Today's words · 🐷 Animal idioms
Lucky pigs and crazy birds: 10 German animal idioms
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In German, a lucky person ‘has pig’ — and someone a bit crazy ‘has a bird’.
You tell a German friend you found fifty euros on the street, and they say: ‘Da hast du aber Schwein gehabt!’ A pig? What pig? Turns out it means ‘Wow, you were lucky!’
Today's ten idioms are ones Germans really use in everyday life. Cats, flies, mosquitoes, hares — picture the animals and the meanings stick. Add these to your German and it instantly sounds more colourful! 🐷
📋 The ten words at a glance
- Schwein haben — to be lucky (colloquial)
- die Katze aus dem Sack lassen — to let the cat out of the bag
- die Katze im Sack kaufen — to buy a pig in a poke
- zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe schlagen — to kill two birds with one stone
- aus einer Mücke einen Elefanten machen — to make a mountain out of a molehill
- das schwarze Schaf — the black sheep
- ein alter Hase sein — to be an old hand
- wie Hund und Katze — like cat and dog
- einen Vogel haben — (colloquial) to have a screw loose, be nuts
- da liegt der Hund begraben — that's the crux of the matter, there's the rub
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
Schwein haben
[SHVINE HAH-ben]to be lucky (colloquial)📌 Da hast du aber Schwein gehabt!
→ You were really lucky there!
💡 In Germany pigs mean luck 🐷 One story says the loser of old contests got a pig as a consolation prize.
⚠ No article: Schwein haben, not ein Schwein haben.
die Katze aus dem Sack lassen
[dee KAT-suh ows dem ZAK LASS-en]to let the cat out of the bag📌 Erst kurz vor der Wahl ließ der Kandidat die Katze aus dem Sack.
→ Only shortly before the election did the candidate let the cat out of the bag.
💡 Exactly like English: let the cat out of the bag 🐱
Bonus Similar: ein Geheimnis verraten = to give away a secret
die Katze im Sack kaufen
[dee KAT-suh im ZAK KOW-fen]to buy a pig in a poke📌 Ich kaufe keine Katze im Sack – ich will das Auto erst sehen.
→ I'm not buying a pig in a poke – I want to see the car first.
💡 You thought you bought a hare, but there's a cat in the sack 🐈 English says ‘a pig in a poke’.
⚠ Don't confuse it with aus dem Sack lassen (to reveal a secret)!
zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe schlagen
[tsvy FLEE-gen mit EYE-ner KLAP-uh SHLAH-gen]to kill two birds with one stone📌 Mit dem Fahrrad zur Arbeit schlage ich zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe: Sport und Klimaschutz.
→ Cycling to work, I kill two birds with one stone: exercise and climate protection.
💡 Two flies with one swatter 🪰 English kills two birds with one stone.
Bonus A flyswatter is more often called die Fliegenklatsche today.
aus einer Mücke einen Elefanten machen
[ows EYE-ner MÜK-uh EYE-nen eh-leh-FAN-ten MAKH-en]to make a mountain out of a molehill📌 Mach doch aus einer Mücke keinen Elefanten!
→ Don't make a mountain out of a molehill!
💡 Turning a mosquito into an elephant 🐘 English makes a mountain out of a molehill.
Bonus Often used as a command: Mach aus einer Mücke keinen Elefanten!
das schwarze Schaf
[dass SHVART-suh SHAHF]the black sheep📌 Er galt lange als das schwarze Schaf der Familie.
→ For a long time he was regarded as the black sheep of the family.
💡 Same as English: the black sheep 🐑
Bonus Usually ‘of the family’: das schwarze Schaf der Familie
ein alter Hase sein
[ine AL-ter HAH-zuh zine]to be an old hand📌 In der Kommunalpolitik ist er ein alter Hase.
→ He's an old hand at local politics.
💡 An old hare that's escaped every hunter 🐇 = an old hand.
Bonus The opposite: der Neuling = a newcomer
wie Hund und Katze
[vee HOONT oont KAT-suh]like cat and dog📌 Die beiden Nachbarn leben seit Jahren wie Hund und Katze.
→ The two neighbors have been fighting like cat and dog for years.
💡 English says cat and dog — German puts the dog first 🐶
⚠ Keep the German order: wie Hund und Katze, not wie Katze und Hund.
einen Vogel haben
[EYE-nen FOH-gel HAH-ben](colloquial) to have a screw loose, be nuts(hat einen Vogel – hatte einen Vogel – hat einen Vogel gehabt)
📌 Der hat doch einen Vogel, für ein Auto so viel Geld auszugeben!
→ He must have a screw loose, spending so much money on a car!
💡 There's a bird living in your head = you're nuts 🐦 Du hast doch einen Vogel!
⚠ It's rude. The matching gesture — tapping your forehead at another driver — can even get you fined as an insult.
da liegt der Hund begraben
[dah leekt dair HOONT beh-GRAH-ben]that's the crux of the matter, there's the rub📌 Pflegekräfte werden schlecht bezahlt – da liegt der Hund begraben.
→ Care workers are badly paid – that's the crux of the matter.
💡 ‘That's where the dog is buried’ = that's the real problem 🐕
Bonus Similar: der Knackpunkt = the crucial point
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
In Germany the pig is a symbol of good luck. At New Year, people often give little marzipan pigs (Glücksschwein), along with other lucky charms (Glücksbringer) like chimney sweeps, four-leaf clovers and red-and-white toadstools.
The same idea often uses a different animal in each language. English fights like cats and dogs; German lives wie Hund und Katze. English kills birds with a stone; German swats flies. Comparing them makes them much easier to remember.
And einen Vogel haben has its own gesture: tapping your forehead with your finger. It's genuinely insulting, and doing it at another driver can land you in trouble. Know it — but don't use it! 🐦
✅ Quick quiz
Q. Your friend just found fifty euros on the street. How do you react?
- ① Du hast einen Vogel!
- ② Da hast du aber Schwein gehabt!
- ③ Da liegt der Hund begraben.
Show the answer
② Da hast du aber Schwein gehabt!
Schwein haben = to be lucky, so this means ‘You were really lucky!’
If anything lucky happens to you today, say ‘Ich habe Schwein gehabt!’ out loud. One animal idiom and your German comes alive! 🍀
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 🥖 Food idioms