How do you say “Out of the frying pan and into the fire” in German?
The closest natural German equivalent is vom Regen in die Traufe kommen, which literally means “to go from the rain into the water pouring off the eaves”. English speakers use out of the frying pan and into the fire to mean from a bad situation into an even worse one. Keeps the failed-escape idea, with rain instead of fire. Register: informal. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural German
vom Regen in die Traufe kommen
/fɔm ˈʁeːɡn̩ ɪn diː ˈtʁaʊfə ˈkɔmən/
- Literal meaning
- “to go from the rain into the water pouring off the eaves”
- Register
- informal
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
98 out of 100
What a native German speaker would actually say
The German image is wetter, not hotter. You escape the rain only to stand where water pours from a roof.
It keeps the important twist: a change intended to help has made things worse. It is not just a description of two unrelated problems.
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.
In context
English
With the new landlord, we went out of the frying pan and into the fire.
German
Mit dem neuen Vermieter kamen wir vom Regen in die Traufe.
English
She changed jobs, but went out of the frying pan and into the fire.
German
Sie wechselte die Stelle, kam aber vom Regen in die Traufe.
Related expressions
Last updated 2026-09-19