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.
Etwas gebacken kriegen
(Something baked get)
Imagine your parents come from abroad to visit you in Switzerland (in der Schweiz).
To welcome them, you plan to bake your special tasty home-made chocolate cake (deinen speziellen leckeren hausgemachten Schokoladenkuchen).
Once you put the cake in the oven (in den Ofen), you start feeling a bit nervous because last time you tried, you kept it too long in the oven (im Ofen) and it got burned (und es verbrannte).
But, voilá, this time (dieses Mal), your cake is perfect!
So, did you manage to do it? Of course you did (Natürlich)!
And that’s exactly what we mean in German with this symbolic expression.
When we say:
- Kriegst du das gebacken?
We mean:
- Will you get this done?
- Will you manage to do this?
Or, you can also say it in a negative way:
- Du kriegst das nicht gebacken!
Meaning:
- You are failing!
- You’re unable to pull this off!
Got it?!
So here’s your action step:
Imagine your German-speaking colleague Bodo comes to you complaining about his last negotiation with his new client (mit seinem neuen Kunden).
He goes: “It’s our third meeting and I still couldn’t close the deal (das Geschäft abschließen).”
Smile at him and say to him with irony:
- Lass mich das machen! Du kriegst das nicht gebacken! (Let me do it! You’re unable to pull this off!)
And this is what it sounds like:
Then, tell me in the comments below how he reacted :-)