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I am having trouble translating the phrase "macht nichts an".

I am listening to "Indianer", the second track of the Nena Band's first album. (When it was released in 1983 the term "Indian/Indianer" was still commonly used.)

There are several meanings for "anmachen" at Reverso. There is a detailed explanation on YourDailyGerman. But nothing makes sense when the word is pushed into negation (nichts).

How would you translate the phrase?

The entire verse is: "Auf dem Kriegspfad (warpath), im Wigwam / Indianer macht nichts an / Wir sind mutig, wir sind schlau / Wie die Indianer, How!"

Thank you!

Glorfindel
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Marilynnnn
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    a good source to check is https://www.dwds.de/wb/anmachen In this case it's 4a and 4d concurrently as by Tode's very good answer. Actually it's mentioned in (d) and (e) in your reference, too. – planetmaker Jul 20 '22 at 11:12
  • Thank you very much. I added dwds.de to my home screen. I also added your comment to my Reddit sub, https://www.reddit.com/r/NenaGabrieleKerner/comments/w3ie1m/macht_nicht_an/ih17isd?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3 – Marilynnnn Jul 21 '22 at 10:49

1 Answers1

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This phrase is a little play of words on two different meanings of the verb "anmachen".

One meaning is sexually connoted:

Diese Frau macht mich an
Meaning:
This woman turns me on

The other is more colloquial:

Der Typ macht mich (blöde) an
Meaning:
This guy provokes me

So there are two situations that match that different meanings: The first ist the warpath where someone could provoke me. The second is the wigwam where probably a woman waits for me to turn me on...

And both situations are neglected by saying: Indians are so cool, they do not care for either of them.

Tode
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  • Thank you very much. This is very clear now. I placed your response on my sub https://www.reddit.com/r/NenaGabrieleKerner/comments/w3ie1m/macht_nicht_an/ih16qyz?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3. – Marilynnnn Jul 21 '22 at 10:46