thinG is correct: you've got another thing coming - da wirst du aber überrascht sein

thinG oder thinK -- wir muttersprachler sind uns nicht daran einig. Viele (darunter ich selbst) treten sich für thinK ein. Die englische wendung ist sehr stark, es drückt schon verdruss aus und wirkt barsch. "Du bist auf dem holzweg" ist somit eine falsche übersetzung.

ThinG würde dennoch zu vage, um richtig zu sein.

The full saying as I have heard it is: "If he thinks that, then he's got another think coming" i.e. Er muss es sich anders überlegen.

Should be 'think,' but the misunderstanding is apparently fairly widespread. (Is this an eggcorn? I thing so.)

Das heißt jetzt, dass es das Sprichwort zwar mit "think" gibt, dass es aber eher komisch übersetzt ist?

Und wo wir gerade dabei sind: Gibt es "you are on the wood way" für "da bist du aber aufm Holzweg" wirklich?

Your on the wrong track, würde ich für "auf dem Holzweg" nehmen.

The saying is 'You've got another think coming.' Many people, however, write incorrectly 'You've got another thing coming.' This kind of misunderstanding is called an eggcorn (which you can look up in Wikipedia or on the Eggcorn Database).

The meaning is as Robert described in #3 (and in the link I gave in #4). It means 'You are going to have to rethink that / think about that a second time, because you're simply wrong.' For a translation I would suggest something like

A: Aber ich dachte, ...
B: Na, (wenn du das denkst,) da irrst du dich gewaltig.

It might be useful if LEO could add a second translation more like this for 'You've got another think coming,' if German speakers agree.


If I understand correctly, 'Du bist auf dem Holzweg' is somewhat different because it's more neutral, without the overtone of impatience or annoyance. It might sometimes overlap, but it's probably closer to some of the other translations in LEO, e.g.,

You're barking up the wrong tree
You're on the wrong track
Dictionary: holzweg

'Woodway' is an uncommon word in English. If anyone told you there was an English saying with 'on the woodway,' they were probably teasing you. They (or you) might enjoy this thread:

related discussion: disgusting 6-gear menu - sechsgängiges Degus...

Sometimes I DO wish there was a correction function - You'RE on the wrong track - sorry, all !