Chances are that when you were taught German, you were only taught “Standard German”. That’s all well and good, however, to sound like a native, you’ll certainly need to know German slang words too!
German is one of the most spoken languages, with it being spoken in seven countries, mostly in Europe, but also Africa as well. As such, by learning a few German slang words, you’ll definitely get your use out of them!
For the most part, these are slang terms are used almost solely in Germany. However, depending on where in Germany it is used, people in Austria, Belgium, Switzerland or other German-speaking countries may understand them.
15. Irre! – Crazy!
Sometimes, a situation requires a term that is extremely flexible. Sometimes, this term can be good, whilst others it can be bad. German slang has chosen irre for this purpose.
Literally, irre means “mad” or “insane”. However, this is more to do with someone who is clinically insane and/or mad, rather than someone/something that is really good.
However, as with irre’s English equivalent, German teenagers have reinvented the term. For the most part, irre is used in the same way that “crazy” is in English slang.
Depending on the context, irre can either mean crazy as in really good, or irre as in really bad. Whilst not exactly slang, irre can also be used as an insult to describe someone or something.
Example:
German: “Hast du Max gesehen?” “Ja, der Typ ist irre!”
English: “Have you seen Max?” “Yeah, that guy is crazy!”
14. Bescheuert – Extremely Annoying
Depending on how its used, bescheuert can have one of literally hundreds of meanings.
Literally, bescheuert translates as “stupid” or “dumb” however, also connotes a sense of incompetency. In German slang, it is very much still the same, however, is far stronger in slang than it is in Standard German.
It can also be used as an insult, saying that someone is not the sharpest thorn on the rose, or the brightest tool in the box. It can also be used to describe someone who is just generally really irritating.
Alternatively, it can also be used to describe someone who is very steadfast in their opinions. No matter how much yo tell them that they are wrong, they are always right.
Example:
German: “Ah, Herr Vogel ist total bescheuert!”
English: “Mr. Vogel is so pig-headed!”
13. Moin – Good Morning
When you learned German, you were probably taught that the only way to say “Good Morning” was to say the textbook “Guten Morgen“. And yes, that is true, it is the only universally accepted way to say “Good Morning”.
However, those in the North of Germany (mostly the Hanseatic League states) would disagree with them. This is because to them, they have another way to say “Good Morning” and that’s with moin.
Moin is simply a shortened down form of Morgen, the German word meaning morning. It is used in the same way that you might use “Morning” to greet a friend of co-worker in English.
Example:
German: “Moin” “Moin Moin!”
English: “Morning!” “Morning”
12. Servus! – Hello!
If servus! doesn’t look like German to you, you’re probably right. Instead, it looks a lot like Latin, which is because it is. As if this wasn’t confusing enough, its origin was actually as a joke, but has since become widespread.
Literally, servus! means “I am your servant” in Latin. It is almost exclusively used in Southern Germany, especially in Bavaria, to mean something akin to “Hi”, “Hello” and/or “Yo”.
Many South Germans will try to use it with many other Europeans, especially Spaniards, Italians and Greeks, believing that they’ll understand the context of the phrase.
However, these people rarely seem to understand it. As such you’ll often hear something like scheiße, noch ‘ne and then the name of the country / region that person is from.
Example:
German: “Das ist Gunther!” “Ja! Servus!”
English: “There’s Gunther!” “Yes, hello!”
11. Tschüßi – Goodbye
Your German teacher likely taught you that auf wiedersehen was the only “correct” way to say goodbye. From their perspective, they were probably right, however, most Germans would disagree with them.
Unless they are from the nobility or from a German-speaking area that doesn’t have it, most German people will use tschüßi with their friends.
For the most part, tschüßi doesn’t have a “real” meaning- if you get a German dictionary, tschüßi won’t appear in it. This is mostly because it is used in a similar way to “Bye bye” in British slang, or even “So long!”
However, it is much more affectionate, usually used between a romantic couple. It is also used by people who’ve been close friends for several years as well.
