The 10 Funniest German Idioms You Shouldn’t Take Literally! | Feli from Germany

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0:00 Intro
3:12 "Stand on someone"
3:43 "Add your mustard to it"
4:47 "Only understand train station"
5:32 Speakly
7:41 "Pull out of their nose"
8:30 "Lid closed, monkey dead"
8:57 "Offended liverwurst"
10:25 "That's cheese"
11:17 "Underneath the Hempels' sofa"
11:33 "Have a male cat"
12:02 "Go someone on the cookie"
12:33 Outro
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ABOUT ME: Hallo, Servus, and welcome to my channel! My name is Felicia (Feli), I'm 27, and I'm a German living in the USA! I was born and raised in Munich, Germany but have been living in Cincinnati, Ohio off and on since 2016. I first came here for an exchange semester during my undergrad at LMU Munich, then I returned for an internship, and then I got my master's degree in Cincinnati. I was lucky enough to win the Green Card lottery and have been a permanent resident since 2019! In my videos, I talk about cultural differences between America and Germany, things I like and dislike about living here, and other experiences that I have made during my time in the States. Let me know what YOU would like to hear about in the comments below. DANKE :)
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[@FelifromGermany]

Which one is YOUR favorite idiom in German or English? 🧐 Share it in the comments below! 👇 *edit: Guess I mispronounced "pigsty" 😅 It's really pronounced pigstEYE - sorry about that! *

[@christian_w.]

"Don't be such a nerve saw!" - "Sei doch nicht so 'ne Nervensäge!"

[@silkecanada]

I throw an eye on it. Ich werfe ein Auge drauf.... ;)

[@BerndFunken]

I think my pig whistles xD

[@christian_w.]

Let the cat out of the bag!

[@mrzielscheibe5867]

"You are me one" - Du bist mir einer!

[@RosieCarl]

I am thinking of using "Lid closed, monkey dead" with my grandkids when I want to shut down one of their arguments. Thanks!

[@ulliulli]

Harambe ;(

[@brianmccarthy5557]

The old gray goose is dead.

[@donboehner6005]

LOL

[@dylan_vogel24]

My personal favorite has always been "Das ist mir wurst". Or basically "This is sausage to me". Basically a way of saying "I dont care"

[@jessicalambert6369]

love it! I'm going to remember that one.

[@Baygirl431]

My favorite is still "Hätte Hätte Fahrradkette." Lit: "Could have had bicycle chain." English equivalent: "Woulda, coulda, shoulda."

[@Petra44YT]

The translation is wrong. It would have to be "could have, could have, bicycle chain".

[@Baygirl431]

@@Petra44YT It's a colloquialism. It's not to be translated literally.

[@davidmann2414]

“Lid closed, monkey dead” is probably the best idiom I’ve ever heard! I might just start saying it in English. 🤣

[@hydrolito]

Monkey should be kept in something that allows him to breath.

[@ThatMimiThing]

I hated it when my aunt said it to me after too much TV…😂

[@lordidefix2090]

I'd like to share some of my favourite idioms in Italian with you guys. :D "In bocca al lupo" - means literally "in the mouth of the wolf". The fitting idiom in English would be "break a leg". "Buono come il pane" - means literally "good as bread". This idiom is used for people who are generally known for being kind and generous. "Conosco i miei polli" - means literally "I know my chickens". The meaning of this idiom could be described as “I know what I’m talking about,” or “I know who I’m dealing with”. "Minestra riscaldata" - means literally "reheated soup". It's that state of reviving a relationship gone sour. It’s just never the same as it had been before. "Non avere peli sulla lingua" - means literally "Not to have hair on your tongue". This idiom is used when someone is straightforward, regardless of the possibility of upsetting or insulting another person. "Hai voluto la bicicletta? Allora, pedala!" - literally transaltes to "You wanted a bike? Now, pedal!" “You’ve made your bed, now lie in it” is its closest equivalent English idiom. "Ha molto sale in zucca" literally means "[Someone] has a lot of salt in his gourd". It refers to a person who has a good head-someone not only bright, but one who possesses a lot of good sense. "È tutto pepe!" literally means "He is all pepper!". This idiom is used to describe somebody full of life-someone with a vibrant personality and a sunny disposition that lifts everyone’s spirits. So if you hear this said of you, take it as a high compliment. "Sputa il rospo" literally means "Spit the toad". This idiom means "to speak up". (That a weird one, I know xD) "Morto un papa, se ne fa un altro" literally means "One pope dies, another will be made". This idiom is used to signify how life goes on even after the worst of tragedies. "Caduto dalle nuvole" literally means "Fallen from the clouds". This means to be completely taken by surprise, usually from negative news. "Farsene un baffo" literally means "To make a mustache of it". It means to treat something as insignificant, or not bothersome at all. So you don’t make a fuss about it. "Tutto fa brodo" literally means "Everything makes broth, soup". This idiom means that every little thing counts-everything contributes something to the whole. "Avere un cervello di gallina" - ("To have a hen’s brain") is used to described a person who acts stupidly, has low intelligence or has poor judgment. They are said to have a hen’s brain. "Cornuto" - (Horned). This idiom has a rather negative connotation; basically "to be 'cornuto'” means your partner is cheating on you. And last, but not least: "Che palle!" - "What balls!" which is often used to express annoyance or irritation at a situation or person, basically meaning "Dang" or " Something/Someone sucks" in English. Greetings from Italy!!!

[@jernejq1651]

What I find really funny is italian use of "cavolo" (cabbage=bad luck, nuisance), I still can't help imagining it when I hear it ... Or even "cavolata" ...

