Everyday German idioms: fingers, pigs and train stations

German idioms are vivid and often funny when translated word for word. This page gives six that Germans use every day. Each entry shows the literal translation first, then the meaning, the nearest English phrase and an example. Idioms are informal, so use them with friends and colleagues rather than in formal writing.

Quick reference

Die Daumen drücken

Literal: "To press the thumbs."
Meaning: To wish someone luck. Germans press their thumbs inside their fists, and do not cross fingers.
English equivalent: To keep your fingers crossed.
Example: Ich drücke dir morgen die Daumen. (I will keep my fingers crossed for you tomorrow.)

Nur Bahnhof verstehen

Literal: "To understand only train station."
Meaning: To not understand anything, as if you heard only noise. A common story says that soldiers longing to go home heard only "station" in any talk.
English equivalent: It is all Greek to me.
Example: Bei dem Vortrag habe ich nur Bahnhof verstanden. (I did not understand a word of the lecture.)

Schwein haben

Literal: "To have pig."
Meaning: To be lucky, often by escaping something bad. The pig is a symbol of luck in Germany, and people give marzipan pigs at New Year.
English equivalent: To be lucky. To have a stroke of luck.
Example: Wir haben Schwein gehabt, der Zug hatte Verspätung. (We were lucky, the train was late.)

Hals- und Beinbruch

Literal: "Neck and leg break."
Meaning: Good luck, said before an exam, a performance or a ski run. The idea is to wish the opposite of what you hope, to avoid bad luck.
English equivalent: Break a leg.
Example: Hals- und Beinbruch für die Prüfung! (Good luck with the exam!)

Tomaten auf den Augen haben

Literal: "To have tomatoes on the eyes."
Meaning: To overlook something obvious, as if your vision were covered.
English equivalent: To be blind to something. Not to see what is right in front of you.
Example: Hast du Tomaten auf den Augen? Die Schlüssel liegen auf dem Tisch! (Are you blind? The keys are on the table!)

Den Nagel auf den Kopf treffen

Literal: "To hit the nail on the head."
Meaning: To describe something exactly right.
English equivalent: To hit the nail on the head.
Example: Mit deiner Analyse hast du den Nagel auf den Kopf getroffen. (You hit the nail on the head with your analysis.)

German and English share this one almost word for word.

Using these well

Keep the verb forms. The idioms are fixed, but the verb changes: Ich habe Schwein gehabt uses the perfect, see Perfekt vs Präteritum.
Mind the case. In Ich drücke dir die Daumen, the person is in the dative: dir, not dich.
Know the register. Tomaten auf den Augen can sound rude if said to a stranger.