Idioms and special phrases

  Idioms are phrases that acquire their meaning from an entire expression and cannot be translated word for word. Imagine a German trying to make sense of the phrase                               Good looks run in the family by checking out the individual words in a dictionary

ordinary words + unexpected usage → idiom

  The same is true when dealing with German idioms. Although they require care in their use, idioms are highly useful for writing interesting sentences, because they often provide a casual tone to a sentence and even a little fun in a text.

  Not all phrases that are difficult to translate are idioms. Some just have a special or even limited usage or are part of the German grammar that does not exist in English.

  Let’s look at a variety of idioms and special phrases that can be useful in creating lively or colorful sentences. Some are pat phrases that have only one form;

others are more flexible and can change elements within their structure.

Gern

  The verb to like in German is composed of the infinitive haben followed by gern:

Hast du ihn gern?                          Do you like him?

Tina hat Professor Keller gern.   Tina likes Professor Keller.

Gern can be used with other verbs and still retain the meaning like. In such cases the word gern follows the verb directly and is not at the end of the clause as with haben:

Ich tanze gern mit Angela.                                              I like dancing with Angela.

Die Mädchen spielen gern Tennis oder Basketball.  The girls like playing tennis or basketball

The comparative and superlative of gern are lieber and am liebsten, respectively,
and show a higher degree of liking to do something:
Wir spielen lieber Schach.                We prefer to play chess.
Wir spielen am liebsten Tennis.      Most of all we like to play tennis.
Useful expressions
The following structure contains the modal sollen and can be used with a wide variety of verbs:
hätte + infinitive + sollen
Ich hätte es + tun + sollen.
I should have done it.
Das hättest du nicht sagen sollen.         You shouldn’t have said that.
Das hätte man nicht tun sollen.             One shouldn’t have done that.
Er hätte die Flasche Bier langsamer     He should have drunk the bottle of beer slower.
trinken sollen.
A variety of subjects can be used with the following expression:
Die ganze Familie ist vor die Hunde               The whole family went to the dogs.
gegangen.
Unser Geschäft wird vor die Hunde gehen.   Our business will go to the dogs.
Der alte Mann ist vor die Hunde gegangen.  The old man kicked the bucket.
Numerous noun phrases or pronouns can follow the preposition auf in the expression that
follows and means to look forward to something (don’t confuse it with sich freuen über, which means to be happy about something):
Er freut sich aufs Wochenende.              He’s looking forward to the weekend.
Wir freuen uns auf unseren Urlaub.      We’re looking forward to our vacation.
Freuen Sie sich nicht darauf?                  Aren’t you looking forward to it?
You can use any number of infinitive phrases to follow Lust haben:
Hast du Lust ins Kino zu gehen?            Do you feel like going to the movies?
Habt ihr Lust in die Stadt zu fahren?    Do you feel like driving into the city?
Ich habe keine Lust dazu.                         I don’t feel like it.
Expressions with satt haben and leiden can use many different kinds of direct objects:
Ich habe es satt.                                          I’m sick of it.
Ich habe dein Benehmen wirklich satt. I’m really fed up with your behavior.
Sie hat ihren ehemaligen Mann satt.     She’s fed up with her former husband.
Ich kann den Mann nicht leiden.            I can’t stand the man.
Kannst du solche Musik auch nicht       Can’t you stand that kind of music either?
leiden?
Meine Frau kann meinen neuen Chef   My wife can’t stand my new boss.
nicht leiden.
A few different prepositional phrases can be used with the verb sich auskennen:
Kennt er sich in dieser Stadt aus?                   Does he know his way around this city?
Tanja kennt sich bei den Männern aus.         Tanja knows a lot about men.
Kennen Sie sich mit der klassischen              Are you familiar with the classical period?
Periode aus?
A variety of objects can follow mit when using the verb übereinstimmen:
Sie stimmt mit mir überein.                                            She agrees with me.
Ich kann nicht mit Herrn Benz übereinstimmen.       I can’t agree with Mr. Benz.
Some idioms and special phrases tend to be used in a singular way, with only the subject or
tense of the phrase occasionally changing:
Achtung, fertig, los!                                           On your mark, get set, go!
Armer Kerl.                                                         Poor guy.
Besser spät als nie.                                            Better late than never.
Das ist doch reiner Quatsch!                           That’s utter nonsense!
Du musst den Kopf hoch tragen.                    You have to hold your head up high.
Du nimmst mich auf den Arm.                       You’re pulling my leg.
Er ist diese Woche nicht bei Kasse.               He’s short on cash this week.
Er ist seinem Vater wie aus dem Gesicht     He’s a chip off the old block.
geschnitten.
Er war bis über beide Ohren in sie verliebt.   He was head over heels in love with her.
Es macht mir nichts aus.                                 It doesn’t matter to me.
Frische dein Deutsch auf!                               Brush up on your German.
Gib Acht!                                                             Pay attention.
Halt den Mund!                                                Shut up!
Hau ab!                                                               Knock it off! / Get out!
Ich gebe dir eine Ohrfeige!                             I’ll give you a good smack!
Ich habe mit dir ein Hühnchen zu rupfen.  I’ve got a bone to pick with you.
Ich war in der Klemme!                                  I was in a real fix.
Kopf oder Zahl?                                                Heads or tails?
Mir war hundeelend.                                       I was sick as a dog.
Nimm dich zusammen!                                   Get a grip!
o-beinig/x-beinig                                             bowlegged/knock-kneed
Prima.                                                                 Terrific.
Seine Frau ist wieder in andern                    His wife’s in the family way again.
Umständen.
Setz dich nicht aufs hohe Pferd!                    Get off your high horse!
Sie können Gift darauf nehmen.                    You can bet your bottom dollar on it.
so viel ich weiß                                                  as far as I know
übrigens                                                              by the way
um so besser                                                      all the better
Verschwinde!                                                     Get out of here!
von Kopf bis Fuß                                               from head to toe
Wie immer schwatzt er.                                   As usual, he’s talking a lot of hot air.
Reflexive verbs in special phrases
Certain German expressions require a reflexive verb. The following examples illustrate the use of reflexives in sentences and how the English translation of those sentences does not necessarily contain a reflexive:
Beeile dich!                                                        Hurry up!
Die Firma will sich von ihm trennen.          The company wants to let him go.
Die Kinder fürchten sich vor dir.                  The children are afraid of you.
Er hat sich schlecht benommen.                   He behaved badly.
Er versucht sich ruhig zu verhalten.             He tries to keep quiet.
Erinnerst du dich daran?                                Do you remember it?
Ich kann mich nicht an die neue                   I can’t get used to the new apartment.
Wohnung gewöhnen.
Martin hat sich zur Heirat entschlossen.     Martin decided to get married.
Sie hat sich gegen die Idee entschieden.     She decided against the idea.
Sie hat sich sehr bemüht.                               She really tried hard.
The reflexive pronoun occurs after the conjugated verb in a declarative sentence and after
the subject in an interrogative sentence.