German has many colorful idioms and slang expressions, some of which closely parallel those in English but many of which have completely different meanings that are occasionally difficult to interpret. German idioms and slang expressions using the word Hund (dog) are plentiful and provide an interesting insight into the wide variety of German expressions.

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Here are some examples using the word Hund which parallel the English:

Was kostet ein Hundeleben?

What does a dog's life cost? [Idiom: what is the price of living in poverty?]

Caption 1, Queensberry - gegen Pelz

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müde wie ein Hund sein (to be as tired as a dog)

treu wie ein Hund sein (to be as faithful as a dog)

jemanden wie einen Hund behandeln (to treat someone like a dog)

wie ein Hund leben / ein Hundeleben führen (to lead a dog’s life)

vor die Hunde gehen (to go to the dogs, to be faring poorly)

Ein toter Hund beißt nicht mehr. (Dead dogs don’t bite.)

Hunde, die bellen, beißen nicht. (Literally: Dogs that bark don’t bite; his bark is worse than his bite.)

Es hat keinen Sinn, schlafende Hunde zu wecken. (Literally: It makes no sense to wake sleeping dogs; let sleeping dogs lie.)

Other German slang and idiomatic usages of Hund are more difficult, since they have no direct parallel expressions in English:

Und genau hier liegt der Hund begraben.

And this is exactly where the dog is buried. [Idiom: And that is exactly the crux of the matter.]

Caption 35, Für Tierfreunde - Tierheim Nied

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Here are some usages of Hund with no direct English parallels:

ein gemeiner Hund (literally: a mean dog; a mean person, a nasty piece of work)

kein Hund (nobody, no one)

armer Hund (literally: poor dog; poor devil, poor wretch)

jemanden auf den Hund bringen (literally: to bring someone to the dogs; to ruin someone’s health or nerves)

des Pudels Kern (literally: at the core of the poodle; at the crux of the matter) This phrase is from the classic German writer Goethe’s work Faust I: Mephistopheles.

Kein Hund nimmt von jemandem mehr einen Bissen Brot. (Literally: No dog takes a bite of bread from someone anymore; no one wants to know someone, no one wants anything to do with someone.)

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Learning idiomatic and slang expressions is not only fun, but it also brings you closer to the culture whose language you are learning—and impresses native speakers. So don’t be a fauler Hund (lazy dog): use Yabla to improve your skills with idioms and slang!