But then again, maybe that fact would prove your point. Doesn’t make much sense when you translate it literally. “Spinnen” can mean “spider” or “spinning yarn” so the idea is that you’re about to spin out of control. But one thing is clear, you’d be really annoyed if someone was walking on the delicious pastries you wanted to eat. Like many of these phrases, there is some speculation about where this phrase came from.

Literal translation: You’re walking on my cake/cookie If there were more ponies in our lives, I imagine we’d all feel a little less stressed out about it and life really would be like a pony farm. Honestly, this sums up so much of what makes life a challenge: Not enough cute animals. Literal translation: Life is no pony farm Here’s a quick look at 12 German phrases that are so wonderfully weird we should all be using them. As a non-native speaker learning the language, I’ve found there’s a perfect phrase in German for just about every scenario.

In addition to a rich, fascinating history, it boasts a dictionary of perfectly descriptive words and phrases. It’s also a co-official language in some areas of Italy, Poland, and even Brazil. German is one of the 10 most widely-spoken languages in the world, and an official language in several countries in Western Europe, including Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, as well as Belgium, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein.

Old german words in english