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One English expression I particularly like is "for all I know". It has such a level of arbitrariness to it that is unlike any other German expression that is similar to it:

For all I know, every user on GLU besides me is a dog.

There are some good answers over on ELU about that topic that put it into a bit more context.

I could use

Soweit ich weiß...

but this is more like "as far as I know" which is quite different. Because, of course, most users of GLU probably aren't dogs and I know it.

Or maybe something along the lines of

Es könnte genauso gut ... sein.

I don't know. Is there something better that captures the nuances of the original?

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    I think "soweit/soviel ich weiß" are absolutely fine. Sometimes one language has several ways to express something whereas another language does on have one way. So, I don't see any significant difference between "For all I know" and "as far as I know". Anyway, in German you could also go with "Meinem Wissen nach"; though, this is the literal translation of "to my knowledge".
    – Em1
    Apr 24, 2014 at 7:18
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    I think your last idea (centering around "genauso gut") comes closest in meaning and usage to the English idiom.
    – Michael Borgwardt
    Apr 24, 2014 at 13:36

8 Answers 8

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You should rather translate it with

Soviel ich weiß ...

It keeps the emphasis on the amount of knowledge.

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You could also translate it a little more literally with

Nach allem, was ich weiß, ...

or

Nach allem, was ich gehört habe ...

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    I don't know who you are, so: "For all I know, you're a dog." "Nach allem, was ich weiß, bist Du ein Hund." This doesn't work because (all jokes aside) I know full well that you aren't a dog.
    – musiKk
    Apr 24, 2014 at 7:06
  • Actually "Nach allem, was ich weiß, bist Du ein Hund." would work, if you just want to insult someone. If you actually want to say that you think the other users on GLU are dogs, because you can't prove the opposite, you would rather say something like "Ich kann nicht mit Gewissheit ausschließen, dass alle anderen GNU-User Hunde sind."
    – Axel
    Apr 24, 2014 at 9:03
  • GNU is NOT GLU, therefore GNG.
    – user unknown
    Apr 26, 2014 at 2:45
  • "Nach allem, was ich weiß, könntest Du ein Hund sein". My knowledge is so little, it's not impossible that you are a dog. "Nach allem, was ich gehört habe, ..." means I have actually heard some rumours that you are a dog.
    – gnasher729
    Jan 30, 2015 at 17:34
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I think your last suggestion is actually pretty good. "For all I know" CAN be used the way that is suggested in the other answers - as an alternative for "as far as I know". As such it expresses how far my knowledge goes. However, sometimes "for all we know does something different. Here's an example for the very first episode of Mad Men.

He could be Batman for all we know.

Everyone knows that he (Don Draper, the main character) is NOT Batman. The only purpose of the phrase is to communicate that the person talking knows very little about the man. All the variants of "soviel/soweit ich weiß", "meines Wissens nach", "nach allem" sound far too realistic for that. So bottom line... I think "genau so gut" is actually a very good match

Er könnte genau so gut Batman sein.

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Meines Wissens (or: meinem Wissen nach) would be best. Soviel ich weiß is about equally correct.

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1

It is rare to find a phrase in a different language that conveys the same meaning in all cases when translated. In this case I would lean towards:

Mir scheint, außer mir...

It fits best since it expresses how the situation appears to me, without being neccessarily true.

Other options would be anscheinend, scheinbar or offenbar; soweit ich weiß is also fine.

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  • Regarding "Schweinehund": I don't mean "Hund" in a derogative sense. I mean it in the literal sense.
    – musiKk
    Apr 25, 2014 at 12:55
  • Oh, like literal four-pawed canines? My apologies then.
    – Twinkles
    Apr 25, 2014 at 21:42
  • But "scheinbar" (although often erroneously used as synonym of "anscheinend") means that it is not really the case, but only appears as if it were.
    – celtschk
    Apr 26, 2014 at 18:56
  • ...which is what the original phrase was supposed to express: "Because, of course, most users of GLU probably aren't dogs and I know it."
    – Twinkles
    Apr 26, 2014 at 19:56
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Since I can't upvote or comment: Most of the answers are more along the line of 'As far as I know'. Emanuel's answer is the best one.

I would translate your phrase as: "Außer mir könnten alle anderen Benutzer auf GLU genauso gut Hunde sein." (http://thebuildnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/nYdog.gif)

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  • Putting "the one that is best" into google gives 70.200.000 results. It can't be that wrong.
    – Held
    Apr 27, 2014 at 11:55
  • Bonus points for catching the reference. ;)
    – musiKk
    Apr 28, 2014 at 12:19
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If you want to express sarcasm, it's quite common to say

Achso / Also ich dachte, das wären hier alles Hunde.

This is insulting and mentally injuring - thus might be another possible translation, depending on the desired contextual reference.

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The only one that would match is:"for all I know". (could also be for all I care)

I'll try to deconstruct it.

for = für all = alles I = ich know = weiß care = schert

für alles was ich weiß.

The closest approximation for it is:

Wenn es nach mir geht, könnte man jeden Teilnehmer auf GLU als Hund bezeichnen. … (If it was up to me,…)

Wenn du mich fragst, alle User verhalten sich wie Hunde. (If you ask me.)

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