The Pig In The German Language<\/span><\/h3>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/piglet-3386356_1280-1024x682.jpg\")
Image: Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n
Schwein haben<\/strong><\/p>\nLiterally \u2018to have pig\u2019, this means \u2018to be lucky\u2019<\/strong>. It is the same as saying Gl\u00fcck haben (das Gl\u00fcck<\/strong> \u2013 luck). If someone has a stroke of luck, you might say \u2018Schwein gehabt!\u2019, meaning \u2018That was lucky!\u2019. One theory is that this saying originated in the Mittelalter<\/strong> (Middle Ages), when das Ass<\/strong> (ace) in a deck of cards was called the Sau<\/strong> (swine), and whoever drew the Sau \u2013 the highest card- was lucky.<\/p>\nDer innere Schweinehund<\/strong><\/p>\nLiterally \u2018the inner pig dog\u2019, der innere Schweinehund refers to the lazy<\/strong> part of yourself that tells you to stay in bed, and that you don\u2019t really need to go to the gym today, you can postpone everything until tomorrow, and so on. Do you have an innere Schweinehund?<\/p>\nIch glaube, mein Schwein pfeift<\/strong><\/p>\nLiterally \u2018I think, my pig whistles\u2019, this is a way of exclaiming disbelief<\/strong> at a situation. It is similar to the English saying \u2018Well, I never\u2026!\u2019 The reason you say ‘Ich glaube, mein Schwein pfeift’, is because pigs clearly cannot whistle (pfeifen<\/strong> \u2013 to whistle).<\/p>\nWir haben zusammen noch keine Schweine geh\u00fctet<\/strong><\/p>\nLiterally \u2018We haven\u2019t kept any pigs together yet\u2019, this funny phrase is how you\u2019d tell someone \u2018We don\u2019t know each other well enough yet for that\u2019.<\/strong> Say for example that someone wants to forego the formal way of speaking with you (using du instead of Sie), but you don\u2019t believe it\u2019s appropriate, for whatever reason. Then the justification would be this phrase – Wir haben zusammen noch keine Schweine geh\u00fctet. We don\u2019t know each other well enough yet.
\nDon\u2019t know yet about the formalities of Sie and du? Click here to read a post about it!<\/a><\/p>\ndie Sau rauslassen<\/strong><\/p>\nLiterally \u2018to let the sow out\u2019, this phrase basically means to let loose<\/strong>, let your hair down and celebrate. When a party is on the cards after a long period of exams, you might say, \u2018Heute Abend lassen wir die Sau raus!\u2019 The implication is that things will get a bit wild- as they would if you let a pig run free!<\/p>\ndie Sauklaue<\/strong><\/p>\nLiterally \u2018sow\u2019s claw\u2019, this is the German word for \u2018bad handwriting\u2019.<\/strong> Due to the increase of digital typing and the decrease of pen-and-paper writing, many people\u2019s handwriting is sloppy and messy, as they are out of practice. The German language likens this handwriting to a pig\u2019s, as if a pig could write, their handwriting would probably be illegible. You would say someone \u2018has\u2019<\/strong> a Sauklaue. Example: \u2018Sie hat eine Sauklaue\u2019 \u2013 ‘She has awful handwriting’.<\/p>\nUse of Schwein and Sau to replace other words, or to create emphasis<\/h3>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/pigs-4028140_1280-1024x682.jpg\")
Image: Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n
Sometimes the word Schwein is used in place of the word Mensch<\/strong> (person), for example, to express annoyance. Here are some examples:<\/p>\nWahrscheinlich guckt wieder kein Schwein<\/strong><\/p>\nLiterally \u2018Probably not one pig is watching\u2019, this is an expression of mild frustration. You might use it for those times when you\u2019re doing something really impressive, or trying to do a demonstration, but you\u2019re guessing no one is paying attention.<\/p>\n
Kein Schwein war da<\/strong><\/p>\nLiterally \u2018No pig was there\u2019, this is also used to express mild frustration. Say you\u2019ve arranged a meeting that no one turns up to, then the next day someone asks how the meeting was. Your reply might be \u2018Kein Schwein war da!\u2019 (\u2018Not one single person was there!\u2019).<\/p>\n
Sometimes the word Sau is used in conjunction with other words to create emphasis. An English equivalent would be adding the word \u2018bloody\u2019 in front of the adjective:<\/p>\n
Es ist kalt \u2013 It is cold
\nEs ist saukalt!<\/strong> \u2013 It is bloody cold!
\nEs ist schwer \u2013 It is hard
\nEs ist sauschwer!<\/strong> – It is bloody hard!<\/p>\nEven simpler uses<\/h3>\n
You could exclaim \u2018Du Sau!\u2019<\/strong> if someone has made a mess (very informal \u2013 often used between parents and children, for example), or use the word as an insult: \u2018Bl\u00f6de Sau\u2019<\/strong> (\u2018Stupid pig\u2019) is one of my mum\u2019s favourite phrases when talking about a woman who\u2019s annoyed her!
