Funny German Words: 30 Weird and Wonderful Slang Terms
🇩🇪 German · 30 cards · B1 · by Annika Vogel
German glues nouns together, and the results are often ridiculous. These 30 words are ones people genuinely say - on the U-Bahn, in the office kitchen, at the swimming pool: the bacon you put on after a break-up, the inner pig-dog that keeps you off the treadmill, the face that is asking to be slapped.
Two warnings. The literal image is not the meaning - a Muskelkater has nothing to do with cats. And several of these are insults: Klugscheißer and Backpfeifengesicht are fine among friends and rude to a stranger, so read the note before you try one out. Learn every noun with its article; a compound takes the gender of its last part.
Flip through the cards, then switch to Quiz. Tap the play button on any row to hear it. The full table below is there to read, print or copy into your own flashcard app.
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All 30 cards
| # | German | English | Example | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | der Ohrwurm Literally "ear worm". Completely neutral, used by everyone. | catchy tune, earworm | Der Song ist ein totaler Ohrwurm. That song is a total earworm. | |
| 2 | der Muskelkater Literally "muscle tomcat" - der Kater also means hangover. Used only in the singular; neutral register. | sore muscles, aching muscles | Nach dem Umzug habe ich überall Muskelkater. After the move my muscles ache everywhere. | |
| 3 | der Feierabend Literally "celebration evening". Everyday word, not slang, but it has no neat English equivalent. | end of the working day, knocking-off time | Ich mach jetzt Feierabend, bis morgen! I'm knocking off now, see you tomorrow! | |
| 4 | die Schlafmütze Literally "sleeping cap". Affectionate; stays feminine whoever you say it to. | sleepyhead | Steh endlich auf, du Schlafmütze! Get up already, you sleepyhead! | |
| 5 | die Naschkatze Literally "nibble cat". Always die, even about a man. Friendly, never insulting. | person with a sweet tooth | Meine Schwester ist eine echte Naschkatze. My sister has a real sweet tooth. | |
| 6 | der Angsthase Literally "fear hare". Mild and playful, especially with children. | scaredy-cat, coward | Sei kein Angsthase, das Wasser ist warm! Don't be a scaredy-cat, the water's warm! | |
| 7 | die Spaßbremse Literally "fun brake". Teasing, but it does sting - not something you say to your boss's face. | killjoy, party pooper | Muss der Chef immer so eine Spaßbremse sein? Does the boss always have to be such a killjoy? | |
| 8 | sich fremdschämen Reflexive and separable: ich schäme mich fremd. Informal but widely used, also in the media. | to cringe on someone else's behalf | Bei seiner Rede musste ich mich fremdschämen. His speech made me cringe on his behalf. | |
| 9 | die Schnapsidee Literally "schnapps idea" - the kind you have after a few drinks. Informal, not offensive. | crazy idea, hare-brained plan | Nachts joggen? Was für eine Schnapsidee! Jogging at night? What a crazy idea! | |
| 10 | der Klugscheißer Contains scheißen (to shit), so mildly vulgar. Polite alternative: der Besserwisser. | know-it-all, smart-arse | Niemand mag Klugscheißer im Meeting. Nobody likes a know-it-all in a meeting. | |
| 11 | das Weichei Literally "soft egg". Mocking; fine among friends, insulting to anyone else. | wimp, softie | Stell dich nicht so an, du Weichei! Stop making such a fuss, you wimp! | |
| 12 | der Drahtesel Literally "wire donkey". Jokey and slightly old-fashioned; used affectionately about your own bike. | bike, old bicycle | Mein alter Drahtesel bringt mich jeden Tag zur Arbeit. My old bike gets me to work every day. | |
| 13 | der Kummerspeck Literally "grief bacon". Singular only, usually self-mocking - avoid using it about other people. | weight gained from comfort eating | Nach der Trennung habe ich ordentlich Kummerspeck angesetzt. After the break-up I put on a fair bit of comfort weight. | |
| 14 | das Hüftgold Literally "hip gold". Used both for the fat and for the food that causes it. Jokey. | love handles; fattening food | Schokolade am Abend ist reines Hüftgold. Chocolate in the evening is pure love handles. | |
| 15 | der Purzelbaum Literally "tumble tree". Fixed phrase: einen Purzelbaum schlagen. Mostly about children. | forward roll, somersault | Die Kleine schlägt im Garten einen Purzelbaum. The little one is doing a forward roll in the garden. | |
| 16 | der Zungenbrecher Literally "tongue breaker". Neutral, fine in writing too. | tongue twister | Dieser Satz ist ein echter Zungenbrecher. That sentence is a real tongue twister. | |
| 17 | das Kuddelmuddel Northern German in origin, now understood everywhere. Usually das, sometimes der. Spoken and informal. | muddle, jumble, chaos | In meiner Handtasche herrscht das reinste Kuddelmuddel. My handbag is an absolute jumble. | |
| 18 | der Schmutzfink Literally "dirt finch". Affectionate with children, genuinely rude about an adult. | grubby person, mucky pup | Wasch dir die Hände, du kleiner Schmutzfink! Wash your hands, you grubby little thing! | |
