gardener
der Gärtner, die Gärtner
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gardener
A person who professionally or as a hobby designs and maintains gardens and grows plants. The feminine form is 'die Gärtnerin' (female gardener).
Wir haben einen Gärtner beauftragt, unseren Rasen zu mähen und die Hecken zu schneiden.
We hired a gardener to mow our lawn and trim the hedges.
to put the goat in charge of the garden
An idiom that means to assign someone a task for which they are completely unsuitable and in which they will probably cause great damage.
Ihm die Verantwortung für die Finanzen zu geben, hieße, den Bock zum Gärtner zu machen.
Giving him responsibility for the finances would be like putting the goat in charge of the garden.
| gender | masculine der |
|---|---|
| plural | die Gärtner |
| genitive | des Gärtners |
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | der Gärtner | die Gärtner |
| accusative | den Gärtner | die Gärtner |
| dative | dem Gärtner | den Gärtnern |
| genitive | des Gärtners | der Gärtner |
The article changes with the case; it is shown in colour.
The word 'Gärtner' comes directly from 'der Garten' (garden). The ending '-ner' refers to a person connected with the place or thing—so here, a 'garden person.'
Ein guter Gärtner kennt sich mit vielen Pflanzen aus.
A good gardener knows a lot about many plants.
A gardener is often associated with typical activities, for example 'Beete anlegen' (to create flower beds), 'Hecken schneiden' (to trim hedges), 'Rasen mähen' (to mow the lawn), or 'Unkraut jäten' (to weed).
Der Gärtner kommt einmal pro Woche, um den Rasen zu mähen.
The gardener comes once a week to mow the lawn.
The idiom 'den Bock zum Gärtner machen' (to put the goat in charge of the garden) has a fixed structure. It means giving an unsuitable person a responsible task.
Dem Kind die Schokolade zur Aufbewahrung zu geben, heißt den Bock zum Gärtner zu machen.
Giving the child the chocolate to look after is like putting the goat in charge of the garden.
