{"id":5309,"date":"2014-08-03T14:49:35","date_gmt":"2014-08-03T14:49:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=5309"},"modified":"2017-11-16T10:47:14","modified_gmt":"2017-11-16T10:47:14","slug":"torschlusspanik","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/torschlusspanik\/","title":{"rendered":"Untranslatable German Words: Torschlusspanik!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guten Tag<\/em>, and willkommen<\/em> to another post on untranslatable German words!<\/p>\n

The word of today is Torschlusspanik.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"midlife<\/a>

Torschlusspanik! Photo by artbystevejohnson on Flickr.com under CC BY 2.0<\/p><\/div>\n

What is the meaning of Torschlusspanik?<\/strong>
\nThis is the fear that time is running out. It describes the panic you get when you realise one day that in actual fact, you haven\u2019t done very much with your life, and if you don\u2019t act soon then you may miss out on more opportunities as time passes and the \u2018gate closes\u2019.<\/p>\n

What does Torschlusspanik literally translate to?<\/strong>
\nThe word can be broken down into three smaller words.
\nTor: Gate
\nSchluss: Close (from the verb schlie\u00dfen<\/em> \u2013 to close)
\nPanik: Panic<\/p>\n

So the literal translation of Torschlusspanik is \u2018Gate close panic\u2019!<\/p>\n

How would you use it in a sentence?<\/strong>
\n\u201eAb 30 f\u00e4ngt vor allem bei vielen Frauen die Torschlusspanik an.\u201d
\nFor many women, Torschlusspanik starts to set in at age 30 and up.<\/em><\/p>\n

What is the nearest English equivalent?<\/strong>
\nThe term \u2018Mid-life crisis\u2019 is most commonly associated with Torschlusspanik. But this is a term, rather than a word. As far as I can tell, there is not an individual word to describe this feeling in English.<\/p>\n

History and use of Torschlusspanik<\/strong>
\nAn interesting fact about Torschlusspanik is that the word refers to a phenomenon from the Mittelalter<\/em> (medieval times). More specifically, it refers to the Panik<\/em> (panic) that Stadtbewohner <\/em>(city residents) felt just before dark, or if there was an imminent attack on the city, as they all had to rush to get back before the Stadttore<\/em> (city gates) closed. If they didn\u2019t get back in time, they\u2019d be locked out for the night, exposed to Diebe<\/em> (thieves), Angreifer<\/em> (attackers), or other undesirable people.<\/p>\n

The term Torschlusspanik was also used in Time Magazine on 18 August 1961, to describe the sensation of East Germans flooding into West Germany when the country was divided:<\/p>\n

\u201cLast week a curious and serious malady was affecting Communist East Germany and reaching almost epidemic proportions. The name of the disease was Torschlusspanik<\/em>, which literally means ‘fear of gate closing’. Everything East German leaders did to shut off the flow of refugees to the West seemed, instead, to spur it on. The day that Deputy Premier Willi Stoph announced new secret measures to halt the refugees\u2014ostensibly at the urging of “delegations of workers”\u20141.532 East Germans beat it over the border and checked into the big Marienfelde refugee center in West Berlin.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013 Time Magazine, Friday 18. August 1961<\/a><\/p>\n

Nowadays, this word is used metaphorically. It describes the feeling that time is running out for things like career opportunities, marriage and having children.<\/p>\n

I think this is a sensation felt worldwide, regardless of nationality and culture. I am curious to know whether you have a version of this word in your own language. Do let me know if you do!<\/p>\n

Here are some related terms:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Panic \u2013 Die Panik<\/p>\n

Fear \u2013 Die Angst<\/p>\n

Aging \u2013 Das Altern<\/p>\n

Career \u2013 Die Karriere<\/p>\n

Marriage \u2013 Das Heiraten<\/p>\n

To have children \u2013 Kinder haben<\/p>\n

Opportunity \u2013 Die Gelegenheit<\/p>\n

Time is running out! \u2013 Die Zeit wird knapp!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Guten Tag, and willkommen to another post on untranslatable German words! The word of today is Torschlusspanik. What is the meaning of Torschlusspanik? This is the fear that time is running out. It describes the panic you get when you realise one day that in actual fact, you haven\u2019t done very much with your life…<\/p>\n

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