How do you say “Pass the buck” in German?
The closest natural German equivalent is die Verantwortung abschieben, which literally means “to shove off the responsibility”. English speakers use pass the buck to mean to avoid responsibility by making someone else deal with a problem or decision. A critical phrase, unlike a neutral description of assigning work. Register: informal. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural German
die Verantwortung abschieben
/diː fɛɐ̯ˈʔantvɔʁtʊŋ ˈapʃiːbn̩/
- Literal meaning
- “to shove off the responsibility”
- Register
- informal
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
95 out of 100
What a native German speaker would actually say
“Abschieben” makes the criticism clear: the person is pushing away a responsibility they don't want. It is different from fairly assigning work.
To name the recipient, say “die Verantwortung auf jemanden abschieben.” The card-game alternative, “den Schwarzen Peter weiterreichen,” can refer to passing blame or an unwanted task.
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.
What are other ways to say it in German?
den Schwarzen Peter weiterreichen
Literally: “to pass on the Black Peter”
An established card-game idiom for handing an unwanted burden or blame to someone else.
sich vor der Verantwortung drücken
Literally: “to dodge responsibility”
Emphasises avoidance, without necessarily naming a recipient.
Common translation traps
den Dollar weitergeben
“Buck” does not mean a dollar in this idiom; the sentence is about responsibility, not money.
The notes above explain why these versions do not work in this context in German.
In context
English
Stop passing the buck and deal with the complaint.
German
Hör auf, die Verantwortung abzuschieben, und kümmere dich um die Beschwerde.
English
Each department passed the buck to another team.
German
Jede Abteilung schob die Verantwortung auf ein anderes Team ab.
Related expressions
- What “Pass the buck” means in English
- Throw someone under the bus, Blame or betray someone to protect yourself.
- Face the music, Accept unpleasant consequences for your actions
Last updated 2026-09-16