{"id":10385,"date":"2018-12-27T08:00:26","date_gmt":"2018-12-27T08:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=10385"},"modified":"2018-12-28T00:25:58","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T00:25:58","slug":"sayings-expressions-20-good-luck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/sayings-expressions-20-good-luck\/","title":{"rendered":"Sayings + Expressions 20: Good Luck!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to this year’s last Sayings + Expressions! At the end of the year, we look back at the last twelve months, and look forward to the next. Of course, we want the next year to be (even) better! The Germans have their ways of expressing this. Let’s find out how!<\/p>\n

For older posts, please\u00a0follow this link.<\/a>\u00a0Now, let\u2019s start with the\u00a0Sprichwort\u00a0<\/em>(saying)!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sich regen bringt Segen<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Sich regen bringt Segen!<\/em> (Image by rawpixel at Unsplash.com)<\/p><\/div>\n

Literally: Moving yourself brings blessings<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hard work pays off<\/em><\/p>\n

The meaning of this\u00a0Sprichwort\u00a0<\/em>is quite straightforward. Work hard, and you will see results. Great. On to the expression.<\/p>\n

Just kidding. There is actually more to this\u00a0Sprichwort\u00a0<\/em>than you would expect. The idea that working hard will bring you a blessing was not always around. Back in the early\u00a0Mittelalter\u00a0<\/em>(Middle Ages), it was believed that you would receive God’s\u00a0Segen<\/em> if you prayed and went to church. This changed in the F<\/em>r\u00fche Neuzeit\u00a0<\/em>(Early Modern Age) with the reformation. The idea now was that making the best of a situation, working hard to get there, would get you God’s love and blessing. This new thinking also appears to have been the foundation for the economic, capitalist thinking that we have today.<\/p>\n

Example:<\/em><\/p>\n

Du willst gern Astronaut werden? Das schaffst du schon, sich regen bringt Segen!<\/em><\/p>\n

(You want to become an astronaut? You will get there, hard work pays off!)<\/p>\n

Heinrich m\u00f6chte gern 50 Kilogramm abnehmen, und sollte daf\u00fcr wirklich mehr Sport treiben. Sich regen bringt Segen!<\/em><\/p>\n

(Heinrich would like to lose 50 kilograms (110 lb), and should really do more sports for that. Hard work pays off!)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

On to the\u00a0Ausdruck\u00a0<\/em>(expression)!<\/p>\n

Jemandem die Daumen dr\u00fccken<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Viel Erfolg!<\/em> (Image by Katya Austin at Unsplash.com)<\/p><\/div>\n

Literally: Press the thumbs for somebody<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’ll keep my fingers crossed<\/em><\/p>\n

Both in German and English, we use our hands to wish somebody good luck. Interestingly, though in Germany, we do not cross our fingers, we press our thumbs…. Why, you might ask?<\/p>\n

While crossing your fingers to shape a cross, referring to the Christian symbol, the thumb pressing comes from r\u00f6mische Gladiatorenk\u00e4mpfe\u00a0<\/em>(Roman gladiator fights). Back then, the gladiator would put up his finger to indicate that he wanted the\u00a0Gnade\u00a0<\/em>(mercy) from the\u00a0Kaiser\u00a0<\/em>(emperor). If the\u00a0Volk\u00a0<\/em>(people) wanted him to die, they would put their thumb up. If the Kaiser\u00a0<\/i>granted his Gnade<\/em>, he would press his thumb. So that would be good luck for the gladiator! And so, we press our thumbs to wish somebody good luck.<\/p>\n

There is also a much less known alternative:\u00a0jemandem die Daumen halten\u00a0<\/em>(to hold your thumb for somebody). The interesting thing here is the origin. It is not Roman, but actually from Aberglauben\u00a0<\/em>(superstition). It was believed that the\u00a0Finger\u00a0<\/em>(fingers) and Daumen\u00a0<\/i>contained\u00a0Geister\u00a0<\/em>(spirits) that used their magic on their own behalf, and the\u00a0Daumen\u00a0<\/em>was considered the\u00a0strongest\u00a0Geist\u00a0<\/em>with most\u00a0Kr\u00e4fte\u00a0<\/em>(powers). Because it could cause you bad luck, you would hold the\u00a0Daumen<\/em>, so it could do no harm!<\/p>\n

Some examples:<\/p>\n

Adriana, ich hoffe, dass dein Interview gut geht heute! Ich dr\u00fccke dir die Daumen!<\/em><\/p>\n

(Adriana, I hope that your interview goes well today! I’ll keep my fingers crossed!)<\/p>\n

Morgen habe ich einen gro\u00dfen Tag. Bitte dr\u00fcckt mir die Daumen!<\/em><\/p>\n

(I have a big day tomorrow. Please keep your fingers crossed for me!)<\/p>\n

How are these in your language? Do you use this saying and expression like that as well? Let me know in the comments below!<\/strong><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Welcome to this year’s last Sayings + Expressions! At the end of the year, we look back at the last twelve months, and look forward to the next. Of course, we want the next year to be (even) better! The Germans have their ways of expressing this. Let’s find out how! For older posts, please\u00a0follow…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":10388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,8],"tags":[13285,3879,358422],"class_list":["post-10385","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-language","tag-happy-new-year","tag-religion","tag-sayings-expressions"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/110"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10385"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10405,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10385\/revisions\/10405"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}