Translation of "mehr Schein als sein"

English as a Second Language Translations, Übersetzungen, Traduzioni,
1

Hi, what would be a good English equivalent of the German expression ‘mehr Schein als sein’? It means, that a person creates a lot of hot air and doesn’t follow through on their words. It’s all on the surface only.

I also found this phrase: ‘more hype than substance’. Would that be a good equivalent?
Many thanks,
Torsten[YSaerTTEW443543]

TOEIC listening, question-response: Aren’t you due for a raise?[YSaerTTEW443543]

2

all talk, no action?

3

Yes, that’s good too. Many thanks, Bev![YSaerTTEW443543]

TOEIC listening, question-response: How did you get to work today?[YSaerTTEW443543]

4

A more colloquial, rather colourful expression would be ‘all mouth and no trousers’.

1 Like
5

The idiom “All mouth and no trousers” is a typical example of the fact that most idiomatic expressions and collocations can’t be translated literally into any other language.