/ˈtʁyːpzaːl ˈblaːzn̩/ lit. ‘blow gloom’
German idiom, everyday. To feel low, gloomy or a bit depressed.
Draft Not yet checked by a native German speaker.
How do people use Trübsal blasen
?
Everyday German for sitting around being glum, often with a hint that it’s time to snap out of it: “Hör auf, Trübsal zu blasen!” It’s a strong verb, so the past is “sie blies Trübsal” and the perfect “er hat Trübsal geblasen”. It describes a mood and the moping that goes with it, not clinical depression.
Trübsal blasen
in real sentences
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Sie blies Trübsal.
She had the blues.
Tatoeba, sentence by Sudajaengi, translation by AutoBot, CC BY 2.0 FR
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Nachdem er mit seiner Freundin Schluss gemacht hatte, strich er einen ganzen Monat lang um das Haus und blies Trübsal.
After breaking up with his girlfriend he moped around the house for a whole month.
Tatoeba, sentence by manese, translation by darinmex, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Trübsal blasen
come from?
Trübsal is an old word for sorrow, the kind Luther’s Bible uses. Why you’d “blow” it isn’t settled: the common explanation is mournful horn or trumpet music, such as the signals tower watchmen blew, but German Wiktionary gives no origin and I found no dated first use.
Mistakes learners make with Trübsal blasen
Adding an article (“die Trübsal blasen”): the noun stays bare in the idiom. And the past is “blies”, not “blaste”.
Other German idioms like Trübsal blasen
Spot a mistake in Trübsal blasen
?
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