# German insults / swearing



## operapixie

Since German has such gutteral sounds, I would like to know what the most common insults are in German (along with their English translations).  In particular, I'd like to know how to say "Fuck You" or anything similar.

As a note, this is isn't the only reason I want to visit these forums or have begun my membership, but this is my most immediate desire because there is one specific person who has gotten my ire up lately and I'd really like to tell that person off.

Thanks in advance.

~Laura


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## Kajjo

Please ask specific questions and always give context. Phrases like "Fuck you!" have no simple equivalent in German: The proper translation depends on the specific usage in a certain situation. Describe what situation you have in mind and we will be glad to give a suitable expression.

Kajjo


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## Suilan

A very common insult is to tell Germans that their native language sounds guttural.

Why don't you simply tell that person you want to insult "Fuck you." I'm sure s/he'll understand that much English. And I doubt he or she would be much impressed if you knew that particular insult in German.

P.S. You might want to be a little careful using swear words in a foreign language. It's not that easy getting them right. You might end up offending people even if you didn't mean to offend, or if you do mean offense, you'd still risk serious embarrassment for yourself if you got the words wrong. 

Say, you want to call someone a bitch? So you look the word up in your dictionary and it says: Hündin. Great, so you yell at the top of your voice: "Du Hündin!"
And the girl just laughs her head off and you will be fool of the day. Not the effect you wanted, eh?

The word _Hündin _cannot be used as a swear word. It just means female dog. You cannot imagine how silly "Du Hündin!" sounds to a German ear. Of course, I never managed to convince the girl who tried it on me -- she was in her third year of high school German -- that it was not a swear word, just plain silly.


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## gangsta

'Fuck you" in German is "fick dich." I think they're actually 100% equivalent.


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## Suilan

> I think they're actually 100% equivalent


 
Actually, I'd say "Fick dich" is closer to: "Why don't you go and fuck yourself."

But I'm not an expert on swearing.


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## Piotr_WRF

"Verpiss dich" would be a possibility. It's meaning is quite similar to "piss off".


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## operapixie

I must apologize if my comment about the guttural sounds of German was taken as an insult.  It was not meant as such.

I'm really not sure how I can elaborate more fully on the specific usage of the phrase honestly.  It's truly a singular entity and not meant to indicate anything kind or sexually pleasurable.  It's an expletive, I guess, more like "piss off" or "go fuck yourself"...Does that come closer to describing what I'm after for that specific phrase?

But more than that, whether there's a literal translation of that particular phrase, what phrases ARE commonly used in Germany?  And what would their rough translations be?

As for pronunciation, I'm actually quite good at that having had some training in the language as an opera singer (though not a lot, and more from a pronunciation standpoint than from a speaking one - part of the reason I find myself here).


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## Hutschi

operapixie said:


> because there is one specific person who has gotten my ire up lately and I'd really like to tell that person off.
> 
> ~Laura


 
Hi Laura,
you should test whether your ire is big enough yet. But this is no language question.

What do you mean with "swearing"? (I'm not sure because this has several meanings in English.) 
If you mean "Fluch" (curse), in this case, it is not necessary that the person is in attendance. The curse is similar to Vodoo and a kind of magic.

Examples for swearing as "Fluch":
"Niemals sollst Du Freunde finden, Deine Freude möge vergehen und Übel möge Dich ereilen." 
(rough translation) Never be friends with you, may your joy vanish and evil be with you.)

"Mögest Du ewig in der Hölle schmoren!"
(May you forever be grilled in hell.)


http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluch

But take care:

According to the Book of Proverbs, an undeserved curse has no effect (Proverbs 26:2), but may fall back upon the head of him who utters it.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse)


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## Suilan

Even if your pronunciation is great, if that person is not used to you speaking German, s/he might not expect it and thus not understand that you are speaking German. So you have just called her/him a name in German, and s/he, confused, asks you: "Excuse me? What did you just say?" -- And you won't even know if s/he is upset about the insult or if s/he didn't understand what you said. So what do you do? Repeat the insult? That seems somewhat anticlimactic.

(I once had a straight-A German III student desperately trying to talk to me in German. Half the time I couldn't tell if she was speaking English or trying to speak German (the other half of the time I knew she was trying to speak German but couldn't understand more than a word here and there.) She did it on the school bus, with everyone listening eagerly if she was really as good as she thought. It was very embarrassing -- for me too, because I didn't mean to cause her embarrassment, but I could honestly not understand what she was saying.)

