German phrase of the day: Die Nase voll haben

During the third rainfall of the day, you might hear someone mumble "Ich hab' die Nase voll von diesem Wetter.“ That translates to "I am fed up with this weather.“ Hence, die Nase voll haben is a way of telling the world that you are done with something or that you’ve had enough.

It literally translates to "to have the nose full.“ The origins of that proverb aren’t quite clear, but there are assumptions. One of those is that the notion is connected to health – if you have a “full” (in this case, “blocked”) nose, it can be annoying. So if you say that your nose is full of something, it means that this something is really annoying you.

The use of die Nase voll haben is usually quite colloquial, although it can happen that authorities use is as well. For example, a teacher could tell your child: “Ich habe die Nase voll von deinem Rumgequatsche!” (“I have had it with your chatter!”) or your boss could tell you: “Ich habe die Nase voll davon, das Sie immer zu spät kommen!” (“I am fed up with you always being late.”)

These uses are unprofessional, though, and shouldn’t actually be used. But if someone tells you that they have die Nase voll of something you do, it’s probably best to have a calm conversation about what annoys them and how that could be changed.

Die Nase voll haben has a synonym as well: If you are immensely fed up with something, more than being just a bit annoyed, you can say “Ich habe die Schnauze voll!” Schnauze is a more vulgar word for Nase.

A good use of "die Nase voll haben.": A Berlin union of public service workers tweets during a recent warning strike of 16,000 employees that they are fed up, and want "to be rewarded for their daily service to the city."

Additional examples:

Ich habe die Schanuze voll von dir!

I am fed up with you!

Ich habe die Nase voll von diesen ständigen Staus!

I have had it with those constant traffic jams!