I live in Germany. Trying to understand the mysterious German soul. I collect gossip about the Germans. If anyone can help me with this I would be very grateful.

Everything is good in Germany, you just wake up in the morning, look out the window, and there are Germans in the city!

According to an anecdote popular in Europe, in heaven the Germans are mechanics, and in hell they are policemen.

English playwright B. Shaw: "The Germans have great virtues, but they also have one dangerous weakness - the obsession to bring every good deed to an extreme, so that good turns into evil.

Madame de Stael noted that the Germans manage to find a lot of obstacles for the simplest things, and in Germany you hear "It's impossible!" a hundred times more often than in France (and this despite the fact that all her work was started as a criticism of the French order).

AT pre-revolutionary Russia for a long time there was a popular joke about rebellious German proletarians who marched in an organized column along Unter den Linden exactly until they came across a “No entry” sign. This ended the revolution, and everyone safely went home.

Flower coffee.
Actually, it's a German idiom. The Germans call this very weak coffee, such that through the layer of the drink you can see a flower drawn on the bottom of the cup. However, with light hand Academician Likhachev, this expression has taken root in Russian speech and now means any thing that is not done properly, but as poverty or stinginess allows.

There is an anecdote that the Germans made a mistake three times - World War I, World War II and the release of the Volkswagen Passat B5.

The unforgettable Dobrolyubov, who was not only a critic, but also a poet, warned 150 years ago: "Our train will not go, as the German one does..."

In Ode on the Death of Nicholas I, Dobrolyubov stigmatizes the tsar as a "tyrant", a "German offspring", who "sought ... to make Russia a machine", "exalted only military despotism"

The idiom "Hamburg account" in the meaning of "a genuine system of values, free from momentary circumstances and selfish interests", going back to the story told by Viktor Shklovsky about Russian circus wrestlers late XIX- the beginning of the 20th century, usually determining the winner of the fight in advance, by agreement, but once a year they supposedly converged in Hamburg, away from the public and employers, in order to find out in a fair fight which of them is actually stronger. according to a circus legend retold by Paustovsky, wrestlers from all over the world once a year gathered in some kind of Hamburg tavern, locked the doors, curtained the windows and fought honestly, "without fools." Then, under the spotlights, in public, an elegant handsome man effectively threw a bear-like strong man over his hip, some "Mr. X" won a fight against a famous champion ... but once a year, in Hamburg, for themselves, the wrestlers figured out who was worth what who is truly the first, and who is only the ninety-ninth." ...

“The Hamburg score is an extremely important concept.
All wrestlers, when wrestling, cheat and lie down on the shoulder blades at the order of the entrepreneur.
Once a year wrestlers gather in a Hamburg tavern.
They fight with closed doors and curtained windows. Long, ugly and hard.
Here the true classes of fighters are established - so as not to cheat."

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol wrote that every nation is distinguished by its own word expressing, by the way, part of his character. The word of the British will respond with a wise knowledge of life, the word of the Frenchman will flash and scatter, the German will intricately invent his own, “but there is no word that would be so bold, smart ... so seething and vibrant, like the aptly said Russian word.”

WORSE ONION

If a person cries, it's bad. But the reason that causes tears in the eyes is not always worthy of attention and respect. Try to peel or rub an onion: your tears will flow in a stream ... From grief? From onion grief!
The Germans know another expression: "onion tears". These are the tears that flow over trifles. And in figuratively by "onion grief" we mean petty sorrows, insignificant sorrows that do not deserve tears.

The French love the most beautiful, the Germans love the most, the rabbits love the fastest, but the goats love the most.

The Germans do not like to work, but they know how.

On August 8, at the German-American festivities in Berlin, the Stargate attraction failed, reports dpa. In a gondola blocked at a height of 15 meters, 14 passengers hung upside down for half an hour. Only after the device could be set in motion, people were safe. Many of them were provided with health care. It is reported that one passenger did not notice anything unusual and was sure that the stop of the gondola was part of the attraction's program.

