nu

From Middle High German nu, nuo. The form without a final -n remained common in some dialects and was reinforced by German Low German nu, from Middle Low German nû.

(colloquial or archaic) Alternative form of nun


nu

From a Slavic dialect, probably Sorbian. Compare Czech ano (“yes”), Polish no (“yeah; well”), Russian ну (nu, “yeah; well”). In the sense of a filled pause touching on etymology 1 above.

(colloquial, regional, Saxony) yes; yeah; expresses agreement or understanding

(colloquial, regional, Saxony) well; fills pause


o

Sei gegrüßet, o Du mein Jesu! Mit tieftster Demuth bete ich Dich an und verehre Dich!

1843, Gallus Schwab, Gebetbuch für katholische Christen, Bamberg, page 45:


also

From Middle High German alles, from Old High German also, alsō (“as, like”); equivalent to all + so. Cognate with English also, as.

Ich würde gerne spazieren. Also, los geht's!

I would like to take a walk. Alright, let's go!

alright (Indicates agreement with something.)

Also, was sollen wir zu Abend essen?

so (Used as a lead-in or to start a new topic.)

Das ist nicht wichtig. Also, wie ich bereits sagte, es kommt auf den Preis an.

That's not important. As I said before, the price matters.

Used to resume an interrupted train of thought.

Schmeckt dir die Suppe? Nein, also ich hasse sie!

An intensifier, indicates an emotional connection to the statement.


nicht

common speech; quasi-standard in northern and central Germany; alternations as above

From Middle High German niwiht, niweht, niht, a contracted form of Old High German niowiht, from nio (“never”) + wiht (“being, creature”), the last from Proto-Germanic *wihtą.

nich (alternative)
nich' (alternative)
net (alternative Austria Southern-Germany colloquial Austria colloquial southern-Germany)
nit (alternative Austria Southern-Germany colloquial Austria colloquial southern-Germany)

Du bist sicher die Claudia, nicht?

(tag question, dated or formal) right?; is it?; is it not?


hi

Borrowed from English hi, from 1990s digitalization.


so

From Middle High German sō, from Old High German sō, from Proto-West Germanic *swā, from Proto-Germanic *swa, *swē, compare with Old Dutch so and Dutch zo.

So, das sind die Entscheidungen der größten Gelehrten über die doch nicht ganz unwichtige Frage, wie eine der Sprachen auszusprechen sei, in der jahraus jahrein in Deutschland gutgezählte 50 000 junge Menschenkinder unterrichtet werden.
Trotz jenen Entscheidungen ist natürlich noch lange nicht daran zu denken, daß dem Unfug einer als gänzlich falsch erkannten Aussprache des Griechischen ein Ende gesetzt wäre. Der Schlendrian wird auf diesem Gebiete des Schulwesens wohl ebenso lange dauern, wie auf vielen andern; denn bequem ist allerdings jener Schlendrian, nur wissenschaftlich ist er nicht, und unbrauchbar für das Leben ist er obendrein. Die Beseitigung des Schlendrians werde ich wohl nicht mehr erleben, auch dann nicht, wenn Plato selber aus der Asche auferstünde und die deutschen Schulmänner die richtige Aussprache lehrte. Sie würden ihm beweisen, daß er sich irre: er habe in den mehr als zwei Jahrtausenden seit seinem Tode gewiß die richtige Aussprache vergessen; sie aber, die deutschen Oberlehrer und Direktoren, kennten sie ganz genau: sie wäre buchstäblich so wie das Neuhochdeutsche des 20. Jahrhunderts gewesen.

1887, Eduard Engel, Griechische Frühlingstage, 4th, purer edition, Radebeul bei Dresden: Haupt & Hammon, published 1927, page 361:

So these are the reckonings of the greatest scholars about the not quite insignificant question how one of the languages which is taught to about 50 000 young lads per annum should be pronounced.
In spite of these reckonings by far it is not to think that this buffoonery of an utterly wrong pronunciation of Greek would come to an end. The litherness in this field of schooling will last as long as in many others; for convenient it is forsooth, but scientific it is not, and devoid of use for life ’tis on top. The elimination of this litherness I will not be an observer of in my lifetime, even if Plato himself were to rise from his ashes and teach the pedants the right pronunciation. They would shew him his being at fault: he surely has forgot the right pronunciation; but them, the senior and head teachers know it very well; it would be literally like the New High German of the 20th century.

discourse marker
discourse marker#English

(colloquial) a discourse marker in the beginning of a sentence indicating a topic having been dealt with and another being tackled


servus

An ellipsis from the commoners’ greeting once said to feudal lords, "servus humillimus [, Domine spectabilis]", in Latin meaning "(I am your) most humble servant[, (O/my) noble lord]".

(chiefly Southern Germany, Austria, informal) hello, hi

(chiefly Southern Germany, Austria, informal) goodbye, bye, farewell


ia

iah (alternative)
yah (alternative obsolete)


hier

From Middle High German hier, from Old High German hier, from Proto-West Germanic *hēr. Cognate with Dutch hier, English here, Swedish här.
The predominant form in Middle High German and throughout modern dialects of High German is hie (and variants) with loss of the final -r. The form hier began to gain ground from the late 16th century (in spite of Luther’s usage), which may point to influence by cognate Middle Low German hīr, hēr (where no r-less form seems to exist; but compare modern Limburgish heej).

Hier, der Markus ist doch jetzt auch verheiratet, ne?

Hey, wait, Markus is married now, too, isn't he?

(colloquial) Used for emphasis or to call for attention, often when changing the subject


put

(usually repeated several times) chook (call used to attract chickens)


sorry

[…]Armin Laschet und Olaf Scholz wollen vor allem die alte BRD bewahren und die Methode Merkel mit, sorry, schwächeren Mitteln prolongieren; […]

2020 December 24, Bernd Ulrich, “Das Jahr, in dem die Normalität zu Ende ging”, in Die Zeit:


wallah

Borrowed from Arabic وَٱللّٰه (wal-lāh, “I swear by God”), likely via Turkish valla.


ah

From Middle High German ā, from Old High German a, ah, from Proto-West Germanic *a, *ah. Cognate with Middle Low German a, Middle English a, aa, ah (whence English ah).


ha

Expresses surprise or a sudden sensation.


Perhaps from an unstressed form of nu. Compare also Swedish nå, Russian ну (nu), Finnish no, and their cognates.

Na, dann fangen wir mal an!

Ich bin ein Narr? Na, du auch!

well!, so!; used to introduce a statement

Na, das ist ja nett, dass ihr vorbeikommt!

Na? Ob das so stimmt...

Na! Warum will das denn jetzt wieder nicht?

Och! Why does this thing not work yet again?

Na toll! Kein Empfang.

oh, hm, huh, och, nu; expressing a (usually mild) degree of surprise, doubt, or frustration

Was ist zwei plus drei? Na?

(regional, chiefly northern and central Germany) huh?; used as a question marker, often implying that the speaker knows the answer

Na! Lang nicht gesehen!

Na! Wie geht’s?

(regional, chiefly northern and central Germany) hey!, hi!; used as a greeting, but with an interrogative intonation, as if saying “So? You see me there?”, or “So? How is everything?”


Na. Das geht net.

(regional, chiefly southern Germany and Austria) Alternative form of nein (“no”)


gut

Inherited from Middle High German guot, from Old High German guot, from Proto-West Germanic *gōd, from Proto-Germanic *gōdaz, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ- (“to unite, be associated, suit”).
Cognates
Cognate to Luxembourgish gutt, Silesian East Central German gutt, Dutch goed, West Frisian goed, Saterland Frisian goud, English good, Danish god, Norwegian god and Swedish god.

der

Gut, dann fangen wir mal an.


baba

A link of the term with the English bye-bye is possible but not certain.

(informal, Austria) bye-bye, see you, so long


hallo

Originally used as a call to the ferryman on the other side of the bank; related to Old High German holā, emphatic imperative of holōn (“to fetch, used especially in hailing a ferryman”), from Proto-West Germanic *holōn (“to fetch”). Also see French holà (“hey! stop!”).

hello (a general greeting used when meeting someone)


echt

From Middle High German echt, borrowed from Middle Low German echt (“lawful, genuine”). The original form is Middle Low German ēhaft (“lawful”), from ē (“law”) (related to modern Ehe); then ēhacht by the Low German development -ft- → -cht- (compare Nichte); and eventually contracted into echt. Cognate to Old High German ēhaft (“honourable”) and Dutch echt.

"Ich lebe erst seit 2 Jahren in Deutschland." "Echt? Du sprichst sehr gut Deutsch."

"I've only been living in Germany for 2 years." "Really? Your German is very good."

expresses disbelief or shock at new information


ei

For the “caressing” sense compare Dutch aaien.

(childish, parentese, often reduplicated as ei ei) said when patting or caressing a person or animal


los

Inherited from Middle High German and Old High German lōs. Compare English loose.

regionally; chiefly as interjection or when meaning “going on”

Los! An die Arbeit!


ach

Danish: ah

Norwegian Bokmål: ah, a

Yiddish: אַך (akh)

From Middle High German ach, from Old High German ah.

Zwey Seelen wohnen, ach! in meiner Brust, / Die eine will sich von der andern trennen;

1808, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, “Vor dem Thor”, in Faust: Der Tragödie erster Teil [Faust, Part One]; republished as Bayard Taylor, transl., 1870:

Two souls, alas! reside within my breast, / And each withdraws from, and repels, its brother.

oh, alas (expressing surprise, sorrow, or understanding)

oh (preceding an offhand or annoyed remark)

oh (preceding an invocation or address, but rarely a solemn one)


auf

From Middle High German ūf, from Old High German ūf, from Proto-Germanic *upp. This form with a lengthened vowel is originally Upper German. Central German forms were Middle High German uf and (western) up. Compare Dutch op, Low German op, Luxembourgish op, English up.

auff (alternative obsolete)
uf (alternative)
uff (alternative)

carry on (continue or proceed as before)


nix

A widespread form in dialects all over the German language area, probably the same as standard nichts, that is, a contraction of it.

Nix! Jetzt ist Schluss hier!


zurück

zurück! (canonical)
zurük (alternative obsolete)
zurüke (alternative obsolete)

Middle High German zerucke; zu- + Rücken; the former was zuo, zū, ze and the latter was rücke, rucke, rück, ruck, rügge, rugge in Middle High German.
Cognate with Hunsrik zurick, Low German torüch and Dutch terug.


danke

Ellipsis of ich danke dir (“I thank you”).


nein

From Middle High German nein, from a contraction of Old High German ni ein. Compare Old English nān, from ne ān (Modern English none, further contracted to no).

ne (alternative colloquial regional)
nee (alternative colloquial regional)
nö (alternative colloquial regional)
noi (alternative colloquial regional)
nä (alternative colloquial regional)
naa (alternative colloquial regional)

Hast du morgen Abend Zeit? — Nein, leider nicht.

