Life & Leisure - German is Weird

Schnapsidee

If you ever texted your ex at 3 a.m. after you have just recovered from the breakup, you know that ideas you have under heavy alcohol influence are rarely worth imitating.

Jein

“Did you watch the German national team game yesterday” – “Jein. I left the TV on. But my Tinder date came to visit, so I didn’t catch that much of it.”

Wollmaus

Germans spend around two and a half hours a week cleaning their homes. That doesn’t quite live up to their reputation as cleanliness fanatics.

Mahlzeit

It’s an expression that I can hardly believe has survived into the present day because it sounds so utterly bizarre. Nevertheless, you still hear it from time to time, especially in larger companies.

Bergfest

For the Oktoberfest, Germans have to wait a whole year. So it helps a lot that there is a festivity that they can celebrate every week, all without being forced to wear Dirndl and Lederhosen.

Glückspilz

What does a German actually need to be happy? According to a study from 2020, the job is the most important factor—how could it be any different?

Verschlimmbessern: German has an extra word for “making something worse by trying to improve it,” and I think every language in the world needs something like this!

If you haven’t had an idea of what “verschlimmbessern” means—just think about the introduction of the Video Assistant Referee in soccer that wiped out a lot of the emotions without really making the game any more fair after all.

Karteileiche

I still get mail once a year from the dental clinic I last visited about 10 years ago. For this doctor’s office, I am a typical Karteileiche today.

Heimscheißer

For such a precise-sounding term, the word Heimscheißer is remarkably versatile. On the most basic level, it simply describes what it says: a person who prefers to do their number 2’s at home.

Arschbombe

Cannonball jump: the diving style that gives chubby people some bragging rights during summer season.

Schwalbe!

or other nations, soccer is a game of physical elegance and athletic artistry. For Germans, Fußball is basically 22 men working their butts off.

Fremdenverkehr

If there was just one German word that should be stripped from all dictionaries rather sooner than later: “Fremdenverkehr” should be the one.

Klugscheißer

Klugscheißen is a true national sport in Germany. To be honest, it is hard to have a conversation with a German without them correcting you every 10 seconds.

Spendierhosen

The expression is born of a joking idea that generosity is not a matter of character, but of the pants you are wearing and the tailor who created them.

Feierabend

To many people, Germany is synonymous with diligence and productivity. Yet we don’t work any more than other Europeans—at least when calculated by time.