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.
Nicht mehr alle Tassen im Schrank haben
(Not anymore all cups in the cupboard have)
Imagine you invited a friend to your house to have some coffee (um Kaffee zu trinken).
And while he’s sipping on his coffee chatting with you, he tells you how much he likes your fancy coffee cups (wie sehr er deine ausgefallenen Kaffeetassen mag).
Then he asks you to go to the toilet (auf die Toilette zu gehen).
After a few minutes you hear some strange sound from the kitchen, so you decide to check (also entschließt du dich das zu überprüfen).
Suddenly you discover your friend, how he is …
stealing your coffee cups (wie er deine Kaffeetassen klaut).
So yes, in this situation we could say:
- Die Tassen sind nicht mehr im Schrank! (The cups are not in the cupboard anymore!)
But, what you really might be thinking is more about your friend and his “strange” attitude (sein komisches Verhalten):
- He’s not quite right in the head!
- He has lost his marbles!
- He’s out of his tree!
- He’s one beer short of a six-pack!
And that’s exactly what we mean when we say:
- Er hat nicht mehr alle Tassen im Schrank!
Got it!?
So here’s your action step:
Imagine your German-speaking colleague Karl-Horst tells you how hot it is in the office though it is a cold winter day (obwohl es ein kalter Wintertag ist).
So he decides to turn off the heater and to open up the window in the middle of this cold winter day (inmitten dieses kalten Wintertages).
Look at him seriously and tell him how great you find his idea (wie toll du seine Idee findest):
- Es ist richtig kalt im Büro! Hast du noch alle Tassen im Schrank!? (It’s really cold in the office! Have you lost your marbles!)
And this is what it sounds like:
Then, tell me in the comments below how he reacted :-)