“Do you have time tomorrow night?” — “No, unfortunately not.”


nee

Of dialectal origin, particularly German Low German nee (“no”). Cognate to Dutch nee, English no.

(colloquial, regional) Alternative form of nein (“no”)


ja

Austrian German, common in casual speech as an influence of the Austro-Bavarian language

From Middle High German ja, from Old High German ja, jā (“yes”), from Proto-Germanic *ja (“yes”).


Gesundheit

→ Dutch: gesundheit

→ English: gesundheit

Audio

From Middle High German gesuntheit. By surface analysis, gesund (“healthy”) + -heit (“-ness, -hood”). Compare Dutch gezondheid.

surf

bless you; gesundheit (response to someone’s sneezing)


nun

From Middle High German nu, nū, nuo with a secondary final -n, already occasionally in Middle High German nuon, from Old High German nu, from Proto-West Germanic *nū.

Nun, das ist eine schwierige Frage.


amen

Borrowed from Latin āmēn, from Ancient Greek ἀμήν (amḗn), from Hebrew אמן.


hüa

Onomatopoeic. Compare Dutch ju, French hue.

hü (alternative)
hüh (alternative)
hüah (alternative)

Hüa, Pferdchen!

(directed at a horse) giddyup!, move on!, go faster!


ciao

Borrowed from Italian ciao from Venetan ciao, ultimately from Latin sclavus. Doublet of Sklave and Slawe.


und

in numbers from 21 to 99, alternative de-facto standard

From Middle High German unde, from Old High German unti, from Proto-Germanic *andi, *anþi, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂énti. Compare Dutch en, English and, Danish end.

unnd (alternative obsolete)
unnt (alternative obsolete)
unt (alternative obsolete)
vnd (alternative obsolete)
vnnd (alternative obsolete)
vnnt (alternative obsolete)
vnt (alternative obsolete)

Und? Wie ist es gelaufen?


okay

ok (alternative)
OK (alternative)
o.k. (alternative)
O.K. (alternative)


guten Tag

[ˌɡuːtn̩ ˈtʰaːkʰ]

Short for ich wünsche einen guten Tag! (“I wish [you] a good day!”), hence the accusative form of the adjective. Compare Yiddish אַ גוטן טאָג (a gutn tog).

cog

אַ גוטן טאָג

hello; hullo; good day; good afternoon (greeting said when meeting or acknowledging someone)


moi

Moi, ist der Hase süß!

(Austria, colloquial) aw (Used to express affection.)


normal

Du hast mit zwölf schon geraucht? ― Normal.

(colloquial) sure, of course, obviously; usually implies that something is trivial


prosit

Borrowed from Latin prōsit (“may it be good”), the third-person singular present active subjunctive of prōsum (“be good”).

bor+

cheers (toast used when drinking in company)


prost

prost! (canonical)
prosit (alternative dated)

Contraction (early 18th c.) of prosit (16th c.), from Latin prōsit (“may it be beneficial”). Originally used as a blessing in various contexts, e.g. as a response to sneezing. Remnants of such freer use are prost Mahlzeit and prost Neujahr. Compare Dutch proost.

cheers (the usual toast when drinking alcohol)


jo

Alteration of ja (“yes”) or the respective dialectal cognates. Compare English yo, Swedish jo.

(colloquial, dialectal) yes, yeah, well; expresses agreement in a hesitant or ponderous manner.


jo

From the respective dialectal words for yes in about half of Northern and Central Germany and all of Western Germany (compare Low German ja, jo). Possibly from Proto-Germanic *ja (“yes, thus, so”), possibly from an unrecorded root. The form with /oː/ must have existed in the Middle Ages already, since the word often partakes in the same sound shifts as words with /oː/ from other sources, cf. Swedish jo, Middle English yo (> English yo).

(colloquial) yes; expresses firm agreement.


willkommen

→ Kashubian: wilkóm

Inherited from Middle High German willekomen, from Old High German willechomen, from Proto-Germanic *wiljakumô. Cognate to Dutch welkom, English welcome, Danish velkommen, and other Germanic forms. Cognate with Portuguese bem-vindo, French bienvenu, Italian benvenuto, Spanish bienvenido, possibly Germanic calques.


jawohl

→ Istriot: iavòl

From ja (“yes”) with the emphatic wohl placed after it, meaning “it is willed”. Compare Dutch jawel.


OMG

Denn die Kleider gaben mehr preis, als sie verhüllten und gewährten dem Betrachter dralle Aussichten auf ihren blanken Busen und Po. OMG!

2014 October 21, Sarah, “OMG! "Reich und Schön“-Star Maitland Ward komplett nackt in durchsichtigem Kleid”, in OK! Magazin, archived from the original on 2016-02-22:

OMG! SPIEGEL? Ich sage nichts. Bitte wenden Sie sich an die Pressestelle.

2015 April 29, Mike Glindmeier, Christian Gödecke, “Fußballgott, was sollte das?”, in Spiegel Online:

OMG! Das diese beiden das gleiche Alter verbindet, hätte wohl keiner so wirklich vermutet!

2018 January 29, InTouch Redaktion, “OMG! - Diese Stars sind wirklich gleich alt!”, in InTouch:

OMG (abbreviation of oh mein Gott / oh, mein Gott / o mein Gott)


ficken

ficken! (canonical)
f*ck*n (alternative)
f*cken (alternative)

From Middle High German ficken (“to rub, solidify, strengthen”), perhaps from Old High German *fuchōn, *fuhhōn (attested in fitafuchōn, fitafuhhōn (“to yearn for, seek or solicit fornication”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ- (“to stick, sting, stab”). The interjectional use is probably a semantic loan from English fuck.

der

Ach, ficken! Jetz’ hab ich meine Jacke vergessen.

Ah, fuck! Now I forgot to take my jacket.


bah

onomatopoeic

Exclamatory


Achtung

From Middle High German ahtunge (“consideration, appreciation”), from Old High German ahtunga, from Proto-West Germanic *ahtungu. By surface analysis, achten + -ung.

inh

watch out, attention, warning or caution


Entschuldigung

/ɛntˈʃʊldiɡʊŋ/

entschuldige

(excuse me, pardon): Verzeihung, pardon; addressing a single person

excuse me (request for someone's attention)


basta

Und damit basta!


halt

→ Dutch: halt

→ Italian: alt

→ Spanish: alto

→ Portuguese: alto

→ Swedish: halt

→ Middle French: halt

French: halte

→ Dutch: halte

→ Greek: αλτ (alt)

→ English: halt

From the verb halten (“to hold; to stop”).


och

Och, wie süß!

Och, Schatz! Das wird schon wieder!

Och, das ist eigentlich keine schlechte Idee!

expressing endearment, pity, consideration, etc.


bitte

Ellipsis of ich bitte (dich/Sie) (“I beg (you)”).

ellipsis

you're welcome (acknowledgement of thanks)

excuse me, sorry (request to repeat information)

here you are (when handing something over to someone)

(sarcastic) OK then, well then, all right (indication of mock acquiescence to someone's apparent demanding attitude)


ui

An exclamation of surprise, joy, excitement, or admiration.


auf Wiedersehen

Literally, “until our reunion; that we may see again”. Probably a calque of French au revoir. Compare further Italian arrivederci, German Low German up Wiederseihen (Paderbornisch), Dutch tot ziens, English until we meet again and see you, and similar forms in many languages of the world.

cog

Und während die beiden Enkel auf dem Bahnhof mit festem Händedruck und einem „Auf Wiedersehen!“ voneinander Abschied nahmen und jeder seines Weges seinem Geschick entgegenschritt, sann Großmama in dem der Heimat zurollenden Zuge nach, wie schön alles werden sollte, […]

1918, Elisabeth von Heyking, Die Orgelpfeifen (Zwei Erzählungen; 1), Phillipp Reclam jun., pages 63–64:

And while the two grandchildren bid farewell to each other on the station with a firm handshake and a "Goodbye!" and each walked his way toward his fate, grandma contemplated in the homeward rolling train how beautiful everything should become […]


Alder

Das Achtnull, das war Brasil, Alder, verstehst du, der Freistoß, Alder? Die standen am Ball, São Paulo, Straße, und haben Späßchen gemacht, Alder. Verstehst du, gejoket haben die, Riolike, Alder! Ich sach’s dir.

2002 June 5, Henning Harnisch, “Deutschtalk mit Alter Ego”, in Die Tageszeitung: taz, →ISSN, page 18:

pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling

(colloquial) pronunciation spelling of Alter (“dude, mate”)


Alter

Switzerland, some of Germany and Austria

Alter, was denn hier los?

(colloquial, chiefly slang) man, dude, mate; used for emphasis


Mensch

From Middle High German mensche, mensch, from Old High German mennisko, a substantivization of the adjective mennisk, from Proto-West Germanic *mannisk, from Proto-Germanic *manniskaz (“human”), from Proto-Germanic *mann- (“human, man”). Compare Yiddish מענטש (mentsh), Dutch mens, Danish menneske, Swedish människa, all with the primary sense of “person” or “human being”.


Mist

From Middle High German mist, from Old High German mist, from Proto-West Germanic *mistu. Cognate with Dutch mest, Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍃𐍄𐌿𐍃 (maihstus).


Tag

Abbreviation of the greeting guten Tag (“good day”).

northern Germany and parts of central Germany; now chiefly colloquial

parts of central Germany; Franconia, Lower Bavaria; now chiefly colloquial


wayne

From English Wayne, which sounds somewhat similar to German wen (“whom”, pronounced [veːn] or [ʋeːn]). The sense is derived from trick questions of the sort: „Kennst du Wayne?“ – ? – „Wayne interessiert’s.“, that is: wen interessiert's. (“Do you know Wayne?” – ? – “Wayne cares.” [= “Who cares.”]).

Helmut Schmidt ist tot. — Ach, wayne.

Helmut Schmidt is dead. — Ah, who cares.


hu

an exclamation expressing a sudden feeling of cold


Schnick Schnack Schnuck

Schnick! Schnack! Schnuck! (canonical)
Schnick, Schnack, Schnuck (alternative)
Schnick-Schnack-Schnuck (alternative)
Schnickschnackschnuck (alternative)

Probably from schnicken, variant of schnippen (“to flip one’s fingers”). The i-a-u ablaut is very common in German (and beyond); cf. tri-tra-trullala etc. Perhaps also influenced by Schnickschnack.

