a wide berth
• das schwarze Schaf is the black sheep
• der Apfel faellt nicht weit vom Stamm is the apple does not fall far from the tree
• ein offenes Buch sein is to be an open book
• die Nadel im Heuhaufen is a needle in a haystack
• Oel ins Feuer giessen is to add fuel to the fire, with fuel instead of oil
• jemandem den Ruecken staerken is to have someone's back

Tip: Because these transfer, they are the ones to use first when you want to sound natural under pressure. You will not have to think about them, and they buy you time.

3Same meaning, different picture

This is the section that matters. Each of these exists in both languages and means the same thing, but the image is different, so the German version translated word for word is wrong in a way that sounds odd rather than incomprehensible. Those are the hardest errors to get corrected, because people understand you and say nothing.

• auf dem Holzweg sein is to be barking up the wrong tree, not to be on the wooden path
• den Stein ins Rollen bringen is to get the ball rolling, so the stone becomes a ball
• in den sauren Apfel beissen is to bite the bullet, not to bite the sour apple
• alle Jubeljahre is once in a blue moon
• ein Kinderspiel is a piece of cake, or child's play, which also works
• Hals- und Beinbruch is break a leg, and only in the theatre sense of good luck
• mir faellt ein Stein vom Herzen is that is a weight off my mind
• das Blaue vom Himmel versprechen is to promise the moon
• auf einer Wellenlaenge sein is to be on the same page
• am Zug sein is the ball is in your court
• der letzte Tropfen, der das Fass zum Ueberlaufen bringt is the last straw, or the straw that broke the camel's back
• jemandem einen Baeren aufbinden is to spin someone a yarn, or to tell a tall tale

Tip: For each pair, say the English version out loud three times and do not rehearse the German one. The German image is already automatic; what you are building is a competing habit, and repeating both keeps the competition alive.

4The German-to-English idiom table

Quick reference for the ones you are most likely to reach for. German first, then the English that carries it, then a note where the two differ.

• Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof becomes it is all Greek to me. Never translate this one; train station means nothing in English.
• Das ist mir Wurst becomes I could not care less, or I do not mind either way if you want to be polite.
• Da steppt der Baer becomes the place is really jumping, or it is a great party.
• Tomaten auf den Augen haben becomes to be blind to what is right in front of you.
• Schwein haben becomes to be lucky, or to have a stroke of luck.
• Ins Fettnaepfchen treten becomes to put your foot in it in British English, or to put your foot in your mouth in American English.
• Die Kirche im Dorf lassen becomes let us not get carried away.
• Da liegt der Hund begraben becomes that is the crux of the matter, or that is where the real problem lies.
• Klar wie Klossbruehe becomes crystal clear.
• Fix und fertig sein becomes to be shattered in British English, or wiped out in American English. It does not mean fixed and finished.
• Jetzt geht es um die Wurst becomes this is crunch time, or it is now or never.
• Eine Extrawurst verlangen becomes to expect special treatment.
• Nicht mein Bier becomes not my problem, or none of my business.
• Ich glaube, mein Schwein pfeift becomes I cannot believe it, or you have got to be kidding.
• Es zieht wie Hechtsuppe becomes there is a terrible draught in here.
• Jemandem auf den Keks gehen becomes to get on someone's nerves.
• Die Nase voll haben becomes to be fed up, or to have had enough.
• Unter vier Augen becomes in private, or one to one; four eyes is not English.
• Das ist ein Katzensprung becomes it is just a stone's throw away.
• Sich zum Affen machen becomes to make a fool of yourself.
• Etwas auf die lange Bank schieben becomes to put something off, or to kick the can down the road.
• Die Flinte ins Korn werfen becomes to throw in the towel, or to give up.
• Wie ein Elefant im Porzellanladen becomes like a bull in a china shop; the animal changes.
• Da haben wir den Salat becomes now we are in a mess, or now look what has happened.
• Jemanden durch den Kakao ziehen becomes to take the mickey out of someone in British English, or to make fun of someone.
• Die Ohren steif halten becomes keep your chin up.
• Aus dem Haeuschen sein becomes to be over the moon, or to be beside yourself with excitement.
• Alles in Butter becomes everything is fine, or it is all good.
• Perlen vor die Saeue werfen becomes to cast pearls before swine, which is one of the rare literal matches.
• Den Nagel auf den Kopf treffen becomes to hit the nail on the head, another literal match.

