“Get outta here”
Ho ho ho,
German Advent Calendar day four
and behind this door,
is a really great addition for your combat deck. A card you can use if someone just played a BS card and you want to dis-spell it. Behold… the von wegen card.
Yes, you read that right… the colloquial booster of von wegen really is 100. Use it at the right time and you will sound so native, Merkel herself will give you a German passport right away.
But seriously…. von wegen looks like just two prepositions slapped together but it is really common, snappy “turn over negation”.
Something is stated as a fact but then you turn it around. A bit like “Pshhhh get out of here.” but the usage is a bit different/more open.
But let’s just look at it in action.
- “Thomas sagt, er hat aufgeräumt.”
“Ja, ja… von wegen. Kurz mal über den Tisch gewischt – das war alles.” - “Thomas says he did tidy up.”
“Yeah, yeah… the hell he did. A quick wipe over the table, that was it.”
- Ich dachte, Maria kann kochen, aber von wegen.
- I though Maria can cook but hell noooo/my ass.
And now the big question is of course why. Why does it mean that.
Like… von means from or of and wegen means because of. How does “from because of” take on the idea of hell no.
Well, the key lies in the word wegen. Because wegen comes directly from the word der Weg, the way.
The meaning because of is evolved as a variation of the idea by way of. And the phrase von wegen makes perfect sense once we think of it as “off ways”. Like of track.
So yeah… it looks like a random combo of prepositions that German pulled out of its ass but von wegen ;).
Let’s just look at a couple more examples.
- Alle hatten gehofft, dass es diesmal ein Weihnachtsabend ohne Streit werden würde. Aber von wegen. Um 7 flog Geschirr. Um 9 wurde die Wohnung von der Bereitschaftspolizei geräumt.
- Everyone had hoped that this time would be a Christmas Eve without arguments. But dead wrong.
At 7 pm, dishes were flying. At 9 pm, the apartment was cleared by riot police.
- Von wegen “dumm wie Brot”. Neue Tests zeigen, Brot ist intelligenter als wir denken.
- Dumb like bread is wrong. New tests show that bread is more intelligent than we think.
(“Dumb like bread” is a German idiom for “very dumb”, but yeah… this article suggests otherwise)
As you can see in these examples, you can even find it in writing that has a colloquial tone. So yeah… von wegen is great and you MUST add it to your active vocab because… there’s plenty of BS to disspell ;).
That’s it for today. If you have questions about how to use von wegen or if you want to try out an example yourself just leave me a comment.
Have a great day and bis morgen.
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So I was just looking at Duden’s definition of verfügen.
[von Amts wegen] anordnen
I am a very confused.
So this seems to be Amt in gentiv. Like, I can’t figure out why not have one präposition? Why are there 2 präpositions? Why not ( Vom Amt ) anordnen? And why is there not an definite or indefinite article in front of Amt?
Ok time to go to the lake, enough german for now!
I was wondering about translating this as “no way”. Of course “no way!” can be used to express astonishment / surprise but it also can be used to contradict. I’m not sure it exactly works in every example you give but the nice thing is “way” retains a connection to “Weg”
It works as “no way”, but ONLY for the contradiction, not for the surprise.
And the tone is a little different.
“von wegen” is like a jaded nihilistic doomer, while “No way.” is just genuinely finding this unrealistic, but is open to being surprised.
actually I think its totally possible to use “no way” without any sense of being open to surprise e.g. “There is no way this happened” can express emphatic certainty. But it sounds like its definitely good to be cautious about giving “no way” as a synonym for “von wegen”
Yeah, nice example because “von wegen” would absolutely not work here. It’s not idiomatic with “passieren” and absolutely not idiomatic mid sentence :)
I posted a question in german.stackexchange.com asking about “von wegen” but was unsatisfied with the results. Then I remembered something Emanuel had suggested about how to use google to search his site, like this:
von wegen site:yourdailygerman.com
and sure enough this page came up as the 2nd hit. It was exactly what I was looking for. Thanks! You can check out how I answered my own question here if you like: https://german.stackexchange.com/questions/54650/how-to-understand-von-wegen-meaning/54661#54661
So this is a year late (and there’s another “wegen” post in this year’s edition), but I’ve run into a different use of “von wegen” recently – so far I’ve only heard it from one couple I know, who (I think) are both from up in NRW somewhere.
They use it to introduce the content of something somebody said or wrote, the way you might use “something about…” or “to the effect that…” in English.
– Ich habe eine Mail von Thomas bekommen von wegen er und Maria wollen ein Tierheim für verwaiste Einhornkinder bauen.
I think that’s kind of how the phrasing is used. If I recall it right, they often use it to connect Hauptsätze, rather than form a Nebensatz, but maybe sometimes it works like a normal subordinating conjunction. Is that a regional/dialect thing?
