Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

For members

GERMAN WORD OF THE DAY

German word of the day: Reisefieber

Although you might feel these too, Reisefieber is a distinct feeling from either Wanderlust or Fernweh.

Published: 11 January 2023 16:28 CET

German word of the day: Reisefieber

Photo credit: Francesco Ungaro / Unsplash + Nicolas Raymond / flickr

What does it mean?

Reisefieber, which sounds like this, is literally translated as “travel fever.” But that’s a bit misleading. At first glance, something like “travel fever” in English might seem akin to Wanderlust – which is a desire for travel, or even to Fernweh, a longing for distance places. But Reisefieber is actually associated with the anxiety of travelling.

READ ALSO: Six German expressions to entice your Wanderlust

How do you use it or where might you see it?

Reisefieber is a neutral noun, so you use the article das with it. It can describe any situation where you feel anxious about an upcoming trip. You might be nervous that you forgot your passport.

Maybe you’re constantly weighing and re-weighing your bags because you’re worried about having to pay the airline extra baggage fees. Perhaps you have a friend or relative who insists on arriving at the airport extra early. All these are good examples of Reisefieber.

While Wanderlust and Fernweh might come up at the same time as Reisefieber, they don’t necessarily need to. Reisefieber can show up either on a trip you’re looking forward to or one you’re dreading.

READ ALSO: German Word of the Day: Das Fernweh

Habe ich mein Reisepass vergessen? Nein? Was kann man gegen Reisefieber tun? – Did I forget my passport? No? What can I do against travel fever?

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

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!

SHOW COMMENTS

Url copied to clipboard!