Used as a start signal during the above game; on Schnuck! both players show their gestures.


oja

Das stimmt nicht. — Oja!

Kommst du heute Abend nicht? — Oja!

Aren't you coming tonight?? — Yes, I am!

(Austria, chiefly Vienna, in response to a negative question or statement) yes; surely; really; on the contrary


hoi

Hoi, wie geht's?

(Southern Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, South Tyrol) hi! an informal greeting acknowledging someone’s arrival or presence


klar

Etymological Dictionary of the German Language

de:Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

From Middle High German klār, clār, formally from Middle Low German klār or Middle Dutch claer and reinforced by Old French cler, both from Latin clārus (“bright”).

(sarcastically) yeah, right! (sarcastic expression of disbelief)


auch

in the northern half in some positions; in the northern half in some positions

From Middle High German ouch, from Old High German ouh, from Proto-Germanic *auk. Cognate with Dutch ook (“also”), Low German ook (“also”), West Frisian ek (“also, too”), Luxembourgish och (“also”), Swedish och (“and”), Icelandic og (“and”), Danish og (“and”), and archaic English eke (“also”).

Ach, du bist Bauingenieur. Dann baust du Brücken? — Auch.

Oh, you’re a construction engineer. So you build bridges? — Yeah. And other things, too.

in answering a yes-no question, used to express that the thing asked about covers part of the truth but not all of it; “yes, and more”


Tausend

Nominalization of tausend. The interjection is short either for potz tausend Teufel (16th century) or for Middle High German tūsentlisteler, later Tausendkünstler (“the devil as a master of a thousand ruses, arts”).

(minced oath, colloquial, dated) Euphemistic form of Teufel! (“devil!”).


ey

Derived from Middle High German ei, a common interjection. In contemporary German possibly reinforced by Turkish ey (“vocative particle”), English hey.

Boah, ey!

Ey Peter, komm mal kucken, was hier auf dem Schild steht!

Hey Peter, check out what this sign here says!

Der unkorrumpierbare Udo Lindenberg, der seinen „Bestes Video national“-Gewinn galant mit „Geilomat, ey“ kommentierte[…]

2016 April 8, Jenni Zylka, quoting Udo Lindenberg, “Echo-Verleihung: Preis, der es jedem recht machen will”, in Die Tageszeitung: taz, →ISSN:

Used to call someone's attention, or as an intensifier when placed at the end.

Ey, lass den Scheiß! So geht man nicht mit anderen Leuten um.

Oi, quit that shit! That is not how you treat other people.


danke schön

[ˈdaŋkə ʃøːn]


sondern

From Middle High German sunder, from Old High German suntar, from Proto-Germanic *sundraz (“isolated, particular, alone”).

der

Naja, ganz so ist es ja auch nicht! — Sondern?

Well, it’s not quite like that! — Then what?


pfui

phooey

From Middle High German pfui, phiu, probably imitative of spitting out.

onomatopoeic

imitative

pfuj (alternative obsolete)
pfuy (alternative obsolete)

an exclamation of disgust, aversion, dislike, contempt, or annoyance


uff

An onomatopoeia. Similar to English oof and Dutch oef.

phew (expression of disgust, tiredness or relief)

whew (used before, during or after a mentally or physically strenuous activity, or while thinking of it).


peng

bang (a verbal emulation of a sudden percussive sound)


guna

(Internet slang, text messaging) Abbreviation of gute Nacht.


Platz

From Middle High German plaz, from Old French place, from Latin platēa, from Ancient Greek πλατεῖα (plateîa), shortening of πλατεῖα ὁδός (plateîa hodós, “broad way”). Cognate with English place.
Displaced native Old High German zīh (“place, court/village square, market”).

down! (command to lie down, especially for a dog)


miau

Imitative


huhu

(informal) hey (calling out to someone to catch their attention, often across a distance)


Klappe

From the verb klappen (“to flap, flip, fold”) and from Middle Low German klappe, kleppe and with influence of French clapet in technical meanings near “valve”.

(derogatory) ellipsis of Klappe zu or halt die Klappe: shut your mouth


Quatsch

Zu Hause habe ich eine Katze, Quatsch, zwei Katzen.

used to acknowledge that the speaker has just misspoken and to introduce the correction


Schnauze

Schnauze! (canonical)
Schnauße (alternative obsolete)

16th century, from Middle Low German snûte, whence also the later doublet Schnute (“pouting mouth”). Further from Old Saxon *snūt, from Proto-West Germanic *snūt (“snout”). Cognate with Dutch snuit, whence probably English snout.
The forms Schnauße and somewhat later Schnauze are artificial adaptations to High German consonantism, probably under the influence of schnäuzen (“to blow one’s nose”), from Proto-West Germanic *snūtijan. An original High German cognate, albeit with a different stem formation, is at hand in Central Franconian Schnüss, Hunsrik Schniss, Luxembourgish Schnëss.


genug

genug! (canonical)
genung (alternative archaic dialectal)
gnung (alternative archaic dialectal)

northern and central Germany; now chiefly colloquial

From Middle High German genuoc, from Old High German ginuog, from Proto-West Germanic *ganōg, from Proto-Germanic *ganōgaz.
Cognate with Dutch genoeg, Low German (ge)noog, English enough, West Frisian genôch, Danish nok, Swedish nog. Further Indo-European cognates: Latin nancīscor (“to get, to obtain”), Slovene nesti (“to carry”), Albanian kënaq (“to satisfy”).

Genug! Hör auf mit diesem Unsinn!


weh

From Middle High German wē, from Old High German wē, from Proto-West Germanic *wai.
Compare Latin vae, Dutch wee, English woe, Danish ve, Swedish ve, Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌹 (wai).

Freunde sind gut, aber wehe dem, der ihrer bedarf in der Not.

Friends are good, but woe to anyone who needs them in times of need.

„O weh, du mein schönes Paradies!“ weinte Adam und weinte Eva.

1919, Aleksey Remizov, translated by Arthur Luther, Legenden und Geschichten (fiction), Leipzig: Kurt Wolff, →ISBN:

“Oh woe, you beautiful Paradise of mine!” Adam wept and Eve wept.


dankeschön

Alternative form of danke schön; thank you very much


Uppsala

Blend of ups (“oops”) + hoppala (“oops”), influenced by the Swedish city.

blend

Die schöne TV-Gesangslehrerin zur B.Z.: „Es ist ein Uppsala-Baby. Wir dachten: Was ist denn da passiert?!“

2009 November 29, Kate Hall, quotee, “Kate Hall: "Es ist ein Uppsala-Baby"”, in Berliner Zeitung:

The beautiful TV singing teacher said to B.Z.: "It's an oopsy-daisy-baby. We thought: what's happened here?!"

Er zertrümmerte einer Bestie den Schädel – sagte »Uppsala!« – und schleuderte eine weitere durch die Luft

2020 October 28, Jim Carrey, Memoiren und Falschinformationen: Ein (fast) autobiographischer Hollywood-Roman, Droemer eBook, →ISBN:

He crushed the skull of one beast – said "Oopsy-daisy!" – and flung another through the air

Uppsala, da hat einer falsch geparkt!

2024 April 15, “Falschparker-App Scout Park: Falschparker anzeigen und Prämie kassieren”, in CIO:

Oopsy-daisy, someone's parked there illegally!


tja

Probably from an onomatopoeia for clicking one’s tongue, which is used with the same meaning. Perhaps also a variant of ja (“yes”). Similar expressions are found in nearby Germanic languages and in Finnish, suggesting an areal feature.

onomatopoeic

onomatopoeia

Was schlägst du vor? — Tja, ich schlage vor, dass wir ins Kino gehen.

What do you suggest? — Well, I suggest that we go to the movies.

Tja! Das war wohl nichts...

Oh well! That didn’t work out as planned...

Used to express acceptance of a negative outcome; oh well, welp

Tja, wenn er will, dass ich mich darum kümmere, dann hätte er sich rechtzeitig bei mir melden müssen.

Tough luck, if he wants me to take care of it, he should have reached out to me in good time.

Tja, dann hat sie eben Pech gehabt.

Bad luck for her, then, she's just going to need to deal with that.

Used as an unsympathetic response to a negative outcome for someone else, implying it was predictable or is otherwise simply to be accepted


isso

Tja... isso!

(informal) pronunciation spelling of ist so (“that's the way it is”)


Wahrschau

/ˈvaːɐ̯ˌʃaʊ̯/

Borrowed from Low German [Term?], from Middle Low German warschuwinge (“warning”); altered by folk etymology to a compound of wahr (“true”) + Schau (“look”).

der

(military) Attention! Look out! Watch out!


ade

From Middle High German adē, from Old French adieu. Doublet of tschö.

(archaic, poetic or regional) farewell, adieu


tschüs

(informal, rather rare) Alternative form of tschüss


gute Nacht

Gute Nacht


Bewegung

From Middle High German bewegunge, from Old High German biwegunga. Compare Dutch beweging and English beweighing. By surface analysis, bewegen + -ung.


Hals- und Beinbruch

Literally, “neck and leg fracture”. Probably corrupted from Yiddish הצלחה און ברכה (hatslokhe un brokhe, “success and blessing”).

הצלחה און ברכה

Mal ehrlich, Jochen: Machst Du es? Fährst Du runter auf den Balkan und hälst^([sic]) Deinen Kopf hin für die Geschundenen dieser Welt?? […] Ich bin gespannt auf Deinen ganz persönlichen Einsatz. Von Herzen: Hals- und Beinbruch.

1993 March 20, Stephan Lessenich, “Waffen helfen Bosnien nicht”, in Die Tageszeitung: taz, →ISSN, page 32:

Let's be honest, Jochen: Are you going to do it? Are you going to go to the Balkans and put your head on the line for the oppressed of this world?? […] I am excited to see your very personal commitment. With all my heart: Break a leg.


egal

"Willst du zuerst ins Kino oder ins Café gehen?" "Egal."

"Do you want to go to the cinema or the cafe first? " "I don't mind."


Augenblick

From Middle High German ougenblick (“quick glance”), corresponding to Auge (“eye”) + -n- + Blick (“glance”). Cognate to Yiddish אויגנבליק (oygnblik), Luxembourgish Abléck, Dutch ogenblik, Danish øjeblik, Swedish ögonblick, Norwegian øyeblikk, Icelandic augnablik. Compare English eyeblink.


sowieso

Literally, “so like so”, that is "this way and that way", "anyway".

Das Nummernschild war K sowieso 132. Ich hab’s nicht genau gesehen.

