ins Fettnäpfchen treten

to put one's foot in it

Türkçe: pot kırmak

Noun

Fettnäpfchen n.

Verb

treten

Topic

Gesellschaft und Leben

In a sentence

Der neue Kollege trat mit seiner Bemerkung ins Fettnäpfchen.

How it is used

Means committing a social blunder, 'putting your foot in it.' Neutral register. Use after accidentally asking a colleague about their divorce at work. Common mistake: learners think it's about literal fat; it's about breaking unwritten social rules.

Other collocations built on treten

• in Aktion tretento go into action
• in Beziehung treten zu+Dat.to enter into a relationship with someone
• in Erscheinung tretento appear or become visible
• jdm. auf den Fuß tretento step on someone's foot
• etw. mit Füßen tretento trample on
• in Kraft tretento take effect
• in den Ruhestand tretento retire
• jdn. auf den Schlips tretento step on someone's toes