GERMAN COLOR SYMBOLISM AND EXPRESSIONS
Every language has its own colorful expressions and symbolism, including German. But here we’re talking about colorful (bunt, farbenfroh) in a literal sense: expressions that contain grün, rot,blau, schwarz, braun, and other colors.
In English we can “feel blue,” “be yellow,” or “see red.” In German these colors may or may not have the same meaning. In an earlier feature, Idioms: Talk like a German, I mentioned several blau idioms, because “blau” can have numerous meanings in German, including “drunk” or “black” (as in “black eye”).
In English we can “feel blue,” “be yellow,” or “see red.” In German these colors may or may not have the same meaning. In an earlier feature, Idioms: Talk like a German, I mentioned several blau idioms, because “blau” can have numerous meanings in German, including “drunk” or “black” (as in “black eye”).
In Germany and Austria political parties are often identified by or associated with a specific color. Both the Austrian and German conservative parties are black (schwarz), while the socialists arered (rot). Various other political parties in German-speaking Europe are identified by other colors, and one political coalition is even called a “traffic-light” coalition (Ampelkoalition, i.e., red, yellow, green – SPD, FDP, Grüne).
Below, we expand on the color(ful) vocabulary theme to include a mix of several colors. This is a representative collection and is not meant to be exhaustive. It also leaves out expressions that are similar or the same in English, i.e., “rot sehen” (to see red), “die Welt durch eine rosa Brille sehen” (to see the world through rose colored glasses), etc. But it includes words that contain a color (eine Farbe), especially when the meaning varies from the English.
Below, we expand on the color(ful) vocabulary theme to include a mix of several colors. This is a representative collection and is not meant to be exhaustive. It also leaves out expressions that are similar or the same in English, i.e., “rot sehen” (to see red), “die Welt durch eine rosa Brille sehen” (to see the world through rose colored glasses), etc. But it includes words that contain a color (eine Farbe), especially when the meaning varies from the English.
| Colorful Expressions | |
| Deutsch | English |
| BLAU | BLUE |
| blau anlaufen lassen | to temper (metal) |
| das Blaue vom Himmel versprechen | to promise the moon |
| blauer Montag | a Monday off (usually for personal reasons); “St. Monday” |
| das Blaulicht | (flashing) blue light (police) |
| BRAUN | BROWN |
| braun werden | to tan, get brown |
| der Braunkohl | (curly) kale |
| die Braunkohle | brown (bituminous) coal |
| GELB | YELLOW |
| die gelbe Partei | the “yellow party” (Free Democrats, FDP – Ger. political party) |
| die gelbe Post WEB > Deutsche Post AG |
the “yellow post” (office); mail service, as opposed to banking, telephone, and telegraph; yellow is the color of German mail boxes and postal vehicles |
| die Gelben Seiten | the Yellow Pages |
| Yellow (gelb) has no association with cowardice in German, as it does in English. | |
| GRAU | GRAY/GREY |
| alles grau in grau malen | to paint everything black, be pessimistic |
| es graut; beim Grauen des Tages* | dawn is breaking; at day-break |
| in grauer Ferne | in the distant (indefinite) future |
| * “grauen” – as in “es graut mir” (it horrifies me) – is a different verb. | |
| GRÜN | GREEN |
| grüne Welle | green wave (synchronized traffic lights) |
| die Grünen | The Greens (Ger. political party) |
| im Grünen; bei Mutter Grün | outdoors, in the open air |
| ROT | RED |
| etwas rot anstreichen | to mark something in red (as a special day, a “red letter day,” etc.) |
| die Roten (pl) | the Reds (socialists, SPD – Ger. political party) |
| roter Faden | leitmotiv, theme (novel, opera, play, etc.) |
| rote Welle | red wave (unsynchronized traffic lights – ironic humor) |
| SCHWARZ | BLACK |
| schwarz | Catholic, conservative (political); orthodox; illegal(ly) |
| schwarz | CDU/CSU (Ger. political party) |
| schwarzarbeiten | to work illegally (w/o paying taxes, etc.) |
| schwärzen; Schwärzer | to smuggle; smuggler |
| schwarzfahren | to ride without a ticket; stow away |
| ins Schwarze treffen | to hit the bull’s eye; hit the nail on the head |
| WEISS | WHITE |
| weißbluten | to bleed (someone) dry (money) |
| weiße Woche | white sale (white week) |
| die Weißwurstgrenze (Mainlinie)** | Germany’s “Mason-Dixon Line” (north-south border) |
| ** “Weißwurstgrenze” refers to a type of Bavarian “white” sausage (Weißwurst) | |