/ˈaɪ̯nə naxt daˈʁyːbɐ ˈʃlaːfn̩/ lit. ‘sleep a night over it’
German idiom, everyday. To wait until the next day before making a decision.
Draft Not yet checked by a native German speaker.
How do people use Eine Nacht darüber schlafen
?
Everyday German for putting a decision off until morning, said to a salesperson, a partner or yourself. The wording is loose: “ich muss eine Nacht darüber schlafen”, “ich schlafe noch mal drüber” and “schlaf erst mal eine Nacht darüber” all work. In speech “darüber” often shrinks to “drüber”.
Also said eine Nacht drüber schlafen, darüber schlafen
Eine Nacht darüber schlafen
in real sentences
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Ich muss eine Nacht darüber schlafen.
I have to sleep on it.
Tatoeba, sentence by al_ex_an_der, CC BY 2.0 FR
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Schlafe eine Nacht darüber, bevor du dich entscheidest!
Sleep on it before deciding.
Tatoeba, sentence by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation by _undertoad, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Eine Nacht darüber schlafen
come from?
None of the sources we checked explain where it comes from, and the Redensarten-Index lists it as colloquial without a date. The idea needs little explaining: you go to bed undecided and see things more clearly in the morning. German also packs it into one verb, “überschlafen”, which German Wiktionary analyzes as schlafen (sleep) with the prefix über (over).
Mistakes learners make with Eine Nacht darüber schlafen
Copying the English “on”. “Ich schlafe darauf” sounds like you’re lying on top of something, because German sleeps over a problem (“darüber”), not on it.
Other German idioms like Eine Nacht darüber schlafen
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?
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