{"id":13413,"date":"2021-09-30T15:59:10","date_gmt":"2021-09-30T15:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=13413"},"modified":"2021-09-30T15:59:10","modified_gmt":"2021-09-30T15:59:10","slug":"german-idioms-32-rainy-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/german-idioms-32-rainy-days\/","title":{"rendered":"German Idioms 32: Rainy days!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summer is done, it’s time for\u00a0der Herbst\u00a0<\/em>(autumn\/fall)! And what comes with this time of the year? Well,\u00a0der Regen\u00a0<\/em>(rain), of course. So let’s look at a idioms again. Here’s a Sprichwort\u00a0<\/em>(n, saying) and a Ausdruck\u00a0<\/em>(m, expression) that are related to\u00a0Regen<\/em>!<\/p>\n

For previous posts in the series on German Idioms, please follow this link.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Sich\u00a0regen\u00a0bringt Segen<\/strong><\/em><\/h1>\n
\"L\u00f6we<\/a>

A dog that sich regt<\/em>, can achieve more than a lion that sich legt<\/em>. (Photo by Zden\u011bk Mach\u00e1\u010dek<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n

Literally: To bestir oneself brings blessing<\/em><\/p>\n

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

(Do you know another or better translation? Let me know in the comments below!)<\/p>\n

This\u00a0Sprichwort\u00a0<\/em>means a simple thing: If you do things, you’ll get blessed. In other words, hard work pays off! However, in this case,\u00a0Regen <\/em>takes on a different meaning. When regen <\/em>is a verb, it means\u00a0“to stir” or “to bestir oneself”. The verb of\u00a0Regen <\/em>that means “to rain” is regnen<\/em>. So just an n <\/em>difference.<\/p>\n

But there are other meanings for this\u00a0Sprichwort<\/em>, too. Since\u00a0sich regen\u00a0<\/em>literally refers to movement, it is sometimes also interpreted to mean that exercising brings many benefits. In a similar way, it can also mean that dedication to a cause is important (working a lot on a cause will eventually lead to a desired effect).<\/p>\n

Anyway, this pretty straightforward\u00a0Sprichwort <\/em>is very well-known and is used extensively, in any context and at any level of formality. So feel free to always use it!<\/p>\n

The origin of this ubiquitous\u00a0Sprichwort<\/em> is a small\u00a0Gedicht<\/em><\/a> (n, poem)\u00a0 by Friedrich R\u00fcckert from 1838:\u00a0“Sich\u00a0regen<\/b>, \/ Bringt Segen. \/ Ein Hund, der sich regt, \/ Jagt mehr, als ein L\u00f6we, der sich legt”\u00a0<\/em>(to bestir oneself, \/ brings blessing. \/ A dog, that bestirs itself \/ hunts more than a lion that lies down.)<\/p>\n

Here’s an example:<\/p>\n

Willst du Arzt werden, musst du dich anstrengen. Du musst dich einfach dransetzen! Sich regen bringt Segen.<\/em><\/p>\n

(If you want to become a doctor, you have to make an effort. You just have to sit down for it! Hard work pays off.)<\/p>\n

Sich regen bringt Segen! Nachdem die Mannschaft wochenlang jeden Tag trainiert hat, wurde sie Meister in der Liga.<\/em><\/p>\n

(Hard work pays off! After the team had trained every day for weeks, they became the champion in the league.)<\/p>\n

vom\u00a0Regen\u00a0in die Traufe kommen \/ geraten<\/strong><\/em><\/h1>\n
\"Roof<\/a>

Photo by Ibrahim Rifath<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Literally: Come \/ get from rain into the eave<\/em><\/p>\n

Out of the frying pan and into the fire<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Do you know another or better translation? Let me know in the comments below!)<\/p>\n

This unfortunate\u00a0Ausdruck\u00a0<\/em>is actually related to rain.\u00a0It means that you are going from a bad situation into an even worse one. Imagine you’re standing in the rain, and you want to find shelter – only to find yourself standing underneath a\u00a0Traufe\u00a0<\/em>(f, eave) where you get even more water falling onto your head. Or, in a figurative sense, you quit your job because of your terrible boss only to get a job that you hate even more. Then, you\u00a0kommst vom Regen in die Traufe<\/em>!<\/p>\n

It’s not entirely clear where this\u00a0Ausdruck\u00a0<\/em>comes from, but the theory is that it\u00a0 comes from the Middle East and was introduced to Germany in the 17th century. The idea for this\u00a0Ausdruck\u00a0<\/em>already existed earlier, however. Goethe<\/a> already expressed this idea in the 16th century: “Er springt in den Teich, dem\u00a0Regen\u00a0zu entfliehen<\/em>” (He jumps into the pond to avoid the rain).<\/p>\n

Like the\u00a0Sprichwort<\/em>, this Ausdruck <\/em>is very common and used all over the place!<\/p>\n

Here’s an example:<\/p>\n

H\u00e4ttest du dein altes Auto lieber nicht verkauft! Dein neuer Volkswagen hat nur Probleme. Du kamst von der Regen in die Traufe!<\/em><\/p>\n

(If only you hadn’t bought a new car! Your new Volkswagen only has problems. You went out of the frying pan into the fire!)<\/p>\n

Have you heard of this Sprichwort\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Ausdruck<\/em> before? Let me know in the comments below!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"L\u00f6we

Summer is done, it’s time for\u00a0der Herbst\u00a0(autumn\/fall)! And what comes with this time of the year? Well,\u00a0der Regen\u00a0(rain), of course. So let’s look at a idioms again. Here’s a Sprichwort\u00a0(n, saying) and a Ausdruck\u00a0(m, expression) that are related to\u00a0Regen! For previous posts in the series on German Idioms, please follow this link. Sich\u00a0regen\u00a0bringt Segen Literally…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":13416,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,551767,8,376076],"tags":[12030,11201,551749,358422],"class_list":["post-13413","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-idioms","category-language","category-vocabulary","tag-autumn","tag-fall","tag-german-idioms","tag-sayings-expressions"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13413","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=13413"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13417,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13413\/revisions\/13417"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}