GermanEine Nadel im Heuhaufen suchen
Meaning: To search for something you have almost no chance of finding, because the thing is tiny and the place holding it is vast.
Literally: To search for a needle in the haystack
Example: “Diesen Namen in den alten Kirchenbüchern zu finden heißt eine Nadel im Heuhaufen suchen.” — Finding that name in the old parish records is looking for a needle in a haystack.
English equivalent: To look for a needle in a haystack
Equivalents in other languages
English: Look for a needle in a haystack
French: Chercher une aiguille dans une botte de foin Literally: To look for a needle in a bundle of hay
Spanish: Buscar una aguja en un pajar Literally: To look for a needle in a haystack
Origin: Heuhaufen is a heap of hay, the closest of these to the modern English haystack. The same three components — a needle, a mass of hay, a hopeless search — recur across European languages, which points to a shared medieval image rather than one language borrowing from another.
More German idioms
- Zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe schlagen To achieve two aims with a single action.
- Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof I don't understand anything at all.
- Da steppt der Bär It's going to be a great party.
- Tomaten auf den Augen haben To be oblivious to what's right in front of you.
- Ich glaub mein Schwein pfeift I can't believe it! That's outrageous!
- Um den heißen Brei herumreden To beat around the bush.
Explore another collection: False Friends
Words that look familiar in another language but mean something else entirely.
Keep exploring