How do you say “Grin and bear it” in German?
The closest natural German equivalent is gute Miene zum bösen Spiel machen, which literally means “to put a good face on a bad game”. English speakers use grin and bear it to mean to put up with something unpleasant without complaining. A close match when someone hides their annoyance and goes along with an unpleasant situation. Register: informal. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural German
gute Miene zum bösen Spiel machen
/ˈɡuːtə ˈmiːnə tsʊm ˈbøːzn̩ ʃpiːl ˈmaxn̩/
- Literal meaning
- “to put a good face on a bad game”
- Register
- informal
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
93 out of 100
What a native German speaker would actually say
The German phrase emphasises the face you show other people. You may be unhappy while acting as though you accept what is happening.
For simply enduring physical pain, “die Zähne zusammenbeißen” is closer to gritting your teeth. It does not necessarily involve pretending to be cheerful.
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning5 out of 5
- Tone5 out of 5
- Context4 out of 5
- Literal similarity2 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
In context
English
The ceremony lasted three hours, so we had to grin and bear it.
German
Die Feier dauerte drei Stunden, also mussten wir gute Miene zum bösen Spiel machen.
English
I hate the uniform, but I will grin and bear it until Friday.
German
Ich hasse die Uniform, aber bis Freitag mache ich gute Miene zum bösen Spiel.
Related expressions
- What “Grin and bear it” means in English
- Bite the bullet, To face something unpleasant with resolve.
Last updated 2026-10-01