Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

von wegen

English translation:

You wish! Dream on! In your dreams! Forget it! No way! Pah! Yeah, right! Oh, please! As if!

Added to glossary by Erik Macki
Aug 1, 2006 05:44
17 yrs ago
4 viewers *
German term

von wegen

German to English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature teen terminology
I'm hoping for some ideas as to the real sense of "von wegen" in the following passage from a novel. I don't need the dictionary translation; I need some idiomatic ideas for this context, or at least some explanation of what may be meant.

The context is: an 18-year-old girl is thinking about the different ideas she and her parents have about her career path. They think she should attend university and study something practical so she can take over the family business. She has other ideas.

Das Geschäft, denkt Johanna, bei uns dreht sich immer alles um das Geschäft. Sie weiß schon lange, dass sie nicht so leben möchte, sie hat es schon vor ihrer Reise nach Israel gewusst, auch wenn sie sich noch immer nicht für etwas Bestimmtes entschieden hat, es gibt so viel, was sie machen könnte. Daniel wird Physik studieren, Kerstin will Ärztin werden, Melanie Bibliothekarin, und sie weiß nur, dass sie nicht ins Geschäft eintreten wird, auch wenn ihre Eltern das so selbstverständlich erwarten, dass es noch nicht einaml zu einem Thema wird, das man diskutiert. Natürlich kann sie studieren, Betriebswirtschaft wäre nicht schlecht, wenn sie schon nicht die Modefachschule besuchenwill, sogar Jura kommt in Frage. **VON WEGEN,** sagt Johanna laut, ihr werdet euch noch wundern.

I kind of think an American teenager would say something like "Oh, please," in this same context, perhaps with a roll of the eyes, expressing irritation with the parents' assumptions, but if you have any other ideas or explanations of the connotation(s) here, I'd much appreciate it.

Proposed translations

+6
35 mins
Selected

You wish! Dream on! In your dreams! Forget it! No way! Pah! Yeah, right!

Just to add to the suggestions above.
Peer comment(s):

agree IanW (X) : "Yeah, right!" does it for me
7 mins
agree BrigitteHilgner : That's what you think!
9 mins
agree Francis Lee (X) : Any of the above, or "Think again!"
37 mins
"Think again" is excellent.
agree Rachel Ward : "Yeah, right!"
1 hr
agree HarryHedgehog : Yeah, right
3 hrs
agree Henry Schroeder
3 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "I wish I could give points to everyone, since all the suggestions were right on and helpful! Thanks again to eveyrone for taking the time to respond."
+5
7 mins

(!) Yea, sure! [sarcastic] (2) You've got to be kidding!

8 American children, 20 grandchildren, 12 great-grand kids (if I'm not mistaken). Tom
Peer comment(s):

agree IanW (X) : I think "Yea(h), sure" works very well here
36 mins
agree Francis Lee (X) : or "Get outta here!", "Yeah, right!"
1 hr
agree Rachel Ward : "Yeah, right!"
2 hrs
agree HarryHedgehog : should we get orf your lawn then?
3 hrs
agree Henry Schroeder
4 hrs
Something went wrong...
+1
11 mins

not a chance! No way!

Ich verstehe das so. Zudem im Anschluss kommt: Ihr werdet euch noch wundern. Von wegen bedeutet quasi, dass sie auf keinen Fall das tun wird, was ihre Eltern erwarten.
Peer comment(s):

agree Francis Lee (X) : auch ne Möglichkeit
1 hr
Something went wrong...
+2
25 mins

As if!

Teen-speak at its best... Immortalized in Amy Heckerling's "Clueless" (1995) and has become even more popular since.
Peer comment(s):

agree Francis Lee (X) : and then there's also "Hell-OHHH!"
1 hr
Yep, but that's sooooo 80s... Hell-OHHHHHHHH, Mc-FLYYYYYYYYYY
agree mill2
2 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 hrs

Like hell (I will)

Although this'd probably rank further down than the rest ...
Something went wrong...
+2
3 hrs

Puh-leeze

...a slight variation on your own "Oh, please"

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Note added at 12 hrs (2006-08-01 18:38:37 GMT)
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Or: Get real!
Peer comment(s):

agree HarryHedgehog : like, totally
18 mins
like, thanks dude.
agree Francis Lee (X) : Stop it, HH - you're gonna gimme a relapse (I'm a recovering former Valley resident)
25 mins
Had a roommate in college from La Jolla. She was like, a total airhead!
Something went wrong...
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