What does “krumm nehmen” mean in German?

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B1 German listening practice · German · Picked for people who know some

💡 Did you know?
krumm nehmen
Everyday German idiom — informal
to take something the wrong way / to be offended by it — nothing to do with “crooked”

“Krumm” means crooked, but “etwas krumm nehmen” has nothing to do with shape — it means to take something personally or to feel offended by it. You will mostly hear it in the negative, reassuring someone that no offence was taken or that a clumsy remark is forgiven: “Das nimmt sie schon nicht krumm” — she won’t hold it against us.

In the clip: after an awkward, tactless reunion one character reassures the other with “Das nimmt sie schon nicht krumm.” — “She won’t take it the wrong way / she won’t hold it against us.” More examples: - “Nimm’s mir bitte nicht krumm, aber das war keine gute Idee.” — “Please don’t take it the wrong way, but that wasn’t a good idea.” - “Er hat den Witz krumm genommen und ist gegangen.” — “He took the joke badly and left.” - “Das nimmt dir keiner krumm.” — “Nobody will hold that against you.” Usage notes: You mostly hear it in the negative — reassuring someone after a clumsy or blunt remark. “Nimm’s mir nicht krumm” is a soft, friendly way to soften something honest you’re about to say, a bit like “no offense, but…” in English.

How common are the words?

How common are the words in this B1 German listening practice video?

87.5%
of words are in the top 2,000 most common German words
Most of the words in this video are common German words.

How common in written German

83.4%
Top 1,000
87.5%
Top 2,000
92.9%
Top 5,000

How common in spoken German

92.1%
Top 1,000
96.6%
Top 2,000
100%
Top 5,000
👄 Words for talking
This video uses words people often say in German.

Harder words in this video

These words are harder than B1. Here is what they mean.

maden
2×
Not in top 5,000
maggots
tschüs
2×
Not in top 5,000People say this a lot
goodbye (informal variant)
anmacher
1×
Not in top 5,000
instigator; troublemaker; agitator
durchgebrannt
1×
Not in top 5,000
burned out, burned through
fettnäpfchen
1×
Not in top 5,000
social blunder

Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-DE 2011 (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.

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