Which one should you use?
You can also use Sich nicht in andere Angelegenheiten einmischen to specifically emphasize the act of not interfering in other people's affairs or the much more informal Sich raushalten to mean keeping oneself out of a situation. For an even more colloquial and blunt tone, you can replace Angelegenheiten with Kram to say sich um seinen eigenen Kram kümmern, which translates to "minding one's own stuff".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For a formal context, use Sich nicht in andere Angelegenheiten einmischen. In informal or colloquial situations, you can use Sich raushalten or the blunt sich um seinen eigenen Kram kümmern.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase uses the reflexive pronoun sich, which must be conjugated to match the subject of your sentence. For example, use mich for ich (I) or dich for du (you).
Did you know?
- Germans often use the phrase Das ist nicht mein Bier meaning 'that is not my beer' to express that something is none of their business.
- If someone tells you Kümmer dich um deinen eigenen Mist, they have replaced 'stuff' with the word for 'manure' to be significantly more aggressive.
- The word kümmern likely originates from an Old French word meaning 'obstruction' or 'barrier'.
Examples in context
- Ich glaube fest daran, daß ich mich um meine eigenen Angelegenheiten kümmern und mich auf meine eigenen Aufgaben konzentrieren sollte.I firmly believe in minding my own business and focusing on my own responsibilities.This sentence shows how to express the idea of minding one's own business using mich um meine eigenen Angelegenheiten kümmern.Tatoeba #12448910 by Waldelfe, translation #12121931 by Nuel
- Ich lass die anderen reden und kümmere mich einfach um meinen eigenen Kram.I let others talk and simply mind my own business.
- Das ist nicht meine Angelegenheit, daher halte ich mich lieber raus.That's not my business, so I prefer to stay out of it.
- Sie hat immer das Bedürfnis, sich in alles einzumischen, aber ich halte mich lieber raus.She always feels the need to get involved in everything, but I prefer to stay out of it.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries kümmern, mich, um, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