"German, pepper, sausage,
rotten cabbage!
Ate a mouse without a tail
and said it was delicious!
© Teaser for children, folklore.
For some reason, the German-pepper-sausage is teasing, the Germans were called "sausage makers" before the revolution
Sausage maker, sausage maker's wife. || An abusive or comic nickname for the Germans.
Explanatory Dictionary of Living Great Russian language Vladimir Dahl
SAUSAGE

Once, Tsar Peter, accompanied by Menshikov, visited the house of the pharmacist Klaus Seidenberg in the German Quarter. He demanded Dutch cheese, butter, rye and wheat bread, strong ale, wine and vodka. The apothecary did not have enough decanters, and he served the Danzig liquor to the king in a flask. After tasting the liquor and eating his ger;ucherte Wurst, Peter asked what it was, because he liked this last product. The pharmacist, believing that the question refers to the vessel in which he served the liquor, replied: "Kolba-s." This is how the famous decree of Peter the Great was born, which ordered all estates to "make sausages from mutton intestines and stuff them with various offal."
Then the expression "sausage" appeared. Peter, being in a good mood, often said to Menshikov: "Aleksashka, let's go to the pharmacist, we'll shake."

The Germans have a saying: “who has pants on in the family”, which in our way means: “who is the boss in the house”.

The fire at the pyrotechnic factory in Drosselberg raged for 6 hours. None of the firefighters dared to extinguish such beauty. (Joke)

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov died on the night of July 2, 1904 in a hotel room in the German resort town of Badenweiler. The German doctor decided that death was already behind him. According to an ancient German medical tradition, a doctor who made a fatal diagnosis to his colleague treats the dying man to champagne... Anton Pavlovich said in German: "I'm dying" - and drank a glass of champagne to the bottom.

The philosopher Immanuel Kant said: Das ist gut".
- Last words Einstein remained unknown because the nurse did not understand German.

Alles hat ein Ende nur die Wurst hat zwei. - Everything has an end, only the sausage has two of them (my version is three!).
German folk proverb.

Photo from www.m.simplycars.ru.

22.11.2011 11:26:30

How are Russians different from Germans? At first glance, the question is stupid. After all, people living in different countries, a completely different mentality. It is generally accepted that the Germans are neat, hardworking, punctual, they love order in everything. For the rest of my life I remember how our school teacher, German by nationality, at the very first lesson German language wrote on the board "Ordnung muss sein", which means "Order must be". At the same time, he looked at us so sternly that later in his lessons we behaved very quietly.

The mentality of Russians is completely different. We can say that we are the antipodes of the Germans. It is not for nothing that the proverb “What is good for a Russian, then for a German is death” was invented. The Russians are mostly lazy, they can afford, as they say, to lie on the stove and spit on the ceiling, again, they love freebies, which is completely uncharacteristic of the Germans.

However, despite the obvious differences, we have a lot in common. It is not for nothing that strong friendly ties have long been established between Russia and Germany. Russian-German friendship societies are successfully functioning in both countries, exchanges between schoolchildren and students are practiced. Also part Russian schoolchildren and students learn German, and in some educational institutions Germany is taught Russian.

Friendship is friendship, however, as I had to make sure, not all Russians and Germans have a positive attitude towards each other ... In different countries, I found myself in similar situations, from which I drew two conclusions for myself. First: when traveling abroad, Russians and Germans behave in exactly the same way when they think that no one knows their language. Second: some representatives of Russia and Germany really do not like each other.

One story happened to me in Germany. German friends invited me to a demonstration of military equipment. We arrived at military unit where the day was spent open doors. Everyone could walk around the unit, see the conditions in which the soldiers live, and also get acquainted with the arsenal. I was, of course, very surprised, because in Russia this does not happen. Entrance to military units is closed to civilians, and even more so to foreigners.

When we arrived at the military unit, there was a long queue in front of the entrance. But she moved on very quickly. Standing in this line, I was very surprised when I heard Russian speech. At first, this made me happy, because at that time I lived in Germany for almost a month, and I got tired of the German language. However, later the behavior of the Russians outraged me.

Compatriots were standing not far from us, so I heard their conversation clearly. They said something like this:

Got these Germans. They stand like sheep in this queue. No one even tries to skip the line. All too correct, as much infuriates. All of them are not like people ...

True, it sounded much ruder, there were also obscene expressions.

Enraged enough about the "wrong" queue, they began to discuss the people who stood in front of them. Again, in a rough way. Someone was called "fat", someone was called "ugly" ... Naturally, it was unpleasant to listen to them.

