Bahnhof verstehen: Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
Hairy Dude (talk | contribs) this is an infinitive verb phrase, so translate it as such Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit Advanced mobile edit |
Importing Wikidata short description: "German language metaphor" |
||
| (5 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Short description|German language metaphor}} |
|||
'''Bahnhof verstehen''' ({{trans|to understand "train station"}}) derives from the [[German language]] idiomatic [[phrase]] "Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof" – '''I only/just understand "train station"''' meaning to not be able, or perhaps not willing, to understand what is being said. It has the equivalent meaning to the English language idiom " |
'''Bahnhof verstehen''' ({{trans|to understand "train station"}}) derives from the [[German language]] idiomatic [[phrase]] "Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof" – '''I only/just understand "train station"''' – meaning to not be able, or perhaps not willing, to understand what is being said. It has the equivalent meaning to the English language idiom "It's all [[Greek to me]]".<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-11-29|title=German phrase of the day: Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof|url=https://www.thelocal.de/20191129/german-phrase-of-the-day-ich-verstehe-nur-bahnhof/|access-date=2021-03-06|website=The Local Germany|language=en-US}}</ref> |
||
== Etymology == |
== Etymology == |
||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | The origin of the phrase, which was particularly fashionable in [[Berlin]] in the 1920s, is unclear. The dictionary ''[[Duden]]'' theorises that it was "perhaps originally said by soldiers at the end of [[World War I]] who only wanted to hear the words "train station", i.e. to be discharged and allowed to return home.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Duden {{!}} Bahnhof {{!}} Rechtschreibung, Bedeutung, Definition, Herkunft|url=https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Bahnhof|access-date=2021-03-06|website=www.duden.de|language=de}}</ref> A more generalised explanation is that people about to begin an anticipated journey are unable to concentrate on anything else.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-10-23|title=Nur Bahnhof verstehen|url=https://www.deutschesinstitut.it/nur-bahnhof-verstehen/|access-date=2021-03-06|website=Deutsches Institut|language=it-IT}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Welle (www.dw.com)|first=Deutsche|title=Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof! {{!}} DW {{!}} 20.08.2014|url=https://www.dw.com/de/ich-verstehe-nur-bahnhof/a-17757923|access-date=2021-03-06|website=DW.COM|language=de-DE}}</ref> |
||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | The origin of the phrase, which was particularly fashionable in [[Berlin]] in the 1920s, is unclear. The dictionary ''[[Duden]]'' theorises that it was "perhaps originally said by soldiers at the end of [[World War I]] who only wanted to hear the words "train station", i.e. to be discharged and allowed to return home. |
||
== Notable uses == |
== Notable uses == |
||
| Line 11: | Line 11: | ||
Novelist [[Hans Fallada]] also incorporated the phrase in his works: |
Novelist [[Hans Fallada]] also incorporated the phrase in his works: |
||
* " |
* ",Ich verstehe immer Bahnhof,‘ sagte er. ‚Bahnhof ist gar nicht so schlecht,‘ sagte sie, ‚wenn einer türmen muss.‘{{-"}} [{{"'}}I always understand the train station," he said. 'The train station is not that bad,' she said, 'when someone has to flee.{{'"}}] – ''[[Wer einmal aus dem Blechnapf frisst]]'' (1934)<ref>{{Cite book|last=Fallada|first=Hans|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ogEwAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA452|title=Wer einmal aus dem Blechnapf frisst: Roman|date=1934|publisher=Rowohlt|language=de}}</ref> |
||
* " |
* "Haben Sie etwas gesagt? Ich versteh immer Bahnhof. Hä-hä-hä. Meier belacht pflichtschuldig die gängigste Redensart der Zeit." ["Did you say something? I always understand the station. Huh-huh-huh. Meier dutifully laughs at the most popular saying of the time."] – ''[[Wolf Among Wolves]]'' (1937)<ref>{{Cite book|last=Fallada|first=Hans|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gZCwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA135|title=Wolf unter Wölfen Band 1: Die Stadt und ihre Ruhelosen|date=2019-09-19|publisher=BoD – Books on Demand|isbn=978-3-96662-034-5|language=de}}</ref> |
||
== References == |
== References == |
||
Latest revision as of 03:01, 4 December 2022
Bahnhof verstehen (transl. to understand "train station") derives from the German language idiomatic phrase "Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof" – I only/just understand "train station" – meaning to not be able, or perhaps not willing, to understand what is being said. It has the equivalent meaning to the English language idiom "It's all Greek to me".[1]
Etymology
[edit]
The origin of the phrase, which was particularly fashionable in Berlin in the 1920s, is unclear. The dictionary Duden theorises that it was "perhaps originally said by soldiers at the end of World War I who only wanted to hear the words "train station", i.e. to be discharged and allowed to return home.[2] A more generalised explanation is that people about to begin an anticipated journey are unable to concentrate on anything else.[3][4]
Notable uses
[edit]Communist Party of Germany politician Emil Höllein used the phrase in a 1923 parliamentary debate: "… ja, Sie wollen nichts hören. Wenn derartige Dinge kommen, dann hören Sie immer: Bahnhof." ["… yes, you don't want to hear anything. When things like this come up, you always hear: train station."][5]
Novelist Hans Fallada also incorporated the phrase in his works:
- ",Ich verstehe immer Bahnhof,‘ sagte er. ‚Bahnhof ist gar nicht so schlecht,‘ sagte sie, ‚wenn einer türmen muss.‘" ["'I always understand the train station," he said. 'The train station is not that bad,' she said, 'when someone has to flee.'"] – Wer einmal aus dem Blechnapf frisst (1934)[6]
- "Haben Sie etwas gesagt? Ich versteh immer Bahnhof. Hä-hä-hä. Meier belacht pflichtschuldig die gängigste Redensart der Zeit." ["Did you say something? I always understand the station. Huh-huh-huh. Meier dutifully laughs at the most popular saying of the time."] – Wolf Among Wolves (1937)[7]
References
[edit]
Look up nur Bahnhof verstehen in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
- ^ "German phrase of the day: Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof". The Local Germany. 2019-11-29. Retrieved 2021-03-06.
- ^ "Duden | Bahnhof | Rechtschreibung, Bedeutung, Definition, Herkunft". www.duden.de (in German). Retrieved 2021-03-06.
- ^ "Nur Bahnhof verstehen". Deutsches Institut (in Italian). 2018-10-23. Retrieved 2021-03-06.
- ^ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof! | DW | 20.08.2014". DW.COM (in German). Retrieved 2021-03-06.
- ^ Proceedings of the German Reichstag. 305th meeting. February 22, 1923. Berlin, Volume 358, p. 9829
- ^ Fallada, Hans (1934). Wer einmal aus dem Blechnapf frisst: Roman (in German). Rowohlt.
- ^ Fallada, Hans (2019-09-19). Wolf unter Wölfen Band 1: Die Stadt und ihre Ruhelosen (in German). BoD – Books on Demand. ISBN 978-3-96662-034-5.
.png){kind=small} | This article about Germanic languages is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |