If you work in an office, you may hear this phrase going around on a Friday afternoon.

Alternatively, you might notice it pop up in social media posts around the same time as excitement builds for the days to come.

What does it mean?

Start ins Wochenende literally translates to “Start into (the) weekend”, but is probably better understood as the beginning of the weekend.

It’s a bit like a simple German version of “TGI Friday” – the abbreviated version of the well-known sentiment, “Thank God it’s Friday!”. But instead of focusing on the fact that the work days are behind you, Start ins Wochenende encourages you to look forward to the good times to come.

You’ll likely hear this phrase couched into well-wishes from your colleagues as you leave the office, or from acquaintances that you bump into on a Friday afternoon: “Habt einen wunderschönen Freitag und Start ins Wochenende” (Have a wonderful Friday and beginning of the weekend).

You can also use it when talking about anything you did on a Friday – or a Saturday morning – that helps you relax and shift your head space toward relaxation and enjoyment for the weekend.

Alternatively, it might be said with a tinge of bitter irony when something unfortunate happens.

For example: “Mein Flug wurde wegen eines technischen Problems gestrichen, was für ein toller Start ins Wochenende” (My flight was cancelled because of a technical problem, what a great start to the weekend).

READ ALSO: German word of the day: Verschlafen

Use it like this:

Der perfekte Start ins Wochenende. 

The perfect start to the weekend.

Mein idealer Start ins Wochenende ist eine Massage am Freitag und ein Brunch am Samstag.

My ideal start to the weekend is a massage on Friday and brunch on Saturday.