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Is there a German equivalent of the phrase "That reminds me"?

An example usage in English (taken from Macmillan Dictionary): That reminds me. I must take the chicken out of the freezer.

Does perhaps "Das erinnert mich" sound like a plausible German version of the above mentioned English phrase?

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6 Answers 6

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Das erinnert mich. does not sound plausible at all, but feels rather incomplete. When reading that, I want to ask Woran erinnert es dich?

Possible phrases are

  • Da fällt mir ein, ...
  • Wo wir gerade dabei sind, ...
  • Wo ich gerade darüber nachdenke, ...
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  • 4
    isn't Wo wir gerade dabei sind, ... more like by the way?
    – Daniele D
    Apr 8, 2016 at 14:41
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    Das erinnert mich daran, dass ich noch das Hühnchen aus dem Gefrierschrank holen muss that's the way i'd say it.
    – Armin
    Apr 8, 2016 at 16:23
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    Da fällt mir ein is perfect. However, the other two depend a lot on the situation: While we're at it is clearly different; Speaking/Thinking of this can be synonymous, but not necessarily.
    – Felix Dombek
    Apr 8, 2016 at 17:17
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    My first thought had also been Wo mir gerade einfällt... einfallen (come to mind) seems to best convey the intent.
    – chaosflaws
    Apr 8, 2016 at 21:41
  • I don't agree: Das erinnert mich [daran] is not incomplete but just the way it would be said. All three examples of possible phrases wouldn't be really used in spoken German.
    – Tim
    Apr 9, 2016 at 22:36
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Yes, you can translate the phrase "That reminds me of ..." with "Das erinnert mich an ..." However "Das erinnert mich." alone is wrong. In your example you would say:

Mir fällt gerade ein, dass ich noch...

or:

Mir fällt gerade etwas ein. Ich muss noch...

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    "Da fällt mir was ein...", sagte der Statiker.
    – tofro
    Apr 8, 2016 at 14:55
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Direct translation:

Das erinnert mich an etwas. Ich muss ja noch das Huhn aus dem Gefrierschrank nehmen.

Many shorten it and say was instead of etwas, which makes it a tad informal.

We might even say

Das erinnert mich woran. Ich muss ja noch …

This is quite popular among young people, but it isn't strictly grammatical German (woran is usually used only in questions). Nevertheless, Google does find almost 400 uses of this (compared to 18400 for the an was version).

A very brief and informal version:

Ach ja, ich muss ja noch …

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  • That is the direct translation, even though I am more likely to say Mir fällt grad' ein, dass ich (noch) ...
    – Lothar
    Apr 9, 2016 at 7:38
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The expression apropos is often used exactly that way.

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    It's close, but apropos rather means "speaking of ...".
    – Mackie
    Apr 8, 2016 at 14:43
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See http://context.reverso.net/translation/english-german/that+reminds+me!

"Das bringt mich auf die Idee ..." sounds quite nice to me.

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Yeah, the English to German translation of "That reminds me.." usually won't do, if grammatically and stylistically correct German is your goal. That said, most people would probably get what you're trying to say if you used it that way.

The correct translation/phrase in this context would probably be: "Ach ja! Wo wir grade davon sprechen: (...)" or "Wo wir grad dabei sind - (...)"

If it actually is used in the context that something reminds you of an event, some story, or thing in the past, then you would say something like: "Dabei muss ich immer daran denken, wie (...)"

This is only used when something actually reminds you of someone or an occurrance in the past. It is not used for e.g.: "That reminds me-I have to pick up the kids from school" ;)

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