{"id":8161,"date":"2017-02-18T07:00:52","date_gmt":"2017-02-18T07:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=8161"},"modified":"2017-02-17T18:35:31","modified_gmt":"2017-02-17T18:35:31","slug":"untranslatable-german-words-bauchpinseln","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/untranslatable-german-words-bauchpinseln\/","title":{"rendered":"Untranslatable German Words: Bauchpinseln"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guten Tag! As it was Valentinstag<\/strong> (Valentines Day) on 14th Februar, I thought I\u2019d bring you a (sort of!) topical “untranslatable word”. This one will hopefully make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Today\u2019s untranslatable word is bauchpinseln.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What does bauchpinseln mean?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

It means to flatter or compliment someone, just like you would do on a Valentines date – or to get yourself a Valentines date in the first place, maybe! However, it also means to flatter someone in the sense of stroking their ego\/using flattery to get what you want.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What does bauchpinseln literally translate to?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

The word is broken down into two, separate words:<\/p>\n

der Bauch<\/strong> \u2013 stomach
\npinseln<\/strong> \u2013 to brush\/paint (der Pinsel = a brush)<\/p>\n

So the word literally means \u2018to brush the stomach\u2019! I don\u2019t think any words are necessary for you to fully understand the meaning behind this untranslatable German word. All I need to do is show you this photo:<\/p>\n

\"Tickled\"<\/a>

Bauchpinseln – to brush the stomach (flatter\/compliment someone). Photo by duncanh1 on flickr.com under a CC license (CC by 2.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now you\u2019ve imagined a nice, warm, fuzzy feeling and you understand what bauchpinseln is!<\/p>\n

The ‘normal’ word for flattery<\/strong> in German, by the way, is die Schmeichelei<\/strong>. When you get a compliment, you\u2019ll feel geschemeichelt. <\/strong>Even that word sounds cute!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How would you use bauchpinseln in a sentence?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

As it is a verb, there are conjugations for it. Here is the present tense conjugation, for instance:<\/p>\n

ich<\/span> bauchpinsle<\/em><\/div>\n
du<\/span> bauchpinselst<\/em><\/div>\n
er\/sie\/es<\/span> bauchpinselt<\/em><\/div>\n
wir<\/span> bauchpinseln<\/em><\/div>\n
ihr<\/span> bauchpinselt<\/em><\/div>\n
sie\/Sie<\/span> bauchpinseln<\/em><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

What is the nearest English equivalent to bauchpinseln?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Do we have our \u2018tummies brushed\u2019 in English? No, but we do get \u2018buttered up\u2019 (if talking about using flattery to get something). We also get \u2018butterflies in our stomach\u2019 in English, which is kind of similar (a nice feeling in the tummy!). In German, by the way, this phrase is the same:<\/p>\n

Schmetterlinge im Bauch haben<\/strong> \u2013 to have butterflies in the stomach.
\n\u201cIch habe Schmetterlinge im Bauch\u201d<\/strong> \u2013 \u201cI have butterflies in my stomach\u201d.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I hope you enjoyed this word! If you have any closer English equivalents (or an equivalent in any other language), leave a comment and let us know about it.<\/p>\n

Bis bald,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Constanze x<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Guten Tag! As it was Valentinstag (Valentines Day) on 14th Februar, I thought I\u2019d bring you a (sort of!) topical “untranslatable word”. This one will hopefully make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Today\u2019s untranslatable word is bauchpinseln.   What does bauchpinseln mean? It means to flatter or compliment someone, just like you would…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":8166,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[457115,100,511,8043,358422,337679,257573,163],"class_list":["post-8161","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-language","tag-bauchpinseln","tag-love","tag-love-sayings","tag-sayings","tag-sayings-expressions","tag-untranslatable-german","tag-untranslatable-words","tag-valentines-day"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t