The number plate was K something 132. I couldn’t really see it.

something; replaces unknown or unimportant words

Männer sind halt alle gleich. — Sowieso.

of course; sure; that’s a given; expresses agreement to a statement with the implication that it is trivial


hä

Expresses that one has not understood a statement

Used to belittle the issuer of a statement/question


äh

an exclamation of disgust; yuck, ew, ugh


äh

uh, er (expression of confusion or uncertainty)


aua

ouch, ow (expression of one's own physical pain)


Einspruch

/ˈaɪ̯nʃpʁʊx/

15th century, verbal noun of archaic einsprechen (“to object”). Equivalent to ein- (“in”) + Spruch (“dictum, statement”).

affix

Einspruch, Euer Ehren! – Stattgegeben! / Abgelehnt!

Objection, Your Honor! – Sustained! / Overruled!

objection! (kind of protest in the court procedures of some countries)


tschüss

→ Czech: čus

Borrowed from German Low German tschüß from earlier adjüs, from Dutch adjuus, from Spanish adiós or French adieu. (Compare the origin of moin.)

tschüß (alternative)
tschüs (alternative)
tschö (alternative)
tschüssi (alternative)


igitt

19th century, of northern German origin. Probably a minced oath/veiled use of a phrase like o Gott (“oh God!”), compare oh God. Or, an extended form of (the presumably imitative) ih (“ew, yuck; sound of disgust”), possibly influenced by the former.

onomatopoeic

imitative

Ich habe das verbrannte Brot gerochen und sofort "igitt!" gedacht.

I smelled the burnt bread and immediately thought "ugh!"

Er hat mir gesagt, dass er dich bumsen will. – Igitt!

He told me that he wants to bonk you. – Ew!

In meinem Salat ist ein Wurm! Igitt!

an exclamation of disgust: yuck!, ew!, phew!, ugh!

Akademie-Verlag
Berlin
Wolfgang Pfeifer (etymologist)


topp

Borrowed from Low German topp, perhaps related to Middle Low German toppen (“to beat”).

Topp, die Wette gilt!

Und als dieses—mag er doch geschehen sein, wie er will!—Ein Graf mehr in der Welt oder weniger! Denke ich Ihnen so recht?—Topp! auch ich erschrecke vor einem kleinen Verbrechen nicht.

1772, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Emilia Galotti, 4. Aufzug, 1. Auftritt:

Thoren sind's, die von ewiger Liebe schwatzen. Ewiges Einerlei widersteht, Veränderung nur ist das Salz des Vergnügens—Topp, Luise! Ich bin dabei—Wir hüpfen von Roman zu Roman, wälzen uns von Schlamme zu Schlamm[…]

1784, Friedrich Schiller, Kabale und Liebe [Intrigue and Love], 5. Akt, 7. Szene:

Faust. […] Die Wette biet’ ich! / Mephistopheles. Top!

1808, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, “Studirzimmer”, in Faust: Der Tragödie erster Teil [Faust, Part One]:

(dated) Indicates agreement, especially of an arrangement or a wager.


Wahnsinn

Back-formation from wahnsinnig. Not related to Wahn.


zum Wohl

Bless you (a response to someone sneezing)


Tatsache

From Tat + Sache, calque of English matter of fact.


Respekt

Used to express appreciation; hats off, kudos


guten Abend

Guten Abend

By surface analysis, guten (masculine accusative of gut (“good”)) + Abend (“evening”).

surf

masculine accusative of <i class="Latn mention" lang="de">gut</i> (“good”)


moin

From, or from the same source as, German Low German moin, beyond which the etymology is not clear; see that entry for more.

Moin (alternative)
Moin, Moin (alternative)
moin, moin (alternative)
moin moin (alternative)

(colloquial, originally Northern Germany, nautical) hi


gerne

(commonly said in answer to danke (“thank you”); usually not translated into English) don't mention it, not at all, you're welcome

commonly said in answer to danke (“thank you”); usually not translated into English; commonly said in answer to danke (“thank you”); usually not translated into English


Tach

(colloquial) ellipsis of guten Tag (“good day”)


jein

Und ob ihr's glaubt oder nicht, mir geht es echt beschissen / Und während sich der Teufel und der Engel anschreien / Entscheide ich mich für ja, nein, ich mein jein!

1996, “Jein”, in Aussen Tophits, Innen Geschmack, performed by Fettes Brot:

Gibt es einen Gott? – Ja. Ist er tot? – Jein.

2019 November 22, anonymous author, “Bald wissen sie mehr”, in Titanic:

Is there a God? – Yes. – Is he dead? – Yes and no.

(chiefly humorous) yes and no, yes but also no; kinda


autsch

ouch (expression of one's own physical pain)


Zugabe

[ˈt͡suːˌɡaːbə]

From zu- + Gabe, literally “addition” (cf. zugeben and geben).


auf Wiederhören

Literally, “until we hear each other again”, alteration of auf Wiedersehen (“good-bye”, literally “until we see each other again”).


tatsächlich

[ˈtaːd͡zɛçlɪç]


Mahlzeit

15th century, from Mahl (“meal”) + Zeit (“time”). The word Mahl (a spelling variant of Mal) originally meant "mealtime", but was transferred to the meal itself. The compound then assumed the sense "mealtime", but ultimately underwent the same semantic development yet again. Compare Dutch maaltijd, English mealtide, Danish måltid, Icelandic máltíð.

gesegnete Mahlzeit
gesegnete Mahlzeit#German

(colloquial) ellipsis of gesegnete Mahlzeit or prost Mahlzeit (literally “blessed meal”); enjoy your meal!

gesegnete Mahlzeit or prost Mahlzeit

(colloquial) good day, good afternoon; greeting used around lunchtime, roughly between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., especially in the workplace


Vorsicht

Vorsicht! (canonical)
Fürsicht (alternative obsolete)

/ˈfoːʁˌzɪçt/

[ˈfoːɐ̯ˌzɪçt]

Chiefly a backformation from vorsichtig, from Middle High German vorsihtec, vürsihtec, from Old High German foresihtig, derived from foresiht, a calque of Latin providentia and provisio. By surface analysis, vor- + Sicht. Doublet of Vorsehung. Although the noun must underlie the adjective, the former is not attested again (after Notker) before the 15th century; it remained rare until ca. 1650. Compare Dutch voorzicht, English foresight.


bitte schön

/ˈbɪtə ʃøːn/

(commonly said in answer to danke schön (“thank you very much”); usually not translated into English) don't mention it, not at all, you're welcome

(commonly said when offering or returning something; usually not translated into English) would you like?, here you are, thank you

commonly said when offering or returning something; usually not translated into English; commonly said when offering or returning something; usually not translated into English


oje

Short for o Jesus. Compare the fuller ojemine, from o Jesu Domine.

o je (alternative)
oh je (alternative)
ohje (alternative)


ach so

aso (alternative colloquial slang)
achso (alternative)

ah, oh, I see; expresses understanding or surprise


menno

Variation of manno, clipping of Mannomann, emphatic form of the interjection Mann.

Menno, ich will raus!

Ach menno, ich möchte das aber so gerne!

(slang) An expression of disbelief, frustration, or defiance.


zack

Jetzt raus aus der Badewanne, aber zack!

Er hörte nur das Wort „Hausaufgaben“ und, zack, war er verschwunden.

He only heard the word "homework" and, poof, he disappeared.

(colloquial) Onomatopoeia expressing that something happens quickly or suddenly.


pockmas

„Pockmas, Friedel. Nach Dir.“

2003, M. Lang, Kommissar Scherholm macht Urlaub, BoD – Books on Demand, →ISBN, page 220:

Na denn mal los oder Pockmas!, wie die Bayuvaren so schelmisch sagen wenn sie in guter Laune sind.

2007 April 8, 1X2Willows, “Re: Oster-Chat”, in ch.soc.politics (Usenet):

rade, pockmas, auf noch abudawi!

2009, Johannes Zuber, “Vermögendenpartei(ÖVP): Mindestsicherung unter Armutsgrenze”, in at.gesellschaft.politik (Usenet):

(nonstandard, uncommon) let's go; let's start


hurra

Probably from Middle High German hurrā, an imperative from hurren (“to move quickly”), from Proto-Germanic *hurzaną (“to rush”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- (“to run”).


heureka

Borrowed from Ancient Greek εὕρηκα (heúrēka, “I have found”).


Gott sei Dank

Gottseidank (alternative)
gottseidank (alternative)

Du hast bestanden? Na, Gott sei Dank!


kikeriki

onomatopoeic

imitative


guten Morgen

/ˈɡuːtən ˈmɔʁɡən/

/ˈɡuːtn̩ ˈmɔʁɡn̩/

/ˈɡuːtn̩ ˈmɔʁɡŋ̍/

good morning (when seeing someone for the first time in the morning)


Manometer

A fanciful extension of Mann on the basis of the above term.

oh man (an exclamation of astonishment or annoyance)


großartig

/ˈɡʁoːsˌʔaːɐ̯tɪç/

/-ˌʔaːɐ̯tɪk/

Na großartig!


Pardon

16th century, from Middle French pardon. The use as an interjection (ca. 1700) after Modern French.


Verzeihung

/fɛɐ̯ˈtsaɪ̯ʊŋ/

Verzeihung, ich rede.

Used to get someone's attention. excuse me, pardon me


HDF

(Internet slang, text messaging, derogatory) Initialism of halt die/deine Fresse (“shut your mouth”).

(medicine) Initialism of Hämodiafiltration (“hemodiafiltration”).


nö

(colloquial, regional, chiefly northern and central Germany) Alternative form of nein (“no”)


naja

—Ich finde, Justin Bieber ist der größte kanadische Musiker seit Neil Young!
—Naja.

—I think Justin Bieber’s the greatest Canadian musician since Neil Young!
—Uh-huh.

uh-huh, if you say so (expresses disagreement with what was said but an unwillingness to argue about it)


gemach

From Middle High German gemach, from Old High German gimah (“calm, comfortable”), from Proto-West Germanic *gamak, related to the root of machen (“to do, carry out”).


nein danke

Ich mag den Tanz, das Idiotenfest / Wenn wir irren, nachts im Kreis / Eine Bewegung gegen den Fleiß / All das mag ich / Aber hier leben, nein danke

2005, Tocotronic, “Aber hier leben, nein danke”, in Pure Vernunft darf niemals siegen:


unberufen

/ˈʊnbəˌʁuːfn̩/


tamam

Tamam, ich chille im Hamam
13-jährige kommentieren meine Bilder mit »Haram«

2016, “Schöne Onkelz”, performed by Eko Fresh:

Alright, I’m chilling in the hamam
13-year-olds comment my pics with “Haram”

(colloquial, immigrant slang, overall rare) OK, alright

immigrant slang; overall rare; immigrant slang; overall rare


grüß Gott

Short for grüß dich Gott, from grüß (a shortened form of grüße, which is the third-person singular subjunctive form of grüßen, from Middle High German grüezen (“to greet”)) + dich + Gott; in the context, “greeting” should be understood as giving a sign of connectedness; hence, the meaning is very similar to “may God bless you.”


muh

onomatopoeic

imitative


wehe

weh (alternative colloquial poetic)
weh' (alternative colloquial poetic)

Deutsches Wörterbuch
Johann Christoph Adelung

Variant of weh, which see. The usual distinction between the two forms was first noted by Adelung. While the Deutsches Wörterbuch (1955) considered this distinction “untenable”, it is in fact a linguistic reality, albeit with occasional exceptions.