When my German friends asked what they were talking about, I, frankly, was at a loss. Said they were unhappy that the queue was too long. And the thought flashed through her head to approach her rude compatriots and ask them to behave decently. But I didn't make up my mind. Or maybe I was afraid that they would pour a bucket of dirt on me too ...

It so happened that, leaving the military unit, we again found ourselves next to the same Russians from the queue. This time they were loudly discussing how stupid the Germans are for showing their military equipment"to anyone." At the same time, they didn’t even have a thought that Germans who studied Russian might be walking nearby, and who might be offended by such statements ...

After leaving the military unit, we went to the cemetery where Russian soldiers were buried during World War II. However, we could not get to the cemetery itself. It was surrounded by a high fence, and there were guards at the gate. My German friends explained that this cemetery is opened once a year - on May 9th. On other days it does not work and is under protection, as there were several cases when radical young people destroyed monuments and desecrated graves.

“Probably, our compatriots are to blame for this, who publicly allow themselves to insult the citizens of the country in which they are as guests ...”, I thought, but did not say it out loud ...

Another story happened in Turkey, where, as you know, tourists from Russia and Germany like to relax. Most of them are there. So, my friends and I decided to go sailing. True, tickets were purchased at a street travel agency, and not from a hotel guide, whose prices were twice as high. As a result, we got on a yacht, where there was practically no free places. To collect more money, a lot was loaded onto the yacht more people than it should. Moreover, there were approximately the same number of Russian and German tourists.

Interestingly, the Russians had fun, danced, participated in various competitions. The Germans at that time were sitting with disgruntled faces. They were obviously strained by such a neighborhood.

It so happened that she settled next to us German campaign. Two young women with children. While their children were having fun and playing with Russian children, mothers were vigorously discussing something. At first, I somehow did not listen to their dialogue, and then I suddenly became interested. After all, at school I studied German, and listening to live foreign speech you can brush up on your knowledge.

However, after listening to their words, I regretted that I was next to them. Their dialogue went something like this:

Okay here...

Yes, everything would be fine, but only a lot of Russians ...

After that, they began to discuss how disgustingly the Russians behave, how they interfere with their rest. And then they began to ridicule the shortcomings of the people around them ... I immediately remembered the compatriots whom I met in Germany ...

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In Russian there are many interesting expressions, proverbs and phraseological units. One of these proverbs is famous phrase"What is good for a Russian is death for a German." Where did the expression come from, what does it mean and how can it be interpreted?

The difference between Europe and Russia

It is known that physical constitution human being depends largely on natural and climatic conditions in which society is forced to live. European climate, like the Russian one, gives rise to a corresponding character.

The climate in Europe is mild and moderate. The life of the peoples inhabiting these lands has always been the same. The time needed to work was distributed evenly throughout the year. While the Russians were forced to either rest or work beyond their strength.

The natural conditions of Russia cannot be called mild. short summer and long Cold winter contributed to what is commonly called the Russian soul. Forced to constantly struggle with cold winters, the Russian person has a special temperament that cannot but be called a little aggressive. In addition, the climate has a significant impact on the formation of the physiology of the nation. This must be borne in mind when explaining the meaning of the saying "What is good for a Russian is death for a German." And of course, every nation has its own history, which affects the mentality of people, their way of life. The difference between Western European countries and Russia in this case very indicative.

The first version of the origin of the proverb "What is good for a Russian is death for a German"

This expression is used in everyday speech constantly. Saying a proverb, people do not think about its origin. "What is good for a Russian is death for a German" - no one will remember who said this for the first time and where this phrase came from. Meanwhile, according to one of the versions, its origins should be looked for in history Ancient Russia. On one of the holidays in Russia, they laid a table rich in various delicious dishes. In addition to them, they also brought traditional sauces, horseradish, and homemade mustard. The Russian hero tried it and continued the feast with pleasure. And when the German knight tasted the mustard, he fell dead under the table.

Another version of the origin of the proverb

"What is good for a Russian is death for a German" - whose expression it used to be, it is difficult to say. Exists interesting story explaining the origin of the catchphrase. A doctor was called to the ailing artisan boy. He, after examining, concluded that he did not have long to live. Mother wanted to fulfill any last wish child, to which the young doctor allowed him to enjoy any food. After the child ate cabbage with pork, which was prepared by the hostess, he began to recover.

