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As a thank you for the people hosting a party I brought them a little present. They said:

"Danke schön! Das wäre aber nicht nötig gewesen."

Shouldn't I have given them anything? Did I do something else wrong?

Takkat
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2 Answers2

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It's a phrase to express gratitude. It is an indirect acknowledgment that you intended the gift as a gift, and not for satisfying a perceived necessity ("nötig" comes from "Not", English "need" or "poverty").

The confusion probably comes from the literal translation "That was not necessary / unnecessary", which, as I understand it, is a defensive remark to an attack or insult of sorts.

Edit: The more idiomatic translation and English equivalent is probably "Oh, you didn't have to!", in a positive meaning.

Hackworth
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    Good answer. I'd like to add that people often use this phrase even if they did expect you to bring a present. –  Sep 03 '11 at 16:45
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    btw: The "correct" answer to "das wäre doch nicht nötig gewesen" is something along the lines of "aber das ist doch nur eine Kleinigkeit" or "nicht der Rede wert". – 0x6d64 Sep 04 '11 at 00:29
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    The mentioned defensive remark to an attack or insult would be "das war [jetzt] [aber] unnötig" in German. – OregonGhost Sep 05 '11 at 08:53
  • @Stefan: +1 Right! Who says Germans can't be Japanese :-) – Kage Sep 05 '11 at 20:42
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It's just a polite phrase meant to convey that you in no way expected to receive a gift, frequently used even by people who did in fact expect one, but want to appear polite. The English equivalent is "Oh, you shouldn't have!"

Cass
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