Home
Weirdest
A-Z
Categories
Buy Book
About
Imprint

Home
Weirdest
A-Z
Categories
Buy Book
About
Imprint

Day: April 20, 2025

Eisprung

Non-native-speaking women in Germany should not be surprised when they are asked questions like “when did you have your last egg jump” at the gynecologist.

More weirdness on instagram

A fun fact in this context: The word “Kumpir”, whi

A fun fact in this context: The word “Kumpir”, which is used in Turkish and Serbo-Croatian for a baked potato, is probably derived from the word “Grundbeere” (“ground berry”), which became “Grumbeere” in south-west German dialects 🥔🤓
#kartoffel
#kartoffeln
#germanlanguage
#sprichwörter
#deutschsprichwörter
#funnywords
#learngerman
#unnützeswissen
#deutschesprache
#deutschespracheschweresprache
#germanisweird
#languagefacts
#languagelover
#languagenerd
#advancedgerman

I often feel “pulled over the table” when my Strom

I often feel “pulled over the table” when my Stromrechnung looks like I'm running a nightclub in my living room...
#germanlanguage
#sprichwörter
#deutschsprichwörter
#funnywords
#learngerman
#unnützeswissen
#deutschesprache
#deutschespracheschweresprache
#germanisweird
#languagefacts
#languagelover
#languagenerd
#advancedgerman

As in: “Sorry I made out with your crush” - ”Ach,

As in: “Sorry I made out with your crush” - ”Ach, Schwamm drüber. Let’s have a drink!”
It’s roughly equivalent to when English speaking people say “no hard feelings.” But it has an even stronger “let’s pretend it never happened and be cool with each other“ feel to it.
#schwammdrüber
#germanlanguage
#sprichwörter
#deutschsprichwörter
#funnywords
#learngerman
#unnützeswissen
#deutschesprache
#deutschespracheschweresprache
#germanisweird
#languagefacts
#languagelover
#languagenerd
#advancedgerman

Sorry to my fellow Germans, but some things need t

Sorry to my fellow Germans, but some things need to be said 😝
#germanlanguage
#sprichwörter
#deutschsprichwörter
#funnywords
#learngerman
#unnützeswissen
#deutschesprache
#deutschespracheschweresprache
#germanisweird
#languagefacts
#languagelover
#languagenerd
#advancedgerman

„Warum rülpset und furzet ihr nicht? Hat es euch n

„Warum rülpset und furzet ihr nicht? Hat es euch nicht geschmacket?“, famous Protestant reformer Martin Luther once said in a famous table speech, which translates to “why didn’t you burp and fart? Didn’t you like it?” This shows that burping in public has not always been considered a rude custom of peasant society.
However, in today’s Germany, there is only one situation in which there is applause for a burp: when a mother pats her baby on the back—and he properly does his “Bäuerchen.” 👶

For instance, when your German boss tries to fire

For instance, when your German boss tries to fire you without consulting the Betriebsrat, he has "made the bill without the innkeeper."
#germanlanguage
#sprichwörter
#deutschsprichwörter
#funnywords
#learngerman
#unnützeswissen
#deutschesprache
#deutschespracheschweresprache
#germanisweird
#languagefacts
#languagelover
#languagenerd
#advancedgerman

Do you know any other examples? 🤓 #germanlanguage

Do you know any other examples? 🤓
#germanlanguage
#sprichwörter
#deutschsprichwörter
#funnywords
#learngerman
#unnützeswissen
#deutschesprache
#deutschespracheschweresprache
#germanisweird
#languagefacts
#languagelover
#languagenerd
#advancedgerman

One theory about the background that I came across

One theory about the background that I came across: In thawing weather, the breaking loose of ground ice causes rumbling noises. These are supposed to be comparable to the rumbling of the intestines when you have diarrhea. Hence the link between ground ice and a human rear end. Well then... 💩
#germanlanguage
#sprichwörter
#deutschsprichwörter
#funnywords
#learngerman
#unnützeswissen
#deutschesprache
#deutschespracheschweresprache
#germanisweird
#languagefacts
#languagelover
#languagenerd

