das ist nicht mein Bier
that's not my problem; that's none of my business
Origin
The origin is not firmly established; usually 'Bier' is taken literally - everyone is responsible only for his own beer (his own affair). Others trace it to regional words (e.g. for 'pear' in the sense of 'matter'). The phrase has been current since the 19th century.
Building blocks
Words in this expression
Grammar that uses this word
- Pronoun 'sie' (they, plural, nominative)Pronomen 'sie' (Plural, Nominativ)
- Negation with 'kein' (masculine/neuter)Negation mit 'kein' (maskulin/neutrum)
- Definite article 'das' (the, neuter, accusative)Bestimmter Artikel 'das' (neutrum, Akkusativ)
- Indefinite article 'ein' (a/an, neuter, accusative)Unbestimmter Artikel 'ein' (neutrum, Akkusativ)
Examples
Wie die Nachbarn ihr , ist nicht mein .
How the neighbours spend their money is none of my business.