How do you say “Bite off more than you can chew” in German?
The closest natural German equivalent is sich übernehmen, which literally means “to overextend oneself”. English speakers use bite off more than you can chew to mean this means trying to do something that is too difficult or taking on too much work. German drops the eating metaphor entirely and uses the reflexive verb 'sich übernehmen' to express that someone took on too much. It sounds completely natural in everyday speech. It is informal, neutral and common in everyday German.
Closest natural German
sich übernehmen
[zɪç ʔyːbɐˈneːmən]
- Literal meaning
- “to overextend oneself”
- Register
- informal, neutral
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
92 out of 100
What a native German speaker would actually say
The English expression relies on the vivid sensory imagery of cramming more food into one's mouth than one can manage, warning against greed, overconfidence, or poor estimation of capacity. In contrast, German does not use a culinary metaphor for this situation. Instead, native speakers standardly turn to the reflexive verb 'sich übernehmen', which cleanly captures the act of overextending, overtaxing, or overburdening oneself.
In daily life, the imperative warning 'Übernimm dich nicht!' serves as the exact conversational counterpart to 'Don't bite off more than you can chew!'. If you want an idiom with more physical flavor, German speakers reach for 'sich zu viel aufhalsen' (burdening one's neck with too much work) or 'sich an etwas verheben' (figuratively throwing out one's back on a task that is too heavy to carry).
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning5 out of 5
- Tone5 out of 5
- Context5 out of 5
- Literal similarity2 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
What are other ways to say it in German?
sich zu viel aufhalsen
Literally: “to saddle too much onto one's neck”
Specifically highlights taking on an overwhelming volume of tasks or burdens.
sich verheben
Literally: “to injure oneself by lifting something too heavy”
A vivid physical metaphor used figuratively when an ambitious project proves too difficult.
sich zu viel zumuten
Literally: “to demand too much of oneself”
Focuses on exceeding one's own mental or physical limits.
Don't translate it literally
mehr abbeißen, als man kauen kann
This is a clumsy, word-for-word Anglicism that native German speakers never naturally use.
Word-for-word versions like these are understood as literal statements in German, not as expressions.
In context
English
I promised to organize the whole conference myself, but I definitely bit off more than I could chew.
German
Ich habe versprochen, die ganze Konferenz allein zu organisieren, aber da habe ich mich definitiv übernommen.
English
Be careful and don't bite off more than you can chew with this new role.
German
Pass auf und übernimm dich nicht mit der neuen Rolle.
Related expressions
Last reviewed 2026-09-11