[@IgorDellaPietra]

sincere thank you for this great list! i live outside of italy and only visit once in a while and even though my italian is fluent, idioms like those are mostly unknown to me. i remember when friends of mine told me that our server is a real "gnocca" (cutie) and i stood there like "what the hell are you guys talking about?" :D in another instance i learned "testa fra le nuvole" (head in the clouds) which means that someone doesnt pay attention

[@renatoherren4217]

We use some similar ones in Switzerland, like "fallen from all clouds" if someone is very surprised or disappointed. And if something not very valuable breaks, we say "They make new ones every day." which sounds similar to the pope one. Yes, we don't value the pope as much as italians do, he's just another crazy politician to us.

[@dasmaurerle4347]

Hahaha, Danke schön😂🍻

[@marcpaloma2262]

Finally, you are back since rebranding! So happy to see your face again! Here’s to many more years of Feli From Germany: In America!

[@Pies.]

Funnily enough, searching her old channel name gets you the exact same things =)

[@cedriceric9730]

@@Pies. Yes it does lol

[@stephenkammerling9479]

American sports fans sometimes use an idiom similar to pulling something out of the nose. When teams comes from behind late in the game to win, I frequently here they "pulled it out of their ass."

[@Alexander-cj5dj]

Your translations are very well explained. Nobody can hand you the water. 😁

[@conlon4332]

@@paulfellows2604 Thank you for explaining - I know that expression but I'd never heard of the water one, and Google doesn't seem to know it either.

[@verenak2158]

I wouldn't be surprised if Feli's neighbor is looking for some chocolate covered fruits right now 🤣🤣🤣

[@ivartangring3392]

Or chocolate and fruit. And a person capable of transforming these two components into said delicacy. If you ever find such a chocolate fruit stand in Germany, just go for the banana. Don't fall for the chili. It's a trap. 🌶️😅

[@afcgeo882]

All I can say is Trader Joe’s.

[@chrisgood525]

“Pig sty” in English is two words. Pig is the animal, and sty is the place a domesticated pig lives. The second word is pronounced to rhyme with “buy” or “fly”. This episode was fun. Danke!

[@EyMannMachHin]

Also, "Hier sieht's ja aus wie im Schweinestall!" is also a valid German description for that state of your room ;)

@@EyMannMachHin Or just the classic "Saustall". (Maybe that's regional though… ;-))

[@EyMannMachHin]

@ Yeah, that, too! ;)))

[@Mathin3D]

shut up, karen

[@lafabus6335]

@@EyMannMachHin There is the exact same wording and phrase for that specific circumstance in French as well.. More like "schweinerei" actually!

[@mikepawloski6430]

You can thank us by continuing to provide the excellent content that has deservedly earned you 300K subscribers!

[@TMD3453]

And now your brand is all yours!! Cheers FFG!

[@Leislburg]

I really wish I had learned "Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof" when I was living in Germany. As an American Soldier we could of course live in our English bubble, but the Army did teach German classes so we could get out into the country some. The funny thing is that it seemed every sentence they taught had the word 'Bahnhof'. I guess they really wanted to make sure we could find our way back to the station to get home. So anyway the teachers tended to launch into fast German but often the only word we could understand was 'Bahnhof'!!! :)

[@jc3drums916]

In Mandarin, flattering someone is referred to as "patting the horse's butt," and the word for butt literally translates as "fart share" (I'm guessing "the body part that shares farts" reduced to its most essential elements). Strangely enough, the word for share sounds identical to the word for drum, so for a while I thought it was "fart drum," which works too IMHO.

[@davidsmith3263]

On a recent Lufthansa flight, I practised saying “bitte ein Rotwein”. How pleased I was when I was understood! Unfortunately, the cabin crew member said a lot of words back in German! If this happens again, I will say “ich verstehe nur Bahnhof”!

[@arnonuehm8942]

You will certainly earn a big smile when you do that, go ahead with it by all means. Coming from a native speaker, though, the phrase more often than not carries a tiny bit of critique, like "You're unable to express yourself clearly."

[@l.e.f.4016]

Just answer the next time "ich nehme alles, Bitte" "I take it all, please". May you get some drinks more....

[@EpicBikingAdventures]

I have tried to teach myself German by reading the Harry Potter books in German. I don’t have my books here with me now, but the idiom that I really found funny was when describing Petunia Dursley. The English translation would be something like she wasn’t someone you would eat cherries with.

[@starseed8087]

Mit der (Petunia) ist nicht gut Kirschen essen!

[@patrick6449]

That thought Harry about McGonagall at first

[@chuckpuckett7288]

I remember that every town in Germany had a coat of arms. Frankfurt had the white eagle on a red background, Munich had what looks like a monk, and Berlin was the black bear on white. Would you consider doing a show about that?

[@ahoiLouise]

There is a village called Busendorf in Brandenburg (Busen meaning Boobs). The coat of arms shows three upright asparagus spears. It evokes interesting associations in people.

[@xwormwood]

Fun with Flags reloaded?

[@Hand-in-Shot_Productions]

This sounds quite interesting! I looked up Munich, and the monk emblem makes sense: apparently, the city's name comes from the old German word _Munichen,_ meaning "by the monks". I would be interested in learning more about German coats of arms. Thanks for the suggestion! For more information about Munich: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich#Etymology and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Munich For the other two coats of arms mentioned: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wappen_Frankfurt_am_Main.svg and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Berlin

[@boxsterman77]

ooooh Great suggestion

[@oxigenarian9763]

I am SO glad you have bounced right back - well done. Resilience is a trait Americans truly admire!

[@JonahNelson7]

True resilience is frowned upon in every other country

[@benjaminstephens7238]

@@JonahNelson7 why, exactly? And what’s your point in saying so?