Wehe euch, ihr Schriftgelehrten und Pharisäer!

Wehe (dir), wenn du wieder zu spät heimkommst!

woe; don't you dare (threatening exclamation) [with dative ‘to someone’]

(archaic) Alternative form of weh (exclamation of pain)


siehste

western Germany; both uses, but especially the interjection

Siehste! Sag ich doch!

(colloquial) you see?; didn't I tell you so?


na und

Was soll das heißen hier, ich krieg nichts mehr? / Ich bin bankrott—Na und? Und ihr?

1996, “Risikobiographie”, in Posen, performed by Die Sterne:

What's that supposed to mean, I won't be getting any more? / I'm bankrupt, so what, and you?


mach's gut

Literally, “do it well”, that is "be fine", "be okay". Compare English farewell.


Herrgott

→ Czech: hergot

good Lord! (expression of being startled or scared)


keine Ursache

you're welcome, don't mention it (used to acknowledge thanks; ritual reply to "thank you")


schachmatt

schachmatt! (canonical)
schach und matt (alternative)

From Middle High German schāch mat, from Persian شاه مات (šāh māt). By surface analysis, Schach + matt. The alternative form with intervening und is also already attested as Middle High German schāch unde mat.

checkmate! (said when making the conclusive move in chess)


hach

exclamation

Hach, das waren noch Zeiten...

Hach ja, ich werd dann mal abwaschen.

Oh well, I think I’ll go do the dishes then.

signals the end of a conservation, typically when nobody has spoken for a short while


gluck

Of imitative origin (lautmalend), see also glucken (“to cluck; to chug a liquid”).

onomatopoeia

imitative

glug (onomatopoeia for pouring or swallowing a liquid)


Donner und Doria

In use at least since (and possibly originated in) Schiller's 1783 play Fiesco.


geschenkt

/ɡəˈʃɛŋ(k)t/

The interjection is to be understood as “I cancel whatever moral debt there may be”.

„Ach, jetzt steht mein Name hier zuerst. Eigentlich müssten Sie ja...“ – „Geschenkt!“

“Oh, somehow my name is mentioned first now. Normally you should...” – “Forget about it!”

Dass Sie sich unabgesprochen mit der Konkurrenz getroffen haben – geschenkt! Aber dass Sie dabei Interna ausgeplaudert haben, hat ein Nachspiel.

That you met with our competitors without authority – forget about it! But your disclosing internal information at that meeting will have consequences.

forget it, forget about it, nevermind, that’s not so problematic, (also in the sense of) that’s one thing, that’s not the worst part


Jung

The same as Junge with dialectal apocope.

Jung! Jetz' mach kein' Scheiß und sei ruhig!


Donnerwetter

[ˈdɔnɐˌvɛtɐ]

[ˌdɔnɐˈvɛtɐ]

From Donner (“thunder”) + Wetter (“weather”).

»[…] Maiboom braucht fünfunddreißigtausend Kurantmark …« / »Donnerwetter!«

1909 [1901], Thomas Mann, chapter 2, in Buddenbrooks […] , Berlin: Deutsche Buch-Gemeinschaft, →OCLC, part 8, page 435:

" […] Maiboom has to have thirty-five thousand marks current—" / "Heavens and earth!"


nä

The same as nee with lowering of the vowel (via particular dialects and/or for emphasis).

(colloquial, regional) Alternative form of nein (“no”)


Pustekuchen

Early 20th century, originally Berlin slang. By surface analysis, pusten (“to blow”) + Kuchen (“cake, pie”). The word Kuchen on its own is already attested with the same sense in thieves' cant (Rotwelsch) since 1818, and likely goes back to Yiddish חכם (khokhem, “wise or cunning man”), used here with a sense along the lines of “you wise guy!” or “you trickster!”. The first component may be Yiddish פּשוט (poshet, “simply”), but this appears less conclusive. It may also be merely the verb pusten in the sense “to exhale/snort dismissively”; compare the expression jemandem etwas pusten/husten (“to refuse outright”).

der

Du könntest mich doch abholen… — Ja, Pustekuchen! Nimm dir mal schön ’n Taxi!

I thought you might come fetch me… — No chance! Just go and take a taxi!

(colloquial) no way!, not gonna happen!, forget about it!


hin oder her

Schrift und Aussprache hin oder her, die Grammatik ist bezaubernd!

Writing and pronunciation aside, the grammar is beguiling!

Schimmel hin oder her, du musst die Äpfel irgendwie verkaufen, sonst sind wir pleite.

Mould or not, you must sell the apples somehow or we're broke.

Milliardär hin oder her, er wartet, wie alle anderen auch!

Billionaire or not, he's waiting like everybody else!

...or not, disregard, aside; expressing the will to ignore the nature/status of something or someone


'türlich

[ˈtʰyːɐ̯lɪç]

Türlich, türlich – sicher, Dicker / Türlich, türlich – is' alles klar?

2000, “Türlich, türlich (sicher, Dicker)”, performed by Das Bo:

Sure, sure – of course buddy / Sure, sure – am I understood?

(informal, uncommon) for sure (affirmative interjection)


Gott im Himmel

"Poirot replied promptly: 'J stands for Jacqueline de Bellefort, a young lady who declared to me less than a week ago that she would like nothing better than to—' he paused and then deliberately quoted, “‘to put my dear little pistol close against her head and then just press with my finger—’” 'Gott im Himmel' exclaimed Dr. Bessner."

1937, Agatha Christie, Death on the Nile, Harper, page 114:


ohne Scheiß

(colloquial, vulgar) no kidding, seriously, I kid you not (used to emphasize that the speaker is not trying to fool the listener)


aber hallo

Die Gesetze sind schließlich für alle da. Wo kämen wir hin, wenn das jeder so machen würde? Wir kämen direkt in Teufels Küche. Dort stünde die Dame Corona mit einer schwarzen Küchenschürze am Herd und brockte uns ein fettes Süppchen ein, aber hallo!

2020 April 22, Uli Hannemann, “Überwachung von Corona-Regeln: Abstandskontrolle vom Balkon”, in Die Tageszeitung: taz, →ISSN:

(colloquial) absolutely!, you bet!, for sure!


nanu

Borrowed from German Low German na (“well”) + nu (“now”).

bor+

Nanu, was macht denn der Flieger da zu so später Stunde?

2015 July 6, “Starts trotz Nachtflugverbot”, in Frankfurter Rundschau:

Well now, what is that plane doing there at so late an hour?

(chiefly Northern Germany) An expression of wonderment or confusion.


Schwerenot

Schwerenoth (alternative)
schwere Not (alternative)

Ein andermal mach ichs ihm auch wieder so, und werf ihn mit einem Stein so derb an die Ripp, daß er vor Wuth von der Kette reißt und auf mich dar, und ich wie alle Donnerwetter reißaus und davon – Tausend Schwerenoth!

1781, Friedrich Schiller, “1. Akt”, in Die Räuber:

„Den vermisse ich auch – aber es ist doch, hol’s der Teufel, kaum möglich, daß wir uns so täuschen sollten! Abhalten – ein wenig – nicht zu dicht heran. Ich sehe keinen Wimpel. Schwerenot! Diesmal haben die Hunde mich getroffen!“

(dated) A curse; an expression of aggravation or displeasure.


tschö

Borrowed from French adieu. Doublet of ade.


paff

bang, boom
Said when something bursts or blasts.

bang, boom
Said when something falls down.


auweia

auweia! (canonical)
au weia (alternative)
auwei (alternative)
au wei (alternative)

Extended form of auwei, itself a variant of o weh. The diphthongisation may be expressive or may be from a regional variety such as Yiddish אוי וויי (oy vey).


husch

whoosh (sound of something moving at high speed)


stillgestanden

(military) attention (command that soldiers stand with their feet together and hands at their hips)


Schade

Too bad; what a shame (expressing dismay or sympathy)


weh mir

Er ist wirklich tot? Weh mir, oh weh!

Und die Wald er steht so schwarz und leer Weh mir, oh weh
 Und die Vögel singen nicht mehr

And the forest, it stands so black and empty Oh woe is me
 And the birds sing no longer


auch so

Schönes Wochenende! – Auch so!


toi, toi, toi

/ˈtɔʏ̯ ˈtɔʏ̯ ˈtɔʏ̯/

Audio

Attested since the 19th century. Spread more generally through various songs of the 1920s and 1930s. Widely considered onomatopoeic for spitting. Spitting out three times is a superstitious act that remains common in several European as well as non-European cultures. In polite circles this was considered rude and hence replaced with the onomatopoeia. Compare also the idea of touch wood, the equivalent of which in German-speaking Europe is to knock on wood three times.
It is possible, though unprovable, that the specific form of the onomatopoeia might have been reinforced by the word Teufel (“devil”, with the superstitious idea that saying something negative will have a positive effect, compare Hals- und Beinbruch) or by Yiddish טוב (tov, “good”).

Na, dann toi, toi, toi!

Herzlichen Glückwunsch Smudo, toi, toi, toi / Du kannst dir sicher sein, dass ich mich für dich freu’

1992, “Die da!?”, in 4 gewinnt, performed by Die Fantastischen Vier:

Und jedem, der Musik macht, kann ich nur wünschen, dass ihm die Inspiration niemals ausgeht, egal was hin und wieder auf der Bühne passieren mag. In diesem Sinne – Toi, toi, toi!

2011, Daniel Hope, Toi, toi, toi!: Pannen und Katastrophen in der Musik, Rowohlt Verlag GmbH, →ISBN:

Hier erfahren Sie in sieben einfachen Schritten, was Sie beachten müssen, um nicht anzuecken (oder hochkant wieder rauszufliegen, siehe Schweiz). Viel Spaß und toi, toi, toi!

2015, So wird man zum Sylter: Oder zum Bayern, Berliner, Hamburger, Kölner, Schwaben, Österreicher, Schweizer, Riva Verlag, →ISBN:

(colloquial) good luck; an expression of encouragement

Bisher hat alles gut geklappt – toi, toi, toi.

So far it has all worked out well – touch wood!

