20 Everyday German Slang Words and Colloquial Expressions
Full disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. ?
So, you want to learn German slang? Sehr gut!
Everyday German includes slang, regional greetings, casual expressions and a few perfectly standard words that textbooks don’t always emphasise. They aren’t interchangeable, so I’ve noted where a word is rough, informal or regional as we go.
Here are 20 useful words and expressions, with examples that show where they fit.
Before we get started, if you’re looking for an online German course, here’s the course I recommend: German Uncovered – Learn German Through the Power of Story, a course with a fascinating new method by my friend Olly. You can try it for free for 7 days!
Table of contents
1. Alter!
Alter is a very informal way to address someone, a bit like “man” or “dude”, and it also works as an exclamation of surprise or disbelief. Use it with friends and peers, not in formal situations.
Alter Schwede is a separate fixed exclamation, roughly “good grief” or “wow”, rather than the full form of Alter.
You might hear Alter, was geht ab?, which means “Man, what’s going on?”
You can also use it to express surprise or disbelief in something. For example one of my rugby friends asked me my age, and I told him I was 25. He laughed and said, Alter! Nein, wirklich, wie alt bist du?, or “Man! No, really, how old are you?”, which did nothing for my ego as he thought I was 32.
You can use it at the start of a sentence to express disbelief, or to add effect to what you’re saying:
- Alter! Ist das euer Auto? – “Man! Is that your car?”
- Alter Schwede! Was hast du gemacht? – “My God! What did you do?”
- Alter, mach schon! – “Come on, man!”
2. Moin
Moin is a regional greeting associated especially with northern Germany. It isn’t really slang, and people use it at any time of day, not just in the morning. You can learn more ways of saying “hello” in German here.
I even receive emails from friends using Moin as a greeting:
I find this term really helpful if you’re saying hello to a group of people, like if you’ve just walked into a party, and you’re not quite sure what to say.
3. Geil
In casual German, geil can mean “brilliant”, “cool” or “great”. It also means “sexually aroused”, so context and register matter.
It works much like “sick” in English when that word means something is excellent, although geil is still very informal.
You’ll often hear geil in sentences like:
- Mann, das Essen war so geil! – “Man, that food was amazing!”
- Sie hat das gemacht? Geil! – “She did that? Brilliant!”
- Ich habe ein geiles Restaurant gefunden. – “I found a really cool restaurant.”
4. Irre
In casual German, irre can mean “wild”, “incredible” or “crazy”, and it can intensify another word. Avoid using it as a label for mental illness, where it is outdated and discriminatory.
- Das ist ja irre! – “That’s incredible!”
- Ich fand es irre, wie schlecht ihr Kundendienst war. – “I couldn’t believe how bad their customer service was.”
- Es war irre heiß. – “It was incredibly hot.”
5. Krass
Krass is a strong informal reaction whose exact meaning depends on context. It can be “wow”, “intense”, “shocking”, “amazing” or “awful”.
For example, Robert hat 500 Euro mit einem Rubbellos gewonnen (“Robert won 500 euros on a scratchcard”) could be met with Krass! (“Wow!”).
The same reaction works for bad news: Robert hat 500 Euro aus meiner Brieftasche geklaut (“Robert stole 500 euros from my wallet”). Krass! then means something closer to “That’s awful!”
6. Lecker
Lecker is an everyday word for “tasty” or “delicious”. It isn’t really slang, but you’ll hear it constantly. During a meal, someone might ask Schmeckt’s?, meaning “Does it taste good?”
You can simply reply by saying, Ja! Lecker.
7. Assi
Assi is a derogatory short form related to asozial. It can describe a person or behaviour as antisocial, crude or disreputable, and Duden marks it as often discriminatory.
You may hear it used casually, but be careful about copying it, especially when it is aimed at a person or linked to class and poverty.
As an adjective, it stays lowercase: Das war echt assi (“That was really out of order”).
8. Hammer
A hammer is the tool you use to bang nails into wood. It’s the same word in German as in English. But the Germans also use it to describe something that is cool or outstanding.
It can be used simply as, Hammer! to respond to something cool you’ve heard or seen. But you can also expand a little bit.
Let’s say you’ve spent the afternoon at a football match and someone asked you whether you saw the winning goal. You could say, Alter, es war der Hammer!, which means “Man, it was brilliant!”
You can use that sentence on its own to describe lots of things you’ve seen or done.
9. Bescheuert
Bescheuert means “stupid”, “ridiculous” or “crazy”. It is blunt, so it is safer for a situation or idea than as a label for a person.
Das ist total bescheuert! – “That’s completely ridiculous!”
10. Quatsch
Quatsch is a fun word to say which comes with a few different meanings.