[@giovannideventuri4506]

@@benjaminstephens7238 I think it is a good point to make. It is one of the main underlying reasons that made America what it became. GREAT!

[@BS-vx8dg]

@@benjaminstephens7238 I assumed Jonah Nelson was being sarcastic, that he thinks its absurd to regard resilience as an "American" characteristic.

[@joadwr]

@@BS-vx8dg , that's what i thought as well....

[@Paul_Wetor]

What a fun game this is, trying to guess the meaning by context alone. "Monkey dead" is possibly guessable, but "train station" not so much. Idioms based on local history are tough because there is no way to know that as an outsider.

[@greenmanalishi9919]

Maybe it's just in my head because I like you and want to cheer you on but I really think your energy has changed and this video is one of your best ever. New name, new energy, brighter future.

[@stefanfisher4440]

"Offended Liverwurst" would be a great band name

[@maniacletsplays2230]

You wanna thank us for our support? Just stay as you are as a person, that's what everyone wants the most :) Danke für jede Art von deinem Content! So zu bleiben wie du bist ist wirklich die größte Art uns zu Danken, denn offensichtlich gefällst du uns allen sehr genau so wie du bist. Mach weiter so :)

[@rututuraticutu790]

4:54 Once we had french class in 7th grade, we learned about the word "gare" which means "train station" and how to communicate with people on the train station in french. My friend and i literally didn't understand anything so he said "ich verstehe nur Bahnhof"

[@ramrod1279]

😆

[@Rincy42]

Schön zu sehen, dass Du mit neuem Branding jetzt durchstartest. 😃 Ein paar Redewendungen die mir spontan noch einfallen (für einen Part 2): "Das ist aber nicht von schlechten Eltern" "Mein lieber Herr Gesangsverein..." "Holla die Waldfee..." "Fuchsteufelswild sein" "Das geht mir auf den Wecker/Keks" "Des Pudels Kern" "Wo sich Fuchs und Hase gute Nacht sagen" "Hundemüde sein" "Es regnet Bindfäden" "Jetzt lass aber Mal die Kirche im Dorf..." "Fünfe gerade sein lassen" "Die Kurve kratzen" "Die Beine in die Hand nehmen" "Du strahlst ja wie ein Honigkuchenpferd" "Hier steppt der Bär"

[@l.e.f.4016]

Da boxt der Pabst im Kettenhemd Rubbel die Katz' Den Arsch zukneifen Ich glaub mein Hamster bohnert Gib mir mal das Dingsbums So eiene Quasselstrippe Mit der Kirche ums Dorf gehen Jemanden anmachen Einen Drehwurm haben Jemenden einen Floh ins Ohr setzen Ein dickes Fell haben

[@Crysticia]

Mach mal halblang So ein Affentheater Halt mal den Ball flach Was ist dir denn für 'ne Laus über die Leber gelaufen? Das kann ja kein Schwein lesen. Du guckst wie sieben Tage Regenwetter Bist wohl mit dem falschen Fuß aufgestanden, mh? Du machst aus 'ner Mücke 'n Elefanten Du benimmst dich wie ein Elefant im Porzellanladen Geh doch dahin, wo der Pfeffer wächst Die Katze aus dem Sack lassen Ach da liegt der Hund begraben. Den Kopf in den Sand stecken Ein Auge zudrücken Der/die hat Haare auf den Zähnen Alle über einen Kamm scheren Einen Bären aufbinden Hals- und Beinbruch! Schmetterlinge im Bauch haben

[@ryuu3673]

Ich hab noch nie was vom Pudel, Fuchs und Hase, den Bindfäden oder der Fünf gehört

[@ryuu3673]

@@l.e.f.4016 und von denen gerade mal so 3

[@skthalange]

In the British TV series Fawlty Towers (from the 70’s), the Spanish waiter once said “que! I’m from Barcelona”. It was adopted as a phrase to mean “I don’t know what you mean” and if you want some peculiar idiomatic phrases, speak to a Köbes in Köln. (Also sounds like Kürbis). My favourite is “dä schriev met der Nas op dem Ärm. Which means to wipe your nose on your sleeve Another good one is “wo der Hase und der Fuchs gute Nacht sagen”, meaning “in the middle of nowhere”. I once said in my pidgin German “mitten im Nirgendwo”. I got strange looks from my German friends!

[@alex_michaels]

"Kater" in this context is one of my favorite German colloquial terms. I always think of Muskelkater, the German term for muscle soreness after working out (DOMS), which in German fitness circles is often represented by the image of a super buff cat, which I just think is hilarious. This is such a great list, going to add the ones that are new to me to my flashcards to learn.

[@arnonuehm8942]

"Kater" most likely goes back to the medical term "Katarrh" (inflammation of mucous membranes), which laymen used for all kinds of ailments back in the day.

[@TheLanguageSponge]

Thanks for this, Feli! This was really fun. I understood all of these without the translations but I don’t remember hearing ‘Klappe zu, Affe tot’ before. My favourite German idiom is ‘jemanden auf die Palme bringen’. Ever since I first heard it when I was in school 20 odd years ago, it’s conjured an image in my head of an annoying monkey chasing someone up a palm tree and it just makes me smile :)

[@conlon4332]

11:26 My mum always said somewhere was "a tip". In fact, that was one of the first words I learnt to spell because for some reason she loved to spell it out.

[@robscott9414]

My favourite idioms from my time living in Switzerland: "Er schaut die Ruebli jetzt vo unne an." -- literally translating as "He's now looking at the carrots from underneath." meaning "he's dead." On the same topic "Er trägt jetzt die Holtzpajamas." -- He's wearing wooden pajamas." (i.e. the coffin) "en Boge huste" -- "Cough (up) a rainbow" -- to puke.

