Kummerspeck
December 20, 2025
I am sure we have all had our fair share of painful breakups. More often than not, the grief is so strong that it moves from the soul into the body and becomes apparent in the form of drastic weight changes.
The “German is weird” book is now available:
order here
I am sure we have all had our fair share of painful breakups. More often than not, the grief is so strong that it moves from the soul into the body and becomes apparent in the form of drastic weight changes.
This beautiful word does not have its origins in the German after-work party culture, but was originally used for the evening before a public holiday, until it was reinterpreted in the 16th century.
Your bargain just got pricier. You drove 120 km for a half-price haircut, then fed your savings to the fuel pump and a roadside bratwurst. That, dear spreadsheet romantics, is a textbook Milchmädchenrechnung!
Imagine you have a very promising date—but instead of being full of anticipation, you feel strangely stressed, almost paralyzed. That’s the kind of anxiety that Germans call “Muffensausen”
Everyone knows these little chocolates that you sometimes find on hotel beds. That’s exactly what is called a Betthupferl. And it is certainly not an invention of the German Dental Association.
Nearly 12 million Germans belong to a fitness club. Many of them demonstrate an iron German discipline, never leaving the gym until they have completed their third set of selfies.
Germans are said to be quite small-minded people who will break out in sweat if everything is not in perfect order. This is reflected in a plethora of German words for people with this character trait.
German LKW just don’t look as badass as American trucks. Plus, they tend to block the roads with lengthy and completely out-of-place overtaking maneuvers just when I want to get home quickly because I have Flitzkacke.
Like everywhere else in the world, politicians in Germany are often compared to animals—and not always in the most flattering way. But every four years, when we call the grandees of the political parties “elephants,” it’s not meant as an insult.
For instance, if a colleague gets a higher wage or more interesting tasks because he’s a personal friend of your boss, the rest of the company will rightfully accuse him of getting “Extrawürste”
This blog is a love letter to the curiosities of the German language that give it its poetic and, at times, oddly humorous qualities.
The “German Is Weird” book is now available: order here!
