Why do I need to know Was der Bauer nicht kennt, das isst er nicht?
Was der Bauer nicht kennt, das isst er nicht means that people are often reluctant to try something new, especially if it looks strange, foreign or unfamiliar.
Literally, it means “what the farmer doesn’t know, he doesn’t eat”.
You might hear it when someone refuses an unfamiliar dish, sticks to the same restaurant order every time, avoids a new technology, or doesn’t want to try a different way of doing things.
For international residents in Austria, it can be a useful phrase because food, habits and routines are such a big part of daily life. It might come up when someone is hesitant about trying a dish from another country, when a child refuses vegetables they don’t recognise, or when a family member looks suspiciously at something labelled vegan, spicy or “fusion”.
It can also be used more broadly, not only about food. Someone might use it to describe people who resist change at work, don’t trust new systems, or prefer things to stay exactly as they are.
The phrase is informal and a little teasing. It can sound funny, but it can also sound dismissive, so tone matters.
What does it mean?
The proverb is built around der Bauer, meaning the farmer. It uses the idea of a traditional farmer as someone practical, rooted in habit and suspicious of unfamiliar things.
Was der Bauer nicht kennt means “what the farmer doesn’t know”. Das isst er nicht means “he doesn’t eat it”.
The key verb is kennen, meaning to know or be familiar with. The other important verb is essen, meaning to eat. In the third person singular, it becomes isst: er isst, he eats.
That spelling matters. Isst with double s means “eats”. Ist with one s means “is”. So das isst er nicht means “he doesn’t eat that”, not “he isn’t that”.
The phrase is a fixed proverb, so people usually say it in full. But you may also hear a shorter reference, such as Na ja, was der Bauer nicht kennt..., where the rest is understood.
Although the image is rural, the meaning is not really about farmers. It’s about the human habit of distrusting whatever feels unfamiliar.
Use it like this:
Er will kein Sushi probieren. Was der Bauer nicht kennt, das isst er nicht.
He doesn’t want to try sushi. People don’t eat what they don’t know.
Meine Kinder schauen jedes neue Gemüse an, als wäre es gefährlich. Was der Bauer nicht kennt, das isst er nicht.
My children look at every new vegetable as if it were dangerous. They don’t eat what they don’t know.
Im Büro wollen manche das neue System nicht verwenden. Was der Bauer nicht kennt, das isst er nicht.
Some people in the office don’t want to use the new system. People are wary of what they don’t know.
If you hear Was der Bauer nicht kennt, das isst er nicht in Austria, it’s usually less about agriculture and more about the familiar human resistance to trying something new.
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