German TV usually doesn’t censor bad words, but in some areas (especially the Bavarian Catholic areas) curse words can still be inappropriate in mixed company. Some researchers think that this may be tied to the fact that as children non-native speakers never experienced that strong emotional taboo reaction from adults around curse words, and therefore do not feel the curse words as strongly as native speakers do.įor this reason, it’s important to listen carefully to native speakers’ usage before trying these words out for yourself. When first starting out with a language, second-language speakers can sometimes overuse or use stronger curse words too flippantly.
Similar to the English “yo mama,” an all-purpose response meaning something like “p*ss off” is the purposefully misspelled (to sound like a low-class accent) Deine Mudda! Your mother goes to town (i.e., a prostitute in the city). You mother is so fat that when she stands on the scales it shows her cellular phone number. Your mother is so fat that when she was lying on a beach Greenpeace threw her into the water.ĭeine Mudda ist so dick, dass wenn sie sich wiegt, auf der Waage ihre Handynummer steht.
We won’t spend any time on why these insults are so popular cross-culturally, but suffice it to say that young German speakers have recently begun to appreciate especially inventive descriptions of how someone’s mother is less than perfect.ĭeine Mutter schuldet dir noch zehn Euro.ĭeine Mutter ist so fett sie legte sich an den Strand und Greenpeace schmiss sie ins Meer! German English equivalent Literal meaning Vulgarity level Fick dich f*ck you high Fick dich ins Knie go f*ck yourself high Ich würde mich lieber ins Knie ficken I’d rather go f*ck myself I’d rather go f*ck my knees high Du blöde Kuh you stupid cow medium Du Weichei you sissy/wimp mild Leck mich (am Arsch) kiss my a*s lick me (on the butt) medium Küss meinen Arsch kiss my a*s kiss my butt medium Du kannst mich mal bite me / go f*ck yourself you can _ me! medium (Du) Hurensohn son of a btch / bstard high Verpiss dich p*ss off medium Halt maul / die + Fresse / Schnauze / Klappe shut the f*ck up shut yours / shut your + face / mouth medium Fahr zur Hölle go f*ck yourself drive to hell medium The Universal Language of “Yo Mama” Insults
Many of these insults are not for the feeble-hearted, but your German pals may let you get away with them if you say them jokingly after you’ve drunk ein paar Biere.
One of the most common bad words in German, scheiße, has several creative constructions that mirror the English use of “sh*t.”į_cking sh_t / godd_mmit / motherf_cker Multi-Word Magic: Full Phrases German English equivalent Literal meaning Vulgarity level Scheiße (scheisse) sh*t excrement mild/medium Mist crap/dang manure mild Arschloch a*shole medium Schlampe b*tch wh*re high Fotze cnt/motherfcker high Miststück btch/bstard rascal medium verdammt godd*mmit mild Spasti dumba*s spazz medium Ficker f*cker high spießig square/uptight bourgeois mild Blödsinn bullsh*t medium Quatsch bullcrap nonsense mild Depp idiot/moron mild Scheiße You may recognize some of these swears due to their English counterparts in many cases the literal translation is the same as in English. Our aim is to provide factually correct information about the usage of German curse words as a naturalistic human behavior to aid German learners in understanding authentic German, which in some cases may be graphic or offensive in their reference to religion, sexuality, or violence.* * WARNING: As you may imagine, some German curse words and their translations are very vulgar. Be careful using these around children, co-workers, or elders! NOTE: Although in some German-speaking areas curses are commonly used in front of children or older family members, the vulgarity level listed here is representative of conversation between adults in informal situations. Studying German curse words won’t even feel like studying – we promise! So if you’re ready to take a break from all of that responsible learning and have some fun, take a look at these popular expletives and insults. Despite sounding quite harsh and intimidating, German swears are easy to remember once you learn their literal translations and even more fun to say. While bad words are used commonly in conversation among native German speakers, you probably won’t find them in a vocabulary lesson in your textbook or online course.