German phrases created by American TV series

English as a Second Language
1

I’ve just realized that there are a number of phrases in modern colloquial German that have been created as a result of the process of dubbing American TV series. Here are just a few examples.

  • Komm Mal runter (Please calm down)
  • Es macht keinen Sinn (It doesn’t make sense.)
  • Was stimmt nicht mit dir? (What’s wrong with you?)
  • Was macht das mit dir? (What does that do to you?)
  • Was mich umtreibt… (What gets me…)
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2

This reminds me of an old Hogan’s Heroes scene. The Americans/Brits were breaking a guy out of a German jail.

American: What cell is he in?
German: Nine
American: So you aren’t going to tell us huh?
German: Nine

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