How do you say “Pull yourself up by your bootstraps” in German?
The closest natural German equivalent is sich aus eigener Kraft hocharbeiten, which literally means “to work one's way up by one's own strength”. English speakers use pull yourself up by your bootstraps to mean to improve your circumstances through your own efforts, with little or no outside help. Best for working your way up. It doesn't carry the English joke about an impossible task. Register: neutral. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural German
sich aus eigener Kraft hocharbeiten
/zɪç aʊs ˈaɪɡənɐ kʁaft ˈhoːxʔaʁbaɪtn̩/
- Literal meaning
- “to work one's way up by one's own strength”
- Register
- neutral
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Close equivalent
86 out of 100
What a native German speaker would actually say
“Sich hocharbeiten” focuses on working your way up, especially in a career. For overcoming a different difficulty, “es aus eigener Kraft schaffen” is broader.
The English phrase can criticise unrealistic demands for independence. Keep that criticism in the German sentence rather than making the person's effort sound like an uncomplicated success story.
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning5 out of 5
- Tone4 out of 5
- Context4 out of 5
- Literal similarity1 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
What are other ways to say it in German?
es aus eigener Kraft schaffen
Literally: “to manage it by one's own strength”
Broader; useful for overcoming a difficulty rather than career advancement.
auf eigenen Beinen stehen
Literally: “to stand on one's own legs”
Describes independence, not necessarily the process of achieving it.
In context
English
She pulled herself up by her bootstraps and built a successful career.
German
Sie arbeitete sich aus eigener Kraft hoch und baute sich eine erfolgreiche Karriere auf.
English
Telling him to pull himself up by his bootstraps ignores the help he needs.
German
Ihm zu sagen, er müsse es aus eigener Kraft schaffen, ignoriert die Hilfe, die er braucht.
Related expressions
- What “Pull yourself up by your bootstraps” means in English
- Make ends meet, Have just enough money to live on
- Go the extra mile, To make an extra effort.
Last updated 2026-09-16