German word

Blues

Pronunciation

IPA/bluːs/

Meaning

  • masculine nounthe blues

Example

Letzte Woche hatten mehrere Kollegen den Blues.

Last week, several colleagues had the blues.

Illustration for Blues (the blues)

More examples

Am Montagmorgen hatte er den Blues und konnte sich nicht konzentrieren.

On Monday morning, he had the blues and couldn't concentrate.

Core concept

A blue, low-toned atmosphere that can describe a sad mood or the sound of blues music.

Common phrases

  • den Blues haben

    have the blues

  • den Blues vertreiben

    drive away the blues

  • einen Blues schieben

    have the blues

Similar words

Traurigkeit: A strong feeling of sadness that brings on a gloomy state of mind.
Schlechte Laune: An irritable, unpleasant mood that makes it hard to feel cheerful.
Depression: A prolonged, severe low mood that may require professional treatment.

Definition in German

der Blues bezeichnet eine vorübergehende Niedergeschlagenheit oder ein Stimmungstief und wird im Alltag oft in der Wendung 'den Blues haben' verwendet

Word origin

German Blues is borrowed from English the blues, where blue had the older sense 'melancholy' and also named the African American music genre.

Usage tips

  • Blues is masculine in German, so the idiomatic phrase is 'den Blues haben' with the accusative article den.

Other meanings

  • blues musicnoun

Opposites

  • Fröhlichkeitcheerfulnessnoun

Related words

  • Bluesgefühlblues feelingnoun
  • Bluesbandblues bandnoun

Word lists with this word