Let’s say you’re lost in Berlin and searching for the nearest metro station. You ask a German where to go, and he tells you the station is just a Katzensprung away. What does that mean? It means you are close!
The word Katze means “cat” and Sprung means “jump” or “leap”. A Katzensprung therefore means “a cat’s leap”. Germans use it the same way an American would use the phrase “a stone’s throw” to indicate how close a place is.
But it is, of course, an exaggeration. Without running, the average house cat can jump to a height of about five feet or more. But something that is a Katzensprung away is probably further than a few feet. That nearby metro station, for example, could be on the next block over, which might be a good one-minute walk.
If you live in the heart of a city, you might be a Katzensprung away from a convenience store or a bus stop. It’s usually a good thing when the places you need to go are a “cat’s leap” away from you.
Germans have been using the word Katzensprung since the 16th century. And although the phrase “stone’s throw” also exists in German (Steinwurf), using the word Katzensprung will spice up your vocabulary!
By Nicole Glass, German Embassy