Tschüßi is among the most regional of German slang words. Tschüßi itself is only used as a cute thing between couples, whilst you’ll more commonly hear tschüß. Regionally, you also hear tschü, tschüt-tschü among others.
Example:
German: “Tschüßi. Auf Wiedersehen!”
English: “Bye, see you later!”
10. Bis nächstes Mal – See You Later
When you were being taught German, you probably learned the textbook phrase auf wiedersehen meaning “See you later.” Whilst it is still well used, most Germans don’t use it with their close friends and family.
Instead, most Germans would use the more colloquial phrase bis nächstes Mal. In theory, both phrases are completely fine, although, bis nächstes Mal usually denotes that you and the person/people are fairly close.
Literally, bis nächstes Mal translates roughly as “Until next time” and hasn’t really changed from this meaning. To most Germans, it isn’t really seen as slang, instead, being seen as just another basic German phrase.
Example:
German: “Ich werde jetzt nach Hause gehen” “Bis nächstes Mal!”
English: “I’m gonna go home now” “Until next time!”
9. Was geht ab? – What’s up?
Chances are that when you were taught German, your German teacher taught you that wie geht’s dir? (wie geht es dir?) meant “How are you?” That’s all well and good, but that’s not what most Germans say.
Yes, Germans will use it in an office context, or with people they’ve known for years. However, generally speaking, most Germans don’t use it in day to day life. In its place, most Germans tend to use was geht ab?
Literally, was geht ab translates as something like “What’s going off?” however, is used much more colloquially. It is more often used in the same context that we’d use “What’s up?” or “What’s crackin’?”
If you’re young, especially if you’re a teenager, you’ll probably also hear was geht? Literally, this means the same thing, it’s just that they’ve disregarded the ab in order to look cool.
Example:
German: “Was geht ab?” “Servus”
English: “What’s up?” “Hi”
8. Geil – Cool
Geil is perhaps one of the most versatile German slang words, depending on the context, it can one of several different meanings. However, for the most part, it is used solely in a positive context.
If heard out of context, especially by someone who is much older or doesn’t understand German slang, you may get a few odd looks. This is mostly due to geil literally meaning “Horny” which can often make older generations uneasy.
However, in a slang context, geil usually means something like “cool” or, if used to describe a person, could also mean “Good looking”.
More often, however, it is used to describe something that is good, however, usually has negative side effects. This can be used to describe both people and objects- ie. dating a certain guy has bad side effects.
Example:
German: “Max ist so geil!”
English: “Max is so good-looking!”
7. Die Nase voll haben – Fed up
At some point in your life, you’ve probably been really annoyed by someone or something, be it a friend, co-worker or dare I say a spouse. With it, you’ve probably felt rather fed up and annoyed.
The Germans have a similar problem, and have several terms in their slang to describe it. The most common (and famous) is die Nase voll haben, literally meaning “to have a full nose”.
Sadly, this doesn’t describe someone with a really bad cold. Instead, it translates roughly to “To be fed up” or “To be sick of something” usually, this is something that is repetitive and downright irritating.
The term actually has a rather interesting (if not trivial) origin. The term was originally used by criminals (in the 17th Century), who, upon arriving at prison would be beaten by the guards, often being punched on the nose.
Soon enough, these criminals began to get fed up with it, and incorporated it into their slang!
Example:
German: “Die Musik ist zu laut! Ich habe die Nase voll!”
English: “The music is too loud! I’m sick of it!”
6. Quatsch! – Don’t be Silly!
Personally, quatsch is my favorite German slang word. Not because it is the most useful or because it is the most common, but just because it is so fun to say!
In fact, quatsch has become so common in Germany that it has actually entered the dictionary with its slang meaning.
Prior to this, quatsch had no real “literal” meaning. Instead, it was just made up one day, and everyone has gone with it since. In its slang meaning, however, it means something akin to “Don’t be silly!”
