Series: German Idioms – No. 2: “Die Katze im Sack kaufen”

Germans also like to use idioms to describe certain situations. For learners of German who do not have much experience with idioms, this figurative language can sometimes be difficult.

We will introduce you to idioms that you may come across in your everyday life in Germany. This way, you will no longer understand only "Bahnhof" the next time you hear an idiom.

We will give you an example:
You should never buy a car without first taking it for a test drive. After all, you do not know if you will like driving the car or if something is broken. If you buy the car without taking a test drive, you would “die Katze im Sack kaufen" (buy a pig in a poke).

This idiom also has a funny background. In the past, many tricksters in the marketplace tried to deceive their customers. They sold sacks of supposedly fat chickens or piglets, which in reality contained useless cats.

Would you like to learn even more about idioms in German? Our German courses will bring you closer to using German in everyday life!