Idiom and Register

German Grammar 4

Chapter 11 · Idiom, Register and Dialect Notes

🎭 Idiom and Register — Redewendungen und Sprachebenen

Grammar tells you how a correct sentence is built; it cannot tell you that a German says Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof ("I only understand train station") when they mean "it's all Greek to me". This chapter covers what lies outside the rules and trips up even advanced learners: fixed idioms, the choice between du and Sie, the three levels of register, a few differences in Austria and Switzerland, and the false friends that look like English but are not.

The rule in one box An idiom is learned whole: you cannot change a word or translate it literally. When in doubt, use Sie with adults you do not know; the change to du is usually offered by the older or higher-ranking person. Register has three levels (formal, neutral, colloquial): choose one and keep to it. False friends look like English words but mean something different: never guess, check.

Common idioms

Idiom	Literally	Means
Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof.	I only understand station	It's all Greek to me.
Ich drücke dir die Daumen.	I press my thumbs for you	I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Hals- und Beinbruch!	neck and leg break	Break a leg! (good luck)
Das ist nicht mein Bier.	That is not my beer	That's not my business.
Ich habe die Nase voll.	I have the nose full	I've had enough.
Das ist ein Katzensprung.	That is a cat's jump	It's a stone's throw away.
Er hat Tomaten auf den Augen.	He has tomatoes on his eyes	He can't see what's obvious.
Du hast den Nagel auf den Kopf getroffen.	You hit the nail on the head	You got it exactly right.
Das geht mir auf die Nerven.	That goes on my nerves	That gets on my nerves.
Wir reden unter vier Augen.	under four eyes	We'll talk in private.
Er hat mir einen Bären aufgebunden.	He tied a bear on me	He pulled my leg (told me a tall story).

Watch out: idioms are frozen You cannot say Ich verstehe nur Flughafen or translate "it's raining cats and dogs" word for word. Learn an idiom as one block, with its verb and its preposition, and use it in the same grammatical frame (die Daumen drücken always takes the dative of the person: dir, ihm, euch).

du or Sie?

Use Sie for	Use du for
strangers, shop assistants, officials	family, friends, children
older people you do not know well	fellow students, young people among themselves
business contacts, clients, bosses	colleagues in many workplaces (start-ups, shops, teams) when it has been agreed
formal letters and emails	online communities and many social networks

Situation	What is said
offering du	Wir können uns gern duzen. Ich bin Peter. · Sollen wir uns duzen?
accepting	Gern. Ich heiße Anna.
the verbs	duzen (to address as du), siezen (to address as Sie)
plural	ihr for several people you call du; Sie for several people you call Sie

Watch out: the offer comes from above The older person, the more senior person, or the host usually offers du. A learner who starts with du to a stranger risks sounding rude, while Sie hurts nobody. In some places, especially in the north, a mixture exists: first name with Sie (Sie, Anna), but as a learner stay with surname and Sie until you are told otherwise.

Three levels of register

Formal	Neutral	Colloquial
erschöpft	sehr müde	total platt, fix und fertig
Finanzmittel	Geld	Kohle, Knete
sich begeben	gehen	abhauen (leave quickly)
Ich bitte um Verständnis.	Bitte haben Sie Verständnis.	Nimm's nicht persönlich.

Use the neutral level when you are not sure. Colloquial words (Kohle, abhauen) are fun to know but sound wrong in a letter or with a stranger; formal words (sich begeben) sound ironic in conversation.

Austria and Switzerland in brief

Standard German is written in the same way in all three countries, with small differences in vocabulary, greetings and spelling:

Germany	Austria	Switzerland
Januar	Jänner	Januar
die Tomate	der Paradeiser	die Tomate
die Kartoffel	der Erdapfel	die Kartoffel
das Fahrrad	das Fahrrad	das Velo
der Bürgersteig	der Gehsteig	das Trottoir
die Fahrkarte	die Fahrkarte	das Billett
parken	parken	parkieren
Guten Tag / Moin (north) / Hallo	Servus, Grüß Gott	Grüezi
Tschüss	Servus, Baba	Auf Wiedersehen, Tschüss

Watch out: the Swiss ß, and spoken against written Swiss Swiss Standard German has no ß: die Strasse where Germany writes die Straße. In Switzerland people speak Swiss German dialects but write Standard German, so what you hear differs from what you read. In Germany itself the south says Grüß Gott and Servus, the north Moin, so greetings also vary inside the country.

