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A friend put me onto this 'lost in German to English translation' sentiment set which had me rolling on the floor laughing. Can you imagine sending a card with one of these sentiments on it?:lol::lol::lol:
Mind you “sponge over it” might be a useful one for us crafters!
Some of those are not just language problems, they’re cultural too. For example, where a Brit might say “cross your fingers for me” meaning something like “wish me luck” the equivalent German expression involves pressing thumbs I suspect “now we have the salad” is something to do with coming to the end of something (most continentals eat salad separately after eating the main course of a meal). Fun to guess what might be going in with some of those!
Hahaha those are priceless! We must have some euphemisms that make others scratch their heads (like scratch their heads... ;) ) but those are seriously the best! Thanks for sharing
Hahaha those are priceless! We must have some euphemisms that make others scratch their heads (like scratch their heads... ;) ) but those are seriously the best! Thanks for sharing
True story....at husband's work someone in the group says "what am I chopped liver?" and another co-worker, from India, asks "what is with chopped liver?"
__________________ Beth Anne SAHM of two very spoiled Bichons
Oh my gosh I SO very much needed a good laugh - THANK YOU for posting this! I speak several languages, and a few from home/growing up so, YES those literal translations can be too funny and JUST like those. I still at times try to find an English equivalent to certain phrases that my mother or other relatives would say and even being American born and raised I find it can take me a few to translate them well enough so I don't end up saying something like above!!
A) If that set wasn't from Alixpress...I would probably order it just for kicks, because these would be too funny for my friends and family to get on a card!
My mother came from Sweden about 6 years before I was born (in early 1950), and she was known to try to translate something or try to use an American expression however often forget a few English words so she'd do her best w/a direct translation of what she knew in Swedish (or THOUGHT the English word WAS). WOW did that get some big laughs (not in her presence) and YES they did sound like some of those above. Ironically it took me years to realize that expressions that I grew up hearing in English actually were NOT expressions used in ANY English speaking country, and I finally understood why I had been getting some 'looks' whenever I used them, LOL!
Again - thank you for the MUCH needed laugh!!
__________________ Barbara God gave us memories so we might have roses in December. James M. Barrie
I've been told 'I press you the thumbs' is the equivalent of 'keeping my fingers crossed for you'. I'm just really hoping one of my German speaking friends gets back to me with a translation for 'Heaven *** & Thread, because I am totally intrigued!
Ordering this set is an absolute requirement for my mental health... with the help of an on-line translator. (Just type “German to English” in a new window at the top and one pops up.) Off to the bank to wire the funds.
It would be wonderful to get a list of what each sentiment means.
My hubby (Mr Noofy) us from down east. His favourite saying is 'Stay where you are ..and I'll come where you're to!!' It took me a while to figure out just what he was talking about. LOL
My hubby (Mr Noofy) us from down east. His favourite saying is 'Stay where you are ..and I'll come where you're to!!' It took me a while to figure out just what he was talking about. LOL
lol! Dumb question: where is down east? (I 💜 linguistic differences.)
Ordering this set is an absolute requirement for my mental health... with the help of an on-line translator. (Just type “German to English” in a new window at the top and one pops up.) Off to the bank to wire the funds.
It would be wonderful to get a list of what each sentiment means.
Yikes. Wiring the $$ would add a $50 fee from our bank, which they tried to wave but couldn’t since wire transfers aren’t controlled by branches. Plus the German bank would charge an unknown amount for accepting the wire. That’s in addition to the roughly $36 (U.S.) for the stamp set and shipping. So I emailed the shop owner to ask if I could send a check or if there was some other way.
Maybe there’s an app...
ETA: Yup, apps to wire $$. I used XOOM, a Paypal service. Fee was $4.99. (Some other services are cheaper.) No problems other than checking correct info was copied/pasted for the seller’s bank, her address, etc. Just translated on line and searched for a couple of German abbreviations.
So I'm sort of intrigued (and amused greatly) by linguistic everything, so I did research on a few of these:
Hold your ears stiff: Basically, "Hang in there", "keep your chin up", etc Pressing Thumbs is the equivalent of keeping your fingers crossed Heaven, *** and Thread: Roughly similar to OMG Now butter by the fishes: Either a request for honesty - "Now be honest, did you do it or not?" or rolling up one's sleeves - "Give it a little more effort, and we'll win the match!" You lucky mushroom you: In Germany, an amenita mushroom (red cap with white spots) is considered good luck and often used to decorate Christmas trees. This phrase is roughly the equivalent of "You lucky duck!" I get foxdevilswild: "Foxdevilswild" basically means "crazy", so this is like "I'm going crazy"
If I was intrigued enough to continue this project, I'm sure I could figure them all out eventually, but I'm off to do other things now. I'm satisfied enough to know that there are actual idioms behind the silliness here.
__________________ ~ Sue Happy for no reason...
Last edited by gregzgurl; 04-28-2019 at 07:13 AM..
Reason: correction
Sue, I’d been searching too. I love when the backgrounds can be found, but have only found a few.
“Out the Mouse” It’s finished, it’s done. Like a bunch of these sayings, it’s on everything from bibs to T-shirts to duffle bags.
“Very big cinema” That’s really really impressive.
“Life is no sugarlicking.” Life isn’t always easy.
“Don’t go me on the ghost.” Don’t get on my nerves.
