So while Germans might not have a reputation for being particularly funny, some words from their language might make you smile. Unlike the modest shelled-covered snail, a slug gotta make do with its birthday suit. I bet you never thought of a slug as being naked until you learnt the German word for it. Click [ here if you want some German ‘tongue-breakers’ to challenge yourself! Clearly Germans aren’t as optimistic about rising to the challenge of pronouncing hard words as English natives. Rather than ‘tongue twister’, this translates to tongue-breaker. If you’re learning German, I’m sure you’ll find this a useful term. (Literal translation: witches shot)Ĭould you guess what this is? You got it, it’s a guinea pig – The literal translation here is ‘attempt rabbits’. Or feel like you’ve been cursed… or shot… by a witch. It’s your call.Īs you get older, you might find yourself in need of this word more and more often. Some might say beautifully logical, some might say unnecessarily so. You go on holiday, you make sure you see some sehenswürdigkeiten. Spaßvogel refers to the friend that’s always entertaining, the one that’s a bit of a joker.Īs you might’ve guessed, this is the German word for attractions. Although we reckon it’s used these days more so as a way to justify having that “one last drink.”ĭespite the translation (this literally translates to fun bird), this has nothing to with birds. “Der Absacker” is the German word for nightcap – an alcoholic drink straight before bed. The best English equivalent would be one’s “weaker self.” Yep – in German, that’s your “innerer Schweinehund” (literally inner pig-dog). You know that little voice in your head that’s always justifying that extra donut, one last beer, or just a few more minutes in bed? We certainly do. “Feuchtfröhlich” (literally wet and happy) is an adjective for describing those situations where the alcohol is flowing – a boozy evening (“ein feuchtfröhlicher Abend”), for example. This one might come in handy for the weekend. “Der Stubentiger,” or the room tiger, is a common way to talk about a cat in German – although the most common word is of course “die Katze”. Your furry feline friend probably thinks she rules the house, so this German word is a very apt way of describing her. Except Germans who call turtles shield-toads. Well of course a turtle and a toad look the same – said no one ever.
#COMON USED GERMAN WORDS IN ENGLISH FULL#
It represents a full meal of multiple courses. And watch out, a German “Menü” is something rather different. It is what an English speaker would mean by the word menu. “Speisekarte” literally means dish card and is a list of dishes served by the restaurant. What do headlights do? Well, they throw shine of course! So if you hear Germans talking about “Scheinwerfer” (literally shine-thrower) they do not mean some kind of crazy person throwing lights around. So try to remember next time you turn on your tap in the kitchen, you may be toying with some kind of weird little rooster. But who knows why this word literally means a water rooster. Here’s another one of these times when the German language proves it’s not always the most logical one. One of those that often looks like it’s going to fall apart completely. But mainly when speaking about an old, rusty bike. A wire-donkey? In German, you would actually use this word to talk about a bike. Knowing that “Draht” means wire and “Esel” means donkey doesn’t really help you understand what “der Drahtesel” is supposed to be. Let’s review 15 of those most German words and expressions. Germans have always constructed words with implacable logic… although sometimes the combinations of words are more than questionable.
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