/nɪçt ˈyːbɐ deːn ˈtɛlɐˌʁant hɪˈnaʊ̯sˌʃaʊ̯ən/ lit. ‘to not look beyond the rim of the plate’
German idiom, everyday. Someone who only knows their own small world and thinks it’s everything.
Draft Not yet checked by a native German speaker.
How do people use Nicht über den Tellerrand hinausschauen
?
Everyday German, used in politics, job ads and family arguments alike. The positive form is at least as common as the negative: “über den Tellerrand schauen” is praise for open-minded people, and “ein Blick über den Tellerrand” is a stock headline for anything about other countries or fields. To criticize someone you negate it or say “Er kommt nicht über seinen Tellerrand hinaus.”
Also said nicht über den eigenen Tellerrand hinausblicken, nicht über den Tellerrand gucken
Nicht über den Tellerrand hinausschauen
in real sentences
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Wir schauen immer noch nicht über unseren Tellerrand hinaus, weil wir selbst genug auf dem Teller haben.
We still don’t look beyond the rim of our own plate, because we have enough on it ourselves.
Tatoeba, sentence by Esperantostern, CC BY 2.0 FR
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Du musst über den eigenen Tellerrand hinausschauen!
Think outside the box.
Tatoeba, sentence by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation by Hybrid, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Nicht über den Tellerrand hinausschauen
come from?
The picture is someone eating so intently that the plate is their whole world. The redensarten-index dates the phrase to after 1970 and, citing the slang dictionary of Heinz Küpper, says it may have been coined by economics minister Karl Schiller, who wrote in his 1972 resignation letter to Willy Brandt that the government had to look “über den Tellerrand des Wahltermins” (beyond the plate rim of election day). Küpper only says “may”, so treat Schiller as a likely early user, not a proven inventor.
Mistakes learners make with Nicht über den Tellerrand hinausschauen
Treating it as the same as “think outside the box”, which is how Tatoeba often translates it. The English is about creative ideas; the Tellerrand is about horizons, so it’s the right phrase for someone who never looks at other places, people or opinions, and a slightly odd one for brainstorming a new logo.
Other German idioms like Nicht über den Tellerrand hinausschauen
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?
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