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
- Irregular verbs: e → ie (sehen, lesen)Unregelmäßige Verben: e → ie (sehen, lesen)
- 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)
- Irregular verbs: a → ä (fahren, schlafen)Unregelmäßige Verben: a → ä (fahren, schlafen)
Examples
Wir sollten allen anderen da sein — der frühe fängt den .
We should be there before everyone else — the early bird catches the worm.