(colloquial) knock on wood; a superstitious expression used to avoid the negative consequences of some utterance


bitte schoen

Nonstandard spelling of bitte schön used in some older texts and when technical limitations prevent the use of umlauts.


Schitte

From Low German Schitt(e), Schiet(e) (“shit”), from Middle Low German schīte, from Old Saxon *skiti, from Proto-West Germanic *skiti.
Cognate with German Scheiße. See shit.

Ach Schitte, ich muss ja morgen zum Zahnarzt.

Ah shit, I forgot that I have to go to the dentist tomorrow.


auf Wiederschauen

/aʊ̯f ˈviːdɐˌʃaʊ̯ən/

auf (“at”) + wieder (“again”) + schauen (“see”)

Da habe ich gesagt: „Also dann - auf Wiederschauen!“

2005, Andreas Felber, Die Wiener Free-Jazz-Avantgarde: Revolution im Hinterzimmer, Böhlau Verlag Wien, →ISBN, page 230:

»Auf Wiederschauen, Frau Bauer.«

2012, Michael Gerwien, Isarbrodeln: Der zweite Fall für Max Raintaler, Gmeiner-Verlag, →ISBN, page 292:

»Also dann, nichts für ungut und auf Wiederschauen.« Er lächelte Max und Monika ebenfalls zu.

2013, Michael Gerwien, Raintaler ermittelt: 30 Rätsel-Krimis, Gmeiner-Verlag, →ISBN:

(chiefly Southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol) goodbye


auf Wiedertreffen

From auf (“at”) + wieder (“again”) + treffen (“meet”).

„Auf Wiedertreffen!“ rief Boccaccio ihm.

1832, Karoline Lessing, Mariea und Boccaccio: Historischer Roman, page 274:

„Auf Wiedertreffen“, rief ich dem Verschwindenden nach, und seine dumpfe Stimme antwortete aus dem Dunkel

1835, Willibald Alexis, Das Haus Düsterweg: eine Geschichte aus der Gegenwart, page 245:

Auf Wiedertreffen also — wo möglich schon in den nächsten Tagen!

1856, Emilie Burkhardt Lichtenberger, Goethe's Faust: Briefwechsel mit einer Dame [i.e. Emilie Lichtenberger, geb. Burkhardt], page 124:


null problemo

From the German dub of the 1980s TV series ALF.


hatschi

Onomatopoeia. Compare English achoo, etc.

Bei mir auf der Arbeit sind fast alle krank. Überall hört man nur hatschi hier, hatschi da.

At my work, almost everybody’s ill. All you hear is achoo here, achoo there.

(onomatopoeia) achoo (the sound of a sneeze)

[Jemand niest.] — “Hatschi!”

(informal) bless you; gesundheit (used a response to someone’s sneezing, also sometimes one’s own)


Muttergottes

/ˌmʊtɐˈɡɔtəs/

Mother of God; used as an exclamation of shock, awe or surprise, but not anger


geh nur

(archaic) Used to express aggressive disbelief.


auf einmal

Ich bin ja auch dafür... — Auf einmal!

I’m for it, too, actually... — Oh, so now you are?!

Expresses surprisal and scepticism at a new development, especially someone’s changing their opinion


nebbich

From Yiddish נעבעך (nebekh), from Czech nebohý.

Ach nebbich, lass ihn doch gehen...

Ah so what, let him leave... [implied: what do we need him for anyway?]

(informal, dated or archaic) so what; whatever; big deal; who cares


tschuess

Nonstandard spelling of tschüß used in some older texts and when technical limitations prevent the use of umlauts.


gumo

(Internet slang, text messaging) Abbreviation of guten Morgen.


Wiederhören

/ˈviːdɐˌhøːʁən/


tschüsch

Wir haben zehn Kästen Bier für die Party gekauft. — Tschüsch... wer soll das denn alles trinken?!

We bought ten crates of beer for the party. — Whoa... who’s gonna drink all of that?

(immigrant or youth slang, regional) whoa; used to express amazement, disbelief, or sometimes contempt


vergelt's Gott

Für Ihre großzügige Spende möchte ich im Namen des ganzen Missionsausschusses danke und vergelt’s Gott sagen.

For your generous donation, I want to say thank you and may God reward you for it in the name of the whole mission’s committee.

(religion, chiefly Christianity, especially Roman Catholicism) God bless you for it; may God reward you for it

Würden Sie mir wohl mit dem Koffer helfen? Vergelt’s Gott, junger Mann!

Would you help me with this suitcase, please? Thank you, young man!

(regional, Southern Germany, Austria) thank you


gut Nacht

Alternative form of gute Nacht (“good night”)


sapperlot

Borrowed from French saperlotte (17th century), euphemistic modification of sacredieu, from sacré (nom de) Dieu (literally “holy (name of) God”).

(dated or regional) zounds!, swounds!, 'sdeath!, my word!

(dated or regional) golly!, zowie!, goodness gracious!, good heavens!, gee whiz!, blast!, doggone!


seufz

seufz' (alternative active first-person imperative indicative present second-person singular)
seufze (alternative active first-person imperative indicative present second-person singular)


Gude

Hessian pronunciation of Guter (“a good person”).

Ei Gude, wie?


Ker

Clipping of Kerl (“guy”), hence also the capitalisation.

Kerr (alternative)
Kär (alternative)
ker (alternative)
kerr (alternative)
kär (alternative)

Ker, wat is dat hier für ’n Chaos!

Ker, ich raste bald aus!

(colloquial, Westphalia, especially Ruhrgebiet) man; jeez; expresses surprise, agitation, irritation


kille, kille

From or related to killern (“to tickle”); see there for more.

Kille, kille... Na? Sagst du’s jetzt oder muss ich weitermachen?

Tickle, tickle... So? Are you gonna tell me now or do I have to continue?

(colloquial, regional) used when tickling someone


am Arsch

Fahr doch mal was vorsichtiger! — Vorsichtiger am Arsch! Autobahn heißt Krieg.

Drive a bit more carefully already! — More carefully, my arse! Motorway means war.


meine Güte

/ˌmaɪ̯nəˈɡyːtə/

/ˈmaɪ̯nəˌɡyːtə/


jepp

Denen sage ich: Klar, manchmal ist das schwer mit dem Stolz auf die Heimat. Wir haben Nazis, jepp. Arbeitslose, jawoll.

2014 October 30, Martin Machowecz, “Der neue Ost-Stolz”, in Die Zeit:


boah

Boah, halt die Klappe!

wow (An expression of annoyance or exasperation or disgust.)

Boah, is der groß!

wow (An expression of marvel or surprise.)


grüß dich

Short for grüß dich Gott, from grüß (subjunctive form of grüßen, from Middle High German grüezen (“to greet”)) + dich + Gott.


echt jetzt

(colloquial, interrogative) really?; get out of here! (exclamation of surprise or disbelief)

(colloquial, declarative) come on!; for real! (exclamation of frustration)


Namaste

Borrowed from Sanskrit नमस्ते (namaste).


Hut ab

Hut ab! Das hätte nicht jeder gemacht!

Hats off! Not everybody would’ve done that!

(idiomatic) hats off, chapeau (expression of admiration or appreciation)

Hut ab! Das ist eine Kirche!

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see Hut, ab.


Nimmerwiedersehen

nimmer (“never”) + wieder (“again”) + sehen (“to see”)

compound

auf Nimmerwiedersehen
auf Nimmerwiedersehen#German

Alternative form of auf Nimmerwiedersehen


alter Schwede

Und ja, „alter Schwede, die Dramatik ist enorm“, sagt er.

2012 November 17, Katrin Bettina Müller, quoting Peter Kurth, “Die Brigade Kurth wühlt schon wieder”, in Die Tageszeitung: taz, →ISSN, page 49:

(colloquial) exclamation of surprise or astonishment


Hintermann

(ball games) man on! (cry used to warn a teammate of an opponent approaching from the rear)


kusch

Originally hunting jargon, from French couche! (“lie down!”), from coucher. The use for “shoo” may or may not be the same word, see ksch for more.

Alternative form of ksch (“shoo!, go away!”)


Mannomann

Univerbation of Mann + oh + Mann, an emphatic repetition of the interjection Mann (“(Oh) man!”).


herrje

oh for heaven's sake!
oh for heaven's sake!


mein lieber Schwan

Literally, “my dear swan”, from the opera Lohengrin.

Mein lieber Schwan, war ich besoffen!


hosianna

Ultimately from Biblical Hebrew הוֹשַׁע נָא (hōsha‘ nā, “please save”).


potz Blitz

Als er nun draußen war, erblickte er in der blauen Ferne einen steilen Berg und dahinter einen himmelhohen Thurm, der aus einem wilden und finstern Wald hervorragte. „Potz Blitz!“ rief der Schneider, „was ist das?“ und weil ihn die Neugierde gewaltig stach, so gieng er frisch darauf los.

1843, Brothers Grimm, “Der Riese und der Schneider”, in Kinder- und Haus-Märchen, Band 2^(https://de.wikisource.org/wiki/Der_Riese_und_der_Schneider_(1843)), 5th edition, page 436:


hoppla

Onomatopoeic; compare English hoopla, French houp-là and Italian oplà.

Und an diesem Mittag wird es still sein am Hafen
Wenn man fragt, wer wohl sterben muß.
Und dann werden Sie mich sagen hören: Alle!
Und wenn dann der Kopf fällt, sag ich: Hoppla!

1928, Bertolt Brecht, “Die Seeräuber-Jenny”, in Die Dreigroschenoper:

And on this noon it’ll be quiet in the harbor
When they ask who has to die.
And then you’ll hear me say: All of them!
And when the head falls, I’ll say: Oops!


alles klar

all right; okay (used either as a question or answer/agreement)


mein lieber Scholli

Uncertain, perhaps a corruption of French jolie, or referring to a person. Literally, “my dear Scholli”.

mein lieber Schwan
mein lieber Schwan#German


Linksschwenk

Rechts um! Zwomal Linksschwenk, ohne Tritt, Marsch!

(military) left turn! (command to turn left to soldiers who are marching or about to march)


prost Mahlzeit

Ja, und diese achttausend Pferd, / Die man nach Flandern jetzt begehrt, / Sind von der Armee nur der kleine Finger. / Läßt man sie ziehn, ihr tröstet euch, / Wir seien um ein Fünftel nur geringer? / Pros't Mahlzeit! da fällt das Ganze gleich.

1799, Friedrich Schiller, Wallenstein's Lager (Wallenstein trilogy), 5. Aufzug, 11. Auftritt; republished as James Churchill, transl., The Camp of Wallenstein, 1831:

The eight thousand horse they wish to disband / May be but a finger of our army's hand. / But when they're once gone may we understand / We are but one-fifth the less? Oh, no— / By the Lord, the whole to the devil will go!

