Ich habe mir gerade den Zeh gestoßen.

Sentence Discussions German
#1
English Translation

I just stubbed my toe.

Why ‘the toe’ rather than ‘my toe’?

#2

Take a look at the discussion of this sentence:

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#3

There was a discussion about this type of construction last year -

In that thread @pitti42 and @davidculley explain that using the German equivalent of “my foot/toe” makes it sound as though it isn’t part of your body, but just something that you own.

P.S.
From that thread I also learned this colourful expression -

Ich werde dir die Fresse polieren. - I’ll smash your face! (“I’ll polish your piehole!”)

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#4

You beat me to it by seconds.

Now it just looks like I’m copying your homework :cry: :rofl:

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#5

Nah, you wrote a little more, so it was worth it. :wink:

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#6

I think both are valid.

  • Ich habe mir meinen Zeh (an)gestoßen.
  • Ich habe mir den Zeh (an)gestoßen.

I think it’s a regional thing. Where I come from (south of Germany), most people I hear say “mir meinen Zeh gestoßen”. I believe that especially in the northern parts of Germany they say “mir den Zeh gestoßen”.

Good memory. :blush:

I think in this sentence it’s okay though because the sentence contains “mir”. “Ich habe mir meinen Zeh gestoßen.” The “mir” implies you did it to yourself, to your own body.

If it were only “Ich habe meinen Zeh gestoßen” (without “mir”), then it would be exactly as you remembered. If it were “Ich habe den Zeh gestoßen,” it would be worst because “whose toe?” With “meinen Zeh” it’s at least clear that it’s your toe, but it would sound wrong (without “mir”) for the reasons you quoted.

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