How do you say “Not have a leg to stand on” in German?
The closest natural German equivalent is keine stichhaltigen Argumente haben, which literally means “to have no sound arguments”. English speakers use not have a leg to stand on to mean to have no sound argument or evidence to support your position. A plain German paraphrase about lacking a defensible argument. It is more neutral than the English image. Register: neutral. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural German
keine stichhaltigen Argumente haben
/ˈkaɪnə ˈʃtɪçhaltɪɡən aʁɡuˈmɛntə ˈhaːbn̩/
- Literal meaning
- “to have no sound arguments”
- Register
- neutral
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Close equivalent
89 out of 100
What a native German speaker would actually say
“Stichhaltig” means an argument is supported by good reasons or evidence. The phrase is about how well someone can defend their claim.
For missing evidence specifically, “keine Belege haben” is shorter. You might use it when someone cannot produce receipts for repairs they say they paid for.
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning5 out of 5
- Tone4 out of 5
- Context5 out of 5
- Literal similarity1 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
In context
English
The video showed me crossing the line, so I did not have a leg to stand on.
German
Das Video zeigte, wie ich die Linie übertrat, also hatte ich keine stichhaltigen Argumente.
English
Without any records of the repairs, he did not have a leg to stand on.
German
Ohne Aufzeichnungen über die Reparaturen hatte er keine stichhaltigen Argumente.
Related expressions
Last updated 2026-10-01