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GERMAN WORD OF THE DAY

German phrase of the day: Öl ins Feuer gießen

When there's a tense or volatile situation, some things you do will only make it worse. That's where this popular German saying could come in handy.

German Word of the Day The Local
Photo credit: Francesco Ungaro / Unsplash + Nicolas Raymond / flickr

Why do I need to know Öl ins Feuer gießen? 

Because this commonly heard phrase is great to have in your repertoire for both casual conversations and more serious discussions about current affairs – and it’s only a matter of time before you hear it being used. 

What does it mean?

Öl ins Feuer gießen literally translates as “pouring oil on the fire”. As the image suggests, this is a phrase you use when someone appears to be exacerbating a difficult, tense or potentially explosive situation. 

You might hear some people use it to reject the idea of sending weapons to Ukraine – claiming that supporting the war-torn country will only “pour oil on the fire” of the conflict. Or you might hear people accuse far-right politicians of “pouring oil on the fire” of anti-migrant sentiment in Germany. 

In this sense, it’s very similar to an English phrase we use when someone seems to be making a bad situation worse. In these instances, we may accuse someone of “fanning the flames” – which, as any good builder of bonfires knows, will generally encourage the fire to spread. 

READ ALSO: German phrase of the day: Bekannt wie ein bunter Hund

Anything else I should know? 

German grammar aficionados out there will notice that the accusative “ins” is used in this phrase instead of the dative “im”. That’s because the gesture here involves movement – pouring the oil into the flames – rather than a static location. 

If some foolhardy type had already poured oil in the flames, and you wanted to tell somebody else that it was there, you would switch to dative and say: “Es gibt Öl im Feuer” (“There’s oil in the fire”). 

By the same principle, someone going into a cinema would say, “Ich gehe ins Kino” but someone who’s already there would say, “Ich bin im Kino”. 

When using the “in” preposition, this is usually the best way to work out whether the dative or accusative case applies.

Use it like this: 

Ich will kein Öl ins Feuer gießen, aber…

I don’t want to pour any oil on the fire, but… 

Es war echt dumm von Ihm, wieder mal Öl ins Feuer zu gießen!

It was really stupid of him to pour oil on the fire yet again! 

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GERMAN WORD OF THE DAY

German word of the day: Dudelsack

This hilarious sounding German word describes something quintessentially Scottish.

German word of the day: Dudelsack

Why do I need to know Dudelsack?

In the run-up to the German v Scotland opening match of Euro 2024, there were a lot of these gracing the streets of Munich. More importantly, why wouldn’t you want to know a word like Dudelsack?

Just say the word aloud and it will brighten your day. 

What does it mean?

Dudelsack (pronounced like this) is one of those German words that’s both charmingly literal and somewhat onomatopoeic, describing a big bag or sack that makes a ‘doodling’ kind of noise: in other words, the bagpipes.

As well as sounding like the noise this traditional Scottish instrument makes, dudeln also translates as ‘to drone’, and anyone who’s heard the bagpipes will know that this is also a fairly accurate description of how they sound. 

READ ALSO: 10 German words with hilarious literal translations

As Scotland geared up to play Germany in the opening match of Euro 2024 in Munich, many sacks were doodled in the Bavarian capital. 

Seeing parades of kilts and hearing the distinctive wail of the Dudelsack against the backdrop of Munich’s gothic town hall isn’t something you experience every day, and we’re sure it’s an experience the people of Munich also won’t forget for a while. 

Use it like this: 

Hör mal auf, Dudelsack zu spielen! Es geht mir auf die Nerven.

Stop playing the bagpipes! It’s getting on my nerves.  

Weißt du, wie der Dudelsack klingt? Man hört ihn überall in Schottland.

Do you know what the bagpipes sound like? You can hear them everywhere in Scotland. 

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