I happen to know that
Mir war nicht danach.
... translates to
I didn't feel like it.
... but I would have never been able to figure it out on my own.
Is it short for something?
Add a comment
|
2 Answers
The adverb "zumute" is key here: "zumute" can be placed at the end of a sentence to convey the idea of "how you feel", "what kind of mood you are in". The sentence construction with "zumute" requires the omitted, impersonal subject "es". You can say, for instance:
Ihm ist im Moment nicht nach Zuhören zumute.
=== "Right now, he's not in the mood to listen to anything {any word of advice}."
Ihm ist im Moment nicht nach Zuhören.
Ihm ist im Moment nicht danach. – {the construction used in your example}
Another way to express this idea is:
Ihm steht der Sinn nicht nach Zuhören.
You can also place an adjective like "wehmütig" instead of "nach + noun":
Wenn ich darauf zurückblicke, wird mir ganz wehmütig zumute.
answered Feb 25, 2018 at 22:25
-
2The last example "wehmütig zumute" sounds very unusual to me (I'd expect it more in a Goethe text than modern language). Also, generally, the word "zumute" sounds a bit oldfashioned to me, as well as "Ihm steht der Sinn nicht...". I believe the answer would be improved if you'd show when you would use these constructs in modern times (i.e., some of them would be good in daily speach or in emails, the others more in formal written texts).– AnoEFeb 26, 2018 at 10:14
-
I also think the last example takes away from the answer. It puts too much emphasis on "wehmütig", which is just one of many words to be used with "zumute" and as an example does not provide additional value.– MinixFeb 26, 2018 at 11:03
"Mir ist ..." is a way to express feelings.
For example:
Mir ist kalt.
I am cold.
Mir ist schlecht.
I feel sick.
Taking this into account, "Mir ist nach ..." = "I feel like ..." is not as weird as it may look on first sight.
-
-
2@BruceWayne It references something that was mentioned earlier. It won't work without a context, be it walking, listening, flying, eating...Mir war nicht nach Essen zumute. Ich hätte etwas gegessen, aber mir war nicht danach (zumute). Feb 26, 2018 at 1:56
-
3"Danach" ("after it", here: "like it") is one of those words which combine a preposition and a pronoun. Similar words: "Davon" ("From/of it"), "dagegen" ("against it"), "darauf" ("on it").– RHaFeb 26, 2018 at 8:59
-
"towards" would work - "danach zumute" is similar to "inclined towards". Even the slightly arrogant/sarcastic tone of a correctly used "inclined towards" is preserved if the full "danach zumute" is used :) Feb 26, 2018 at 11:06