die Daumen drücken
Literally to press the thumbs
Means to keep one's fingers crossed for someone
Example Ich drücke dir für die Prüfung die Daumen.
An idiom is a phrase you cannot translate word for word. Here are 15 of the most common German idioms, each with its literal translation, real meaning, and an example sentence, so you know what natives actually mean.
Common German idioms are everyday expressions whose meaning cannot be guessed from the individual words. For example, die Daumen drücken literally means "to press the thumbs" but is used to mean to keep one's fingers crossed for someone. This free tool lists 15 real German idioms, each with its literal translation, meaning, and an example sentence.
All 15 German idioms, with meanings and examples.
Guess the meaning, then tap a card to check.
Idiom list verified as of July 2026.
die Daumen drücken
Literally to press the thumbs
Means to keep one's fingers crossed for someone
Example Ich drücke dir für die Prüfung die Daumen.
Tomaten auf den Augen haben
Literally to have tomatoes on one's eyes
Means to fail to see something obvious
Example Hast du Tomaten auf den Augen? Der Schlüssel liegt direkt vor dir.
die Katze im Sack kaufen
Literally to buy the cat in the sack
Means to buy something without checking it first
Example Probier es erst aus, kauf nicht die Katze im Sack.
Schwein haben
Literally to have pig
Means to be lucky
Example Da hast du aber Schwein gehabt!
das ist mir Wurst
Literally that is sausage to me
Means I don't care
Example Ob wir heute oder morgen gehen, das ist mir Wurst.
die Nase voll haben
Literally to have the nose full
Means to be fed up with something
Example Ich habe die Nase voll von diesem Chaos.
nur Bahnhof verstehen
Literally to understand only train station
Means to not understand anything
Example Bei diesem Vortrag habe ich nur Bahnhof verstanden.
die Kirche im Dorf lassen
Literally to leave the church in the village
Means to not exaggerate, to keep things in proportion
Example Jetzt lass mal die Kirche im Dorf, so schlimm war es nicht.
ins Fettnäpfchen treten
Literally to step into the little grease bowl
Means to say the wrong thing and cause offence
Example Mit dieser Bemerkung bin ich ganz schön ins Fettnäpfchen getreten.
Hals- und Beinbruch
Literally neck and leg break
Means good luck (like break a leg)
Example Morgen ist dein großer Auftritt, Hals- und Beinbruch!
die Flinte ins Korn werfen
Literally to throw the rifle into the grain
Means to give up
Example Gib nicht auf, wirf jetzt nicht die Flinte ins Korn.
aus einer Mücke einen Elefanten machen
Literally to make an elephant out of a mosquito
Means to make a mountain out of a molehill
Example Reg dich nicht auf, du machst aus einer Mücke einen Elefanten.
auf dem Holzweg sein
Literally to be on the wooden path
Means to be mistaken, on the wrong track
Example Wenn du das denkst, bist du auf dem Holzweg.
die Beine in die Hand nehmen
Literally to take the legs in the hand
Means to hurry, to run as fast as possible
Example Wir müssen die Beine in die Hand nehmen, sonst verpassen wir den Zug.
ins Gras beißen
Literally to bite into the grass
Means to die
Example Im Film muss der Bösewicht am Ende ins Gras beißen.
Idioms stick when you see them in context, not on a list. Lingo7 lets you read real German books with sentence-aligned translation and native-narrated audio, so you meet idioms in the wild and tap any line you do not get. Save them and review later. Free to start.
An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is fixed by convention, not built from its words. That is why a word-for-word translation fails: Die Daumen drücken comes out as "to press the thumbs", which makes no sense until you know it means to keep one's fingers crossed for someone.
Learn a few at a time, not a whole list. Pick the ones you keep running into, say them out loud in a real sentence, and you will remember them far longer than by drilling flashcards.
The most reliable way to absorb idioms is to meet them in context, again and again, in things you actually read. Parallel text and audio let you catch an idiom in a real German sentence and check what it means without breaking your reading. That is what reading in Lingo7 is built for.
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Some of the most common German idioms are die Daumen drücken, Tomaten auf den Augen haben, die Katze im Sack kaufen, Schwein haben. Each one means something you could not guess from the words alone, which is exactly why learners have to meet them in context. This tool lists 15 of them with their meaning and an example sentence.
In German, "die Daumen drücken" translates literally as "to press the thumbs", but it actually means to keep one's fingers crossed for someone. You would use it like this: Ich drücke dir für die Prüfung die Daumen.
Idioms are non-compositional: their meaning is fixed by convention, not built from the individual words. Die Daumen drücken translates literally as "to press the thumbs", yet it means to keep one's fingers crossed for someone. Translate word for word and you get nonsense, so idioms have to be learned as whole units.
The fastest way is to meet them in context and reuse them, not to memorize a list. Learn a handful at a time, notice them while reading and listening, and try them in your own sentences. Reading real German with tap-to-translate, the way Lingo7 works, turns every page into idiom practice.