Let’s have some fun with this weird German language!
In this series of posts, I’ll show you how to make your German-speaking colleagues laugh, with ONE simple sentence.
Schwein gehabt
(Pig had)
Sports games were popular even back in the days, in the German Middle Ages (im deutschen Mittelalter).
And back then, not only the winner got a prize but also the loser (auch der Verlierer).
You might not believe it, but as a consolation prize (ein Trostpreis), they often got a pig (ein Schwein).
So actually the loser got a prize without even deserving it or having done anything significantly for it (ohne etwas Besonderes dafür getan zu haben).
And that’s exactly what we mean with this German expression.
So when we say in German:
- Du hast Schwein gehabt!
We actually mean:
- You’ve been very lucky!
- You were dead lucky!
- You had a stroke of luck!
It is obviously a more colloquial expression but it’s very common in casual conversations.
A more formal alternative is using the word Glück (luck) instead of Schwein:
- Du hast Schwein gehabt. = Du hast Glück gehabt. (You’ve been lucky.)
Got it?!
So here’s your action step :-)
Imagine you’re at a coffee break with your German-speaking colleague Lutz.
Lutz starts telling you about this dangerous car trip he had last weekend in the mountains (in den Bergen).
Luckily, at the last minute, he could jump with the car over a slope like James Bond and nothing bad happened (nichts Schlimmes ist passiert).
Take a deep breath and say to him:
- Da hast du aber nochmal wirklich Schwein gehabt! (You’ve been really lucky!)
And this is what it sounds like:
Then, tell me in the comments below how he reacted :-)