10 Favourite German Words (so far…)

I’ve lived in Germany for 6 months now and have just finished up with my first German language course. Of course, during my time here, I’ve learned many new words and thought I would compile a list of my 10 favourite words so far!

1. Genau (English: Exactly)

Not very funny or exciting, but I love the way this rolls of the tongue. I much prefer saying this in German than English, so much so that Zac and I rarely use ‘Exactly’ even when we have had an entire conversation in English!

2. Lecker (English: delicious)

I have no idea why, but I find this word utterly hilarious! I learned that sellers at markets (particularly Christmas markets) will shout “LECKERLECKERLECKER” and that is the only way I say this word now.

3. Ohrwurm (English: Earworm)

Used to describe a song that you cannot get out of your head. I love this because, although the word is apparently growing in popularity in England, I have never heard it used before.

4. Schatz (English: Sweetheart)

It’s a very lovely word, but I still find it quite funny. I think because it sounds a little like ‘Shart’ to the English ear and that’s always funny! 

5. Handschuhe (English: Gloves – Literal Translation: Hand Shoes)

I mean. Come on. Hand. Shoes. 

6. Ich Liebe Dich (English: I love you)

Again, another lovely saying. Again ruined by my mother tongue because ‘dich’ sounds exactly like ‘dick’ and, well…

7. Zwiebelverpackung (English: onion packaging)

This is a saying used to describe wearing lots of layers when it’s cold. I love that the literal translation is onion packaging, as the layers of an onion. ONIONS HAVE LAYERS. OGRES HAVE LAYERS.

8. Nacktschnecke (English: Slug, Literally: naked snail)

I have previously referred to slugs as homeless snails, so the fact this pretty much makes sense in German makes me confident in my learning skills here!

9. Geschlechtverkehr (English: sex/sexual intercourse, Literally: sex/gender traffic)

I can’t even. 

10. Antibabypillen (English: birth control/contraceptive pill, Literally: anti baby pill)

I think most of the time it’s just referred to as ‘die Pille’ just like we call it ‘the pill’ in England. HOWEVER, from here on I will happily refer to all contraception as ANTIBABYPILLEN because the Germans are amazing. 

I begin my new job and my new German course next week so I am certain that I will learn tons of new words and phrases over the next month or so. Keep an eye for an update…

For more funny/weird German words, take a look at these videos by Evan Edinger and Learn German with Anja. If you want to know how I am learning German, take a look at my previous post ‘Learning German’.

Bis bald, Aufwiedhertschüss!