Study Resource: German sayings and expressions with demonstrative pronouns

By: Daniel Krausse

Associated Articles

These activities are part of our German Grammar series. The skills we are practicing here are covered in our article:

Here are some German sayings and expressions that use demonstrative pronouns:

Der/Die ist nicht von gestern.
This one wasn't born yesterday.
Der/Die ist unmöglich!
This one is impossible.
→ refers to someone's inappropriate behavior, not the difficulty of a task
Der/Die nimmt alles auf die leichte Schulter!
This one is treating everything (too) lightly!
lit. This one is taking everything on the light shoulder.
Der/Die hört das Gras wachsen!
This one is reading too much into things.
lit. This one is hearing the grass grow.
Der/Die ist bekannt wie ein bunter Hund!
This one is known all over town.
lit. This one is known like a colorful dog.
Der/Die ist arm wie eine Kirchenmaus!
This one is poor as a church mouse.

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