"To be there and take part with heart and soul," as this expression in German literally translates, means you are doing something passionately or wholeheartedly, that you are completely immersed in it. Not to be confused with: "Die beiden sind ein Herz und eine Seele," which refers to two people who are as one, who get along really well.

"To grip your heart" means to strike up the courage to do something, to get up enough nerve. Other variations of the German expression: "das Herz in die Hand nehmen" (to take one's heart into one's hand) or "seinem Herz einen Stoss geben" (to prod one's heart), although most of us probably wouldn't want our hearts to be treated like cattle!

Literally: "What is lying on your heart?" It's a kind question to someone because it shows you care. It means "what is troubling you?"; "what is weighing on or pressing down your heart?"

Similarly, if you feel you can tell someone about what is troubling you, you can pour out your heart to them — which translates as "jemandem das Herz ausschütten." Having a confidant is something everyone can appreciate in life.

In English, the expression is "to wear one's heart on one's sleeve." But the German is perhaps a little more accurate: "to carry one's heart on one's tongue." Of course, it means that you are expressive and do not hold back your feelings. You say what springs to mind (and heart), without thinking too much about the consequences.

The connection between one's heart and speech is both vast and deep. Not only can you carry your "heart on your tongue," someone can also "speak to your heart," or give voice to your feelings. In German, this means that someone has expressed your position to a dot or described exactly how you feel, as in "great minds think alike" (or more poetically: great hearts feel alike).

Surely a more embarrassing moment is when "Das Herz ist mir in die Hose gerutscht" — my heart has slipped into my pants. English has the expression that "one's heart has sunk (into one's boots)," but that means more that one has become saddened or disappointed. In German, when your heart goes into your pants, it means you are scared silly.

As the German expression goes, you can "lose your heart to someone," which means you've fallen hopelessly in love. But that sounds so fatalistic. Why not try the more generous approach: "Das Herz verschenken" — to give your heart away to someone? In other words: "Will you be my Valentine?"

A worst-case scenario is that if you turn someone down, you may just break their heart: "jemandem das Herz brechen." Hopefully, however, you'll experience the much more pleasant: "Das Herz geht auf!" — your heart opens up and begins to soar.

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly." Taken from the story "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, it means that your heart is your moral compass and lets you see what truly matters life. Perhaps equally warmhearted is the expression: "Das Herz am rechten Fleck haben" — to have one's heart in the right place.