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.
Aus einer Mücke einen Elefanten machen
(From a midge an elephant make)
You know those people who always complain about everything (über alles)?
I mean, sometimes they are right (manchmal liegen sie richtig).
But sometimes, they are just making a tiny, insignificant issue into a huge problem (zu einem großen Problem).
They think that their issue is as big as an elephant (so groß wie ein Elefant).
But in reality, it’s as little as a midge (so klein wie eine Mücke).
And that’s exactly what this German expression means.
When we say in German:
- Du machst aus einer Mücke einen Elefanten!
We mean:
- You’re making a mountain out of a molehill!
Got it?!
So here’s your action step:
Imagine your German-speaking colleague Johannes comes to you complaining about the new outfit of your boss (über das neue Outfit eures Chefs).
How bad your boss’s taste is and how this can have a negative impact (eine negative Auswirkung) on the company’s reputation.
Just smile at him (knowing that he’s actually totally right (dass er eigentlich total richtig liegt)) and say to him (with irony):
- Komm, ich denke, du machst aus einer Mücke einen Elefanten! (Common, I think you’re making a mountain out of a molehill!)
And this is what it sounds like: