/ˈjeːmandən ʊm deːn ˈfɪŋɐ ˈvɪkəln/ lit. ‘wrap someone around the finger’
German idiom, everyday. To have someone so charmed or devoted that they’ll do whatever you want.
Draft Not yet checked by a native German speaker.
How do people use Jemanden um den Finger wickeln
?
Everyday German, often fond rather than critical: a small daughter does it to her father, a charming singer does it to the audience. The person being wrapped is in the accusative (“sie wickelt ihn um den Finger”), and “um den kleinen Finger” is just as common as the shorter form. In the past: “sie hat ihn um den Finger gewickelt”, or “sie hatte ihn um den Finger gewickelt” for an ongoing state.
Also said jemanden um den kleinen Finger wickeln
Jemanden um den Finger wickeln
in real sentences
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Maria hatte Tom um den kleinen Finger gewickelt.
Mary had Tom wrapped around her little finger.
Tatoeba, sentence by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation by Hybrid, CC BY 2.0 FR
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Sie kann jeden Mann um den Finger wickeln.
She can wrap any man around her finger.
Tatoeba, sentence by PeterR, translation by AlanF_US, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Jemanden um den Finger wickeln
come from?
The Redensarten-Index connects it to a blade of grass or a thread, something so soft you can wind it around your finger without any effort. The image already shows up in a sermon by Martin Luther from the 1520s, which talks about people becoming so pliable “that one could wrap them around a finger”.
Mistakes learners make with Jemanden um den Finger wickeln
Putting the person in the dative, as in “jemandem um den Finger wickeln”. It’s “jemanden”: “Sie wickelt ihren Vater um den Finger”, not “ihrem Vater”.
Other German idioms like Jemanden um den Finger wickeln
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