To "hit home" in German

Question

I was wondering what the correct way of expressing "to hit home" with somebody in German is. To hit home in English means: Suppose you have had a bad experience in the past, maybe a family member died of a disease. If somebody later makes a joke about having the disease, it affects you personally, it "hits home" with you.

I see a couple of possibilities in German.

1. jemandem nahegehen
2. (bei jemandem?) sitzen?

Could you say, "Seine Bemerkung hat bei ihr wirklich gesessen" in order to express this? And what exactly is the difference between "nahegehen" and "sitzen" in this context?

Answer 1

Seine Bemerkung hat bei ihr wirklich gesessen

would only be said if the speaker intended to hit home. For instance, pointing out somebody’s hypocrisy might cause somebody to later on report with above sentence.

"Jemandem nahegehen" is a possible translatio:

Seine Bemerkung ist ihr nahe gegangen.

"Jemanden treffen" would be a synonym and leads to another good translation: "betroffen machen". "betroffen" may be translated as upset, hurt or dismayed. It means that someone was strongly moved or hurt inwardly due to hearing or seeing something.

Sie war wegen seines Alzheimerwitzes sehr betroffen.

Another example is in the context of news:

Sie war sehr betroffen als sie von dem Anschlag hörte.

Answer 2

There's the idiom

jemanden bis ins Mark treffen / erschüttern

to express a shocking impact on the seoul.

Seine Bemerkung traf ihn bis ins Mark.
(His remark hit him to the core.)

Answer 3

I understand to hit home means to hit the center of the target. That would be

Voll ins Schwarze! (Schießen)

Der (Schuss) hat gesessen! (Fussball)

Das hat gesessen. is also a typical comment if someone berates someone else using a spot on argument.

However, with that sentiment you mentioned, the term is

Tiefschlag

Schlag in die Magengrube

The term

Es geht mir nahe.

in contrary only means it makes you cry (though you don't cry if the situation isn't appropriate for that).

Answer 4

Especially in emotional contexts, I think

einen wunden Punkt treffen

works best, because it implies the hurt the unexpected hit home makes you feel.

Christian wunderte sich über Katjas wütende Reaktion auf seinen Witz. Als ihm klar wurde, dass er bei ihr einen wunden Punkt getroffen hatte, entschuldigte er sich bei ihr.

Answer 5

For the expression "to hit home" like you discribed it, your first option would be possible. Other ways saying that could be "[this joke/mentioning/remembering this] hat mich getroffen" or "hat mich betroffen gemacht", or "hat mich total aufgewühlt".

"Sitzen": This is used more in the context of hit by intention, possible even for an insult or mentionining a "wound point?", but also for a very good point in an argument, or a good joke. You can think of "hitting" someone with words and you are wanting it. Typically, you would say "das hat gesessen" (but never "bei jemanden sitzen" this is just sitting side-by-side). Good also: "Seine Bemerkung hat wirklich gesessen" without "bei ihr".

In contrast, [something/"diese Bemerkung"/"die Erwähnung von"] "ist [someone] nahegegangen" or "hat [someone] betroffen gemacht" or "hat [someone] getroffen" is more focused on the emotional level. If the "hit" was by intention by the person mentioning the expression or not, is not as relevant as in the case of "gesessen". "Nahegehen" is always used with a thing, never with a person. "Das ist ihm nahegegangen" but never "er ist ihr nahegegangen".

Answer 6

Von den genannten Beispielen, die sich um viele weitere ergänzen lassen, scheint mir der "Schlag in die Magengrube" oder "Tiefschlag" zu den einerseits häufigsten, andererseits ähnlichsten zu zählen.

Dagegen ist, was nahegeht, nicht unbedingt verletzend.

Der Schlag ist auch beim Schlag ins Kontor anwesend. Der Blattschuss passt, wie vieles, besser zur Absicht.

Answer 7

(Probably regional)

"Das hat (richtig) geschmeckt" (That tasted (real) good). Similar context to "Das hat gesessen".

Answer 8

A yet unmentioned phrase which I find a good counterpiece is:

das ging ins Auge (colloquial)

meaning literally, that a potentially harmless phrase/action hit a sensitive point/provoked unexpected harm.