einen grünen Daumen haben
to have a green thumb; to be good with plants
Origin
A loan translation from English ('to have green fingers / a green thumb'), adopted in the 20th century. The image alludes to the thumb of a skilled gardener, stained green from handling plants and soil.
Building blocks
Words in this expression
Grammar that uses this word
- Adjective declension after the definite article (nom./acc.)Adjektivdeklination nach bestimmtem Artikel (Nom./Akk.)
- Adjective declension after the indefinite article (nom./acc.)Adjektivdeklination nach unbestimmtem Artikel (Nom./Akk.)
- Adjective endings in the dativeAdjektivendungen im Dativ
Examples
Bei meiner blüht – sie hat einen grünen .
Everything blooms at my grandma's — she simply has a green thumb.