jemandem ein Graus sein
to be dreadful to someone
An idiom that expresses that someone absolutely dislikes something, or finds it terrible or awful.
EXAMPLE
Diese Art von lauter Musik ist mir ein Graus.
This kind of loud music is dreadful to me.
der Graus
horror / dread
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Meanings
der Graus
horror / dread
A feeling of fear, horror, or deep disgust.
EXAMPLE
Der Anblick der Verwüstung nach dem Sturm war ein reiner Graus.
The sight of the devastation after the storm was pure horror.
Usage tips
Word family
'Der Graus' (horror/dread) belongs to a word family connected with fear and disgust. Related words are the adjective 'grausam' (cruel) and the verb 'grauen' in the expression 'jemandem graut vor etwas' (someone dreads something).
EXAMPLE
Mir graut schon vor der Prüfung nächste Woche.
I'm already dreading the exam next week.
Fixed expression with dative
The most common use is the fixed expression 'jemandem ein Graus sein' (to be dreadful to someone). The person who finds something terrible is always in the dative here, e.g. 'mir' (to me), 'dir' (to you), 'ihm' (to him).
EXAMPLE
Frühes Aufstehen am Wochenende ist mir ein Graus.
Getting up early on the weekend is dreadful to me.
Elevated style
When 'der Graus' (horror/dread) is used on its own as a noun for 'Schrecken' (fear/horror) or 'Entsetzen' (horror), it often sounds elevated or literary. In normal usage, the fixed expression 'jemandem ein Graus sein' (to be dreadful to someone) is much more common.
EXAMPLE
Der Anblick der Zerstörung war der pure Graus.
The sight of the destruction was pure horror.
In real life
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