BENEHMEN & CHARAKTER
Aussteiger/Außenseiter/Einzelgänger/Eigenbrötler/Penner/Querdenker leben am Rande der Gesellschaft = a person living away from the main stream of society can be referred to as an outsider/social dropout/student dropout/down-and-out person/down-and-outer/loner/ lone wolf/a down-at-the-heels drifter/rebel/dissenter/misfit/outcast/breakaway/underdog/loser/vagrant/lowlife/non-conformist/an odd man out/eccentric/renegade (usage of adequate term depends largely on the context)
das ist ein schräger Typ/Vogel = he is a wacko/an oddball
ein stigmatisierter Mensch, dem nachgesagt wird, dass er „einen Chip auf der Schulter trägt", ist eine komplexbeladene, jähzornige und nachtragende Person (ein Wüterich), die einen Groll hegt und sehr schnell Anstoß nimmt, weil sie sich unterlegen fühlt und in der Regel glaubt, von der Gesellschaft ungerecht behandelt worden zu sein = people who have a chip on his/her shoulder are often short-tempered, resentful and take offense quickly because they feel inferior and usually think they have been treated unfairly by society
dieser Typ sieht wüst und unordentlich aus = this guy looks pretty much dishevelled and unkempt
sie/er ist nicht mehr zu retten = you can’t polish a turd; she/he is a basket case
er/sie ist eine schillernde Persönlichkeit = he is a flamboyant/a bombastic/an intriguing/an eccentric/an enigmatic personality; person is a colorful/rare odd character; gangsters are murky/shadowy/shifty characters; millionaires are sometimes shady/mysterious/obscure individuals; some movie actors/actresses can be glamorous/glitzy/showy/glittering; the comedian is known for foul-mouthed outbursts; some male actors have a penchant for outrageous stunts; to his loyal supporters he/she was a larger-than-life politician
es schadet nicht, wenn man durch die Gewohnheiten und Eigenarten anderer Mitbürger dazu lernt = it always comes in handy to know other peoples’ habits and idiosyncrasies
sie/er hat eine unglaubliche Ausstrahlung = she/he exudes a natural aura/charisma/joy; she's/he’s got a lot of mojo; her/his innate goodness and pathos shine through/radiate
er ist eine markige/kantige Person = he is a nice fellow/person but a bit rough around the edges; scrappy/hard-nosed/rough-hewn people have plenty of vigor and enthusiasm
angeblich ist die Menschheit heutzutage zivilisierter als früher = nowadays humanity is/human beings are presumed to be more civilized and enlightened than in the past
eine Person wird in eine Ecke/Schublade gesteckt = a person is nowadays put in a box/pigeonholed/pegged/bracketed/branded/labeled/ caricatured e.g. as a nice guy/an honest person/a coward/a cunning deal-maker; individuals are usually put in a box/in a given category; he was quickly dismissed by the press as a supreme racist; he still has attached the stigma of having been a junkie in his early years; some people have the habit of putting a label - which may stick or not - on/categorizing/classifying a person; well, you just can't put every individual in a box
er/sie ist labil/launisch = he/she has an unstable/a volatile/a feckless character; he/she is a fickle-minded/fallible person/leader; every now and then the singer seems to have mercurial mood changes; her unstable/inconstant character displays a lot of mood swings; some people alternate hugs with shrugs; moody persons’ behavior can be described as odd, flaky or erratic; individuals with a mercurial temperament are prone to sudden shifts of mood; he is given to mercurial impulses due to a very volatile management approach/style
sie/er ist noch sehr naiv/blauäugig = she/he is a very ingenuous/innocent/naive/dewy girl/boy; my girlfriend is a very sincere and trustworthy person so sometimes people take advantage of her; she/he sees the world/looks at too many things through rose-colored/ rose-tinted glasses; he/she is still a greenhorn/a novice/wet behind the ears in this area/respect; what he said was just an illusion; she sometimes has an illusory/unrealistic/quixotic view of some situations; what he thought was a false belief
er/sie ist ziemlich schusselig = he/she is a very nerdy person
ich bin nicht der Depp der Nation = I’m not the laughing stock/prat of the country; I wasn’t born yesterday; I’m not that stupid
ich bin/er ist der Dumme = the joke is on me/him
du hast/er hat nicht alle Tassen im Schrank; du bist/er ist wohl von allen guten Geistern verlassen; er/sie ist nicht ganz bei Trost = You’re out of your mind!; he doesn’t (seem to) have all his marbles/buttons/switches; that guy/person is nutty/a nut job/a lunatic; he/she is nuts; he's got bats in the belfry
man hält ihn für durchgeknallt = this guy is a bit wacky; he's got a screw loose
Hast du noch alle Sinne beisammen? = Have you taken leave of your senses?
er hat sich endlich besonnen = he has finally come to his senses
er/sie hat nicht mehr alle!= he/she is (totally) out of his/her mind; You must have lost your marbles!; he/she is missing some marbles; he/she is off his/her rocker; she’s gone nuts/troppo (AUS); he/she is mentally deranged/impaired/disabled
er/sie ist völlig durchgedreht = he/she became unhinged by excessive stress/pressures at home/at work
dies ist verrückt = this is mind-boggling/off the wall; this is just nuts/looney/crazy; this makes you go/drives him bananas
seine komische Reaktion hat sie aus dem Konzept gebracht = his funny reaction/comment threw her off
seine/ihre Antwort war “typisch“ = the response was par for the course for him; that/it was my sister all over
sein/ihr Benehmen spottet jeder Beschreibung = his/her attitude beggars/defies description; this is the epitome of poor/bad/tacky behavior; what he/she did is the pits
sein merkwürdiges/befremdliches Verhalten gibt Rätsel auf = his odd/weird/strange behavior intrigues/rattles me; mystery swirls over his odd/peculiar conduct; something about his behavior just doesn’t add up/gives rise to puzzlement
sei nicht so arrogant = come on, get off your high perch/horse and try to be nicer to your peers/friends
was er gemacht hat, war nicht koscher = what he did was definitely not cricket
es geht nicht mit rechten Dingen zu = this is not on the level
irgendwas ist hier nicht koscher/kommt mir hier sehr suspekt vor = there’s something very fishy going on here; I can smell a rat
man muss auf sein Bauchgefühl hören, bevor es zu spät ist; mich beschleicht das Gefühl, dass hier irgendwas komisch ist = I just nope out when my spidey sense starts to tingle; I have a sinking feeling/I cannot subdue the suspicion that there’s something wrong here
Hotelangestellte/Airlinemitarbeiter mögen penetrante/nervige Gäste nicht = pushy/rude customers are always disliked by hotel staff; airline employees don’t quite enjoy dealing with pesky/obtrusive passengers
sei nicht so etepetete = Don’t be so fussy/prim! Stop nitpicking/bickering!
sei nicht zu selbstbewusst = don’t be too confident/assertive; don’t get (too far) ahead of yourself; For modesty’s sake, don’t be so vain!
Fingerspitzengefühl zeigen = teachers should always strike a fine balance between intuition and instinct nous; the magistrate/judge showed leniency under the circumstances; Hey, let the kids get away with a bit of noise, OK?; sometimes police looks the other way/bend the rules when teenagers are celebrating loudly into the night; it helps having a sort of political or scientific nous
kein Fingerspitzengefühl zeigen = top managers are sometimes contemptuous of commonsense; he was totally insensitive to his daughter’s feelings
sich in Bescheidenheit üben; er/sie kocht nur mit Wasser = poets like to express/throw up/raise their ideas in an understated way/ unassuming style; many celebs display a low-key demeanor; “it’s cool”, the popstar said with a shrug after receiving a standing ovation; the unassuming superstar stayed cool after scoring 3 goals; it was “just another day at the office”/“no big deal”, the tennis player said after easily winning the match; “it was all right”, he said in his usual self-effacing manner/in his typical understated/unpretentious style; ; “just trying to make some noise”, player said in a non-chalant way after an outstanding performance; it’s always wise to put on one’s pants one leg at a time
er fühlt sich in seiner Eitelkeit verletzt = his ego has been bruised by the affair
sie hat klein beigeben müssen = he had to eat humble pie after being caught redhanded
er/sie sollte kleinere Brötchen backen = he/she needs to be brought/taken/knocked down a peg/notch or two
das war’s mit der Bescheidenheit = modesty was in short supply at the party; that person is noted for lack of modesty; he lives high on the hog now that he is famous
er führt sich auf wie der große Zampano = he’s gotten too big for his britches
jeder Mensch hat einige Macken = everybody has some strange/odd/little fads/kinks/ quirks/blemishes; I hate my brother’s mannerisms/ obsessions; he behaves in a very peculiar way when talking to the press; she’s got a “thing” for detective stories/whodunits
als Kind hat er ein sehr unangenehmes Erlebnis gehabt = his trauma as a child left him with a chip on his shoulder
egal, ich nehme meine Eltern wie sie sind, mit all ihren Macken = no matter what, I just accept my folks as they are, warts and all
junge Leute sind heutzutage sehr selbstbewusst = young people have a robust/an ample supply of self-belief/self-confidence nowadays
Ich AG und die junge Generation = the younger generation/the me-generation tends to be more me-orientated (US)/me-oriented (AUS/ UK) than the older one; me-first behavior/approach is a modern trend; the opposite of me-first would be a team-first attitude
manche Leute reden zu viel über sich selbst = some people tend to overshare
mein Cousin hat kein Selbstbewusstsein = my cousin is a person who suffers from low self-esteem
Wie kann man Selbstvertrauen zurückgewinnen? = How can you fuel/crank up/ instill/boost your self-confidence?
während der Reha hat sie Selbstvertrauen getankt = the stint in the rehab facility was a big confidence-builder for her; she is now riding/ surfing a new-found wave of confidence after spending three months in a rehab clinic
es gibt Leute, die sehr zuverlässig sind = reliable individuals usually vow/pledge to fulfill their duties/obligations
da kannst du dich drauf verlassen; auf ihn/sie ist Verlass = you can bank on it; you can always lean on your family; she can lean on her older sister for moral support; my best friend is a walking definition of mateship; you can definitely count on her; he/she is a safe pair of hands
unsere Firma hat viele fleißige Mitarbeiter = in our company we have a lot of hard/dedicated/diligent workers/true battlers; he is a real eager beaver/worker; Germans are known for being hard-working/fairly expeditious/industrious persons
in meine Firma setze ich wenig Vertrauen = confidence in the workplace can be easily lost/dented/sapped
wenn ich Zug fahre/in der Schlange stehe, versuche ich stets, gute Sitten an den Tag zu legen = I always try to stick to my queue/line etiquette habits/train behavior when travelling
immer mit guten Manieren auffallen = person carries himself/herself well; polite breeding teaches us to behave properly
ich mag Leute, die gutmütig und bescheiden sind = I appreciate people who have an understated manner/person of affable character
manchmal ist sie sehr gutmütig = sometimes she is Pollyannish
er ist ein Hitzkopf = he is a hot-tempered/abrasive character
er hat immer eine Ausrede = he always tries to find some/an excuse for/explain away his poor attitude
er soll sich nicht so anstellen = he should stop carrying on like that
ab und zu benimmt sie sich wie ein Kind = sometimes she acts like a child
es wird wenig Rücksicht auf andere Leute genommen = she experiences a lot of lack of courtesy/incivility at work; the police treated him uncivilly; they keep trampling on/ignoring decency rules
er/sie hat sich (sehr) daneben benommen = his/her attitude/behavior was (totally) off base/disgusting
sein/ihr Verhalten war moralisch sehr verwerflich = his/his/their (“their” is also an option for “him” or “her” when one does not know whether person referred to is a male or female) behavior was totally out of character/morally improper; entrenched, unacceptable attitudes and behaviors should be tackled