However, quatsch also has a darker meaning – as a curse word. If a German stubs their toe or something similar, they may shout quatsch to how their pain instead of swearing with something like scheiße.
Example:
German: “Vielen Dank für dieses Geschenk, du musstest es mir nicht besorgen” “Quatsch!”
English: “Thanks so much for this present, you didn’t need to get me it!” “Don’t be silly!”
5. Einen dicken Hals bekommen – Angry
Sometimes, someone or something just gets you so angry. In English, we have several phrases to describe exactly what this phrase means, but by far the closest is “My blood is boiling”.
Literally einen dicken Hals bekommen means “To get a hard neck”. This mostly refers to the muscles in your neck tensing as you have gotten so angry over whatever has happened.
Most commonly, this is used when debating politics in Germany. Most Germans have very strong views on most issues and get rather annoyed when others don’t share them, often resulting in a variable “Shouting match” between the two people.
Example:
German: “Ich kann das nicht mehr hören. Ich werde einen dicken Hals bekommen”
English: “I can’t listen to this anymore, my blood is boiling.”
4. Krass – Crass
If krass looks familiar that’s probably because English has a word just like it – crass. Indeed, the English term comes from the German one, and both have extremely similar meanings.
Krass is a really old word. For much of recent history, the word has fallen out of use, but has been brought back by teenagers as a word that means a million and one other things.
Depending on context, krass can be used to say that something is great and/or really good. However, in other contexts, can also be used to say that something is incredibly bad and/or terrible!
Example:
German: “Diese Partei war so krass!”
English: “That party was so good!”
3. Chillen – To Chill
In recent years, teenagers have invented the term “to chill” or more accurately, “to chill out” (along with several other terms). For the most part, this has been American slang, with it entering English slang as a whole.
German teenagers have since been exposed to the concept through American-made TV shows. Through this, they have been exposed to the term “to chill out” however, thanks to German grammar, “to chill out” wouldn’t work.
Instead, German teenagers have found “to chill out”‘s German equivalent, chillen. Literally, chillen is used in reference to chilling something like wine or something similar.
For the most part, it is used by German teenagers the same way that “to hang out” or “to chill out” are used in English.
Example:
German: “Ich werde nur chillen”
English: “I’m just going to chill out”
2. Hammer – Cool
In English we use a hammer as a tool, mostly to put nails into things, usually wood. In German, they also use hammer to describe the exact same type of tool.
Unlike the English, hammer also has a completely different meaning in German slang! In German slang, hammer also means something that is extremely cool and/or amazing.
For instance, if you and your German friends were at the beer garden (Biergarten) and you tried a new beer that was amazing, you might use hammer to describe how good it is!
It doesn’t just have to be things you taste that can be hammer. Cool and/or amazing things you see, hear or touch could also be described as hammer, and most Germans would understand you.
Example:
German: “Hast du Müllers Ziel gesehen?” “Ja, es war total hammer!”
English: “Did you see Müller’s goal?” “Yes, it was amazing!
1. Polnischer Abgang – Polish Exit
A Polnischer Abgang is certainly one of German slang’s oddest terms. This is mostly because there is no English equivalent, or indeed, in any language other than German!
Literally, a Polnischer Abgang translates as a “Polish Exit”. Sadly, it isn’t a German joke about the Polish military or anything similar (akin to the French military jokes we have in English!)
Instead, its meaning is rather strange- a concept we have in English, but requires a lot of explaining to understand.
Germans are fond of their beer. When they go out with their friends, they plan to leave on the late bus/train, however, miss it because their friends ask them to have one more drink.
As such, they end up spending a few hours sat/sleeping in the train or bus station waiting for the early hours bus/train. In German, this latter part is called a Polnischer Abgang.
Example:
German: “Bleib noch für einen Drink!” “Nein ich will nicht ein Polnischer Abgang!”
English: Stay for another drink!” “No I don’t want another Polish Exit!”
Which are your favorite German slang words? Tell me in the comments!