How do you say “Drink the Kool-Aid” in German?
The closest natural German equivalent is alles glauben, ohne es zu hinterfragen, which literally means “to believe everything without questioning it”. English speakers use drink the kool-aid to mean to accept a group’s beliefs without questioning them. A plain way to describe unquestioning belief, without the tragic American reference. Register: neutral. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural German
alles glauben, ohne es zu hinterfragen
/ˈaləs ˈɡlaʊbn̩ ˈoːnə ɛs tsu hɪntɐˈfʁaːɡən/
- Literal meaning
- “to believe everything without questioning it”
- Register
- neutral
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
94 out of 100
What a native German speaker would actually say
This wording makes the concern explicit: the person accepts claims without examining them. It is useful when the listener does not know the American expression.
Name the source of the claims if it matters. “Alles glauben, was die Firma sagt” makes clear whose message is being accepted.
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning5 out of 5
- Tone3 out of 5
- Context5 out of 5
- Literal similarity1 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
In context
English
He drank the Kool-Aid and now believes everything the company says.
German
Er glaubt inzwischen alles, was die Firma sagt, ohne es zu hinterfragen.
English
Don't drink the Kool-Aid just because the leader sounds confident.
German
Glaub nicht alles, ohne es zu hinterfragen, nur weil der Anführer selbstsicher klingt.
Related expressions
Last updated 2026-11-04