German
German speaking countries
Expression USED Frequently BY Almost Everyone
(built close to the water) • Somebody who cries easily.
Susi ist nah am Wasser gebaut - sie weint bei jedem Film.
Susi is built close to the water - she cries during every movie.
Submitted June 2021 by anonymous
German
German speaking countries
Word USED On Occasion BY Most People
(air castles) • An unrealiatic dream or fantasy, pipe dream.
"Deine Pläne sind alles nur Luftschlösser."
"Your plans are all just air castles."
Submitted June 2021 by anonymous
German
German speaking countries
Expression USED Frequently BY Everyone
(snow from yesterday) • Something that is no longer relevant. Often used to demonstrate forgiveness. Roughly corresponds to English "water under the bridge".
"Sorry, dass ich letztes Mal auf dich vergessen habe!" "Das ist doch Schnee von gestern!"
"I'm sorry that I forgot you last time!" "It's snow from yesterday!"
Submitted June 2021 by lechnermichi
German
German speaking countries
Expression USED Frequently BY Almost Everyone
(at the ass of the world) • In the back of beyond, in the middle of nowhere, in the boondocks.
"Lass uns nach Hintertupfingen umziehen. " "Nein, das liegt ja am Arsch der Welt!"
"Let's move to Podunk." "No, that's in the middle of nowhere!"
German
| Austrian Dialect
Austria
Idiom USED On Occasion BY Everyone
(had I, did I, would I) • Similar to "woulda, coulda, shoulda", this phrase is used to dismiss hypothetical thoughts of what could have been.
"Wann i gwusst hätt, dass so staut, wär i früher losgfahren!" "Hätti, wari, dadi!"
"If I had known there would be this much traffic, I'd left earlier!" "Had I, did I, would I!"
Submitted February 2021 by lechnermichi
Idiom USED Very frequently BY Young people who menstruate
(strawberry week) • To have one’s ‘strawberry week’ means that one is currently menstruating.
“Ich möchte heute nicht mitkommen, mir geht’s heute nicht so gut.” “Oh, was ist los?” “Erdbeerwoche.”
“I don’t want to come with today, I’m not feeling well.” “Oh, what’s up?” “Strawberry week.”
Expression USED On Occasion BY Everyone
(Frequently pejorative) term for something common, unsurprising, boring or dull. It is believed to come from WWI machine gun MG 08/15.
"Lass dir was besseres einfallen, der Anmachspruch ist so 08/15"
"Come up with something better, that pick-up line is so 08/15"
Submitted December 2020 by lechnermichi
German
German speaking countries
jemand hat nicht mehr alle Tassen im Schrank
Expression USED Frequently BY Everybody
(someone doesn't have all cups in the cupboard) • When you want to tell someone that they are mad/crazy/insane.
''Ich habe meinem Mann verziehen, obwohl er mich zweimal betrogen hat.'' "Was? Hast du nicht mehr alle Tassen im Schrank?"
''I have forgiven my husband even though he cheated on me twice.'' ''What? Don't you have all cups in the cupboard?''
Standard Phrase USED On Occasion BY Almost Everyone
(it's sausage to me) • It's used when expressing that you don't care about something.
"Was willst du tun?" "Das ist mir Wurst"
"What do you want to do?" "That's sausage to me."
German
German speaking countries
nicht mehr alle Tassen im Schrank haben
Expression USED On Occasion BY Elderly people, Baby Boomers, Hipsters, People who make fun of it
(not to have all cups in the cupboard anymore) • to be or do something crazy or out of your mind It’s the english equivalent of having a screw loose.
„Du bist bei Rot über die Kreuzung gefahren? Du hast ja nicht mehr alle Tassen im Schrank!“
„You ran over a red traffic light? You don‘t have cups in your cabinet!“
Submitted November 2020 by anonymous
German
German speaking countries
Slang USED Frequently BY Almost Everyone
References to a person who likes to report everything to admins, cops etc.
"Waren wieder Meldemuschis unterwegs."
"Seems that there were reporterpussiess around."
Submitted November 2020 by anonymous
German
German speaking countries
Slang USED Very frequently BY Young People
(n.) • (fat one) • Form of “Dicker” (fat one). Used to refer to any person, or as an interjection.
“Digga, lass nach der Schule zum Penny gehen”
“Fat one, let's go to the Penny after school”
die Augen waren größer als der Bauch
Standard Phrase USED On Rare Occasion BY Mostly middle aged people
(the eyes were bigger than the belly) • Usually used when someone bought or put more food on their plate than they could eat because they were hungry and therefore thought they could eat more than they actually could. It can be an accusation that they wasted food.
„Das kann ich nicht mehr essen, ich bin so satt!“ „Deine Augen waren größer als dein Bauch.“
„I can't eat that anymore, I’m so full!“ „Your eyes were bigger than your belly.“
German
German speaking countries
Emoji USED On Occasion BY Some People
When you wish someone good luck in German you would say "Ich drücke dir die Daumen", which literally means "I'll press my thumbs for you". Because of that, 🤞 ("I'll keep my fingers crossed") isn't used to wish good luck (in German 🤞 means that you are lying). We rather use ✊ which stands for the thumbs pressed.
"Viel Glück bei der Prüfung! Ich drücke dir die Daumen ✊!"
"Good luck for the exam! I'll press my thumbs for you ✊!"
Submitted October 2020 by languagenerd
Slang USED On Rare Occasion BY Young People
(n.) • It’s an abbreviation for “Mensch Ohne Freunde” (Person without friends) and is usually used as a joke among friends when you’re in a situation all by yourself.
“Ich war die einzige, die da war. Ich habe mich wie ein Mof gefühlt.”
"I’m the only one who was there. I felt like a Mof."
Word USED On Occasion BY Some People
(n.) • (double chin holder) • Used to jokingly refer to a face mask, as people often wear their masks below their chin so they can pull it up over their mouth and nose quickly when needed. But this looks as if they are using it as a holder for their double chin.
"Guck mal! Da ist wieder jemand mit Doppelkinnhalter."
"Look! There's another person wearing a double chin holder."
Submitted October 2020 by melanie
Word USED On Occasion BY Most People
(n.) • (face beautifier) • Used ironically during the coronavirus pandemic to express that wearing the face mask makes us look more beautiful ("face beautifier"). In Germany it is illegal to use the official name (Mund-Nasen-Schutz = mouth-nose-protection, only to use for professional and certified medical products) for our homemade masks (especially when they are sold to others). So we created some other funny names for it.
"Einen Moment, bitte, ich muss erst meine Gesichtsverschönerung anziehen."
"One second, please, I need to put on my face beautifier first."
Slang USED On Occasion BY mostly young people
(n.) • (bull) • a rather insulting term used to refer to a police officer, often used similar to the word „cop“ in English
"Ich rufe die Bullen."
"I‘m calling the bulls."
Expression USED On Occasion BY Everyone
(to gain a tooth ) • To do something faster.
"Du bist so langsam, leg mal einen Zahn zu!"
"You're so slow, gain a tooth!"
Expression USED Frequently BY Everyone
(to have pig ) • To be lucky that something didn't happen.
"Ich hätte nicht gedacht, dass ich es vor dem Regen schaffe. Aber ich habs geschafft!" "Da hast du ja Schwein gehabt!"
"I really thought I would not make it before the rain, but I made it!" "You really had pig!"
