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 possible interpretations: Either (a) that one’s friends become “lightweight”, i.e. unreliable, when one is in need, or (b) that true friends in need are so rare that they need 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