(sarcastic, now the main use) that does it, that's just great


ätschibätschi

/ˈɛːt͡ʃiˌbɛːt͡ʃi/

Extended form of ätsch, which has the same sense, but is less harsh and childish.

Hey, das war mein Platz! − Ätschibätschi! Jetzt nicht mehr!

Hey, that was my seat! − Na-na na-na boo-boo! Now it's not!

(childish or humorous) Used to taunt someone and express joy over their misfortune, especially if it is the speaker's doing or to their advantage; na-na na-na boo-boo


na also

(colloquial, idiomatic) Used to express triumph or satisfaction.

(colloquial, idiomatic) Used to show understanding after a long struggle with a difficult idea.


ja doch

Und du bist dir auch wirklich sicher? – Ja doch! Ich sage dir doch, ich habe es mit eigenen Augen gesehen!

So you’re really sure? – Yes! I’ve been telling you, I saw it with my own eyes!

emphatic yes, used especially when someone asks the same question repeatedly


ojemine

From Latin o Jesu Domine (“o Lord Jesus!”).


hallihallo

Hallihallo! Ich bin die Stefanie!

Hallihallo! Sind Sie eingeschlafen?

Hallihallo, Hallihallo, bei uns geht's immer so / Je toller, je schlimmer!

1865, Wilhelm Demelius, Jena'sche Musenklänge und Reimchronik, page 62:


salü

Borrowed from French salut (“hello”, greeting), from Latin salūs (“health”).

bor+

(Switzerland, colloquial) hello (greeting)


maunz

Probably backformed from maunzen (“to meow”), itself from mau, a dated variant of miau (“meow”).


nagut

Univerbation of na (“well, so”) + gut (“fine, good”), written as one word due to a shift in the pronunciation to a pattern only used in compounds.


Pierona

Pierona! (canonical)
pierona (alternative)
Perronje (alternative)
Perrunje (alternative)
Pieronie (alternative)
Pierunie (alternative)
Pirona (alternative)
Pironie (alternative)
Pironje (alternative)
Pirunie (alternative)
Pirunje (alternative)
Pjeronje (alternative)
Pjerunje (alternative)

Borrowed from Silesian pierōn (“lightning”), from Proto-Slavic *perunъ.

bor+

Also nimmst du dem Album mit die ganzen Bilder fon die Medchen und den ganzen Haufen Briefe, was haben sie geschrieben wegen die ewige Treue und so weiter ganzem Unfuk, und steckst du ihm bei Ofenloche und zindst du ihm an und sagst du: »So! Pierona! Da is ihm aber auch Gottseidank Schluß damit!«

before 1955, Erich Hoinkis, “Gute Forseze für den Neuen Jahr”, in Albrecht Baehr, editor, Schlesien wie es lachte, Frankfurt am Main: Verlag Weidlich, published 1975, page 76:

So you take the album with all the pictures of the girls and the whole heap of letters that they wrote about eternal fidelity and so on all that nonsense, and you put it in the oven mouth and you light it and you say: “So! Blimey! That’s also over thank goodness!”

(archaic, Silesia) damn!, blimey!; exclamation stereotypical for the German speech of eastern Silesia, which was a form of Standard German influenced by Slavic as well as (western) Silesian German dialects


habidehre

From ich hab' die Ehre (“The honour is mine”, literally “I have the honour”).


ab dafür

Bis drei Uhr nachts wurde vorgeglüht, dann noch schnell eine Line Speed gezogen und ab dafür.

2013 June 8, Nantke Garrelts, “Ich bin kein Berliner”, in Tagesspiegel:

We had pre drinks until 3am then quickly did a line of speed, and off we went.


pardauz

From Low German pardu(t)z, from Middle Low German pardûs, ultimately onomatopoeic. Compare Dutch pardoes. The form with -au- occurs first in Campe’s writings and might be a mechanical adaptation to the Standard German vocalism.

Pardauz! Naja, macht nichts. Ist ja alles Plastik.

Bang! Oh well, no problem. It's all just plastic.

„Pardauz!“ sagte das alte Mädchen. „Das ist sie. Man braucht nicht aufzusehen, um sich zu überzeugen, wer da hereingekommen ist.

1924, Thomas Mann, Der Zauberberg [The Magic Mountain], volume 1, Berlin: S. Fischer, page 228:


Menschenskind

"Menschenskind!" tanzte Engel näher heran und rieb sich verbindlich die Hände, "ist doch keene Kälte: fünf Grad! Hättest vergangenen Winter dabei sein sollen!" und hob sich fast in die Luft, so betrieb er mit beiden Armen gymnastische Packung.

Und nun kommen Sie hier herauf und sind erkältet? Wir sollten hier nicht von ‚Erkältung‘ reden, geehrtes Menschenskind, das ist so ein Schnickschnack von unten.

1924, Thomas Mann, Der Zauberberg [The Magic Mountain], volume 1, Berlin: S. Fischer, page 281:

(dated, informal) A term of address, sometimes indicating disapproval.


Menschenskinder

»Menschenskinder, ihr habt ja 'n Spleen,« sagte Kieselack. Und sie trennten sich.

1905, Heinrich Mann, Professor Unrat oder Das Ende eines Tyrannen, Leipzig: Kurt Wolff Verlag:


am Arsch hängt der Hammer

(colloquial, vulgar) absolutely not; how dare you; forget it!


Punktum

Was sie denn sei und wolle, die Sittlichkeit des Herrn Settembrini! […] Sie sei dazu da, daß man alt und glücklich, reich und gesund damit werde und damit Punktum.

1924, Thomas Mann, Der Zauberberg [The Magic Mountain], volume 2, Berlin: S. Fischer, page 205:


HGW

(informal) Initialism of herzlichen Glückwunsch.


meine Rede

Said to agree with what has just been said; my point exactly


scheiß drauf

(colloquial, vulgar) fuck it, forget it, who cares


stehen Sie bequem

(military) stand easy (command that soldiers may, within common-sense limits of appropriateness, stand as they please)


rührt euch

at ease (command to soldiers standing to attention that they stand with their feet apart and hands behind their backs)


hoppala

Onomatopoeic; compare English hoopla and French houp-là.


Abmarsch

Abmarsch (nominative singular)
Abmärsche (definite nominative plural)
Abmarschs (genitive singular)
Abmarsches (genitive singular)
Abmärsche (definite genitive plural)
Abmarsch (dative singular)
Abmarsche (dative singular)
Abmärschen (dative definite plural)
Abmarsch (accusative singular)
Abmärsche (accusative definite plural)

„Erzähl weiter!“, bettelt sie, doch es ist zu spät – die Mutter kommt mit starken Schritten anmarschiert, die Hände in den Rocktaschen: „Abmarsch, Kinder, heut ist nix mehr mit Spielen!“

2020, Sophie Reyer, chapter 3, in Mariedl. Die Riesin von Tirol, →ISBN:

"Keep talking!", she begs, but it is too late - the mother comes walking with heavy steps, her hands in her skirt pockets. "Off with you, kids, no more playing for today!"

Used by a parent, chaperone or commander demanding their wards or subordinates start moving to go somewhere; Off you go!; Move out!


ach du grüne Neune

/ˌax du ˈɡʁyːnə ˌnɔʏ̯nə/

Literally, “oh you green nine!”
Grüne Neun means “nine of leaves” in the traditional German card deck, where Grün (“green”) or Laub (“leaves”) is the equivalent of spades. The nine of spades is a negative card in tarot card reading, traditionally associated with death.
The form Neune suggests origin in East Central German, where such nominalized numerals in -e are common, perhaps specifically Berlin. Accordingly, one theory links the phrase to a popular theater in 19th-century Berlin called “Grüne Neune”, evidently because it was located in a green house at number 9, but possibly also alluding to the tarot card. The semantic connection is not apparent, however. (The theater, while playing mainly comedies, seems to have been well respected.)

(dated) Used to express surprise, shock or confusion.

Leaves (suit)
de:Grüne Neune
de:ach du grüne Neune
tarot card reading


ach du liebe Zeit

An expression of surprise, shock or confusion.


Scheibenhonig

/ˈʃaɪ̯bənˌhoːnɪç/

Scheibe (“slice, disc”) + -n- + Honig (“honey”). Use as a minced oath probably due to phonetic similarity to Scheiße.

compound

(minced oath) Used in place of Scheiße; fuck!


Scheibenkleister

Scheibe + -n- + Kleister, alteration of Scheibenhonig.


verdorri

From Low German, from underlying God verdor(r)e di/ju, which means “may God make you lose your mind”, related with Tor (“fool”), or alternatively “may God make you wither, shrivel”, related with verdorren (“to wither”). Compare Dutch verdorie.

Verdorri nochmal, warum geht das denn hier nicht!

(regional, Westphalia, Ruhrgebiet) darn it!, damn it!


Kek

Probably from English kek or its origin. See there for more.

(Internet slang, video games) kek, lol, used to indicate laughter or humour.


was weiß ich

(colloquial) I don't know, how would I know, search me, beats me


Bahn frei

1992, Menken, Aladdin, Prince Ali


auf Nimmerwiedersehen

Blend of auf Wiedersehen (“farewell”, literally “that [we may] meet again, till we meet again”) + nimmer (“never again”), literally, “that we may never see again”.

blend

that 􂀿we may􂁀 meet again, till we meet again

lit

(informal, often humorous) good riddance!, see you never!


schwuppdiwupp

Manchmal ist doch so eine elektrische Bahn recht boshaft. Da klingelt sie freundlich und einladend, tut, als würde sie warten und jeden mitnehmen, und wenn dann einer denkt: Ha, die erreiche ich noch! dann — schwuppdiwupp! saust sie ihm an der Nase vorbei.

1918, Josephine Siebe, Die Sternbuben in der Großstadt:

Indicates a fast or sudden movement; ta-da, hey presto


Tschuldigung

/ˈt͡ʃʊldɪɡʊŋ/


plopp

onomatopoeia for a bottle being uncorked, something breaking through a thin surface, a bouncing ball; pop, plop (but not usually associated with water, for which more often platsch)


nh

Likely originally a pronunciation spelling of 'n, 'ne, then generalized to other articles.

(Internet slang) Alternative form of ne (tag question)


verfickt nochmal

Ach, verfickt nochmal!

(vulgar, slang) for fuck's sake, fuck me


wäh

Wäh, ist das grauslich!

Im dem Bad holt man sich einen Fußpilz. - Na, wäh!

In this bath you get a foot fungus. - Yuck!

