/ˈdaː liːkt deːɐ̯ ˈhʊnt bəˈɡʁaːbn̩/ lit. ‘that’s where the dog is buried’
German idiom, colloquial. That’s the central point that everything else depends on.
Draft Not yet checked by a native German speaker.
How do people use Da liegt der Hund begraben
?
Colloquial but fine in newspapers, where it turns up constantly. You say it at the moment you’ve found the real cause of a problem, and the opening shifts freely: “da”, “hier”, “genau da”, or as a clause after verbs like wissen or merken (“ich weiß, wo der Hund begraben liegt”). Careful with “hier ist der Hund begraben” about a place: the Redensarten-Index lists a second meaning, a sleepy spot where nothing happens.
Also said da ist der Hund begraben, hier liegt der Hund begraben, wo der Hund begraben liegt
Da liegt der Hund begraben
in real sentences
-
Da liegt der Hund begraben.
That’s the crux of the matter.
Tatoeba, sentence by Esperantostern, translation by CM, CC BY 2.0 FR
-
Da ist der Hund begraben.
There’s the rub.
Tatoeba, sentence by marafon, translation by CM, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Da liegt der Hund begraben
come from?
German Wiktionary, citing Küpper’s dictionary of colloquial German, says the phrase has been recorded since about 1600, and that its origin is still unclear despite many attempts to explain it. One theory, given by Duden and the Redensarten-Index, goes back to the belief that buried treasure was guarded by a black dog (often a stand-in for the devil), so the “dog” is the hidden thing that matters. Another story, from Georg Büchmann’s collection of quotations, points to a 1630 grave for a loyal dog near the Winterstein castle ruin in Thuringia, but Duden files that explanation under fables.
Mistakes learners make with Da liegt der Hund begraben
Keeping question word order in an indirect question. It’s “Ich weiß nicht, wo der Hund begraben liegt”, with the verb at the end, not “Ich weiß nicht, wo liegt der Hund begraben”.
Other German idioms like Da liegt der Hund begraben
Spot a mistake in Da liegt der Hund begraben
?
Send a correction, or a sentence you’d actually say with it. Everything is read before anything on this page changes.