Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

Die Sachen sind ihr sehr gut gekommen

English translation:

were of great benefit to her /were really useful

Added to glossary by Timoshka
Jun 2, 2023 16:01
1 yr ago
42 viewers *
German term

Die Sachen sind ihr sehr gut gekommen

German to English Social Sciences General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
From a 1960 letter, written by a German-speaking Hungarian, concerning her young daughter:

Sie hat im Sommer viel Erfolg gehabt in den wunderschönen Kleider, die ihr Tante Janka geschickt hat. Wir sind dir sehr dankbar, dass du so lieb warst und an sie gedacht hast. Die Sachen sind ihr sehr gut gekommen. So ein Kind braucht ja genug viel, und alles war so schön!

I'm unsure of the meaning of the sentence: "Die Sachen sind ihr sehr gut gekommen." Is this just saying that the items (articles of clothing) reached her in good order? Or is there some idiomatic meaning that I'm missing here?

Discussion

Björn Vrooman Jun 2, 2023:
To clarify... I said no in response to your question ("reached her in good order?").

It's not a comment on Jennifer's answer (her interpretation is even more likely).

Best
Björn Vrooman Jun 2, 2023:
@Timoshka No. Most likely, it means "die Sachen haben ihr sehr gut gestanden" or "sie hat sich sehr über die Sachen gefreut."

I'm guessing it's the first, since mum says "alles war so schön."

Best wishes

Proposed translations

+2
3 mins
Selected

were of great benefit to her /were really useful

I'm fairly certain this is analogous to zugutekommen (ie to benefit) - see reference link - which would also fit with the meaning of the text

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Note added at 4 mins (2023-06-02 16:06:15 GMT)
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Or, better still, "came in really handy for her"
Peer comment(s):

agree Simon Vigneault
22 hrs
agree Birgit Gläser : with useful/handy.... keeping in mind that young kids grow like weeds, although she probably also looked great in them ;-D
2 days 22 hrs
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you!"

Reference comments

27 mins
Reference:

The things hit the spot

to hit the spot - gut kommen [ugs.] - https://dict.leo.org/englisch-deutsch/gut kommen
hit the spot - to be exactly what is needed: - https://dictionary.cambridge.org/pt/dicionario/ingles/hit-th...
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