[@ultramaximusreviews]

I had a buddy when I lived in Frankfort that would always say "That's cheese!" I'd say the equivalent here is like you said "that's bullshit" or "that's a bunch of crap" or "that's messed up" Now back when I was a kid in the 80s we'd say "that's bogus!" or "that's whack!" just like in Bill & Ted's Excellent adventure

[@johnburns8660]

"I'll take the gas pipe."; or, less commonly, "Take the gas pipe."

[@brianmccarthy5557]

Stinky cheese!

[@brianmccarthy5557]

@@johnburns8660 The only time I've heard that used was when somebody was contemplating violence towards somebody else. Guess it depends on your neighborhood.

[@johnburns8660]

@@brianmccarthy5557 The meaning in the "gas pipe" reference is that what has been said is so obviously ridiculous that, if we were take it to be true or correct, we may as well end it all.

[@glengamble526]

Feli, I feel your pain-my band signed a record deal with MCA records in the 90’s and after we signed the contract, we received a letter from a lawyer from a band who owned our name already. So we had to change it. It sucked and was a minor set-back, but just like us, at least you are finding out now, early in your success. Having just hit 300k subs, you are in early days and lot more success is coming your way! So it’s better that the name change issue came now, then later when you are really popular and successful…which IS coming your way! Nothing can stop you now…wishing you all the best!

[@conlon4332]

8:14 I've always heard "Like getting blood from a stone". My mum is always saying that when I don't give her the answer she's looking for, which is especially frustrating when it's just because I don't understand what she's trying to ask... Edit: One time when she was cross she said "It's like getting blood from a bloody stone!" I just burst out laughing, and she didn't even understand why at first. "I don't think that would be that difficult!" I said. She obviously hadn't heard the irony in using "bloody" in that context!

[@LeChuck1717]

einen Kater haben is still my favorite. There is basically no other way to express hungover in german.

[@deonneparrish9850]

The Hempel's sofa expression got me curious so I looked it up and it is the title of a board game about finding things in a messy house. My dad always used the expression like "Fibber McGee's closet" when talking about something being a mess. It was old radio show when you opened the door of the closet everything fell out of it and made a big crashing sound.

[@NormanF62]

The closest English equivalent is, its under the rug or its under the carpet which has the same meaning about things one would rather not bring to mind.

[@StephenGresser]

I'm definitely using "Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof" with my daughter's new boyfriend who is coming to visit America for the first time soon. I like "Das ist Käse" a lot. In British English, they say, "That's pants!" (Which, oddly, is not their word for trousers or jeans but their word for underwear) Another fun one they use for "einen Kater haben" is "a big head". Thanks for another great video!

[@susanlueem8267]

In Switzerland Kater is a hangover

[@davidtaylor9999]

I’m probably using the incorrect articles, “Habst du einen Vogel?” My parents who are from Germany use this, but growing up I only knew it by the English translation and thought it was a thing we say here. Something like “Oh, the woman across the street has a bird in her head about .” Had no idea at the time it’s not an American expression, so I used to get puzzled looks from kids…

[@smolli91]

i really like our swiss idioms. "jetzt isch gnueg Heu dune" (Jetzt ist genug Heu unten) means "enought is enought" or "Ich zeigder wo de Bartli de Moscht holt!" (Ich zeig dir wo Bartli den Most (Apfelsaft) holt.) this means "I am better than you and will beat you" or if someone did something bad to say that I will panish you. And there are much much more.

[@tracyz9155]

I think the closest for #6 - the liverwurst one is “don’t get bent out of shape” about it; or in the south “ don’t get your panties in a twist or wad”. And liverwurst is a great lunch eat. I love it. Oh and #8) The messy room would be a pig sty (sty rhymes with eye) or “like a tornado ran through it”. This is fun.

[@dnwiebe]

Or, "Don't be such a snowflake."

[@alicemilne1444]

@@dnwiebe I wouldn't agree with that. "Beleidigte Leberwurst" wouldn't be used in any of the situations where I've seen "snowflake" used. It means to get all huffy.

[@dnwiebe]

@@alicemilne1444 I’ve seen “snowflake” used to call someone delicate and too easily offended, and I’ve also seen it used to accuse someone of thinking himself overly unique-as though the rules for everyone else don’t apply to him.

[@alicemilne1444]

@@dnwiebe Yes, but this again is one of the many cases where the semantic fields (i.e. fields of meaning) differ between the two languages.

[@sheilaheinrich2656]

Similar to what Tracy Z said, "don't get your knickers in a knot!"

[@folkehoffmann1198]

This reminds me of "English for runaways". I love - Ich glaub ich spinne, literally meaning I think I spider. It means "I think I'm about to go crazy. Like when your kid does something stupid and you say "Ich glaub ich spinne, why did you do that?" - Mein lieber Herr Gesangsverein, literally my dear Mr. Singingclub. It means something like holy moly. - Ich glaub mein Schwein pfeift, literally meaning I think my pig whistles. It basically means something in between the first two ones I mentioned. - Keiner kann mir das Wasser reichen, literally meaning noone can reach me the water. It means nobody can get up to my level. - Das macht mir keiner so schnell nach, literaly meaning that makes me nobody so quickly after. It means I did so amazing, nobody will be able to do that anytime soon. - Mit mir ist nicht gut Kirschen essen, literally meaning with me is not good cherry eating. It means I am angry about something and in a bad mood.

[@DJDoena]

While "I think I spider" always sounds funny, it's not really a legit translation since "spinne" or "spinnen" (to weave) is a verb and not the noun "Spinne" (spider)

[@folkehoffmann1198]

@@DJDoena That's true but someone who hardly speaks English would probably translate it as spider.

