I'll hold you to it

[j-Adore]

-- I promise not to make that kind of mistake again.

-- I'll hold you to it.


How is this idea expressed naturally and as concisely as possible in German? In other languages, the equivalents of this expression tend to be not as succinct as this.

Does this work: "Darauf nagel ich dich fest!"?

 

[bearded]

I would say Ich verlass' mich drauf! / Ich rechne (fest) damit!
Natives will suggest more idiomatic phrases.

 

[Kajjo]

Does this work: "Darauf nagel ich dich fest!"?

No, not really. That could work for a promise of doing something under new future circumstances.

Ich verlass' mich drauf!

Yes, that is idiomatic.

 

[j-Adore]

I wrote "in other languages", but with the exception of Italian and French, at least -- as "ogni promessa è debito" and "je te prends au mot" are concise enough. My point is that I'm not looking for a long phrasing like "compte sur moi pour te le rappeler".

 

[j-Adore]

No, not really. That could work for a promise of doing something under new future circumstances.

I see. Can you elaborate a bit further on this -- that is, an instance where the use of "festnageln" is appropriate?

 

[Kajjo]

I see. Can you elaborate a bit further on this -- that is, an instance where the use of "festnageln" is appropriate?

A: Es war toll, dass du mir so viel im Garten geholfen hast. Wenn du im Herbst umziehst, kannst du dich darauf verlassen, dass ich voll mit anpacken werde.
B: OK, darauf nagel ich dich fest!

 

[j-Adore]

A: Es war toll, dass du mir so viel im Garten geholfen hast. Wenn du im Herbst umziehst, kannst du dich darauf verlassen, dass ich voll mit anpacken werde.
B: OK, darauf nagel ich dich fest! = "I'll hold you to that!"

So in this specific instance, "festnageln" seems to be naturally back-translated into "I'll hold you to that!".

-- I promise not to make that kind of mistake again (in the future, though I've made some in the past).

-- I'll hold you to it.

I'm afraid I'm still none the wiser as to why the same phrasing doesn't work here.

• -- Die Fehler von einst werde ich mit Sicherheit nicht nochmal wiederholen, versprochen.
  
  -- Darauf nagel ich dich fest!

 

[διαφορετικός]

"je te prends au mot"

Translated to German: "Ich nehme dich beim Wort."
But what exactly does "I'll hold you to it" mean?

 

[j-Adore]

Translated to German: "Ich nehme dich beim Wort."
But what exactly does "I'll hold you to it" mean?

"expecting someone to keep some promise/agreement made": "I'll hold you to your word / your end of the bargain etc."

 

[διαφορετικός]

"expecting someone to keep some promise/agreement made"

Then it is about the same meaning (as "beim Wort nehmen"), thanks.

 

[Kajjo]

I'm afraid I'm still none the wiser as to why the same phrasing doesn't work here.

I guess we mostly use "festnageln" if you promise to do something -- in contrast to NOT doing something. Further, "festnageln" is much stronger and more dominant.

These are more general and very common:

Ich nehme dich beim Wort.
Ich verlass mich darauf.

 

[Frieder]

There's also the (quite colloquial) "dein Wort in Gottes Ohr/Gehörgang".

 

[Boyar]

"dein Wort in Gottes Ohr/Gehörgang"

Aber damit beantwortet man gewöhnlich Glückwünsche, die möglichst in Erfüllung gehen sollen, nicht?

 

[elroy]

Yes, that has a very different meaning. It means “I hope what you just said comes true.” It expresses a hope, not an expectation.

 

[Schlabberlatz]

Was haltet ihr von:
Ich werde darauf achten!

 

[JClaudeK]

"expecting someone to keep some promise/agreement made"

Dabei denke ich an "Na, das will ich (aber) hoffen!"

 

[Hutschi]

-- I promise not to make that kind of mistake again.

-- I'll hold you to it.

Hi, could you tell us a little bit more about the context?

In my mind "Darauf nagle ich dich fest" fits - but "darauf kannst du dich verlassen" does not work in the context I think you mean.

“I hope what you just said comes true.”

That fits well.

Ich verlass' mich drauf!

This fits but has another meaning.

Ich rechne (fest) damit!

This is not very idiomatic - because of "nicht" in the first sentence.
I would understand "Ich rechne fest damit, dass du den Fehler doch wieder machst".
But this is not meant.
It may be: "..., dass du den Fehler nicht mehr machst."
Somit haben wir zwei Bedeutungen. Es wird eine Art "Kippsatz", wie beim Vexierbild.


---
Edit: (addition)
My usage of the idiom "Darauf nagle ich dich fest"= "Ich erwarte, dass das stimmt/dass du dich so verhältst/ "

It works if the other either promises something or if the other one states that he or she will do something.

"Something" is something in the middle range. If it is not important or very important I would not use it because of the style.