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
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
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 ☺