May 4 marks International Firefighters' Day — a time to honor their work, while also learning some German expressions involving fire.
German has plenty of expressions using the elements, including fireImage: Colourbox
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How the German language plays with fire
Discover German expressions with "fire": Find out why someone would put their hand in a fire for someone, or why you'd want to light up someone's bottom.
Image: Colourbox
Feuer und Flamme für etwas sein
Literally, "to be fire and flame for something," it means to feel passionately about something, to be all for it, to be incredibly enthusiastic.
Image: Colourbox
Für jemanden durchs Feuer gehen
"To walk through a fire for someone" means you would do anything for someone; you have their back.
Image: IRNA
Mehrere Eisen im Feuer haben
"To have numerous irons in the fire" means to have stakes in several things at once: pursuing several options at the same time to increase your chances of success. Nowadays, we might say "to have a Plan B," and even a C, D, and E!
Image: Patrick Pleul/ZB/picture alliance
Mit dem Feuer spielen
It's the same as in English: to play with fire. It's something we teach our kids not to do, but we adults know it's all too tempting.
Image: Bilderbox
Für jemanden die Hand ins Feuer legen
"To put your hand in the fire for someone" means you vouch for them. The expression refers back to the Middles Ages, when people would literally have to place their hands in a fire to prove their innocence. The belief was that if they did not burn, the person was not guilty. The more severe the burns, however, the worse the punishment was. Ouch!
Image: picture-alliance/Lehtikuva/Hehkuva
Für jemanden die Kartoffeln (oder Kastanien) aus dem Feuer holen
"To fetch the potatoes out of the fire" means to take on an unpleasant task for someone. Its variant, "to fetch chestnuts out of the fire for someone" refers to a fable involving a monkey and a cat. The monkey cons the cat into pulling out chestnuts from a fire, with the cat burning its paw and the monkey gobbling up the nuts. The English "a cat's paw" means being the dupe of another, being used.
Image: picture-alliance/ZB/P. Endig
Jemandem Feuer unterm Hintern machen
It sounds quite painful: to light a fire under someone's bottom, but it's not malicious. On the contrary: the aim is to get someone moving and cheer them on, motivate them to get something done. We can all use that now and again.
Image: picture-alliance/United Archives/TBM
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For Meet the Germans, we've introduced you to various German idioms about the elements. This time around, it's all about fire.
Fire is essential to human life, for everything from cooking to heating, but of course it can also get out of hand, as seen in the wildfires that wreaked havoc in recent years in places from Australia and California, to Brazil, Borneo and the Arctic Circle. We thought we would also honor those who try to keep it in check: firefighters.
May 4 is an international celebratory day to honor those who risk their lives to keep people safe. Called into being after five firefighters died in 1998 while trying to put out a bushfire in Linton, Australia, people around the world can honor these courageous people by wearing red and blue ribbons. The colors signify the main elements firefighters work with: red for fire, blue for water.
The date May 4 was selected as it is the feast day of St. Florian, who is said to have been one of the first known commanders of a firefighting squad in the Roman Empire.
Click through the gallery above to learn German expressions involving fire.
