411 REFERENCE · Wiktionary
Freunde in der Not gehen hundert auf ein Lot
Reference material by Wiktionary contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
German
Alternative forms
de Freunde in der Not gehen tausend auf ein Lot
Etymology
friends in need are a hundred in a lot, meaning that a friend in need weighs 1% of a de Lot (English “en lot”), which is a historic measure of weight equivalent to half an ounce. One could thus loosely translate: “en Friends in need are weighed in milligrams.” There are two possible interpretations: Either (a) that one’s friends become “lightweight”, i.e. unreliable, when one is in need, or (b) that true friends in need are so rare that they need to be weighed in infinitesimal quantities.
Pronunciation
de /ˈfʁɔʏ̯ndə ˌɪn dɛɐ̯ ˈnoːt ˌɡeːən ˈhʊndɐt ˌaʊ̯f aɪ̯n ˈloːt/
Proverb
de proverb
a friend in need is a friend indeed
de in der Not erkennt man seine Freunde
de rhyming phrases