Tip: Do not memorise this table. Read it, then mark the five you personally use in German most often. Those are the five whose English versions you will actually need.

5German idioms with no English version

Some German idioms have no English equivalent at all. There is nothing to learn except that you must not translate them, and what to say instead.

• Verschlimmbessern, to make something worse by trying to improve it, has no English word; say I made it worse trying to fix it.
• Fremdschaemen, to feel embarrassed on behalf of someone else, has no English noun; say secondhand embarrassment or I cringed for him.
• Feierabend, the moment the working day ends and the state of being off, has no English equivalent; say I have finished for the day.
• Der innere Schweinehund, the inner resistance that stops you doing what you should, needs a phrase in English; say I could not get myself to do it.
• Torschlusspanik, the fear that time is running out to do something with your life, has no English word; explain it rather than translating it.
• Kummerspeck, weight gained from comfort eating, has no English word; say comfort eating or stress eating.
• Schadenfreude has been borrowed straight into English and is safe, but English speakers pronounce it and use it as a noun only.
• Doch, the word that contradicts a negative statement, has no English equivalent at all; say yes it is, or yes I did, repeating the verb.
• Ohrwurm has been calqued as earworm and is now genuinely English, so this one is safe.
• Wanderlust has been borrowed and is safe, though English uses it more romantically than German does.

The pattern here is worth noticing. German builds single words for complex feelings, and English builds phrases. So the translation of a long German noun is almost never a long English noun; it is a short English sentence. Trying to find one English word is what makes German speakers reach for something formal and Latin that no one says.

Tip: When you cannot find the English word, describe the situation in the simplest sentence you can. English speakers do this too; it is not a failure, it is how the language works.

6English idioms with no German version

The reverse direction. These come up constantly in English and there is no German idiom to hang them on, so they have to be learned as plain vocabulary.

• to touch base means to make brief contact to check on progress
• to circle back means to return to a topic later
• a ballpark figure means a rough estimate
• to move the needle means to make a difference that is actually measurable
• out of left field means completely unexpected
• to knock it out of the park means to do something exceptionally well
• to throw someone under the bus means to blame a colleague to protect yourself
• to have skin in the game means to have something personal at risk
• a rain check, as in can I take a rain check, means to postpone an invitation to another time
• to spill the beans means to reveal a secret
• under the weather means slightly ill
• to ring a bell means to sound vaguely familiar
• long story short means to summarise
• to bite off more than you can chew means to take on too much
• to be in the weeds means to be lost in detail, or overwhelmed
• low-hanging fruit means the easiest gains available
• to hit the ground running means to be productive from the first day
• the elephant in the room, which German has now borrowed as der Elefant im Raum, means the obvious problem nobody will name

Tip: These are the idioms most worth learning if you work in English, because they cluster in meetings and email, which is exactly where a German speaker's English is judged.

7Business idioms you will hear in a German office

German business English has its own dialect. Some of it is real English, some of it is not, and the difference matters when you are speaking to someone outside Germany.

Tip: If a piece of English business vocabulary was taught to you in German, verify it before you use it with a non-German colleague. That is where almost all pseudo-anglicisms live.

8Pseudo-anglicisms: German words that only look English

German has coined a large number of English-looking words that English does not have, or has with a different meaning. These are not a matter of style; several of them will genuinely confuse or alarm an English speaker.

