der frühe Vogel fängt den Wurm
the early bird catches the worm
Origin
The proverb is a loan translation of English 'The early bird catches the worm', attested e.g. in John Ray's proverb collection (1670) (a similar form already in Camden, 1606). In German it became widely popular only in the late 20th century (from roughly the 1980s).
Building blocks
Words in this expression
Grammar that uses this word
- Nominalized infinitives and substantivized adjectivesNominalisierte Infinitive und substantivierte Adjektive
- Local preposition 'über' (above, Wo?/where? + dative)Lokale Präposition 'über' (Wo? + Dativ)
- Local preposition 'auf' (onto, Wohin?/where to? + accusative)Lokale Präposition 'auf' (Wohin? + Akkusativ)
- Local preposition 'über' (over/above, Wohin?/where to? + accusative)Lokale Präposition 'über' (Wohin? + Akkusativ)
- Temporal clause with 'während' (while)Temporalsatz mit 'während'
- Verbs with zu-infinitive (anfangen, versuchen, vergessen)Verben mit zu-Infinitiv (anfangen, versuchen, vergessen)
Examples
Wir sollten allen anderen da sein — der frühe fängt den .
We should be there before everyone else — the early bird catches the worm.