In this post we have already listed proverbs in German about red hair. Some of them are similar to those from other countries, especially those about the notorious red-bearded man. 😁
Recently, I found more proverbs in German (from Germany, Austria and Switzerland) in the book Sprichwörter der germanischen und romanischen Sprachen - Zweiter Band (by Ida von Düringsfeld and Otto von Reinsberg-Düringsfeld), the second volume of a two-volume collection of European proverbs. They are very interesting and feature a new entry: the notorious... alder tree! 😄
- Die rothen Leute haben sieben Häute, sechs Mal mehr als andre Leute
Redheads have seven skins, six more than other people (from Switzerland)
- Rothaarigen sind entweder recht gut oder recht schlimm
Redheads are either completely good or completely bad (from Switzerland)
- Rothes Haupt, böses Blut
Red head, evil blood
- Rothe Leutchen, Teufelshäutchen
Häutchen means membrane, film, thin coating. So, the proverb could be translated as: Red-haired people have a devil’s skin/coating (from Switzerland)
- Rother Bart und Erlenbogen geraten selten, ist nicht erlogen
Here the word Erlenbogen is not very clear. Erlen means alder and Bogen arch, curve, bow. However, Erlenbogen is similar to Ellbogen, elbow. We could translate it as:
A red beard and an arch made of alder rarely succeed, this is not a lie.
- Erlenholz und rothes Haar sind auf gutem Boden rar
Red hair and alder wood rarely are from a good soil
- Rothes Haar und Erlenholz wachsen auf keiem guten Boden / Rothe Haare und Erlenholz, die wachsen auf keinem guten Grund
Red hair and alder wood rarely grow from a good soil/ground
I have no idea what the problem with the alder is. 😅 According to what I read on the internet, alder is very resistant to unfavorable conditions and for this reason it is used for biological environmental remediation, that is, for the recovery of quarries, mining sites, and burned areas. So, probably, these proverbs refer to the alder's ability to grow even on "bad" soils.
Below, we have proverbs from Die deutschen Sprichwörter im Mittelalter. They are in Middle High German (circa between 1050 and 1350).
- Im was der bart unt daz har
beidiu röt, viurvar,
von den selben boere ich sagen,
daz si valschiu herze tragen.
Those who have a beard and hair
both red, verily
of them I dare say
they bear a false heart
- Ez süllen vrouwen unde man
den röten gesellen lazen gän.
Women and men
should let the red-haired friend/companion go
- Er liez sin gesellen an der nöt,
als noch tuot der geselle röt.
He abandoned his companion/friend in need,
as the red-haired companion/friend still does today
- Wan wenne ez gät an rechte nöt
sö lät er dich, wan er ist röt.
If things go really bad,
he abandons you, if he is a redhead
- Kurzen mit dömüete
und röten mit güete
und langen man wisen
die dri sol man prisen.
Literally, this translates as: The short with humility, the redheads with goodness and the tall with wisdom, the three have to be praised. I guess this proverb is more or less like the ones we have in Italian, French and Spanish, so I would thanslate it as
If the short are humble
the redheads good
and the tall wise,
they have to be praised
- Rötpart und erlin pogen [erlenbogen?],
thuens recht, sö muoß mans loben.
Redheads and an arche made of alder,
if they behave well, they have to be praised
- Ein röter bart und erlenbogen,
für diese dreizehn noch so viel
gibt niemand gern ein pappenstiel.
Redheads and an alder arch,
even if they were more than thirteen
no one would even give (pay?) a stick
 |
The notorious alder tree |
And here are some more proverbs in Middle High German from here.
- Des nemen bispel dar an:
und huete sich ein islich man,
daz niemen ze vil truwen sol
dem roten friunt, daz rat ich wol
So take this as an example:
and every honest man should be careful
that no one trusts too much
in his red-haired friend. I gladly give this advice.
- Kurzer man demuete
unt roter mit guete,
unt langer man wise,
der lop sol man prise.
If short men are humble,
redheads good,
tall men wise,
they should be praised
- Die Kleinen Leuth haben höhen muth,
ein lang mann selten wunder thut,
ein bleicher mann hat weiber art,
hut dich vor schwartz und rot bart.
Rot bart nie gut ward, sprach Moses.
The short have great courage,
the tall rarely do wonderful things,
the pale have women's manners,
beware of black and red beards.
The red beard was never good, said Moses
- Man spricht, Roterbart
selten gut ward.
Aber thue sie nicht allein so schelten,
schwarze Bart gerathen auch selten.
Rarely Redbeard
is said to be good.
But don't scold him alone,
Blackbeard too is rarely good.
Deutsches Sprichwörter-Lexikon (1867, Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Wander)
- Wenig Bart und roth, etwas, das schlimmer, gibt es auf der Erde nimmer.
A little red beard, there is nothing worse on earth.
- Ein rother Bart hat Trinkers Art.
Those with a red beard are heavy drinkers
- Rothem Bart und schwarzem Haar nie zu trauen war.
Those with a red beard and black hair are not to be trusted
Tons of Italian proverbs about red hair (in dialect too!)
Russian proverbs about redheads and a decree from Peter the Great
More ancient proverbs about red hair
European proverbs about red hair
Scottish proverbs
French proverbs
Galician proverbs about red hair
Hungarian proverbs about red hair