---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's awful undermining to the intellect…"
description: "\"It's awful undermining to the intellect, German is; you want to take it in small doses, or first you know your brains all run together, and you feel th..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/mark-twain-22_awful_it-s-awful-undermining-to-the-intellect_340201.png"
---

#  It's awful undermining to the intellect, German is; you…

![“It's awful undermining to the intellect, German is; you want to take it in small doses, or first you know your brains all run together, and you feel them flapping around in your head same as so much drawn butter.” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/mark-twain-22_awful_it-s-awful-undermining-to-the-intellect_340201.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/mark-twain-22_awful_it-s-awful-undermining-to-the-intellect_340201.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/mark-twain-22_awful_it-s-awful-undermining-to-the-intellect_340201.png)

> “It's awful undermining to the intellect, German is; you want to take it in small doses, or first you know your brains all run together, and you feel them flapping around in your head same as so much drawn butter.”

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The quote suggests that German language is intellectually demanding and should be approached gradually to avoid mental overload.

**In simple terms:** German is tough; take it slowly.

Key Takeaway

Approach complex subjects in small steps.

Themes

learning language patience

Mood

thoughtful cautious

Type

educational reflective

When to use this quote

- studying foreign languages
- teaching
- self‑education

Key Concepts

cognitive load incremental learning

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you manage mental fatigue when learning?
- What strategies help break down dense material?

A Different Perspective

Complex topics can still overwhelm despite pacing.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [German language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/german-language/) [Intellect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellect/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/)

## Related quotes

> [You can't imagine how much detail we know about brains. There were 28,000 people who went to the neuroscience conference this year, and every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hawkins/you-can-t-imagine-how-much-detail-we-know-about-brains-there-were-28/)

[Jeff Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hawkins/)

> [When you're talking about people like Shonda Rhimes, Vince Gilligan or Beau Willimon, you're talking to people who are notable and celebrities in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rash/when-you-re-talking-about-people-like-shonda-rhimes-vince-gilligan-or/)

[Jim Rash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rash/)

> [“They’ll know who the brains of the operation was when they see me smash my clone’s skull on the concrete.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/they-ll-know-who-the-brains-of-the-operation-was-when-they-see-me/)

[Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/)

> [It is not like studying German, where you mull along, in a groping, uncertain way, for thirty years; and at last, just as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-not-like-studying-german-where-you-mull-along-in-a-groping/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [“A dog is "der Hund"; a woman is "die Frau"; a horse is "das Pferd"; now you put that dog in the genitive case,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-dog-is-der-hund-a-woman-is-die-frau-a-horse-is-das-pferd-now-you/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [“I was gradually coming to have a mysterious and shuddery reverence for this girl; nowadays whenever she pulled out from the station and got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-was-gradually-coming-to-have-a-mysterious-and-shuddery-reverence/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [How charmed I am when I overhear a German word which I understand!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/how-charmed-i-am-when-i-overhear-a-german-word-which-i-understand/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [I don't believe there is anything in the whole earth that you can't learn in Berlin except the German language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-don-t-believe-there-is-anything-in-the-whole-earth-that-you-can-t/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [In early times some sufferer had to sit up with a toothache, and he put in the time inventing the German language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/in-early-times-some-sufferer-had-to-sit-up-with-a-toothache-and-he/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [My philological studies have satisfied me that a gifted person ought to learn English (barring spelling and pronouncing) in thirty hours, French in thirty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/my-philological-studies-have-satisfied-me-that-a-gifted-person-ought/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [A gifted person ought to learn English (barring spelling and pronouncing) in thirty hours, French in thirty days, and German in thirty years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-gifted-person-ought-to-learn-english-barring-spelling-and/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [“it was borne in upon me that I was standing in the awful presence of the Mother of the German Language.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-was-borne-in-upon-me-that-i-was-standing-in-the-awful-presence-of/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [“And I did not speak German well; I found the language harsh and guttural, my ear simply couldn’t find it pleasing, and so my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-benjamin/and-i-did-not-speak-german-well-i-found-the-language-harsh-and/)

[Melanie Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-benjamin/)

> [“Though unmusical, German is the most expressive of all languages,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/though-unmusical-german-is-the-most-expressive-of-all-languages/)

[Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/)

> [“The Germans are sentimental. Their word Heimweh . The English say homesick; the same in plain Swedish. Hemsjuk . Leave it to the Germans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/the-germans-are-sentimental-their-word-heimweh-the-english-say/)

[Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/)

