Taking advice seriously or being hurt by criticism
“Nimm dir ihren Rat zu Herzen” encourages you to give her advice serious thought. It may help you change a habit or avoid repeating a mistake.
“Nimm dir die Bemerkung nicht so zu Herzen” is often an attempt to reassure someone. “Bemerkung” and “nicht so” signal that the issue is the emotional effect.
Ich habe mir den Tipp zu Herzen genommen und den Text laut vorgelesen.
I took the tip to heart and read the text aloud.
The second action shows what the person did in response to the tip.
Dative for the person, accusative for the thing
Learn the pattern with “mir”, “dir”, and “sich”: “Ich nehme mir den Rat zu Herzen”, “du nimmst dir den Rat zu Herzen”, “sie nimmt sich den Rat zu Herzen”. The reflexive pronoun is dative.
“Den Rat” is the accusative object. In the present perfect, the participle comes at the end: “Sie hat sich die Kritik zu Herzen genommen.”
Nimm dir die Bemerkung bitte nicht so zu Herzen.
Please don’t take that remark so personally.
“Nicht so” here refers to how deeply the remark affects someone.
How it differs from “jemandem am Herzen liegen”
“Das Thema liegt mir am Herzen” means the issue is personally important to me. The issue is the subject and “mir” identifies the person who cares about it.
“Ich nehme mir deine Kritik zu Herzen” describes my response to what you said. “Ich” is the subject, “deine Kritik” is the object, and “mir” refers back to me.
Sie nimmt sich die Hinweise der Trainerin zu Herzen.
She takes her coach’s advice seriously.
“Sich” goes with the third person, and “die Hinweise” is the accusative object.
Everyday conversations
After the rehearsal
Selin and Juri discuss how Juri opens his presentation after a rehearsal.
- Selin
Beim Einstieg fehlen mir konkrete Beispiele.
I’d like to hear some concrete examples in the opening.
- Juri
Danke für den Hinweis. Ich nehme mir das zu Herzen.
Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll take that on board.
- Selin
Vielleicht beginnst du mit einer Frage aus dem Publikum.
Maybe you could start with a question from the audience.
- Juri
Gute Idee. Das probiere ich beim nächsten Durchlauf aus.
Good idea. I’ll try that in the next run-through.
Usage note
“Nimm dir das bitte zu Herzen” can sound like a reprimand. If you want to offer support, try a concrete question such as “Shall we look at the opening together?”
Three practice tasks
Try each task before opening the explanation.
Which word fits in “Ich habe ___ deinen Rat zu Herzen genommen”?
Answer and explanation
mir
The reflexive pronoun for “ich” is dative here: “mir”.
A colleague feels hurt by an unkind remark. Which sentence tries to reassure her?
Answer and explanation
Nimm dir die Bemerkung nicht so zu Herzen.
This sentence addresses how the remark made her feel.
You want to say an issue matters to you personally. Which sentence fits?
Answer and explanation
Das Thema liegt mir am Herzen.
“Am Herzen liegen” expresses personal importance.
What to remember
Advice may help you make a change. A comment may affect you personally. The context tells you which meaning of “sich etwas zu Herzen nehmen” applies.