“Sponge over it” Use it to say: Don’t worry about that. Background: Since you can use a sponge to wipe over something that has spilled on a counter top, this expression implies how easy it is to clean something up and to move on. 25 German idioms to make you sound like a native speaker
“Now butter for the fish.” Meaning: Get to the point! Not only is this a useful phrase to ask someone to pass the butter, it’s also your key to interrupting a tedious rant. Simply utter this phrase, and your conversation partner will get the message that they need to get straight to the point. We Germans need our facts, so serve them quickly, please! 10 Useful German Phrases That Germans Actually Use | Babbel Magazine.
Also like Sue found, Now be honest / Get to work / Give extra effort. Background: This idiom originally comes from northern Germany and appears to have kept a local grammatical form. Since butter is added to the fish just before the start of the meal, the person who gives butter ‘at’ the fish, can start with the meal. Figuratively this means that can get to the point
Given what we all do, I am so sad they didn’t include this one:
“We sit beautifully in the ink!” Use it to say: We are in a bad situation. Background: This expression appears to be quite old as a 1520 text from Geiler von Kaisersberg writes “Du bist voller Sünd,… du steckst mitten in der Tincten” which literally means, ‘you are full of sin…you are in the middle of tinctures.’
Do you have a bird: Are you crazy? You walk me full on the cookie: You're getting on my nerves I fall from all clouds: I wasn't expecting this Now we have the salad: Well here we have what we deserve I see black for you: I don't see any good news coming your way Nothing for ungood: No hard feelings What for a juice shop: What a dump (pigsty/mess) That's the jumping point: That's the starting point Don't bring me on the palm: Don't get me started Out the mouse: That's the reality/It's over and done Enjoy life in full trains: Enjoy life to the fullest
Okay, I'm done again for now. Gotta check out some other threads and see who today's Featured Stamper is. This is a fun exercise, though!
We do not support the theft of intellectual property of the lifeblood of our industry - independent stamp companies.
Guessing the photo is needed to understand this thread at all. Was it a link to the copied product or something? Or was it just a picture of a stamp that had been copied? Just curious is all...
__________________ "For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack" ~Rudyard Kipling my gallery
I had no idea it was anything but just a terrible mistake!! I do wholly and fully support independent stamp companies, incl Viva Las Vegas and Flonz, of which I own many, as well as major stamp producers, and do not support theft of intellectual property or copyrighted images.
Nowwwwww I see. I thought something completely different! I thought a knock off stamp had mistranslated another stamp. You know, as an error when they were trying to copy the stamp~ Anyone watch Big Bang Theory? "Why do you have a tattoo of the word "soup" on your left buttock?" that kind of thing. Now I see the set, thanks for linking to the blog post!!
__________________ "For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack" ~Rudyard Kipling my gallery
Nowwwwww I see. I thought something completely different! I thought a knock off stamp had mistranslated another stamp. You know, as an error when they were trying to copy the stamp~ Anyone watch Big Bang Theory? "Why do you have a tattoo of the word "soup" on your left buttock?" that kind of thing. Now I see the set, thanks for linking to the blog post!!
YES! And I had never heard of "Denglisch" until this set came out - and I find it hilarious as everyone around here speaks Spanglish, so the concept is totally known to me. But these are hysterical. I love the sugarlicking one.
"Denglisch" - German speakers among you might enjoy this comedy song from the German group "Die Wise Guys" (and non German speakers will get the general idea)
Well, I normally don't boast like this BUT, I have been known to speak 80's German. 99 Luftballons, anyone? That's right, Der Kommissar's in town! ...Drah meee da doom oh-uh-uh, zsa zsa, der kommissar ge doombo uh-uh. That's how that song goes, right?? JAH-JAH-JAH-JAH! I can practically hear my friends and I absolutely murdering that song! Thankfully no one who actually spoke German was around to hear because lord knows what we were supposed to be singing!!
__________________ "For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack" ~Rudyard Kipling my gallery
I've been told 'I press you the thumbs' is the equivalent of 'keeping my fingers crossed for you'. I'm just really hoping one of my German speaking friends gets back to me with a translation for 'Heaven *** & Thread, because I am totally intrigued!
It's what you say to express anger. I'm sure there's an English equivalent, but I can't think of it off the top of my head.
First of all, I can REALLY laugh at these because I'm German and I can "see" where some of them come from. Also, keep in mind that expressions like "he kicked the bucket" actually do come from somewhere. In the 'olden days, men who were hanged were stood up on a bucket and then the bucket was kicked out from under them. Thus - dead. My mother's favorite phrase was "Sag nicht hup, bis du uber dem Graben bist." Literally it means don't say "hup" until you are over the grave. What it MEANS is, don't count your chickens before they are hatched. LOL
__________________ Louise Bergmann DuMontAuthor, Speaker, Serious About Her Coffee, Lover of all that is Chocolate...Worshiper of El Shaddai (The All Sufficient One)
You walk me full on the cookie. - this is a saying that basically means You (make - mache) me full by giving me too many cookies. I don't know where they got the "walk" from. Mache is make / not walk.
__________________ Louise Bergmann DuMontAuthor, Speaker, Serious About Her Coffee, Lover of all that is Chocolate...Worshiper of El Shaddai (The All Sufficient One)
Hilarious German-English translation problem
I've saved the image, and am going to share it on FB- I have some German friends, and German speaking ones who will no doubt get a chuckle at that. We really need a laughing button on here. 
no sugarlicking!