Not sure if everybody knows No. 3, but I heard it

Not sure if everybody knows No. 3, but I heard it quite often when I was younger...
#germanlanguage
#sprichwörter
#deutschsprichwörter
#funnywords
#learngerman
#unnützeswissen
#deutschesprache
#deutschespracheschweresprache
#germanisweird
#languagefacts
#languagelover
#languagenerd

The word has been around since the 16th century an

The word has been around since the 16th century and originally referred to the final reprieve given to a delinquent before his execution... But then again: Is this really more pleasant than your mother in law’s visit..?
#germanlanguage
#sprichwörter
#deutschsprichwörter
#funnywords
#learngerman
#unnützeswissen
#deutschesprache
#deutschespracheschweresprache
#germanisweird
#languagefacts
#languagelover
#languagenerd
#advancedgerman

This phrase literally translates to “We've always

This phrase literally translates to “We've always done it this way,“ but it actually means something like „Shut the hell up, I’ve been working longer in this company than you, so keep your comments to yourself for God’s sake!“
#germanlanguage
#learngerman
#unnützeswissen
#deutschesprache
#languagefacts
#languagelover
#languagenerd
#digitalisierung

To be precise, booze is not the only thing you can

To be precise, booze is not the only thing you can be “Oberkante Unterlippe” of. You can also say something like: “Ich habe zu viel Arbeit - ich bin Oberkante Unterlippe mit Stress!“ 😵🤯
#oberkanteunterlippe
#germanlanguage
#sprichwörter
#deutschsprichwörter
#funnywords
#learngerman
#unnützeswissen
#deutschesprache
#germanisweird
#languagefacts
#languagelover
#languagenerd

As in: "Du willst Sonntags Deinen Rasen mähen? Ich

As in: "Du willst Sonntags Deinen Rasen mähen? Ich glaub mein Schwein Pfeifft!" ("You want to mow the lawn on a Sunday? I think my pig is whistling!").
It is often used by the older / boomer generation as a way to say something like "You've got to be kidding me!"
#ichglaubmeinschweinpfeift
#germanlanguage
#sprichwörter
#deutschsprichwörter
#funnywords
#learngerman
#unnützeswissen
#deutschesprache
#deutschespracheschweresprache
#germanisweird
#languagefacts
#languagelover
#languagenerds

Do you know any other examples of German words wit

Do you know any other examples of German words with surprising backstories?
#germanlanguage
#turkishlanguage
#türkischesprache
#Türkdili
#funnywords
#learngerman
#unnützeswissen
#deutschesprache
#deutschespracheschweresprache
#germanisweird
#languagefacts
#languagelover
#languagenerds

„Lebst Du immer noch im Hotel Mama?“ - That’s what

„Lebst Du immer noch im Hotel Mama?“ - That’s what a German will ask you if you are still sleeping in your Kinderzimmer in your late 20s…
#germanlanguage
#sprichwörter
#deutschsprichwörter
#funnywords
#learngerman
#unnützeswissen
#deutschesprache
#deutschespracheschweresprache
#germanisweird
#languagefacts
#languagelover
#languagenerds

It’s similar to saying “two peas in a pod” or “thi

It’s similar to saying “two peas in a pod” or “thick as thieves” in English.
#einkopfundeinarsch
#germanlanguage
#sprichwörter
#deutschsprichwörter
#funnywords
#learngerman
#unnützeswissen
#deutschesprache
#deutschespracheschweresprache
#germanisweird
#languagefacts
#languagelover
#languagenerds

What's the word you use in your region...? #germ

What's the word you use in your region...?
#germanlanguage
#sprichwörter
#deutschsprichwörter
#funnywords
#learngerman
#unnützeswissen
#deutschesprache
#deutschespracheschweresprache
#germanisweird
#languagefacts
#languagelover
#languagenerds

To my East German friends out there: Are there any

To my East German friends out there: Are there any other words that come to your mind?
#tagderdeutscheneinheit
#germanunityday
#ddr
#ostalgie
#broiler
#germanlanguage
#funnywords
#learngerman
#unnützeswissen
#deutschesprache
#deutschespracheschweresprache
#germanisweird
#languagefacts
#languagelover
#languagenerds