• Handy means mobile phone in German; English handy is an adjective meaning useful.
• Beamer means projector in German; in English a beamer is a BMW.
• Public Viewing means watching a match on a big outdoor screen in German; in English it means a viewing of a body before a funeral.
• Oldtimer means a classic car in German; in English an old-timer is an elderly person.
• Shooting means a photo shoot in German; in English a shooting is a violent crime. Always say photo shoot.
• Body bag was used in German for a messenger bag; in English a body bag holds a corpse.
• Smoking means a dinner jacket or tuxedo in German; English smoking is the verb.
• Mobbing means workplace bullying in German; English uses bullying or harassment.
• Homeoffice means working from home in German; in English the Home Office is a British government department.
• Chef means boss in German; in English a chef cooks.
• Wellness is used far more broadly in German; English tends to say spa for the facility.
• Peeling means a facial scrub in German; English peeling is what paint does.
• Trampen means hitchhiking; English has no verb to tramp with that meaning.
• Streetworker means a social worker in German; in English it is understood as a sex worker.
• Discounter means a budget supermarket in German; English says discount supermarket.

This overlaps with the wider set of German-English false friends, where a word exists in both languages with different meanings, such as bekommen and become, aktuell and actually, eventuell and eventually, and Gift meaning poison. That is a separate topic with its own guide.

Tip: The test is the same as for any suspected pseudo-anglicism: search the phrase in quotation marks and look at where the results come from. If almost every result is a German site, the word is German.

9Register: which idioms are safe at work

Knowing an idiom and knowing where to use it are two different skills, and the second one is where confident speakers get caught. English idioms sit at very different levels of formality, and German gives you no clue which is which.

Tip: When you are unsure of an idiom's register, say the plain version. Nobody has ever been marked down for clarity, and a plain sentence in the right register beats a colourful one in the wrong one.

10How idioms behave grammatically

Idioms are fixed in ways ordinary phrases are not, and German speakers, who are used to flexible word order, tend to move parts around. The rules are simple but absolute.

Tip: When you write down a new idiom, write it in the first person and in the past tense. I bit the bullet and told her. That form is closest to how you will actually need it.

11Twelve sentences to correct

Each contains one error from this guide. Try each before reading the correction.

• After the promotion I was on cloud seven. Correction: After the promotion I was on cloud nine. German floats on seven, English on nine.
• We killed two flies with one flap. Correction: We killed two birds with one stone.
• I press you the thumbs for tomorrow. Correction: I will keep my fingers crossed for you tomorrow.
• Stop talking around the hot porridge and tell me. Correction: Stop beating about the bush and tell me.
• I think you are on the wooden path here. Correction: I think you are barking up the wrong tree here.
• He took me on the arm about the deadline. Correction: He was pulling my leg about the deadline.
• We need to get the stone rolling this week. Correction: We need to get the ball rolling this week.
• Please send the photos from the shooting. Correction: Please send the photos from the photo shoot. Shooting means something else in English.
• I am in Homeoffice on Fridays. Correction: I work from home on Fridays.
• Can you call my handy later. Correction: Can you call my mobile later.
• I am completely fix and fertig after that meeting. Correction: I am completely shattered after that meeting.
• It was only a drop on the hot stone. Correction: It was only a drop in the ocean.

Tip: If more than four of these caught you, work through section three again rather than section four. Section three is where the errors live; section four is only reference.

12How to learn idioms so they stay

Idiom lists have the worst retention of anything in language learning, because an idiom out of context is just a strange sentence. This is what actually works.

• Listen to fifteen minutes of real English audio with subtitles you can read
• Stop at any phrase whose meaning you cannot get from the words, which is the definition of an idiom
• Check whether German has the same image, a different image, or nothing at all
• If German has a different image, write both down side by side, because that pair is where your error will come from
• Say the English version aloud in three sentences of your own
• Do not review it the same day; review it two days later, when you have half forgotten it
• Once a week, reread only the different-image pairs, and skip the ones that transfer

Expect around ten to fifteen usable idioms a month at this pace, which is enough to change how you sound within a term. Trying for a hundred from a list will give you a hundred you recognise and none you use.

Tip: Podcasts and interviews are far better than films for this, because unscripted speech is where idioms cluster. A scripted drama uses careful sentences; two people talking use idioms every few lines without noticing.