/ˈɡɛnzəˌhaʊ̯t/ lit. ‘goose skin’
German idiom, everyday. Small bumps on the skin caused by cold, fear or a strong emotion.
Draft Not yet checked by a native German speaker.
How do people use Gänsehaut
?
Everyday German for cold, fear and being deeply moved, so a horror film, a great concert and an icy wind can all give you Gänsehaut. You usually “bekommen” (get) or “haben” (have) it, with or without “eine”: “ich bekomme eine Gänsehaut”, “da kriege ich Gänsehaut”. Sports and music fans like the compound “Gänsehautmoment” for a goosebump moment.
Gänsehaut
in real sentences
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Bei diesem kalten Wetter bekomme ich eine Gänsehaut.
This cold weather gives me goosebumps.
Tatoeba, sentence by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation by _undertoad, CC BY 2.0 FR
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Bei der Geschichte habe ich eine Gänsehaut bekommen.
The story gave me goosebumps.
Tatoeba, sentence by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation by DostKaplan, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Gänsehaut
come from?
The picture is the bumpy skin of a plucked goose. Kluge’s etymological dictionary, as cited by German Wiktionary, and Pfeifer’s both date the word to the 16th century, and the Redensarten-Index names the poet Hans Sachs as an early user. In 1762 the physiologist Albrecht von Haller wrote that ordinary people compare skin tightened by cold or fright to a goose skin.
Mistakes learners make with Gänsehaut
Making it plural like English goosebumps. Gänsehaut has no plural, so it’s “ich habe eine Gänsehaut” and never “Gänsehäute”.
Other German idioms like Gänsehaut
Spot a mistake in Gänsehaut
?
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