Then invited to dinner german child who suffered from the same disease. When the doctor told him to eat cabbage with pork, the unexpected happened: the boy died the next day. The doctor made an entry in his notebook: "What is good for a Russian is death for a German."

Russia will save the world

What else is different, and so much so that it allows many great minds to call Mother Russia the savior of the world, in particular Europe? Some differences appear even in privacy. A case in point can serve as a banal habit of washing. Many Western historians have notes that testify in favor of the fact that the Slavs have a steady habit of constantly pouring water on themselves. In other words, Russians are used to bathing in running water.

What is good for a Russian is death for a German, or everyday habits of different peoples

To compare the historically established European and Russian customs, it is necessary to small digression into the past. In the days of the Roman Empire, cleanliness was always the key not only to health, but also to full life. But when the Roman Empire collapsed, everything changed. The famous Roman baths remained only in Italy itself, while the rest of Europe was striking in its uncleanliness. Some sources say that until the 12th century, Europeans did not wash at all!

The case with Princess Anna

"What is good for a Russian is death for a German" - this saying expresses the essence of the differences between representatives different cultures and nations. An interesting incident happened to Anna - Kyiv princess, who was supposed to marry King Henry I of France. After arriving in France, her first order was to take her to bathe. Despite their surprise, the courtiers, of course, complied with the order. However, this did not become a guarantee of getting rid of the wrath of the princess. She informed her father in a letter that he sent her to a completely uncultured country. The girl noted that her inhabitants have terrible characters, as well as disgusting household habits.

The price of uncleanliness

Surprise, similar to that experienced by Princess Anna, was also expressed by the Arabs and Byzantines at the time crusades. They were amazed not by the strength of the Christian spirit that the Europeans had, but by a completely different fact: the smell that reeked a mile away from the crusaders. What happened afterwards, every student knows. erupted in Europe terrible plague which wiped out half the population. Thus, we can safely say that the main reason that helped the Slavs to become one of the largest ethnic groups, to resist wars, genocide and famine, was precisely cleanliness.

An interesting fact is that after Galicia fell under the rule of Poland, Russian baths completely disappeared in it. Even the art of perfumery arose in Europe in order to combat unpleasant odors. And this is displayed in the writer's novel "Perfumer: the story of a murderer." In the book, the author vividly describes what happened on the streets of Europe. All biological waste was poured from the windows directly onto the heads of passers-by.

pharmacy legend

When Russian troops captured Prague on November 4, 1794, the soldiers began to drink alcohol in one of the pharmacies. Sharing this alcohol with a German veterinarian, they accidentally took his life. After drinking the glass, he expired. After this incident, Suvorov said popular expression: "What is good for a Russian is shmertz for a German", which means "pain, suffering" in translation.

It should also be noted interesting fact. The proverb "What is good for a Russian is death for a German" does not exist in German. It is offensive, so it is better not to pronounce it in the presence of representatives of this people. For us, it means the following: what may be useful to one person may be harmful to another. In this sense, the well-known proverb "Another's soul - darkness" or "To each his own" can serve as its analogue.

It is also necessary to remember that earlier in Russia, not only immigrants from Germany were called Germans. This name was worn by all foreigners. Those who did not know local traditions, Russian customs and did not know how to speak Russian were called dumb, or Germans. Because of this, they could get into various comic and sometimes unpleasant situations. Perhaps this proverb was born as a result of such cases.

This phrase has a deep practical value. Very often people are incapable of empathy. No wonder the ethical sense among children is considered giftedness. But for adults, the ability to enter into the position of another person and "try on his skin" is very important for successful interaction in society. A similar meaning is also carried by which says that it is not worth doing about a person and somehow judging him until the moment when the one who wants to make a judgment has spent a day in his shoes.

What is beneficial for one person is highly undesirable for another. Or maybe even fatal. Take, for example, the widespread statements that you should not recommend medicines that have helped you to your relatives, friends and acquaintances - they can not heal, but aggravate the disease. And this will also help to fully understand the true meaning of the well-known proverb, in which in fact there is not a drop of nationalist views.

What is good for a Russian is death for a German

The expression "Balzac's age" arose after the release of Balzac's novel "The Thirty-Year-Old Woman" and is acceptable in relation to women not older 40 years.

Tyutelka is a diminutive of the dialectal tyutya (“hit, hit”), the name of an exact hit with an ax in the same place during carpentry work. Today, to denote high accuracy, the expression "tutelka in tyutelka" is used.

