Freunde in der Not gehen hundert auf ein Lot

German

Alternative forms

• Freunde in der Not gehen tausend auf ein Lot

Etymology

Literally, “Friends in need are a hundred in a lot”, meaning that a friend in need weighs 1% of a Lot (English “lot”), which is a historic measure of weight equivalent to half an ounce. One could thus loosely translate: “Friends in need are weighed in milligrams.” There are two explanations: either that one’s friends become “lightweight”, i.e. unreliable, when one is in need – or, less likely, that true friends in need are so rare that they have to be weighed in infinitesimal quantities.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfʁɔʏ̯ndə ˌɪn dɛɐ̯ ˈnoːt ˌɡeːən ˈhʊndɐt ˌaʊ̯f aɪ̯n ˈloːt/

Proverb

Freunde in der Not gehen hundert auf ein Lot

1. a friend in need is a friend indeed

   Synonym: in der Not erkennt man seine Freunde