Deutsch im Alltag? Diese Ausdrücke brauchst du! (B2, C1)

I asked you on Instagram which colloquial expressions you have come across recently. And there were some really good answers. Make sure to watch this video if you want to understand German better in everyday life and want to express yourself more varied in German. The first expression that was sent to me on Instagram is to stand between door and fish. The expression actually only means between door and fish. Here is an example. Hello Mr. Schulz, could we talk about my salary increase? Yes, but not now between door and fish. Come to my office tomorrow morning. When you discuss something with someone between door and fish, you discuss it quickly. Just by the way and not in detail. Imagine that I happen to meet my boss in the office and ask him about the salary increase. But the boss has to go to an appointment and has no time for a detailed conversation. This whole situation is between door and fish. The fish in this expression is not what you might be imagining right now. This is not about catching fish with a fish. This is about the door fish. This is a part where a door is attached so that it can turn. Here, so to speak, the short moment is described in which a door opens and closes again. A short moment in which you cannot talk about something in peace. Here is another example sentence. She told me yesterday between door and fish that she is pregnant. I didn't even know how to react. So she only mentioned this important news very briefly and by the way, without having a real conversation about it. Another expression that you will often hear in the German conversational language is in zero point nothing. So we say that something happens in a very short time or immediately. He solved the task in zero point nothing. I took half an hour for it. That means he solved the task in a very short time. Or are you sure that we can set up the shelf on our own? Sure, together we can do it in zero point nothing. So we can do it in a very short time. We don't need long. Let's look at the next expressions. Here someone is looking for explanations for to be under a sow and to be a chicken in a basket. The first expression is to be under all sows. This is a rather derby conversational expression. If something is under all sows, then it is really bad. It is so bad that you can hardly make it worse. You say that if you want to complain very clearly or want to express your anger about the bad quality of something. For example, the service in the restaurant was really under all sows. We had to wait an hour for our food. This is a very strong emotional complaint about the service in this restaurant. The speaker found the service really, really bad. Another example. Your handwriting is really under all sows. I can't read what you wrote here at all. So you have really bad handwriting. The second desired expression was here to be a chicken in a basket. In fact, this expression is a bit different. Namely, to be a rooster in a basket. A chicken is a female bird. A rooster is a male bird. You always speak of the rooster in the basket. If you say that a man is the rooster in the basket, then he is the only man among many women. We can say, at Stefanie's birthday party, her brother was the rooster in the basket. So Stefanie invited friends and her brother was there too. He was the only male guest. And when I say that, it also sounds like he liked it very much. This expression is always meant to be humorous and nice. The picture behind it is very simple. A rooster is usually surrounded by many chickens, or they also say hens. And that's exactly how you describe a man who is among many women. Another example. In his new department, he is the rooster in the basket. He works with eight colleagues. So he's the only man on the team. For members of Deutsch mit Rieke, there is an extra video this week with further expressions, namely this one. In addition, as a member, you can watch my latest videos without advertising, you get exercise tasks, the script for each video, and you can subscribe to my videos as a podcast. You can find more information about membership in the video description. Next question on Instagram. What does it mean to be on the jump? To be in a hurry or to have a lot to do? First of all, if someone says that he or she is on the jump, then it means that she or he is in a hurry. For example, I was just on the jump when my mother called. I was in a hurry. I just didn't have time because I just wanted to do something else. I just wanted to leave the house when my mother called. I had plans. Maybe I wanted to go shopping. In any case, I was in a hurry. A typical dialogue could look like this. Do you have time for me for a moment? Yes, but only for a short time. I'm on the jump right now. So I don't have much time because I have to leave soon. So you can always say that well when you're actually already on your way, but maybe you still have a very short time for a quick conversation. On Instagram, I was also asked Here is an example sentence for this. I hope that I get enough money for the repair of my car. If all lines break, I have to borrow money from my grandpa. If all lines break, it means as much as if everything else doesn't work. In an emergency, there is still a solution. Here in the example I say, if I can't manage to get the money myself, then there is still an emergency solution. I can borrow money from my grandpa. Another example. What do you do when you can't find a new job? Oh, when all lines break, I go back to my parents and look from there on. So I try to find a job, but if it doesn't work at all, then I have an emergency solution. Then I go to my parents and look from there on. This phrase was probably created as follows. In the past, goods were transported by wagons, which were pulled by horses or oxen. These animals were attached to the wagons with thick ropes. Another word for the rope is the rope. When these ropes broke, the wagons could no longer be held by the animals. But for this emergency, there was a kind of brake with which you could stop the wheels in an emergency. So you still had one last chance to save the situation. And that's exactly what the phrase means, when all lines break. The next expression you sent me is on the hat with many question marks. I think here it means to be on the hat. When you are on the hat, you are particularly careful. You take good care not to overlook any danger or to make a mistake. For example here. Be on the hat when you are in the city. There is a lot of love for bags there. The expression is perhaps a bit confusing. It is not about a hat here, i.e. the piece of clothing that you wear on your head. It's about the hat here. That means as much as protection or guard. If you used to guard something, if you paid attention to something, then you were on the hat. And that's how this today's rhetoric developed. Here in the example sentence I say, in the city center you always have to be careful so that you don't become the victim of a bag thief. Another example. Do you really want to do business with him? He doesn't have a particularly good reputation. Don't worry. I am on the hat and sign nothing before I have checked it carefully. So I am careful and take good care. Where does the shoe press? This is a really nice expression from everyday life. When I ask someone, where does the shoe press? Then I would like to know, what problem do you have? What is bothering you? What is not going well? For example. Boss, I would like to talk to you. Of course. Where does the shoe press? Here the boss already notices that I have a problem and says, yes, let's talk. How can I help you? What kind of problem do you have? Or. We noticed that the mood in the team is not good. Let's talk openly about where the shoe presses. So let's find out together which problems there are, so that we can solve them. The comes flat. This is said in the colloquial language as an answer to a joke. Namely, to a bad joke. A flat joke or a so-called flat joke is a joke that is somehow stupid. A joke without intellectual depth. A superficial, simple joke that is not really funny. Often these are puns. I just asked ChatGBT for an example for a flat joke and the answer was the following. What is the name of Hercules' wife? Fraucules. This is a typical joke that can be answered with a flat joke. If you liked this video, be sure to check out my playlist on the topic of German Interaction Language. I link it here. Thank you for watching and until next week. Macht's gut!