/ˈɛp͡fl̩ mɪt ˈbɪʁnən fɛɐ̯ˈɡlaɪ̯çn̩/ lit. ‘to compare apples with pears’
German idiom, everyday. To compare or mix up two things that don’t belong together.
Draft Not yet checked by a native German speaker.
How do people use Äpfel mit Birnen vergleichen
?
Everyday German for a comparison that doesn’t work, common in debates and statistics arguments: “Da vergleichst du Äpfel mit Birnen.” It’s nearly always a reproach aimed at someone else’s reasoning.
Also said Äpfel und Birnen vergleichen
Äpfel mit Birnen vergleichen
in real sentences
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Du vergleichst Äpfel mit Birnen!
You’re comparing apples and oranges!
Tatoeba, sentence by Fingerhut, translation by frpzzd, CC BY 2.0 FR
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Du vergleichst Äpfel mit Birnen.
You are comparing apples and oranges.
Tatoeba, sentence by jakov, translation by cromwellt, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Äpfel mit Birnen vergleichen
come from?
German Wiktionary records the meaning but no origin. Apples and pears are both pome fruit that look alike yet taste different, which makes the German version more fitting than the English oranges, and the idea that you can’t compare unlike things is old. No first German use is recorded.
Mistakes learners make with Äpfel mit Birnen vergleichen
Translating the English directly as “Äpfel mit Orangen”: Germans compare apples with pears (“Birnen”), never oranges.
Other German idioms like Äpfel mit Birnen vergleichen
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