/ˈaɪ̯nə ˈafn̩ˌhɪt͡sə/ lit. ‘a monkey heat’
German idiom, colloquial. It is extremely hot.
Draft Not yet checked by a native German speaker.
How do people use Eine Affenhitze
?
Colloquial, the standard complaint on a sweltering day: “Heute ist eine Affenhitze!” The usual verb is “herrschen” (to reign): “Es herrscht eine Affenhitze.” It’s always unpleasant heat, never praise for good weather.
Also said Es herrscht eine Affenhitze
Eine Affenhitze
in real sentences
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Es herrscht eine Affenhitze.
It’s boiling hot.
Tatoeba, sentence by MUIRIEL, translation by brymck, CC BY 2.0 FR
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Heute herrscht draußen eine Affenhitze.
It’s really hot outside today.
Tatoeba, sentence by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation by CK, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Eine Affenhitze
come from?
German Wiktionary analyzes “Affen-” as an intensifying prefix, as in “Affentempo” (monkey speed) and “Affenschande” (monkey shame). A popular story ties it to the stifling monkey houses of 19th-century zoos, but no dictionary backs that up, so treat it as a guess.
Mistakes learners make with Eine Affenhitze
Saying “es ist affenheiß” and thinking it’s the same set phrase: it exists, but the fixed idiom is the noun, “eine Affenhitze”.
Other German idioms like Eine Affenhitze
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