False friends

German word	Looks like	Really means
bekommen	become	to get, to receive (werden = to become)
das Gift	gift	poison (das Geschenk = gift)
die Rente	rent	pension (die Miete = rent)
eventuell	eventually	possibly (schließlich = eventually)
sensibel	sensible	sensitive (vernünftig = sensible)
aktuell	actual	current, up to date (tatsächlich = actual)
der Brief	brief	letter (kurz = brief)
fast	fast	almost (schnell = fast)
der Rock	rock	skirt
also	also	so, therefore (auch = also)
das Handy	handy	mobile phone (an "English" word that English does not use)

🗣️ In Use — Im Gebrauch

Read the exchanges aloud. Notice how each one uses a different part of this chapter.

① Before an exam

A:Morgen habe ich die Prüfung. Ich habe die Nase voll vom Lernen.Tomorrow I have the exam. I've had enough of studying.

B:Ich drücke dir die Daumen! Hals- und Beinbruch!I'll keep my fingers crossed! Break a leg!

② Changing to du

A:Wir können uns gern duzen. Ich bin Peter.We can use du if you like. I'm Peter.

B:Gern. Ich heiße Anna.Gladly. My name is Anna.

③ Switzerland

A:Wie sagst du „Fahrrad“ in der Schweiz?What do you call a bicycle in Switzerland?

B:Velo. Und für „parken“ sagen wir „parkieren“.Velo. And for "park" we say "parkieren".

📋 Quick Reference — Kurzübersicht

Topic	Summary
idioms	learn whole; never translate word for word
Sie	strangers, officials, business, formal writing; use it when in doubt
du	family, friends, children, peers, agreed colleagues; offered by the older or senior person
register	formal · neutral · colloquial: stay on one level
Austria	Jänner, Paradeiser, Erdapfel, Gehsteig, Servus
Switzerland	no ß, Velo, Trottoir, Billett, parkieren, Grüezi
false friends	bekommen, Gift, Rente, eventuell, sensibel, aktuell, Brief, fast, Rock

✏️ Try It Yourself — Übungen

Say the answer first, then click to check.

1. What do these idioms mean? Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof. · Das ist nicht mein Bier.

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It's all Greek to me. · That's not my business.

2. Wish a friend good luck before an exam in two ways.

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Ich drücke dir die Daumen! · Hals- und Beinbruch!

3. Say "I've had enough" and "That gets on my nerves."

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Ich habe die Nase voll. · Das geht mir auf die Nerven.

4. Du or Sie? A shop assistant · a new classmate your age · your friend's grandmother, whom you have just met.

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Sie · du · Sie (until she offers du).

5. Offer du to a colleague and accept it.

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Wir können uns gern duzen. Ich bin Peter. · Gern. Ich heiße Anna.

6. Which level? Kohle · Geld · Finanzmittel.

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colloquial · neutral · formal.

7. The Austrian word for Tomate, Januar and Bürgersteig.

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der Paradeiser · der Jänner · der Gehsteig.

8. The Swiss way to write die Straße, and the word for Fahrrad.

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die Strasse (no ß) · das Velo.

9. Say in German: "I got a letter." and "I am getting tired."

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Ich habe einen Brief bekommen. · Ich werde müde. (bekommen = get; werden = become)

10. Find the error: Ich bekomme müde. And: Er hat mir ein Gift zum Geburtstag geschenkt. (meant: "He gave me a present for my birthday.")

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Ich werde müde. (bekommen means to get) · Er hat mir ein Geschenk zum Geburtstag gegeben. (das Gift is poison)

Coming up in Chapter 12: Putting It Together. The whole grammar track in one table, an error-spotting clinic, and the Course Complete recap of the four-course grammar track.