[@timolynch149]

@@DJDoena "spinnen" as a verb usually means "to spin" as in "spinning wheel". "To weave" is weben, although oddly, in German spiders "spinnen ein Netz" and in English they "weave". That said "Garn spinnen" is "spinning (a) yarn" and you can quite easily see that it looks very, very similar in both languages. To call somebody a "Spinner" in Germany as an insult apparently hails back to sailors having to spin frayed ropse into new yarn and because the work was tedious, they told each other outrageous, made-up stories. So, literally, you'd translate it as "I think I'm spinning" which sounds as if you're driving a car and in some distress, I guess.

[@NormanF62]

Not all idioms have an exact equivalent because what makes sense in one culture is expressed differently in another. In English, I think I’m a weaver comes off like I believe I’m like a spider in German the sense being what one does: a spider spins a web and a weaver spins a loom.

[@cristianc.6302]

We, romanians, have some pretty funny ones too: - "Ma uit ca mâța-n calendar" = I'm staring like a cat at a calendar - I'm very confused, I don't undertand a thing. Similar with "Understanding train station" - "I-a picat fața" = his/her face has fallen off - him/her are very surpised/shocked - "Te aburește" = he/she is throwing vapours at you - he/she is trying to fool you - "M-a scos din pepeni" = It took me out of my watermelons - it drove me nuts - "Se simte cu musca pe căciulă" = He/she is feeling the fly on his/her cap - he/she feels guilty for something - "Frecție la picior de lemn" = A rub on a wooden leg - when you refer to a useless action - "Umblă cu cioara vopsită" = he/she is walking with the painted crow - he/she is lying - "Nu mai freca menta" = Stop rubbing the mint - stop wasting the time and do something usefull - “A fi prins cu mata-n sac” = to be caught with the cat in the bag - to be caught lying/cheating - “A dat cu mucii în fasole” = he/she threw his boogers in the beans - he/she messed something up so badly - “a o căuta cu lumânarea” = to look for something with a lit candle - to be looking for trouble - “Te îmbeți cu apă rece” = You are geting drunk with cold water - you are fooling yourself - “I-a sărit muștarul” = His/her mustard has jumped off - he/she is very angry - “La Pastele cailor” = At the horses’ Easter - basically it means that something will never happen

[@kilsestoffel3690]

In Germany, we buy the cat in tha bag. "Die Katze im Sack kaufen" meaning to buy (or recieve) something without really knowing what.

[@mike03a3]

My current favorite German idiom is "Male nicht den teufel an die wand." Literally "Don't paint the devil on the wall". I first heard it when my housemate and I were planning a few days on the Ost See island of Sylt.

[@Andreas_Cologne]

Sylt ist eine Nordseeinsel

[@Spelterdon]

The "cat's meow" means something that is outstanding. For instance, her new outfit is the cat's meow. My grandfather used to use this expression. It's not very common anymore.

[@francelaferriere6106]

Some people say the "bee's knees".

[@dennishochstetler1653]

I've also heard "the cat's whiskers". I like to use that one myself even if it's an old expression.

[@DidrickNamtvedt]

I've always been interested in idioms in different languages and as I'm currently learning German, these are very useful and also definitely very funny too! Good to see you back after the name change, excited to see what more video there are to come :)

[@fellmr1]

„You are on the woodway“ if you think that wasn’t funny. Herrlich, die 1:1 Übersetzungen zu hören. Und allgemein auch interessant zu sehen, wie Sprichwörter von lokalen Gegebenheiten geprägt sind. Da gibt es auch einige Beispiele von englisch nach deutsch.

[@seiyofiraraven2841]

I helped out a hungarian girl once and she told me "omg thank you so much, Im kissing your eye!". I was very confused....... XD

[@francelaferriere6106]

Well then, re. the first idiom with the nose thing, in French we say "tirer les vers du nez", pulling worms out of the nose, which is pretty similar to the German one.

[@TheMuellerlein]

@@francelaferriere6106 I learned a bit french at school but I forgot much. But as I did, I saw that french and german grammar is very similar.

[@mws7347]

13:20 "einen Kater haben" comes from the similar sounds of "einen Katarrh haben" = "having a catarrh" Another german idiom: "Es ist höchste Eisenbahn ... " = "It is the highest railway ... " The source is a play of Adolf Glaßbrenner. In "Ein Heiratsantrag in der Niederwallstraße" (1847), there is an absent-minded man who is constantly mixing up words saying: "Es ist die allerhöchste Eisenbahn, die Zeit ist schon vor drei Stunden angekommen." = "It is the highest railway, the time arrived three hours ago."

[@MTimWeaver]

A favorite of mine in Spanish is "camarones que se duermen, se los lleva el corriente", which translates roughly to "Shrimp that sleep get carried away by the current." The best interpretation into English I've heard is "you snooze, you lose." :)

[@danieljordanov]

In Bulgarian we say: Who sleeps enough doesn't eat enough ;)

[@347walnut]

In German: Er/sie hat's verpennt.

[@dragonmac1234]

We will always support you Feli, the funniest one to me was lid closed, monkey dead. Maybe that's because I have a fairly morbid sense of humour.

[@HalfEye79]

There are even some more quite morbid sayings: - "Hier ist der Hund begraben." - "Here the dog is buried." = A place where nothing happens. - "Hier ist tote Hose." - "Here are dead trousers." = A place, where there should be many people, but are only very few.

[@thatguy8869]

I think the monkey is just playing dead.

[@dragonmac1234]

@@thatguy8869 Maybe it's Schrodinger's Monkey.

