/aɪ̯n haːɐ̯ ɪn deːɐ̯ ˈzʊpə ˈzuːxn̩/ lit. ‘look for a hair in the soup’
German idiom, colloquial. To argue about tiny details that don’t matter.
Draft Not yet checked by a native German speaker.
How do people use Ein Haar in der Suppe suchen
?
Colloquial and mildly critical: you say it about someone who can’t enjoy anything until they’ve found the one thing wrong with it, like a reviewer, a boss or a fussy relative. It’s mostly used as “immer das Haar in der Suppe suchen” or as a warning, “Such nicht das Haar in der Suppe!” The version with “finden” describes someone who has actually found the flaw.
Also said das Haar in der Suppe suchen, das Haar in der Suppe finden
Ein Haar in der Suppe suchen
in real sentences
-
Such nicht das Haar in der Suppe.
Don’t look for the fly in the ointment.
Tatoeba, sentence by Adelpa, translation by Adelpa, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Ein Haar in der Suppe suchen
come from?
The picture is easy to see: one hair can spoil a whole bowl of soup, even though it’s tiny. The Redensarten-Index reads the hair as a barely visible but real problem, and notes that the phrase is far more often used to mock overcritical people than to praise a sharp eye. None of the sources checked here say when it first appeared.
Mistakes learners make with Ein Haar in der Suppe suchen
Translating “split hairs” as this one. German has “Haare spalten” for arguing over fine distinctions; “das Haar in der Suppe suchen” is about hunting for a flaw so you have something to complain about.
Other German idioms like Ein Haar in der Suppe suchen
Spot a mistake in Ein Haar in der Suppe suchen
?
Send a correction, or a sentence you’d actually say with it. Everything is read before anything on this page changes.