Amusing literal translations

Sometimes when you literally translate a German word into English, it sounds quite funny.

For instance, Nacktschneke (slug) = naked snail.

Do any others make you chuckle?

Handschuhe - every time I see the word I picture someone wearing not gloves but a pair of shoes on their hands.

Absolutely my favorite. Makes me laugh every time I hear it.

Read Bll Bryson's 'Mother Tongue'... there's a chapter in there with all sorts of ridiculous literal translations

But I think my favourite in Germany has been 'pig's intestines' in some kind of sauce on a menu. Yum, can I? Please?!

mmmm Liver Cheese!

breast wart - not to be beaten (Brustwarze)

Büstenhalter (BH) ... yup, that's exactly what it does, doens't it?

All-time best: Stinktier for skunk.

P.S. It may not count, but it always amazes me how very few Americans seem to know and/or care about the literal translations of proper names like "Fick", "Schlappich" "Stoltzfus", "Zeckendorf, etc., many of which were unflattering things foisted on German Jews by the government ... unless I'm missing something and it's become a point of pride.

P.P.S. Armeisenbaer for anteater was the first German word I learned in 7th grade ... now I realize that "anteater" is every bit as silly :-)

I think the German word for friendship describes a lot about the German Psyche-Leidenschaft: To sorrow together

No, the German word for friendship is freundshaft, leidenschaft is passion, which can be a good thing, but can also be seen as a bad thing, as in an obsession.

How about "one educated cow" (eingebildete Kuh)

None of those names is a particularly Jewish name ... Fick is an ordinary German name ( 1122 entries in http://www1.dastelefonbuch.de/ ), Schlappich 0 entries, Stolzfuß 4 entries, Zeckendorf is just a placename like thousands of others

shame hairs
sheath
acorn

Enbildung = imagination ... as in Moliere´s Le Malade imaginaire / The Imaginary Invalid

"eingebildet" has nothing to do with Bildung/education ... in this context it means something like "blasiert/blasée"

Yes, but these are literary translations, not the real thing.

in that case the female sex of Kuh asks for an extra e ... einegebildete Kuh

seitensprung - side jump

Eselsbrücke - donkey bridge.

But the topic was "amusing literal translations" ... if "Tick Village" isn't funny, then I don't know what is.

P.S. I was thinking about names like "Goldwasser" etc, but didn't want to be a jerk.

Staubsauger - Dust sucker - Vacuum cleaner

Not only did you get the meaning wrong as such - as Allershausen mentioned - but Leidenschaft is also a pretty new term for passion. The old term is "Inbrunst" - which translates as "in heat". Says a lot about the German psyche...

Seriously, I like this thread since for me as a German most of the words mentioned here are so familiar, it doesn't even occur to me how funny they are when taken literally. But don't try and read things into things to get at the "German psyche" - it's far too complex for you to understand.

Whilst at the maternity hospital.

Mutterkuchen - Mothers Cake - placenta
Muttermund - Mothers Mouth - Cervix
Eisprung - Egg Jump - Ovulation

In reference to another posting here, "eingebildet" means stuck-up or snooty. So an "eingebildete Kuh" is a cow who thinks she's better than everyone else, and God knows there are enough of those kind of women here .

Schweinebacke (an insult) -- pig cheek
Hundekuchen (dog biscuit) -- dog cake
Löffel (a rabbit's ears) - spoons
Blume (a rabbit's tail) - flower
Hühnerauge (a corn on one's foot) - chicken eye
Falsche Schlange (a two-faced person) - fake snake

mute newspaper vendor - stummer Zeitungsverkäufer - newspaper vending machine

That'd be "false (i.e. insincere) snake" in this context.

There is a town close to Heidelberg called Eiterbach. There is also one named Mückenloch.

Let's get even more basic and call it a "wrong snake".

Dudelsack ("Doodle bag" sounds pretty cute! )

Stop being pendantic, this is supposed to be fun!

On a related note: how about words that have a phoenetic similarity to something in English?

Like "Holzkirchen" always makes me think of "Hell's Kitchen"
or a mix like "Putzbrunn" makes me think of "cleaning" (Putz) and "broom"

ever heard of the german expression 'stummer Diener'?
stummer Diener = clothes stand/clothes hanger
nice one, i think. you could even place a little recording machine next to it, automatically responding to people approaching with a british accent 'may I take you clothes, Madam'. to make that thing not so 'silent' anymore :-)
so, you would end up with an 'sss' -> speaking, silent servant... i think i should take a break from work now, i feel a bit funny :-D

Stummer Diener and dumb waiter - different things though ;-)

Many of you have probably seen this, but it is funny nonetheless: (from Mark Twain)

Every noun has a gender, and there is no sense or system in the distribution; so the gender of each must be learned separately and by heart. There is no other way. To do this one has to have a memory like a memorandum-book. In German, a young lady has no sex, while a turnip has. Think what overwrought reverence that shows for the turnip, and what callous disrespect for the girl. See how it looks in print -- I translate this from a conversation in one of the best of the German Sunday-school books:

"Gretchen.
Wilhelm, where is the turnip?
Wilhelm.
She has gone to the kitchen.
Gretchen.
Where is the accomplished and beautiful English maiden?
Wilhelm.
It has gone to the opera."

Anything with -zeug:

Spielzeug (toy) - "play thing"
Feuerzeug (lighter) - "fire thing"
Flugzeug (aircraft) - "flight thing"
Werkzeug (tool) - "work thing"

A couple of years back when Kohl was still Chancellor, there was a front page headline in the Bild-Zeitzung: "Kohl - was nun?" The translation is harmless (Kohl - what now?), but read it in English

Or even stop being completely wrong.

Edit: or was that an attempt at humour

The literal translation of "educated cow" is indeed "eine gebildete Kuh" and vice versa, so Nick was wrong.

*shrugs*

Yes, but we were translating from German into English and not vice versa, also take the title into consideration "Amusing literal translations" as opposed to "correct, meanigful translations"!

Well, sorry, but it isn't a LITERAL translation:

"eine gebildete" means "educated"
"ein gebildeter" means "educated"
"ein gebildetes" means "educated"
"ein gebildete" doesn't mean educated - neither literally nor figuratively...it just means you don't know your grammar.

Btw - it seems to be you who's trying to make a big deal out of it now...*shrugs again*

ein = one
gebildet = educated
Kuh = cow

You still don't seem to get the gist of this thread, wake up and lighten up!!!

And by the way, I do know my grammer probably a lot better than you do!

Thanks for pointing out the obvious - I guess it's pointless to try and communicate the difference to a non-native speaker.


Umm, yep - you do sound particularly lighthearted here.


Yeah...probably...

LittleSprite: Uncle Nick was making a JOKE, as in "Ha Ha".

Ruthie, people who go to great length to prove that they're right rarely mean it as a joke.

Thanks for butting in though - Nick and me just had a PM convo and I think we've settled things just fine.

Since when is posting on a public forum called "butting in"?

That was a joke - as in HA HA.

None of the above. He wrote "eingebildete". One word. It means "conceited".

I think that was basically the point, yup.

My gay friends ALWAYS have their pictures taken under the yellow and black town sign from Rimsting ... It must be a Gaything !

Haha, this thread is funny for so many different reasons, firstly the translations, but more the verbal jousting going on love smartass comments hehe

Nutter in German is slang for prostitute
and a fav of mine is Muschi which is slang for the female vagina.
So you try and explain Mushy peas to the Hermans

As opposed to what, the male vagina?