As a thank you for the people hosting a party I brought them a little present. They said:
"Danke schön! Das wäre aber nicht nötig gewesen."
Shouldn't I have given them anything? Did I do something else wrong?
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Danke, das war bitter nötig!– user unknownSep 3, 2011 at 21:34
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2In Swabian: Des het's aber et 'braucht!– IngoSep 8, 2011 at 10:37
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2 Answers
It's a phrase to express gratitude. It is an indirect acknowledgment that you intended the gift as a gift, and not for satisfying a perceived necessity ("nötig" comes from "Not", English "need" or "poverty").
The confusion probably comes from the literal translation "That was not necessary / unnecessary", which, as I understand it, is a defensive remark to an attack or insult of sorts.
Edit: The more idiomatic translation and English equivalent is probably "Oh, you didn't have to!", in a positive meaning.
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8Good answer. I'd like to add that people often use this phrase even if they did expect you to bring a present.– user568Sep 3, 2011 at 16:45
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6btw: The "correct" answer to "das wäre doch nicht nötig gewesen" is something along the lines of "aber das ist doch nur eine Kleinigkeit" or "nicht der Rede wert".– 0x6d64Sep 4, 2011 at 0:29
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1The mentioned defensive remark to an attack or insult would be "das war [jetzt] [aber] unnötig" in German. Sep 5, 2011 at 8:53
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It's just a polite phrase meant to convey that you in no way expected to receive a gift, frequently used even by people who did in fact expect one, but want to appear polite. The English equivalent is "Oh, you shouldn't have!"
