German idioms with colours

German idioms with colours

 

Yesterday I saw somebody with a black eye, which reminded me how we use idioms differently. In English, people have a black eye but in German they have a blue eye (ein blaues Auge).

That gave me the idea for the following slide show. I hope I haven’t forgotten any interesting sentences or phrases with colours. If I have, please add them below.

EDIT 2021: In season 4 of Ask Angelika we covered lots of German idioms and what they mean. Check out the playlist which will have 26 videos when done: Ask Angelika Season 4

3 thoughts on “German idioms with colours”

  1. I was wondering what the heck is a “black eye”. Thanks Google find out this idiom in portuguese is “olho roxo” or “purple eye” haushasuahus colorfull

    Reply
    • I guess, after a punch, the colour of the bruise looks a bit black, blue and purple, but calling it a black blue purple eye is a bit much. So, maybe the English decided on a black eye, the Germans took the blue and the Portuguese the purple – great fun ☺

      Reply

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