This word is part of a series of insults for men which accuse them of unmanly behavior. Zungenbrecher is the German equivalent of tongue twister, a phrase that’s very hard to pronounce even for native speakers due to its sequence of letters.Ī very common one in German is Blaukraut bleibt Blaukraut und Brautkleid bleibt Brautkleid (red cabbage remains red cabbage and a wedding dress remains a wedding dress). Those who possess a lot of seat meat are able to sit through and weather something incredibly hard or boring. Sitzfleisch (seat meat)Īs much as it sounds like it, Sitzfleisch isn’t a recipe of German Hausfrauen (housewives) that involves tenderizing meat by placing it under your buttocks. It describes someone who you feel needs a slap in the face. Have you ever heard the joke “Some people just need a high five – in the face – with a chair?”īackpfeifengesicht has a similar connotation. It’s often used when a public figure is going through a PR crisis. It’s what you find yourself in when put on the spot without a sufficient explanation or excuse for something you have done or failed to do. Erklärungsnot (explanation poverty)Įrklärungsnot is a state shared by cheating spouses, lying politicians and school children without their homework. The same is also conveyed by calling someone Würstchen , the diminutive of sausage. In fact the waiter might look at you slightly disconcerted for accusing him of being a wuss.Ī soft egg, in German, means someone who is weak and cowardly. No, Weichei isn’t what you order in the hotel when you want a three-minute egg for breakfast. It’s mostly used for those who sense their biological clock is running out and feel the need to settle with a partner or have children immediately. Torschlusspanik is the feeling of urgency to accomplish them before some imaginary gate closes and “it’s all too late.” Torschlusspanik (closing-gate panic)Īs people get older, some find themselves worrying about roads not taken or milestones they meant to achieve by a certain age but haven’t. In English, we’d call this “second-hand” or “vicarious embarrassment.” 10. Weird German Wordsįremdschämen describes the feeling of shame when seeing someone else in an uncomfortable or embarrassing situation. That’s the tiny voice in the back of your head which is trying to convince you to live the slow life and ignore any responsibilities. Innerer Schweinehund (inner pig dog)Ĭan’t get up in the morning to be on time for work? Too lazy to go to the gym? Homework remains undone until the last minute?ĭon’t worry, the blame lies with your inner pig dog. So when you find yourself on the couch watching rom-coms with a tub of ice cream, you are in fact feeding your grief bacon. This is the excess weight put on by emotional overeating. When a relationship ends or during other times of sadness, anger, or worry, it’s common to put on a few pounds of Kummerspeck. The beautiful German word Ohrwurm describes having a song stuck in your head as if it wriggled itself into your brain through your ear. Have you ever listened to a song on the radio while driving to work only to find yourself still humming the same tune by lunch time? Not only does this refer to someone that is willing to go to the bathroom outside, but is also often used in a derogatory way to call a man weak. This one is sure to make you giggle, as it literally means a wild urinator. This word is used to reference car headlights, which makes sense since they do, in fact, throw shine. The direct translation of this word is rather amusing: “shine-throwers.” The kind where you’re probably confused and clumsy. Holterdiepolter means “helter-skelter,” or in a hurry.īut not just any hurry- a “helter-skelter” is a very chaotic and messy kind of hurry. In other words, it’s a silly or stupid idea that would probably only sound great to a drunk person. This directly translates to “booze idea.” This is along the same lines of the English “hold my beer.” Instead, it describes a somersault on the ground, a favorite way of children to get their clothes dirty. (Download) Funny German Wordsĭespite the name, a Purzelbaum isn’t part of the kingdom of plants. Here we’ll check out 23 funny, weird and unique German words you’ve probably never heard of!ĭownload: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that youĬan take anywhere. One of the greatest things about learning languages is to discover words which exist in one language but don’t have any equivalent in your own-or any other for that matter. Many German words have no close translation in English. By Nick Schäferhoff Last updated: Septem23 Funny, Weird and Unique German Words
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