Hello everyone,
and welcome to our German Word of the Day. Roughly 100 years ago, Wilhelm Busch (a hyper famous German poet) wrote this.
Wir mögen keinem gerne gönnen,
dass er was kann, was wir nicht können.
It’s a nice rhyme, but also a bit of truth about human nature.
Today we’ll find out why, because we’ll have a look at the meaning of
gönnen
And as similar as it looks and sounds to können – being able to gönnen can be REAL challenge because it means overcoming one of the strongest adversaries out there … and no nerds, I don’t mean Thanos.
I’m talking about our ego.
Join as a member to continue learning
Find out more
Find out more
All lessons, tools and premium features (and there’s a LOT of them :).
Already a member?
Already a member? Log in here
Audio Speed
Dark Mode
I’m glad I’m not the one translating gönnen. Your anti-envy hits the spot when it’s truly genuine in some way. It’s special when someone does something that is genuinely worth praise. As an American, the way I would (begeistert) say it is, “Good for you! / her / them!” with emphasis on ‘good’. While in Australia I heard, “Good on ya, Mate.”
Hi, just a quick question. I don’t really understand the “gönn dir” part :(
Because it is “gönnen + accusative”, right? Like, to let yourself do/indulge in something= sich etwas gönnen
But why is it “gönn dir”?
And what’s the difference between them??
Oh, and has it changed at all since you wrote this article? What would you say instead of “gönn dir” that would not be slang?
“sich (dative) etwas (accusative) gönnen”
The person to whom you “gönnen” is the indirect object, the “thing” that someone is spoiled with is the direct object.
– Ich gönne mir (Dat) ein Eis (Acc)
The phrase “Gönn dir!” has the indirect object without being specific as to what to “gönnen”.
Does that help?
Yes, thank you so much!
Oh and yes, it’s past its peak I would say, but still common.
Hat “gönn dir” auch negative Bedeutung?wie z. B. “A: ich trug gar keinen Mundschutz, und steckte mich nämlich mit Corona-Virus an.“ B: Gönn dir! (You deserve it) oder A: Mr. D trug niemals Mundschutz, deswegen steckte er sich mit Corona-Virus an. B: Gönn ihm! (he really deserves it)
Absolutely not. It’s really genuinely positive.
You can use it ironically though, but still there needs to be an element of caring for the other person.
Also, it is not used for something that’s in the past (like in your examples). So DON’T think of it as a translation for “You deserve it”, think of it as “go ahead, you deserve it.”
Thank you so much for the rapid response! Ich drücke dir die Daumen dafür.
Übrigens, darf ich noch eine Frage stellen: wie sag man „you deserve it“ in einem Kontext vom Sarkasmus“ auf Deutsch?
LG
“Du hast es verdient.”
More about that here:
https://yourdailygerman.com/dienen-verdienen-dienst-meaning/
Vielen Dank und noch einen schönen Montag:)
Just read the comment below explaining my question. Cheers
Oh, haha, I oldest read my comment feed from oldest to newest, so I saw the other one first. No problem though. “Doppelt hält besser” as the German saying goes.
btw, where are you from, Emanuel?
Berlin :)!
Hello friends,
“Ich gönne meinem Kollegen die Gehaltserhöhung.”
I believe it should be meinen Kollegen the right declination. ??
Good thinking! “meinem Kollegen” is Singular, “meinen Kollegen” is Plural. The reason is the so called n-declension, one of the most boring and most useless parts of German :)
great article! I learned a ton to say the least… I’m having problems with importing the CSV into my anki though. i have no idea why
Do you get a specific error message? I have never used Anki myself. Do you use the right separator?
Hi!! I would have one question the following sentence: Ich gönne meinem Kollegen die Gehaltserhöhung.
I’m a little bit confused and don’t understand why you have used the form ‘meinem Kollegen’ instead of ‘meinen Kollegen’. I’m sure there must be some grammatical explanation which I’m not aware of.
Thank you in advance for your help :)
Oh, yes there is… it looks like a plural to you but it’s actually one colleague, singular. The reason “Kollege” has “-en” is the so called n-declension. One of the most boringest, annoyingest parts of German grammar. I recommend you just note that that’s a thing, and move on :)
Gibt es einen Untershied zwischen “günstig” und “billig”?
Beides bedeutet “kostet nicht viel” aber “günstig” ist immer positiv gemeint, “billig” meistens negativ.
Yes, “billig” is pretty much always used in context of money or at least worth. Günstig can also be used by a sailor for a favorable wind.
And “billig” sounds a bit “cheap” as in “low quality”. People do use it in daily life, but ad companies tend to use “günstig”.
An idiom I think gets close to the meaning of “jmdm. etwas gönnen” is “my hat’s off to _____”. It conveys respect and acknowledgement that somebody deserves the credit or praise they get for something.
I really thank you donators who is helping me to learn german.I hope I get better ^^
Oh, you will. Ich bin sicher :)
The difficulty with gönnen for English speakers is the we express the same idea using the verb ‘to begrudge’ but exactly the other way round:
‘Ich gönne ihr den Erfolg’ ‘I don’t begrudge her the success’
whereas if we were envious we would say,
‘I begrudge her the success’ (‘Ich gönne ihr den Erfolg nicht’).
How common is “to begrudge, by the way?
I wouldn’t say it’s super-common, but it’s not a rare curiosity either. You also see/hear it as just “to grudge.”
