A2Informal
Jemandem einen Bärendienst erweisen
In German
Jemandem einen Bärendienst erweisen
ˈjeːmandəm ˈaɪ̯nən ˈbɛːʁənˌdiːnst ɛɐ̯ˈvaɪ̯zn̩
🇬🇧 English
🇪🇸 Español
🇮🇹 Italiano
📖 Literal Translation
To render someone a bear's service
💡 Meaning
To do someone a disservice; to do more harm than good
🌍 Equivalent:"To do someone a disservice; to do more harm than good"
📜 Origin:This idiom comes from a fable by La Fontaine (or Aesop's fables) about a bear who tries to swat a fly off his sleeping master's face but accidentally kills the master with a stone, meaning well but causing great harm.
Example Sentences
1
Mit seiner vermeintlichen Hilfe hat er mir einen Bärendienst erwiesen.
With his supposed help, he did me a disservice.
2
Manchmal erweist man jemandem einen Bärendienst, obwohl man es gut meint.
Sometimes you do someone a disservice, even if you mean well.