[@mediumjohnsilver]

“Elvis has left the building.” I guess that is the closest American idiom to “Lid closed, monkey dead.”

[@BS-vx8dg]

Really? That's not how I hear it used.

[@wrighthowell9801]

Offended Liverwurst---Lol that is hilarious. Definitely my favorite one. Close second is "put your mustard on it"

[@salyl2252]

Hi Feli I’m an American living in Germany for the last 3 years. I’ve been watching your videos and I love them. I wish you the best of luck. Love the new name!! 🥰

[@MrDavidfarris]

I love the way your content is researched and presented. It’s obvious that you work very hard putting these videos together. Thank you so much! You’re my favorite channel.

[@lindseynoack5558]

I really like Feli from Germany, it feels more personal! ☺️

[@brianostube]

My NRW colleagues taught me one some years ago. In a meeting we were talking how to fix some bugs in a program, and one colleague remarked: "Manchmal kotzt das Pferd vor der Apotheke" / "sometimes a horse barfs in front of the pharmacy", implying that even with a good plan, sometimes unexpected things happen that you can't control. We were trying to think of a similar phrase in English when another colleague hit the nail on the head: "$hit happens!"

[@arnonuehm8942]

In case you're interested (I'm a native speaker of German): the idiom has a bit more to it! It refers to the fact that horses are unable to throw up and stages this in arm's reach of a treatment. You'd normally use it to call for extreme vigilance. Also, it is a stock phrase: "Man hat schon Pferde vor der Apotheke kotzen sehen!".

[@gwillis01]

If you want to describe having an intensely hard time getting someone to admit to some deed done that made them cringe and feel totally uncomfortable, as an American you could say: " I can see that getting you to tell this story is going to be as hard as pulling teeth."

[@houseofschenck6230]

I've used "like pulling teeth" as well as "like herding cats."

[@gwillis01]

@@houseofschenck6230 I would like to state that in my American opinion, "like herding cats" is most often applied to the difficulties of getting a committee of people who have vastly different opinions to form a consensus and issue a coherent committee report on the issue under discussion.

[@houseofschenck6230]

@@gwillis01 In my American opinion, it's used both in relation to organizing people/things and for anything that might be difficult to do.

[@Jacob_._Roberts]

You EARNED each and every viewer and each and every subscriber by producing high quality, interesting, and informative videos.

[@gazlator]

"A rose by any other name..", Feli. You're still a first class KZbinr with engaging, informative content !

[@poliveri0722]

... underneath Hempels sofa ... There was a radio show in the '40s (1935-1959) calle Fibber McGee and Molly. They had a very messy hall closet that made a tremendous clatter when opened (sound effect, everything falling out). 'You're room looks like Fibber McGee's closet'

[@VelocityUrbexadventures]

You can use other words for "Keks" in that idiom, too. E.g. "Sack- bag/sack" "Zeiger-pointer" "Eier- eggs" "Senkel- (shoe)lace" .

[@gruhl6122]

I think I would have enjoyed my German classes more 40 years ago if we had learned some of these! I love "Lid closed, monkey dead."

[@petermuller9940]

I used ones in a business meeting in Canada „that’s the same in green“. All German colleges understood… the Canadians were confused

[@DarthLenaPlant]

Immerhin gibt's ja auch das Idiom "Welche Laus ist dir denn über die Leber gelaufen", aber das ist möglicherweise nicht mehr so gebräuchlich... XD

[@msingh1932]

Her joy and enthusiasm makes my day...and that million dollar smile

[@V8Supercar1]

I love it when she includes her unidentified twin sister in her videos. 😅

[@jasonpendergraft4511]

Feli, you could probably make a video using your “flag” characters or the alter ego you used in this one and go super viral. 😂 Those segments are usually awesome. I think you must be a riot around your “real life” friends. 🤣

[@dennishadley2783]

My favorite when there was "Ich glaube mein Schwein pfeift", used when other soldiers were telling some tall tales. They had no idea what I meant and that just made me laugh harder.

[@Hand-in-Shot_Productions]

I just watched this video again, and I found it quite entertaining! "Pull out of their nose" and "lid closed, monkey dead" each bring up quite a funny image! Also, I found the etymology for "I only understand 'train station'" to be quite interesting. Thanks for the video!

[@slimphotog]

In baseball (a really REALLY long time ago), a player might say to the pitcher, "Put a little mustard on it," meaning throw it harder. They must have been baseball players with German roots.

[@Mirabellism]

😂 In this case a German would (literally) say "add pepper".

[@moneygrabbercodswollop8133]

A subscriber special with a Q&A and your responses are entirely auf Deutsch. Questions don’t have to be in German though :P

[@FelifromGermany]

Like the idea :)

[@moneygrabbercodswollop8133]

@@FelifromGermany I like the sound of the German language, and I miss learning it and speaking it, so that would be a treat for me

[@radicalnomad1]

@@FelifromGermany that would be awesome! I'm learning German so that would hopefully help.

[@michaelmenzinger5019]

@@FelifromGermany Gerne mehr Videos mit Münchner Dialekt. Liebe Grüße aus Bayern ;)

[@geneouye3447]

@@FelifromGermany FYI, "pigsty" is a "sty" or a "pen" for pigs. In other words, it's two words concatenated together, and is pronounced that way. It isn't an adjective where the "y" is pronounced like a German "ie" -- the "y" in "pigsty" is pronounced like a German "ei".

[@JCKnopf]

LOL.. I actually used "Klappe zu, Affe tot" to end a discussion with my teenage kids a few weeks ago... after translating it, they just stared at me incredulously.. "You killed a monkey? what's wrong with you?"... so word to the wise: even after 25 years in the US, some german idioms still creep up on you, and come out, whether you want to or not.. :-)

[@simonsaunders8147]

I love the "Lid closed, Monkey dead" idiom. Funny as!