(Austria) an exclamation of disgust: yuck!, ew!, gross!, ugh! (often preceded by the interjection na)


geilomat

Fanciful extension of geil, probably through the form geilo; perhaps inspired by Automat.

Der unkorrumpierbare Udo Lindenberg, der seinen „Bestes Video national“-Gewinn galant mit „Geilomat, ey“ kommentierte – und beim Playback vor lauter Kabelschwung vergisst, das Mikro wieder rechtzeitig vor dem Mund zu halten.

2016 April 8, Jenni Zylka, quoting Udo Lindenberg, “Echo-Verleihung: Preis, der es jedem recht machen will”, in Die Tageszeitung: taz, →ISSN:


Himmeldonnerwetter

From Himmel + Donnerwetter, literally “sky thunderstorm”.


Glückauf

/ɡlʏkˈʔaʊ̯f/

Short for "Ich wünsche Dir Glück, tu einen neuen Gang auf" ("I wish you luck, open a new lode"). It describes the hope of the miners: "es mögen sich Erzgänge auftun" ("may lodes [of ore] be opened").


gusch

Originally hunting jargon, from French couche! (“lie down!”), from coucher, from Old French couchier (“to go to bed”), from Latin collocāre (“to place, put; assemble; settle; covey”).

der

(Austria, colloquial, impolite, dismissal) shut up


Schiff ahoi

(nautical) ship ahoy (used to hail or attract attention to a ship)


heidewitzka

de:Heidewitzka, Herr Kapitän
de:Karl Berbuer

Popularized by the 1936 Kölsch song Heidewitzka, Herr Kapitän by Karl Berbuer (also known as the Müllemer Böötche). Ultimately in all likelihood onomatopoeic. It seems unclear whether the word was coined by Berbuer or already existed before. Many commentators think that the phrase Heidewitzka, Herr Kapitän (roughly “Huzzah, Mr. Captain”) was a covert parody of Heil Hitler.

So Jungs, heidewitzka! Das schaffen wir noch!

All right lads, come on! We’ll still win this!

huzzah!, come on! (used to incite to vigorous action)

Heidewitzka! Was für ein Schuss!

bam!, wham! (used as a praising reaction to such action)


Oida

Borrowed from Bavarian oida. Piecewise doublet of Alter.


rubbeldiekatz

From rubbeln + Geldkatze: the act of counting coins by rubbing the outside of one's wallet when making a quick bargain

So schnell geht das, dachte sie bitter. Rubbeldiekatz, weg ist er.

2014, Anja Wedershoven, Schürfwunden. Ein Tagebau-Roman, →ISBN, page 15:

It goes so fast, the thought bitterly. Rubbeldiekatz, and it's gone.

Und nach kurzem Chaos […] war das Werk fertig, wurde von uns Dreien nach ausgiebiger Pfötchenkontrolle für gut befunden und rubbeldiekatz eingepackt.

2014, Sabine Ruthenfranz, Schnurrifiziert – verrückt nach Katzen, →ISBN:

And after brief chaos […] the work was finished, approved by us three after extensive paw examination and rubbeldiekatz packed [into the suitcase].

[…] und wenn das abgeschlossen ist, dann geht das ganze Gelumpe rubbeldiekatz unter dem Deich durch nach hinten, und ist dann morgen Abend da.

2023, 20 min 11 s from the start, in Bohrungen unter Norderney – Die Nordreportage – NDR Doku:

indicating a quick, sudden, or immediate action or movement


pfui gack

/ˈpfʊɪ̯ˌɡ̥ak/

(Austria, Vienna, informal, slightly vulgar) an exclamation of extreme disgust, aversion, dislike, contempt, or annoyance

Vienna; slightly vulgar; Vienna; slightly vulgar


ja moin

Grad gedacht ich hätte morgen Schule und schock des Todes bekommen, ja moin.

2017 April 7, Palvidma (@palvidma), “Archived copy”, in Twitter, archived from the original on 2023-10-19:

Just thought i had school tomorrow and got the shock of my life, jesus.

Ja moin hab 0 für Philosophie und 0 für Geographie gelernt morgen wird lustig

2018 June 8, @T2NFTs, “Archived copy”, in Twitter, archived from the original on 2023-10-19:

Ahaha I didn't study at all for philo and for geography tomorrow's gonna be fun

ja moin morgen erst mal fett erfrieren

2021 November 21, @yunggguang, “Archived copy”, in Twitter, archived from the original on 2023-10-19:

ah yes, i'm boutta die from the cold tomorrow [Screenshot of a weather forecast showing near-freezing temperatures in the morning]

Ja moin! Der Kasten mit den Aderendhülsen hat sich im Rucksack geöffnet.

2021 December 31, DonLaͭkͤiͨʰᶰᶤᵏ (@DonLakiTechnik), “Archived copy”, in Twitter, archived from the original on 2023-10-19:

Yeesh! The box with the electric wire ferrules has spilled into my backpack.

Ja moin. Einfach mal so mit 35,5°C aufgewacht. Und ich wundere mich das^([sic – meaning dass]) mir so scheiße kalt ist und ob ich Fieber habe. Nun, es ist wohl eher das Gegenteil.

2023 October 17, 후작 드 요노 (@Yonowaaru1), “Archived copy”, in Twitter, archived from the original on 2023-10-19:

My god. Just casually woke up w/ 35.5 C. And I'm out here wondering why I'm freezing and if i have a cold. I guess it's rather the opposite.

(slang) Expresses shock, disbelief, or exasperation.

Ja moin! Lange nicht gesehen.

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see ja, moin.


ähm

Um; uh (space filler or pause during conversation).


Heil Hitler

From Heil + Hitler, literally, “good health to Hitler”, 1920s.

(Nazism, see usage notes) hello; Heil Hitler

Weidmanns Heil

Waidmanns Heil, Weidmannsheil; cp. Weidmannsheil n


trara

toot, trump (a cheerful exclamation imitating the sound of a horn or trumpet.)


n'Abend

N'Abend! (canonical)
N'Abend (alternative)
N'abend (alternative)
n'abend (alternative)


From the phonetic spelling Nacht; compare French nuit.

(Internet slang) goodnight (replacing gute Nacht)


njam

Onomatopoeic. Compare English yum and the translations there.


Stößchen

«Stößchen!»
Die anderen Gäste starrten sie missmutig an, was die Ruhrpottler komplett ignorierten.

2023, Janne Mommsen, Inselhochzeit im kleinen Friesencafé, Rowohlt, →ISBN:

(colloquial, regional) cheers! (toast used when drinking)


joa

Alternative form and / or spelling of jo (“expresses agreement in a hesitant manner”).

jo (alternative)
jö (alternative)
joah (alternative)
njoa (alternative)

(colloquial) yes, yeah, well; expresses agreement in a hesitant manner.


pfiat di

(chiefly Austria, Bavaria, informal) bye


meine Fresse

Audio

Literally, “my mouth/face”. In use as an interjection by the first half of the 20th century.

(colloquial, somewhat vulgar) Expression of strong surprise or exasperation; oh my God, fucking hell


HDGDL

Ich schreib' nachts HDGDL dich juckt's nicht

2024 February 22, “HDGDL”performed by Haofx:

I write HDGDL [to you] at night [and] you don't care

(Internet slang, text messaging) Initialism of habe dich ganz doll lieb (“love you so much”).

(Internet slang, derogatory) Initialism of habe dich gedisst, du Loser (“I dissed you, you loser”).


geh bitte

/ɡ̥eːˈb̥itɛ/

(Austria, colloquial) An expression of disbelief, doubt, frustration, or anger; come on.

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see geh, bitte.


njoa

Alternative form of joa or jo (“expresses agreement in a hesitant manner”)


moinsen

/ˈmɔːɪ̯nzən/

Probably young adult univerbation of moin + zusammen, thus generally used toward multiple addressees.

Idiosyncratic and slang form of moin (“hi”)


dankö

From danke with an emphatically unreduced and rounded final vowel. Compare nö from nee.


ksch

Probably imitative, compare Russian кыш (kyš). Alternatively from kusch (command for a dog to lie down). The form kusch also appears in the sense of “shoo”, but this might be through secondary confluence.

Ksch! Ksch! Weg da, du blöde Möwe!

Shoo! Shoo! Go away, you stupid seagull!

shoo; a sound made to chase off an animal


habe die Ehre

Literally, “I have the honour [of meeting you]”.

lit

(Austria, Bavaria) a polite greeting: hello, good day

(Austria, usually preceded by na) expression of surprise: wow, man


ach, du Schande

Ach, du Schande, schon so spät?

An expression of dismay, disgust, anger, surprise, etc.: oh dear, yikes


Schalom

Borrowed from Hebrew שָׁלוֹם (šālṓm), meaning “peace” (noun) and therefore capitalized in German.


Schalömchen

Schalömchen liebe Kinder und Jugendliche, unsere Kinder- und Jugendgruppe trifft sich jeden Monat an einem Sonntag.

2025 April 28 (last accessed), “Kindergruppe AVIV”, in www.juedische-gemeinde-bielefeld.de:

Daniel ist manchmal ein bisschen komisch. [...] Meistens sagt er nicht „Tschüs“ oder [„]Tschö, tschö“, sondern: „Schalömchen!“. Er findet das nicht nur schön und erfrischend, sondern es hat für ihn eine tiefere Bedeutung.

2022 May 16, Daniel Harter, “Schalömchen”, in www.kirche-im-wdr.de:

[Steigt als Rabbiner verkleidet ins Auto] „Schalömchen!“

2014, Bastian Pastewka et al., 0:13:10 from the start, in Pastewka, season 7, episode 4, spoken by Hugo Egon Balder (himself):

(informal, chiefly Judaism) a greeting, equivalent to a diminutive form of “shalom”


holdrio

Heute aber, nachdem ein fortgesetztes Mißgeschick mich gänzlich mutlos gemacht hatte, heute aber — meine Herrschaften, verzeihen Sie diese Phrase — lächelte mir endlich Fortuna! Ja, Fortuna lächelte mir! Holdrio!

1905, Bernhard Kellermann, Yester und Li: Die Geschichte einer Sehnsucht:


mein lieber Herr Gesangverein

Literally, “my dear Mr Choir”, chosen for the rhyme.

Sie haben vollkommen Recht, bei klarem Verstand würde ich auch eher von „zwei Schönheiten aus dem ethnologischen Kontext der Sinti und Roma“ sprechen, aber in diesem Moment der totalen Dieselbesoffenheit waren das zwei scharfe Zigeunerschlusen, mein lieber Herr Gesangverein, das kann ich Ihnen aber flüstern.

2012 November 9, Frank Schäfer, “Göttinnen der Strasse”, in Die Tageszeitung: taz, →ISSN: