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.
Auf die leichte Schulter nehmen
(On the light shoulder take)
Can a shoulder be light?
Not really (Nicht wirklich).
But you could carry something on your shoulder that is actually not heavy (das eigentlich nicht schwer ist) and really light, right?!
But even if it seems light (Aber selbst wenn es leicht scheint) and easy, you shouldn’t be always too confident that everything will work out fine.
Something unexpected (Etwas Unerwartetes) can always happen…
And that‘s exactly what we mean with this expression.
When we say in German:
- Du nimmst das auf die leichte Schulter
We mean:
- You’re too casual about this.
- You’re underestimating this.
- You’re taking this lightly.
Got it?!
So here’s your action step:
Imagine (Stell dir vor) your German-speaking colleague Klaus-Udo asks you to go out this evening to a dance club (zu einem Tanzklub).
You look at him and say:
“Peter, you have to give the presentation tomorrow in front of our new client (vor unserem neuen Kunden) and our boss.
Have you already prepared everything (Hast du schon alles vorbereitet)?”
And he goes:
“That’s easy stuff. I’ll prepare it tomorrow. 10 minutes before the meeting (vor der Besprechung) should be enough. Let’s go dancing!”
Look at him astonished …
Then tell him:
- Das ist eine wichtige Präsentation. Du solltest das nicht auf die leichte Schulter nehmen! (This is an important presentation. You shouldn’t take this lightly.)
And this is what it sounds like:
Then, tell me in the comments below how he reacted :-)