Seldom heard without negation. Even then it competes with better known alternatives but it’s still a good stock phrase to equivocate over someone’s success. That is to say, it’s frequently followed by a “but”. “I don’t begrudge (him) his promotion but…”
Hi, can I interpreted “Gönn dir” as “enjoy yourself”?
and, Are these two below express the same meaning (differnce between dürfen and gönnen)?
Der Athlet darf sich keine Traningspause.
Der Athlet gönnt sich keine Trainingspause.
“Enjoy yourself” is MUCH more general than “Gönn dir.” They do overlap in so far as that you wish someone that they have a good time, but “Gönn dir” is about giving yourself something that’s a bit special (expensive, extensive).
As for the examples:
The first sentence is wrong. “dürfen” is “to have permission”, not “to give permission” and it needs another verb.
Hope that helps.
Vielen dank for all donators I was registered for 1 year membership by the admin of the page. Honestly Im happy right now.
Heey! Psst! I think I’ve found a safe place here, who-care cops will never find us. So, think you can tell us more about “vergönnen”?
Hmm… okay. So it’s pretty much only used in sense of fate or reality gifting someone with something (in one moment, so it’s not for general stuff like talent). And usually it comes with a negative.
– Es war Thomas nicht vergönnt, zu dem Konzert zu gehen
– Fate didn’t let Thomas go to the concert.
(because it was sold out)
It sounds pretty literary though and you don’t hear it very much.
Let me know if you have questions. But quietly ;)
Hi,
“Gunst”, that word reminded me of one song in “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” when Faramir attacks in a suicide mission Osgiliath while Denethor eats grapes or tomatoes, I don’t remember, in the safest place of Minas Tirith. Pippin sings it. I only watched the movie in German, so I don’t know the song in English. But every time Denethor crunches one of those fruits and sprays red juice around while doing so, Pippin sings in a very sad voice: “…Gunst.” (There is of course more text to it, but the last time I watched this is years ago, so cut me some slack.)
And that is the word the moment is about. The younger son Faramir is trying to get his father to accept him. In German, you would say: “Er buhlt um seine Gunst.” But Denethor is completely ignorant about it.
.:
By the way, “gönnen” can be really hard. But at other times, it is rather easy. For example, when you are up ahead. Like: your team is leading by a big margin and the other team is scoring a late consolation goal (I’m talking soccer of course.) It is not hard to say that they deserved that. But when saying that, you will sound “gönnerhaft” = “patronizing”.
“der Gönner” of somebody is somebody who has no obligation to but gives them money or supports them strongly in another way. Like a sugar daddy. Or a businessman who supports a young athlete.
Oh, that song :)…. I didn’t remember the lyrics either but I just looked them up.
The German line is “Ohne Gunst, ohne Gunst” and the English line is… drumroll…
“All shall fade”
So they really took a lot of liberty with the translation XD.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DPEfwXA9MY
And here German:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M7_G6nSfcQ
(starts at 00:35)
“We don’t like to treat,
Those whose skills we can’t meet.”
Hat es ein bisschen eingestellt, aber wirklich nutzlicher Begriff. Mein Lieblingsmeme davon ich gesehen habe ist ‘Mahatma Gönndir’
Wer denkt dies uberhaupt!?
Wow, hast du die Übersetzung gemacht??
“hat es ein bisschen eingestellt”… was meinst du damit? Der Satz ist komisch.
Und “Wer denkt dies überhaupt”… meinst du “to think up/come up with”? Dann ist das Verb “sich ausdenken”:)
Aber ja… Mahatma Gönndir ist suuuper XD. Kanntest du das schon vor dem Artikel?
I meant to say that I adjusted the meaning a little. Thought that einstellen could be used, didn’t want to use verändern, because, well, reasons?
And yeah, the ausdenken bit too. Mein Deutsch ist ganz durcheinander.
Und anschließlich nein, war mein erstes Mal, dass ich Mahatma Gönndir gesehen habe. Wer denkt sich dieses überhaupt aus ;) ? XD
“einstellen” has a notion of putting something to the “correct” setting, not just a different setting. Also, it’s somewhat limited to things that have settings or sets.
“modifizieren” or “abwandeln” would be good options here.
Wer denkt sich solche Sachen aus? Na der hier :)
Treat yo’self!
That’s like “Gönn dir!”?
The very best translation, if you ask me.
As a Berliner, have you heard “Gönn dir” by any chance?
I’m sure I have. I’ve definitely seen it in advertising (including from Sparkasse). Honestly, I probably used it more than most people I knew because I figured it was the obvious translation for “treat yo’self” :D
Haha… they’re probably all like “Wow, he’s so in the know on slang, how does he do it.” :)
PS — did not know what YOLO was. had to look it up! but I’m over (way) 25 so…. yeah, not hep to the latest slang. Was also thinking American slang for gönn dir might be “go for it!”
“go for it” is WAY more common than “Gönn dir”. And “Gönn dir” also has this notion of giving yourself some luxury. So yeah… “go for it” does work for “Gönn dir” but “gönn dir” will rarely fit for “Go for it.”
“We do not like to give due credit to he that can (do) what we cannot” or, less literally, “We do not like to acknowledge those more talented than ourselves”. I think Übungmachtdenmeister above has captured the literal translation most accurately and succinctly already.
And rhyming:
Credit we don’t like to grant
To he that does things that we can’t
That one is awesome!!! Has the same intensity and lightness of tone as the original. Wilhelm Busch usually has a light, self ironic tone.
Haha cheers