[@NormanF62]

Let sleeping dogs lie. Or don’t rattle the closet - skeletons are in it!

[@midnightsuns1000rr]

Love your videos, they are always a enjoyable watch. You are about the only person who doesn't make the German language so frightening and harsh.

[@DJDoena]

Question about the pigsty (non-native here): you said pig-stee. I haven't heard this word often but I remember it as pig-staye (like in Aye, Captain!). Am I mistaken?

[@LaShumbraBates]

You are correct. We do say it like "Aye."

[@jennv2948]

You are correct, though I'm glad you clarified that it would rhyme with aye, as I would pronounce "staye" the same as 'stay'. But yes, it should rhyme with tie/sigh/my, not tee/see/me

[@james-russellgause4735]

Nah, you're right.

[@birdandcatlover5597]

You are correct

[@birdandcatlover5597]

Also, gotta love Star Trek. Just watched DS9: Empok Nor

[@Trifler500]

English idiom: I remember standing in front of the TV and my Dad asked me if I'd been drinking muddy water. It means "I can't see through you." :)

[@christophergraham3160]

#8. "Looks like a tornado went through here!" One of my mother's favorite idioms describing my room as a teenager.

[@aladdin709]

So glad to see a video post with your new channel name!

[@jensschroder8214]

"Das sind alles nur Peanuts." This saying went back to a bank manager who considered common people's money deposits to be worthless. But when the stock market went down and his employees were betting on the wrong stocks. He was glad that many savers had small sums in their accounts. So the bank made offers to the small savers again, because they left the money in the bank. It shows the arrogance.

[@alexj9603]

This word, "peanuts", referring to small amounts of money, comes directly from English. It became (in)famous in German, when the CEO of a German bank publicly labeled a sum of 50 million DM, which could have meant bankruptcy for many small businesses, as "peanuts" (because he had much larger sums to deal with).

[@michaelmuller4668]

One wall free ;-) Einwandfrei

[@What_Makes_Climate_Tick]

My grandmother had a closet that she called the "Fibber McGee closet". It contained various things, many of them cleaning products. The name is a reference to an old radio program (prior to TV, I think) in which a character would often open a closet, and there would be the sound of many things falling out of the closet onto the floor. This expression is now very rare, but used a little. I wonder whether "wie bei Hempels unterm sofa" has a similar origin in media or literature. I know it was used to demonstrate an idiom, but most visitors, even very long-term ones, don't spend much time examining the layout of farms. Most farm houses in the eastern US (and I include Ohio in this) are rather close to a road. But farther west (I am most familiar with Minnesota, North Dakota, and Nebraska), many farms have a mailbox at the opposite end of a driveway sometimes nearly 1 km long, so some people actually might drive to their mailbox. This has to do with homesteading laws that took effect after the eastern states were already settled, but entitled people to farmland in unsettled territory with the requirement that they build a house there. Finally, picking up on your mispronunciation of "pigsty", there used to be a Chinese restaurant near here called Dinersty. This was intended to combine the words "diner" and "dynasty". However, people would make fun of it by pronouncing the last syllable as in "pigsty", likening the diners there to pigs.

[@doncarryone6542]

Die Leberwurscht bei 19:11 😂 Man hört dass du auch aus dem Süden kommst, Grüße aus BaWü 👍🏼😂

[@joellongfellow3574]

Love what you've done with the channel. Cheers to many more years of Feli from Germany. Sehr gut! Tschûss!!

[@09.vuduyanhb68]

Tschüss* or Tschuess

[@joellongfellow3574]

@@09.vuduyanhb68 in the outro, Feli has the word "tschüss". I believe it means so long or goodbye. I may have mistyped the word. It should have an umlaut on the "u".

[@joellongfellow3574]

@@09.vuduyanhb68 it can be spelled either way. The umlaut is said "e" with the respective letter.

[@amatije]

@@joellongfellow3574 Tschüss means bye. It's used among the friends and family, not so formal as Auf Wiedersehen

[@joellongfellow3574]

@@amatije I thought I was correct. Thanks or dankeschön!

[@DavidOatney]

I have greatly enjoyed discovering your channel and watching your videos, I have in fact enjoyed them so much that you have inspired me to begin learning German, something I have always wanted to do and never taken the time to do it. This video is another example as to why that is. Bless you.

[@mikmik9034]

#6, I have heard, "A Butterfly", or more commonly today, "A Snowflake".

[@ericrabinowitz6390]

11:28 - Pigsty is usually pronounced . What a hilarious video, many thanks.

[@Opa_Andre]

Haha Feli, diesmal hast Du mich erwischt. War gerade dabei Dein Video zu starten, doch wurde abgelenkt. Als ich es dann startete, hatte ich den Titel nicht mehr in Erinnerung. Als Du dann im Intro den Dialog mit Dir selbst hattest, waren daher meine ersten Gedanken: Oh - schön - Feli hat sich verliebt in Chad, ihren Klassenkameraden... oder kommt jetzt gar die News, dass sie schwanger ist? 😱 Als ich dann den Titel nochmal las, habe ich Tränen gelacht. 🤣 Bezüglich des Idioms: "Er geht mir auf den Keks" kam dieser Spruch gerüchteweise ursprünglich von Frauen, da sie den männlichen Spruch : "Er geht mir auf den Sack" nicht anwenden konnten. 😉

[@andywymore738]

Feli! Love your content, you handled the renaming and that whole sitch so well! It’s so much fun just to hear you speak in German, my favorite of these idioms is #7 Das ist Kasë! I’m going to start using that, rewatching how you pronounce it over and over so I can say it properly!

