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der Esel nennt sich immer zuerst. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
der Esel nennt sich immer zuerst, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
der Esel nennt sich immer zuerst in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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German
Etymology
Literally, “the donkey always mentions himself first”. Probably an alteration of the variant der Esel geht immer voran (“the donkey always comes first”), from the idea that the donkey walks in front of the carriage but is of lesser value than the people on it.
Proverb
der Esel nennt sich immer zuerst
- Said when someone mentions themselves first in an enumeration of people (like “I and you”, “I and my friend”), which is considered unmannered in the German-speaking (and some other) countries
- Synonym: der Esel geht immer voran
Usage notes
- It is now somewhat common to say der Esel nennt sich immer zuletzt (literally “the donkey always mentions himself last”), though with the same meaning as above. The reasoning in this case is that one should humbly consider oneself the donkey that ought to be mentioned last.
- The accepted polite way of enumerating is 1.) second person, 2.) third person, 3.) first person, 4.) all non-human things. Thus for example: du, Elisabeth, ich und der Hund (“you, Elizabeth, I, and the dog”). Of course, this is not always slavishly adhered to, but one should avoid naming oneself first.
See also