The most experienced and strong hauler, walking in the strap first, was called a bump. This has evolved into the expression "big shot" to refer to an important person.

Previously, Friday was a free day from work, and, as a result, a market day. On Friday, when they received the goods, they promised to give back the money due for it on the next market day. Since then, to refer to people who do not keep their promises, they say: "He has seven Fridays in the week."

In French, “asiet” is both a plate and a mood, a state. Presumably a mistranslation french expression became the reason for the appearance of the phraseologism "not at ease".

Once a young doctor, invited to a hopelessly ill Russian boy, allowed him to eat whatever he wanted. The boy ate pork with cabbage and, to the surprise of others, began to recover. After this incident, the doctor prescribed pork with cabbage to a sick German boy, but he, having eaten, died the next day. According to one version, it is this story that underlies the appearance of the expression "what is good for a Russian, then death for a German."

When the son of the Roman emperor Vespasian reproached him for imposing a tax on public toilets, the emperor showed him the money that came from this tax and asked if they smelled. Having received a negative answer, Vespasian said: "But they are from urine." This is where the expression "money doesn't smell" comes from.

The opening of a nail-like eiffel tower which caused a sensation. Since then, the expression "highlight of the program" has entered the language.

The expression "the game is not worth the candle" came from the speech of gamblers who spoke in this way about a very small gain that does not pay off the cost of the candles that burned out during the game.

In the old days, village women, after washing, “rolled” the laundry with the help of a special rolling pin. Well-rolled linen turned out to be wrung out, ironed and clean, even if the washing was not of very high quality. Today, to indicate the achievement of the goal in any way, the expression "not by washing, so by rolling" is used.

In the 17th century, by order of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the distances between Moscow and the summer royal residence in the village of Kolomenskoye were re-measured and very high milestones were installed. Since then, tall and thin people have been called the "Kolomenskaya verst."

“One scientist, having bought 20 ducks, immediately ordered to cut one of them into small pieces, with which he fed the rest of the birds. A few minutes later, he did the same with the other duck, and so on, until there was one left, which, in this way, devoured 19 of her friends. This note was published in the newspaper by the Belgian humorist Cornelissen to mock the gullibility of the public. Since then, according to one version, false news is called "newspaper ducks."

More often they say the opposite: "What is good for a Russian is death for a German." In the book of V.I. Dahl's "Proverbs and sayings of the Russian people" recorded another version: "What is great for a Russian is death for a German." In any case, the meaning is unchanged: what is good for one is unacceptable, and may be disastrous, for others.

What is good for Russian...

How did this catchphrase, is not exactly known. There are several stories that perfectly illustrate it, but they are unlikely to reveal the secret of origin. For example, they talk about a certain boy who was hopelessly ill. The doctor allowed him to eat whatever he wanted. The boy wanted pork with cabbage and soon unexpectedly recovered. Struck by the success, the doctor prescribed this "" to another patient - a German. But he ate it and died. There is another story: during the feast, the Russian knight ate a spoonful of vigorous mustard and did not wince, and the German knight, having tried the same thing, fell dead. In one historical anecdote we are talking about Russian soldiers who drank and praised, while the German fell off his feet and died from just one glass. When Suvorov was informed about this incident, he exclaimed: “It’s free for a German to compete with Russians! The Russian is great, but the German is dead! But most likely, this saying did not have a specific author, it is the result of folk art.

That German - Shmertz

The origin of this turnover is probably caused by the reaction of strangers to various everyday inconveniences that they encountered in Russian: winter frosts, transport, unusual food, and so on. Where everything was ordinary and normal for the Russians, the Germans were amazed and indignant: “Schmerz!”

German Schmerz - suffering, pain; grief, grief, sadness

Such behavior was surprising from the point of view of a Russian person, and the people jokingly remarked: "Where the Russian is great, there the German is shmertz." By the way, all foreigners in a row used to be called Germans in Russia. German - "not we", a stranger. But immigrants from Germany were teased with “sausage makers” and “shmerts”.

The expression “what is good for a German, then death for a Russian” was widely used in the nineteenth century.
And now the people continue to practice wit.

What is good for a Russian, a German already has
What is good for a Russian is one disorder for a German
What is good for a Russian is why he is bad

New versions of the proverb have appeared, and what will remain in