## More by Mark Twain

> [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-creator-sat-upon-the-throne-thinking-behind-him-stretched-the/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-easy-to-quit-smoking-i-ve-done-it-hundreds-of-times/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [“It is never wrong to do the right thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-never-wrong-to-do-the-right-thing/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [There is nothing training can't cannot do. Nothing is above its reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-nothing-training-can-t-cannot-do-nothing-is-above-its-reach/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. Man gets his through months and months of cruel torture; he will never get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-higher-animals-get-their-teeth-without-pain-or-inconvenience-man/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [“As far as I can see, Italy, for fifteen hundred years, has turned all her energies, all her finances, and all her industry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/as-far-as-i-can-see-italy-for-fifteen-hundred-years-has-turned-all/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [Begin with the determination to succeed and the work is half done already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/begin-with-the-determination-to-succeed-and-the-work-is-half-done/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [Many public-school children seem to know only two dates—1492 and 4th of July; and as a rule they don't know what happened on either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/many-public-school-children-seem-to-know-only-two-dates-1492-and-4th/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [If we could imagine such a man, that is a man who could invent the fly and send him out on his mission and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-we-could-imagine-such-a-man-that-is-a-man-who-could-invent-the-fly/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [You perceive, now, that these things are all impossible except in a dream. You perceive that they are pure and puerile insanities, the silly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-perceive-now-that-these-things-are-all-impossible-except-in-a/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [Lord save us all from a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/lord-save-us-all-from-a-hope-tree-that-has-lost-the-faculty-of/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

[Explore all 3,277 Mark Twain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

## More Awful quotes

> [It must be that I am dreaming, and that I shall awaken in a moment to see that awful knife descending toward my heart-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/it-must-be-that-i-am-dreaming-and-that-i-shall-awaken-in-a-moment-to/)

[Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/)

> [I spent two years in Palo Alto - what an awful, suffocating place for those of us who don't care about yoga, yogurts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/i-spent-two-years-in-palo-alto-what-an-awful-suffocating-place-for/)

[Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/)

> [Layla brought her arms around herself, no doubt because she was remembering the feel of another, stronger set. "I have wanted to, but he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/layla-brought-her-arms-around-herself-no-doubt-because-she-was/)

[J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/)

> [You've seen the first issue and what happened in the last page. Some pretty awful stuff. I don't know why I seem to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declan-shalvey/you-ve-seen-the-first-issue-and-what-happened-in-the-last-page-some/)

[Declan Shalvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/declan-shalvey/)

> [It is not like studying German, where you mull along, in a groping, uncertain way, for thirty years; and at last, just as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-not-like-studying-german-where-you-mull-along-in-a-groping/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [There was a special challenge in describing the awful childhood of a person who happens to be my own husband. It was very painful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-stephenson/there-was-a-special-challenge-in-describing-the-awful-childhood-of-a/)

[Pamela Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-stephenson/)

> [On balance the moral influence of religion has been awful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/on-balance-the-moral-influence-of-religion-has-been-awful/)

[Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/)

> [When you finish a poem, it clicks shut like the top of a jewel box, but prose is endless. I haven't experienced an awful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/when-you-finish-a-poem-it-clicks-shut-like-the-top-of-a-jewel-box-but/)

[Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/)

> [Fascism: awful stench of saw and axe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-leiris/fascism-awful-stench-of-saw-and-axe/)

[Michel Leiris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-leiris/)

> [No one with a bad tie is getting my vote. Some Lib Dems wear the most shockingly awful ties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-fox/no-one-with-a-bad-tie-is-getting-my-vote-some-lib-dems-wear-the-most/)

[Freddie Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-fox/)

> [“Here she was back in the brightly lit world she had been avoiding for twenty years, and it was exactly as awful as she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/here-she-was-back-in-the-brightly-lit-world-she-had-been-avoiding-for/)

[Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/)

> [I'm pretty indiscriminating, and I have awful taste, generally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-mckay/i-m-pretty-indiscriminating-and-i-have-awful-taste-generally/)

[Nellie McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-mckay/)

> [The blessed Religion revealed in the word of God will remain an eternal and awful monument to prove that the best Institution may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-blessed-religion-revealed-in-the-word-of-god-will-remain-an/)

[George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/)

> [“I am awful. I am heartless. I am scared that these things are actually true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-am-awful-i-am-heartless-i-am-scared-that-these-things-are-actually/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [Democracy is an awful way to run a country, but it's the best system we have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/democracy-is-an-awful-way-to-run-a-country-but-it-s-the-best-system/)

[Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/)

Browse all 1,826 Awful quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "It's awful undermining to the intellect, German is; you want to take it in small doses, or first you know your brains all run together, and you feel them flapping around in your head same as so much drawn butter.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Mark Twain"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-awful-undermining-to-the-intellect-german-is-you-want-to-take-it/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Awful"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-awful-undermining-to-the-intellect-german-is-you-want-to-take-it/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/mark-twain-22_awful_it-s-awful-undermining-to-the-intellect_340201.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/mark-twain-22_awful_it-s-awful-undermining-to-the-intellect_340201.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/mark-twain-22_awful_it-s-awful-undermining-to-the-intellect_340201.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It's awful undermining to the intellect, German is; you want to take it in small doses, or first you know…” — Mark Twain",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Mark Twain",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "It's awful undermining to the intellect,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-awful-undermining-to-the-intellect-german-is-you-want-to-take-it/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-awful-undermining-to-the-intellect-german-is-you-want-to-take-it/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
