der Esel nennt sich immer zuerst
German
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Literally, “the donkey always mentions himself first”. Probably an alteration of the variant der Esel geht immer voran (“the donkey always comes first”), from the idea that the donkey walks in front of the carriage but is of lesser value than the people on it.
Proverb
[edit]der Esel nennt sich immer zuerst
- Said when someone mentions themselves first in an enumeration of people (like “I and you”, “I and my friend”), which is considered unmannered in the German-speaking (and some other) countries
- Synonym: der Esel geht immer voran
Usage notes
[edit]- It is now somewhat common to say der Esel nennt sich immer zuletzt (literally “the donkey always mentions himself last”), though with the same meaning as above. The reasoning in this case is that one should humbly consider oneself the donkey that ought to be mentioned last.
- The accepted polite way of enumerating is 1.) second person, 2.) third person, 3.) first person, 4.) all non-human things. Thus for example: du, Elisabeth, ich und der Hund (“you, Elizabeth, I, and the dog”). Of course, this is not always slavishly adhered to, but one should avoid naming oneself first.