\nNote: As the word \u2018Sau\u2019 is the name for a female pig, calling someone \u2018bl\u00f6de Sau\u2019 only really makes sense if it\u2019s a woman it\u2019s directed at\/referring to.<\/p>\nSo now you know several ways the word Schwein\/Sau is used in the German language!<\/p>\n
Bis bald (see you soon)!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/piglet-3386356_1280-350x233.jpg\")
Guten Tag! The German language has some wonderfully quirky sayings, and sometimes, there is a theme to them. Today we\u2019re looking at German sayings that all have one thing in common: A pig. There are plenty of sayings in German that use the humble Schwein (pig) to make their point. Let\u2019s get straight into them!…<\/p>\n
Image: Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n
Schwein haben<\/strong><\/p>\n Literally \u2018to have pig\u2019, this means \u2018to be lucky\u2019<\/strong>. It is the same as saying Gl\u00fcck haben (das Gl\u00fcck<\/strong> \u2013 luck). If someone has a stroke of luck, you might say \u2018Schwein gehabt!\u2019, meaning \u2018That was lucky!\u2019. One theory is that this saying originated in the Mittelalter<\/strong> (Middle Ages), when das Ass<\/strong> (ace) in a deck of cards was called the Sau<\/strong> (swine), and whoever drew the Sau \u2013 the highest card- was lucky.<\/p>\n Der innere Schweinehund<\/strong><\/p>\n Literally \u2018the inner pig dog\u2019, der innere Schweinehund refers to the lazy<\/strong> part of yourself that tells you to stay in bed, and that you don\u2019t really need to go to the gym today, you can postpone everything until tomorrow, and so on. Do you have an innere Schweinehund?<\/p>\n Ich glaube, mein Schwein pfeift<\/strong><\/p>\n Literally \u2018I think, my pig whistles\u2019, this is a way of exclaiming disbelief<\/strong> at a situation. It is similar to the English saying \u2018Well, I never\u2026!\u2019 The reason you say ‘Ich glaube, mein Schwein pfeift’, is because pigs clearly cannot whistle (pfeifen<\/strong> \u2013 to whistle).<\/p>\n Wir haben zusammen noch keine Schweine geh\u00fctet<\/strong><\/p>\n Literally \u2018We haven\u2019t kept any pigs together yet\u2019, this funny phrase is how you\u2019d tell someone \u2018We don\u2019t know each other well enough yet for that\u2019.<\/strong> Say for example that someone wants to forego the formal way of speaking with you (using du instead of Sie), but you don\u2019t believe it\u2019s appropriate, for whatever reason. Then the justification would be this phrase – Wir haben zusammen noch keine Schweine geh\u00fctet. We don\u2019t know each other well enough yet. die Sau rauslassen<\/strong><\/p>\n Literally \u2018to let the sow out\u2019, this phrase basically means to let loose<\/strong>, let your hair down and celebrate. When a party is on the cards after a long period of exams, you might say, \u2018Heute Abend lassen wir die Sau raus!\u2019 The implication is that things will get a bit wild- as they would if you let a pig run free!<\/p>\n die Sauklaue<\/strong><\/p>\n Literally \u2018sow\u2019s claw\u2019, this is the German word for \u2018bad handwriting\u2019.<\/strong> Due to the increase of digital typing and the decrease of pen-and-paper writing, many people\u2019s handwriting is sloppy and messy, as they are out of practice. The German language likens this handwriting to a pig\u2019s, as if a pig could write, their handwriting would probably be illegible. You would say someone \u2018has\u2019<\/strong> a Sauklaue. Example: \u2018Sie hat eine Sauklaue\u2019 \u2013 ‘She has awful handwriting’.<\/p>\n Image: Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n Sometimes the word Schwein is used in place of the word Mensch<\/strong> (person), for example, to express annoyance. Here are some examples:<\/p>\n Wahrscheinlich guckt wieder kein Schwein<\/strong><\/p>\n Literally \u2018Probably not one pig is watching\u2019, this is an expression of mild frustration. You might use it for those times when you\u2019re doing something really impressive, or trying to do a demonstration, but you\u2019re guessing no one is paying attention.<\/p>\n Kein Schwein war da<\/strong><\/p>\n Literally \u2018No pig was there\u2019, this is also used to express mild frustration. Say you\u2019ve arranged a meeting that no one turns up to, then the next day someone asks how the meeting was. Your reply might be \u2018Kein Schwein war da!\u2019 (\u2018Not one single person was there!\u2019).<\/p>\n Sometimes the word Sau is used in conjunction with other words to create emphasis. An English equivalent would be adding the word \u2018bloody\u2019 in front of the adjective:<\/p>\n Es ist kalt \u2013 It is cold You could exclaim \u2018Du Sau!\u2019<\/strong> if someone has made a mess (very informal \u2013 often used between parents and children, for example), or use the word as an insult: \u2018Bl\u00f6de Sau\u2019<\/strong> (\u2018Stupid pig\u2019) is one of my mum\u2019s favourite phrases when talking about a woman who\u2019s annoyed her! So now you know several ways the word Schwein\/Sau is used in the German language!<\/p>\n Bis bald (see you soon)!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Guten Tag! The German language has some wonderfully quirky sayings, and sometimes, there is a theme to them. Today we\u2019re looking at German sayings that all have one thing in common: A pig. There are plenty of sayings in German that use the humble Schwein (pig) to make their point. Let\u2019s get straight into them!…<\/p>\n
\nDon\u2019t know yet about the formalities of Sie and du? Click here to read a post about it!<\/a><\/p>\nUse of Schwein and Sau to replace other words, or to create emphasis<\/h3>\n
\nEs ist saukalt!<\/strong> \u2013 It is bloody cold!
\nEs ist schwer \u2013 It is hard
\nEs ist sauschwer!<\/strong> – It is bloody hard!<\/p>\nEven simpler uses<\/h3>\n
\nNote: As the word \u2018Sau\u2019 is the name for a female pig, calling someone \u2018bl\u00f6de Sau\u2019 only really makes sense if it\u2019s a woman it\u2019s directed at\/referring to.<\/p>\n