One of the most common ones is a light-hearted way of saying, Don’t be silly!. For example: Ich wollte mich bei dir für das Geschenk bedanken (“I wanted to thank you for the present”) could be met with Quatsch! Ich wollte dir was schenken (“Don’t be silly! I wanted to give you a present”).
Quatsch can also be used when you think what someone is saying makes no sense. Was redest du für einen Quatsch? (“What nonsense are you talking about?”).
On its own, Quatsch! is usually closer to “Nonsense!”, “Rubbish!” or “Don’t be silly!” than a general swear word.
Finally, you can turn it into the verb quatschen to say that you’re just chatting away with someone. Ich bin jetzt bei Ela. Wir quatschen nur. Ich komme bald nach Hause. (“I’m with Ela right now. We’re just chatting. I’ll come home soon.”)
11. Jein
Jein is a mix of the words Ja for “yes” and Nein for “no”. Germans will often use this word to describe when something isn’t clear cut, or they haven’t yet made a decision.
Let’s say you’re talking to a friend about their relationship status. They’ve been dating someone for a while and you want to know if they’re serious yet. You might ask, Seid ihr jetzt in einer Beziehung? (“Are you in a relationship now?”), to which they could say, Jein (“Yes and no. Maybe. Who knows!?”).
12. Mensch!
Mensch means “human” in German, but it can also be a way of saying “man!” or “oh man!”. It’s often used to show dissatisfaction with someone or something. Or, at that moment when you’re two streets away from your house and you realise you left your mobile phone at home.
If you’ve got a friend who does something you’re not particularly fond of you can say, Mensch! followed by their name to express your dissatisfaction. Mensch, Marie! can be a good way of getting your point across.
13. Mist!
Mist is used in the same way as “crap” or “bugger” might be used in English. It’s relatively inoffensive and can be used to express mild negative emotions. You know, when something isn’t enough to ruin your day, but you wish it hadn’t happened.
You can slot Mist! or Ach, Mist! in wherever you would say “crap” or “oh crap” in your normal everyday conversations.
14. Verarschen
Verarschen can mean teasing someone, pulling their leg, making a fool of them or taking the piss. It is coarse, so save it for informal situations where that tone fits.
Ich verarsche dich nur means “I’m only winding you up” or “I’m just kidding”.
Willst du mich verarschen? means “Are you taking the piss?” or, depending on tone, “Are you kidding me?”
15. Kater
In this context, Kater means “hangover”. The same noun can also mean a male cat.
If you’ve had a heavy night drinking German beer or schnapps, you might wake up the next day and want to say, Ich habe einen Kater, meaning “I have a hangover”.
16. Prima!
Prima is an everyday word rather than slang. It means that something or someone is great. When I hear prima, it always sounds happy, like an early 19th-century English gentleman saying, “Tip top ol’ chap”.
Here are some examples of prima in action:
- Das ist prima! – “That’s excellent!”
- Er ist ein prima Kerl! – “He’s a top bloke!”
- Sie macht das prima. – “She does that so well.”
17. Besserwisser
A Besserwisser is a “know-it-all”, someone who acts as though they always know better. The plural is also Besserwisser, with no extra -s.
18. Ausflippen
Can you use your powers of cognate-deduction to figure out what this word means? It’s close to its English relative.
Ausflippen means “to flip out”. It can describe losing your temper, but German also uses it for going wild with excitement: Als sie die Nachricht gehört hat, ist sie total ausgeflippt (“When she heard the news, she completely freaked out”).
19. Verdammt
Verdammt is another close cognate to an English word. It can be used in the same way as the word “damn”.
Here are some sentences to give you an idea:
- Verdammt, ich hab mein Handy zu Hause vergessen. – “Damn, I left my phone at home.”
- Der verdammte Verkehr geht mir auf den Keks. – “The damn traffic is getting on my nerves.”
- Verdammt, FC Köln hat schon wieder verloren. – “Damn, FC Köln lost again.”
20. Sau-
Sau- is an informal intensifying prefix that means “very” or “extremely”. It is joined directly to the adjective, as in sauteuer, and it has a rough, casual flavour.
The first time I heard this word was in the middle of summer at a wine festival in western Germany. It was boiling hot and the people around me would say it was sauwarm, which means “it’s absolutely sweltering”.
You’ll hear it in compounds such as:
- saulecker – “incredibly tasty”
- saugeil – “insanely cool”
- sauteuer – “really expensive”
Using German Slang Naturally
These expressions won’t make you sound native overnight, and not all of them belong in every conversation. Pick two or three, listen for how German speakers use them, then try them with people you know. If you want an easy way to remember the ones that fit your own conversations, save them in the Vocab Vault.
For a broader look at building your German, watch this next:
Social