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German word of the day: Die Schokoladenseite

Improve your German skills by taking a bite into today’s word of the day.

Published: 21 September 2020 16:36 CEST

German word of the day: Die Schokoladenseite

German has an interesting term for your most photogenic side. Photo: DPA

Very few people are lucky enough to look good in every photo. Most of us have learned (through trial and error) which angles are most flattering when it comes to group photos, selfies and everything in between.

Germans looking for the perfect Instagram shot have a special term to describe this very modern struggle.

They would say that they are trying to capture their Schokoladenseite, which translates literally as ‘chocolate side’.

Chocolate is known for being sweet and delicious the world over, and so it should come as little surprise that Schokoladenseite refers to a person’s ‘good’ side.

READ ALSO: Nine tasty German food and drink idioms

The term is not just used in the context of a person’s appearance, however: it can also refer to the better parts of their personality or their more endearing traits.

Showing your Schokoladenseite is therefore not just important for Facebook profile pictures, but also for job interviews, or the first encounter with your future in-laws!

Example sentences:

Linda hat sich heute von ihrer Schokoladenseite gezeigt!

Linda showed her good side today!

Warum hast du so viele Selfies gemacht?

Ich versuche, meine Schokoladenseite zu finden.

Why have you taken so many selfies?

I’m trying to find the most flattering angle.

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German word of the day: Toi, toi, toi

Why do I need to know toi, toi, toi?

Because this expression is fun to say and it’s perfect for showing how much you support someone.

What does it mean?

Toi, toi, toi! , which sounds like this, is a colloquial expression used by Germans to wish someone good luck. Similar to the English phrase “break a leg”, toi, toi toi is often used in the context of stage performances. It can sometimes be used to mean “touch wood” or “knock on wood”.

However, nowadays you can also use it in another scenarios such as when your friend is about to do a test or a job interview – so basically whenever you want to encourage someone to perform well. You can also of course wish someone good luck or viel Glück (but don’t say to this to performers – more on that below).

The background to toi, toi, toi is an interesting one because it stems from superstition.

Traditionally, many cultures believed spitting three times warded off evil and bad influences.

But as this can be quite rude, people began making the spitting noise instead, which sounds a bit like repeating the letter: t, which in turn has turned into toi, toi, toi in German. So it is an onomatopoeic expression which essentially means: no bad luck.

This was especially important during performances such as at the opera or theatre. Since it was taboo in superstition to wish each other luck directly, the way to do it was to hug each other, spit over the other person’s shoulder and say “toi, toi, toi”.

Meanwhile, some linguists interpret toi toi toi as “teu, teu, teu” which would be a nod to the devil – Teufel in German. By saying this, it’s argued that the devil will feel appreciated and nothing will stand in the way of a person’s desired happiness.

And by the way, after someone has wished you toi, toi, toi in the theatre context, you’re not to meant to say anything. Instead, keep silent and go ahead and smash your performance.

We’ve no idea if actors in Germany do the spitting today or if they stick to just saying: toi, toi, toi!

Use it like this:

Ich mache morgen meinen Einbürgerungstest.

I’m doing my citizenship test tomorrow.

Na, dann toi, toi, toi!

Well then, good luck!

Bisher hat alles gut geklappt – toi, toi, toi.

So far it has all worked out well – touch wood!

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