I hob' gern ...

As promised before in this article, if you do your homework and post in the area provided below the posts, I will write an article about the phrase “I hob gern”. There were thousands of comments; thank you for doing your homework so proper!

As you know by now by reading this blog, Austrians are fun people. You can only be a fun person if you like what you are doing. Unfortunately, if you like to much what you are doing, you might overdo from time to time - and this is exactly what happens sometimes.

The phrase “I hob gern” means translates “I like”. A good utilization of the phrase is to tell a loved one “I hob’ Di gern” - “I like you”. As stated before, mostly used for love, but can also be used for a close friend or a family member.

Another very prominent application of this phrase is “Du kaunst mi gern hobn!” - literally translated to “You can like me!” - But in no way this is a request for love! It is merely a request to be left alone.

However, some Austrians overdo it and then you hear something like “I hob gern Bauchweh” - which is literally translated: “I like to have have stomach aches” - and no, not even Austrians do like to have stomach aches. It just means that the person saying this has often stomach aches.



Homework for today: Enjoy what you are doing. If it is a task you don’t like think of Mary Poppins (unknown in Austria): “For every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. Find it and - snap! The job’s a game!”

Should the task still be not enjoyable, and should the reason for the lack of enjoyment be a person, then simply tell them to like you - the Austrian way.

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