[@andrewadams4256]

Lid closed , monkey dead. That's going to be my new catch phrase lol

[@jonhelmstadter2870]

My favorite idiom in English is " as sharp as a sack of marbles", meaning dim bulb, dull knife, etc.

[@Kolious_Thrace]

It’s very interesting to hear those idiom phrases in other languages! Great video! Also, seems crazy to me from English speakers to say ‘’it’s all Greek to me’’ when they do not understand since the English language has a 16% of Hellenic vocabulary… In Hellas we say something that translates to ‘’whatever you say sounds Chinese to my ears’’ when we don’t understand!

[@billpaine6241]

“It’s Greek to me” comes from not understanding Greek letters, so the idea of the idiom is that I can’t even figure out the sounds much less the meaning of written Greek. Amusingly, many English authors in Victorian and Edwardian times just assumed their readers had a classical education and would quote Ancient Greek passages in Greek letters without translating.

[@Kolious_Thrace]

@@billpaine6241 oh right! I didn’t thought of it Yeah, because they cannot understand the alphabet… some letters seen weird to Latin-letters-using-languages Hellenic is phonetic so the sounds are much more easier and consistent than English though… Λλ is always gonna be Ll Ξξ is always gonna be Ks Δδ is always gonna be like ‘’th’’ in the word the Θθ is always gonna be like ‘’th’’ in the word thanks

[@3.k]

Welcome back, you all new Feli! 🤗 I’m looking forward for the English idioms episode, and I wonder if there are a lot of British vs American idioms, that the respective other doesn’t get immediately.

[@silverstreettalks343]

@Paul Fellows and then add in those from the Colonies. Which English are we discussing? Feli is in the US, so it is likely to dominate, but... I'm Australian, by the way.

[@ernestmccutcheon9576]

Those were some good choices. I also like "0815" (might be a little old) , JWD/Arsch der Welt, "Hau rein", "Könnte mich reinsetzten". There was a book published in the 90's "English for Runaways" that might provide additional material. I recently had a dicussion with a friend about how some of the classics like "Schwer auf Draht", "Auf dem Holzweg" are no longer in use today....

[@boxsterman77]

One of my favorite is "Du hast ein Vogel in deiner kopf." Or simplified as "Do hast ein Vogel.

[@EliF-ge5bu]

I like the new channel name. I've never heard anyone pronounce pigsty that way you did at 11:27. It has always been "pigs-tie".

[@scelestion]

Yeah, it's a sty for/with pigs.

[@AlexFranke]

Another example of why English makes no sense. Haha

[@johnleake5657]

@@scelestion Yes, a sty /stʌɪ/ - an enclosure for pigs - for pigs (by definition, all sties are for pigs, so it's double defined!)

[@scelestion]

@@johnleake5657 Thanks, I did not know that!

[@SpielSatzFail]

Let me add that the German hangover, "Kater", does not come from a male cat but is linguistically derived from Katarrh (catarrh/flu/cold).

[@jeff-ramos]

Hmmm. I had always heard it as Katzenjammer. Have never heard Kater, but that sounds to me like an abbreviated version.

[@deryoutubaaar3926]

@@jeff-ramos Kater is way more common, Katzenjammer is more of a regional thing. Fun fact, the band Katzenjammer got it's name when they heard a German complain about his Katzenjammer, apparently they found the word funny

[@VulcanOnWheels]

0:48 If I haven't said so already... CONGRATS on the 300K! That about "you go me on the cookie" sounds kind of familiar.

[@pskarnaq73]

Congratulations on 300K!!

[@chrisdooph5092]

The word "Kater" (also part of the word "Muskelkater") actually comes from the word "Katarrh" and has nothing to do with cats, btw. It is just a "Verballhornung" which is a great German word and according to the dictionary, I looked in, means malapropism in English(?)

[@danielvanr.8681]

The feline association is also reflected in Polish "kac" and Czech/Slovak "kocovina"; both alluding to German "Katzenjammer" (lit. "caterwauling") and thus implying that the sufferer's groans of discomfort sound like a, well, wailing cat. 🤕🐶

[@ronalddelrosario7405]

My favorite idiom was something I read in a funny Japanese-English translation book. Supposedly there's a Japanese idiom that literally translates to "It is too late to clench your butt cheeks after you have already farted."

[@chadfalardeau5396]

🤣🤣🤣

[@juttalio1664]

That's realy funny

[@brianmccarthy5557]

That actually sounds like Japanese folk wisdom.

[@feuervogerl8093]

Dann möchte ich gerne noch ein paar beitragen: This is not the yellow of the egg You don´t have all cups in your cupboard I think i spider Holla the wood fairey My english is under all pig There you are on the woodway That fits on no cowskin I stand on the tube Now the oven is out That goes off like Schmitz´ cat I think my pig whistles You have a bird You have a sock shot Das wären mal spontan alle, die mir so einfallen. Super Video wie immer übrigens, weiter so :)

[@Istalantar]

Another funny one I'm thinking of is "du kannst mir mal den Buckel runter rutschen" (engl. you can slide down my back). I don't even now how to translate that. What i found is following, never heard that before though: "Nuts to you!"

[@wofl1234]

I'm tired, I will hit me on the ear

[@brookeworrall9110]

I never thought my high school German teacher's insanely detailed curriculum would come in handy but here we are!

[@VelocityUrbexadventures]

Meega Intro. That pulled me slick the socks out. Mehr davon. Tränen gelacht. Und sehr gerne. Dein Kanal gehört zu meinen Favoriten, nicht zuletzt wegen Deiner Authentizität!

[@jennifer8535]

I appreciate how you explain WHY it became a saying.