For instance, when you congratulate a woman on her

For instance, when you congratulate a woman on her pregnancy and then find out she’s not expecting a child, she just turned a little chubby 🙈🙈🙈🙈
It’s the rough equivalent to the English expression "to put your foot in your mouth."
#fettnäpfchen
#germanlanguage
#sprichwörter
#deutschsprichwörter
#funnywords
#learngerman
#unnützeswissen
#deutschesprache
#deutschespracheschweresprache
#germanisweird
#languagefacts
#languagelover
#languagenerds

So you clearly haven’t been friendzoned when a wom

So you clearly haven’t been friendzoned when a woman calls you „mein Freund“ 😉🔥
Basically, the rule is that „mein Freund“ / „ihr Freund“ means „my partner / her partner“, whereas „ein Freund“ means „a friend“.
The same rules applies to „Freundin,“ and it does not matter if we are talking about straight or gay couples.

As in: "Jetzt aber mal Butter bei die Fische: Was

As in: "Jetzt aber mal Butter bei die Fische: Was ging gestern Abend noch zwischen Dir und Deiner Kollegin?" ("Now, butter with the fish! What happened between you and your coworker last night?")
It's a rough equivalent to the english expression "let's cut to the chase!"
#butterbeidiefische
#germanlanguage
#sprichwörter
#deutschsprichwörter
#funnywords
#learngerman
#unnützeswissen
#deutschesprache
#deutschespracheschweresprache
#germanisweird
#languagefacts
#languagelover
#languagenerds

Great, now I will get six months of annoying onlin

Great, now I will get six months of annoying online ads for baby carriages and rompers for researching this... 🙄
#vornamen
#crazynames
#germanlanguage
#sprichwörter
#deutschsprichwörter
#funnywords
#learngerman
#unnützeswissen
#deutschesprache
#deutschespracheschweresprache
#germanisweird
#languagefacts
#languagelover
#languagenerds

You can roughly compare it to the English expressi

You can roughly compare it to the English expression "live like a pig in clover" 🐷🍀
#wiediemadeimspeck
#germanlanguage
#sprichwörter
#deutschsprichwörter
#funnywords
#learngerman
#unnützeswissen
#deutschesprache
#deutschespracheschweresprache
#germanisweird
#languagefacts
#languagelover
#languagenerds

You can compare it to the phrase "So, what else is

You can compare it to the phrase "So, what else is new?" that an English speaking person might ask to avoid painful silence 😉
#undsonstso
#peinlichestille
#smalltalk
#germanlanguage
#sprichwörter
#deutschsprichwörter
#funnywords
#learngerman
#unnützeswissen
#deutschesprache
#deutschespracheschweresprache
#germanisweird
#languagefacts
#languagelover
#languagenerds

It's almost exclusively used in negated form, "nic

It's almost exclusively used in negated form, "nicht das Gelbe vom Ei," which is a rough equivalent to the English expression "it's nothing to write home about"
#dasgelbevomei
#germanlanguage
#sprichwörter
#deutschsprichwörter
#funnywords
#learngerman
#unnützeswissen
#deutschesprache
#deutschespracheschweresprache
#germanisweird
#languagefacts
#languagelover
#languagenerds

Unless you are completely insane, you would probab

Unless you are completely insane, you would probably hyphenate the word (Zoo-Oologe) in real-life use. However, "Zoooologe" without the hyphen is totally correct by German spelling rules.
Unfortunately, this seems to be the only sensible way to fit 4 successive identical characters into one German word. That’s because there is no word known that starts with ee, ii or uu. There are some words with a double a at the beginning, like "Aas" (carrion) or "Aal" (eel), but none ending with it. If you want to be totally crazy however, you could take the word "Aa", which is children’s speech for poop, and put it before Aal, thus creating a poop eel ("Aaaal").
#zoooologe
#oologie
#germanlanguage
#funnywords
#sprichwörter
#deutschsprichwörter
#learngerman
#unnützeswissen
#deutschesprache
#deutschespracheschweresprache
#germanisweird
#languagefacts
#languagelover
#languagenerds

Follow on Instagram