| 19 | die Tratschtante Literally "gossip aunt". Derogatory and stereotyped as female, though it's also said of men; stays feminine. | gossip, gossipmonger | Unsere Nachbarin ist die größte Tratschtante im Haus. Our neighbour is the biggest gossip in the building. | |
| 20 | der Erklärbär Literally "explaining bear". Playful and fairly recent; usually den Erklärbär spielen. | someone who over-explains everything | Er spielt schon wieder den Erklärbär. He's playing the expert explainer again. | |
| 21 | der Warmduscher Literally "warm showerer". Jokey insult among friends, almost always aimed at men. | softie, someone who avoids any discomfort | Du nimmst den Aufzug in den ersten Stock? Warmduscher! You're taking the lift to the first floor? Wimp! | |
| 22 | das Luftschloss Literally "air castle". Often Luftschlösser bauen - to build castles in the air. Neutral register. | pipe dream, castle in the air | Seine Pläne sind leider nur Luftschlösser. Sadly his plans are just pipe dreams. | |
| 23 | das Sitzfleisch Literally "sitting meat". Used with haben or fehlen; colloquial but office-safe. | staying power, patience to sit still | Für so ein langes Meeting fehlt mir das Sitzfleisch. I don't have the patience to sit through such a long meeting. | |
| 24 | der innere Schweinehund Literally "inner pig-dog". Standard phrase: den inneren Schweinehund überwinden. Only ever used about yourself. | one's lack of willpower, inner couch potato | Heute hat mein innerer Schweinehund gewonnen. Today my inner couch potato won. | |
| 25 | das Backpfeifengesicht Die Backpfeife = a slap in the face. A genuine insult - only said behind someone's back. | a face you want to slap | Der Typ hat echt ein Backpfeifengesicht. That guy really has a slappable face. | |
| 26 | verschlimmbessern Blend of verschlimmern (worsen) and verbessern (improve). Slightly bookish but everyone knows it. | to make something worse while trying to improve it | Lass das Foto, du verschlimmbesserst es nur. Leave the photo alone, you're only making it worse. | |
| 27 | die Torschlusspanik Literally "gate-closing panic", from medieval city gates shutting at dusk. Slightly mocking, so careful who you say it about. | panic that time is running out (to marry, have kids, etc.) | Mit 35 bekam sie plötzlich Torschlusspanik. At 35 she suddenly panicked that time was running out. | |
| 28 | der Dreikäsehoch Literally "three cheeses high". Affectionate and old-fashioned - grandparent vocabulary. | little squirt, small child | So ein Dreikäsehoch und schon so frech! Such a little squirt and already so cheeky! | |
| 29 | der Pantoffelheld Literally "slipper hero". Mocking, and built on very old-school gender roles. | henpecked husband | Zu Hause ist er der totale Pantoffelheld. At home he's completely under the thumb. | |
| 30 | der Geisterfahrer Literally "ghost driver". Real traffic-report vocabulary, also used figuratively for someone going against everyone else. | wrong-way driver | Im Radio warnen sie vor einem Geisterfahrer auf der A7. On the radio they're warning about a wrong-way driver on the A7. |
Hamburg native. I spent years explaining German word order to exchange students and still enjoy it. My decks favour the words you hear on the U-Bahn over the ones in textbooks.
Questions about this deck
- Are these funny German words actually used in everyday speech?
- Most of them, yes. Ohrwurm, Muskelkater, Feierabend, Schnapsidee and Klugscheißer come up daily. Kummerspeck, Backpfeifengesicht and Torschlusspanik are real but used consciously, for effect, the way English speakers say "hangry". Dreikäsehoch and Pantoffelheld sound old-fashioned and are mostly said with a wink.
- Which of these words could get me into trouble?
- Klugscheißer contains the verb scheißen and is mildly vulgar, though you'll hear it in offices. Weichei, Warmduscher and Schmutzfink are insults that only work as teasing between friends. Backpfeifengesicht is said behind someone's back, never to their face. Tratschtante and Pantoffelheld carry heavy gender stereotypes, so use them sparingly.
- Why do German compound words like Kummerspeck have such odd literal meanings?
- German freely joins nouns into new words, and the result keeps a vivid image rather than a logical definition. Kummerspeck is "grief bacon", the weight you gain eating your feelings; Muskelkater is "muscle tomcat", because Kater also means hangover. Learn the whole compound as one unit and treat the literal image as a memory hook, not a translation.
- What gender do these compound nouns take?
- A German compound takes the gender of its final part. Der Wurm gives der Ohrwurm, die Mütze gives die Schlafmütze, das Ei gives das Weichei, das Schloss gives das Luftschloss. So once you know the last element, the article follows. The main exception here is Kuddelmuddel, which has no clear base noun and is usually das, occasionally der.
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