Wow, somehow your comment ended up in spam. That’s weird :).
Anyway… I do use this meaning, too.
– Ich wollt mal mit dir reden, von wegen Termin und so.
I think I general use it for more fragmented stuff. The example you gave sounds a bit too much like “von wegen” is actually a proper conjunction. But that might be a regional thing.
It does make sense, though. “von wegen” seen as “coming from a way” … the way is the topic, you’re coming from.
What a great expression to use – and so simple. btw the “my eye” in English is a shortened version of an older saying. If something was so not true you’d say it was “All my eye and Betty Martin” and no I have no idea who Betty Martin was!
Oh, I assumed it was a “cleared” version of “my ass”. Like “heck” for “hell”
I found “All my eye and Betty Martin” discussed on a site called “world wide words” by a British author. Fascinating read if you are nerdy enough. The author stopped updating the site this past year, but there are 3K articles on the site for reading pleasure. In summary the site states there MAY be a link to some old latin prayer, (phrase Ora pro nobis beate Martine (“Pray for us, blessed Martin”) in a prayer for intercession in a French book of hours of about 1500 in the Royal Library in Copenhagen), there MAY have been a Grace Martin who later became a Betty Martin, but basically no one knows for sure. It was a popular saying int he 1800’s but has been reduced to “my eye!” and now seems to be completely out of the spoken language. I myself have never said or heard the phrase used.
I really like these lessons where you teach a casual, everyday phrase: it makes the language more relatable than stiff, out-of-a-book sentences. That Brot link was funny! On the subject of idioms, are there many involving sausages? I watched a video where someone mentioned being a ‘blind sausage’.
There are a few with Wurst, yes. I’ve never heard “blinde Wurst” but I’m sure there are lots of regional expressions.
In both English and French one might say „my eye“ (he cleared the table). In any case, it makes about as much sense as „von wegen“!
Oh wow… how’s the original French saying exactly?
“mon oeil” of course. There is also a gesture that makes the point without a word – simply pull your lower eyelid down with your finger. Google “mon oeil” and you’ll see. Thanks again!
Oh, that gesture works in Germany as well :).
“von wegen” is a bit stronger and agitated though. Not as understated.
Dumm wie Brot? Bernd sagt anderes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzwv4_i_o7o
If one disagrees with a statement, can one simple say “von wegen!” ? (under the translation of “that is so not the case”). For example, let’s say a group of boulders are bouldering (in fontainebleau) and someone says “That (boulder) problem is so much easier than the other one”, but EVERYONE else disagrees, can one just say “von wegen!” ( As in “you are ‘so full it it’, in colloquial American english). Can ‘von wegen” maybe mean/be used as the slang “What ever!” which is really negating something someone has said?
Does it have a slightly negative or insulting connotation? Could one disagree with a colleague and use it without sounding rude?
“I think we should do an exploratory lap”. Dr. Alan states loud enough for all to hear.
“That might be an option after we get an MRI” retorted Dr. Smith.
Could Dr. Smith have somehow disagreed using ‘von ween’ without being disrespectful? In reviewing your examples, it seems like a pretty strong expression.
That boulder situation is a perfect example for “von wegen” indeed. Just note that “von wegen” is rather strong. You’re not just saying “I don’t think so.” You’re saying “that is sooooo not the case”.
That also sort of answers your last question… I would not recommend using it in more official or formal settings. It can easily come across as disrespectful.
As for “whatever”… I think it’s safer NOT to think of those two as translations. It’ll work sometimes but the majority of times it won’t really fit.
Thanks for clarifying. Thank goodness you understand not only German but the nuances of English. I think I got this one now!
How about ,, but that’s bullshit”?
Ich will die Kommentare lesen. :)
Mach doch :). Oder geht es nicht?!?
Es geht gut, danke. Ich hätte sagte sollen, möchte ich die Benachrichtigungen.
Is von wegen maybe the slightly more colorful cousine of “doch” (the contra meaning)?
Hmmm, I know it’s tempting but no, not really. There are just too many differences in usage and tone. “von wegen” turns toward the negative, “doch” toward the affirmative.
You could follow a “von wegen” with a “doch” sometimes. But they’re NOT ever to be interchanged.
Love this one! Didn’t think “wie Hölle” or “mein Arsch” sounded as OK in German as in English, but “von wegen” solves that problem! Emanual just created a monster by teaching me “von wegen”!
Haha… constraint please :). Just to make sure though… “von wegen” is not a general tool to express that you don’t like something. My “drake” picture is a bit misleading maybe.
The core idea of “von wegen” is that you have a purported fact and you say “this is sooooo not the case”.
Welches ist nach der Meinung der Deutschen dümmer, Brot oder Stroh? ;-)
That is currently being researched, so I don’t want to make premature claims. But Stroh is much better in maze running tests than bred.