Let’s have some fun with this weird German language!
In this series of posts, I’ll show you how to make your German-speaking colleagues laugh, with ONE simple sentence.
Am längeren Hebel sitzen
(On the longer lever to sit)
You know what a lever (der Hebel) is, right?!
Actually, a lever is pretty powerful.
With little energy or force you can create momentum and a multiple of that force (von dieser Kraft).
And that’s exactly what we mean with this German expression:
So when we say in German:
- Er sitzt am längeren Hebel.
We mean:
- He has the whip hand.
- He has the upper hand.
- He has more power.
Got it?!
So here’s your action step:
Imagine your German-speaking colleague Hartmut comes to you and he goes:
“It’s enough. It’s the 3rd time my boss asks me to do tasks that are actually meant to be done by others (von anderen).
I’ll go to him (zu ihm) right now and I’m going to tell him (ihm sagen) that I won’t do this.
He can do it on his own if he wants to. But not me (Aber nicht ich) !”
Prevent Hartmut from doing something that he might regret later (was er später bereuen könnte) and say to him:
- Stop! Mach das lieber nicht. Er sitzt am längeren Hebel. (Stop! Don’t do that. He has the upper hand.)
And this is what it sounds like:
Then, tell me in the comments below how he reacted :-)