P.S. It was my impression back in the U.S. that there are swear words that are very common, and it's really only a handful. Bitch, jerk, dick, asshole, how many more do you need to be insulting people all day? Compared to this -- and it may be my impression only -- German insults are less general, more personal, and more varied. I could not name you, say, six or twelve most common insults that will provide you with the right insult in any given situation.

You haven't even told us if the person you want to insult is male or female, and if you are on a first-name basis with him/her or not, and just how insulting you want to be. Enough for him/her to be wanting to punch your nose? Do you want to be vulgar or sarcastic? And just what added bonus do you hope to achieve by insulting him/her in German when s/he will understand your English insult just fine?

My advice: Insult him/her in English. You have a better chance of getting the reaction that you are hoping for.


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## Kajjo

Excellent counseling, Suilan! 

Kajjo


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## Suilan

One last thought: even if you found the perfect insult and that person understands it, what kind of message would you be sending? That his/her behavior hurt you so much that you've wasted hours of your time to research German insulting techniques. Is that what you want?


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## Bonjules

Hi OP,
Try 'Idiot'!, but with a Russian slant, so it sounds more like 
Idiott!, with the emphasis on the end.
My grandmother (German, but grew up in Russia) used to call me that
and I was always very impressed by it. I has several advantages:
it  is  internationally understandable,
has that added 'punch' to it
and leaves the addressee confused and puzzeled enough to wonder in which language exactly he/she is being insulted.
saludos


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## Bacon Girl

I spent my whole morning on a Google, and finally found a quote that makes me happy. 'sie sind alle verdammt arschlocher'. Which means 'You are all fucking assholes' in German!


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## Dan2

Bacon Girl said:


> I spent my whole morning on a Google, and finally found a quote that makes me happy. 'sie sind alle verdammt arschlocher'. Which means 'You are all fucking assholes' in German!


Very thoughtful of you to choose the polite form of the pronoun "you" in saying this.
(Others may wish to comment on other grammatical fine points...)


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## Frank78

Bacon Girl said:


> 'Sie sind alle verdammt*e* Arschl*ö*cher'. Which means 'You are all fucking assholes' in German!





Dan2 said:


> Very thoughtful of you to choose the polite form of the pronoun "you" in saying this.
> (Others may wish to comment on other grammatical fine points...)



It's not that uncommon. Some people might even think that using "du" without offer is more offensive than "Arschloch". 

Neighbour: "Du Arschloch parkst ja schon wieder mit deinem Auto vor meiner Einfahrt"
Me: "Für Sie immer noch "Sie Arschloch"


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## Hutschi

'... sie sind alle verdammt *A*rschl*ö*cher'. means 'they are all fucking assholes' in German!

'... Sie sind alle verdammt *A*rschl*ö*cher'. means 'You are all fucking assholes' in German!

If the uppercase letter is at the beginning of the sentence it depends on the context whether it means "they" or "you".

Note that "Arschlocher" has a very different meaning than "asshole". It is no common word at all, but it means: "device to make holes into the ass." or "person who makes holes into the ass" - ass holer.

Locher = holer, keypuncher
Löcher = plural of "Loch" - hole


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## Lykurg

That sentence (corrected to "Sie sind alle verdammte Arschlöcher") is second or third person *plural* in the polite form of adress. 

You would most probably make a fool of yourself using that on an individual - but if you do so in public, the whole group is adressed, which might do serious harm to your relationship with them (if they don't immediately understand that you just made a mistake). 

Anyway, I agree with Kajjo and Suilan: 
Just say it in English. It will be understood for sure, and choosing your own language as the valid medium of discourse is also an advantage for you. If you insult somebody in his own language without knowing it properly, you are unable to keep up fighting if there is a retort in that language (and even more, defenceless if you are ridiculed). But if you choose English, he already shows weakness if not answering in English.

Or follow Bonjules; I like his approach!


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## Geo.

Frank78 said:


> It's not that uncommon. Some people might even think that using "du" without offer is more offensive than "Arschloch".
> 
> Neighbour: "Du Arschloch parkst ja schon wieder mit deinem Auto vor meiner Einfahrt"
> Me: "Für Sie immer noch "Sie Arschloch"


 
Servus Frank78, 

I _was_ going to say that swearing at someone whilst using the polite form of the 2nd person is oxymoronic, and that _it's not only logical to use „du“ or „ihr“, but it can also make it evident by the first word out of ones mouth that one is about to let someone have it but good!_

I once attended a lecture at the Goethe-Institut, _where it was very clear that two Professors did not get on._ When the one had just finished addressing the audience, the other simply turned and said _„Bist fertig?!“,_ and in the circumstances of the both being professional academics _— who were in no way friends —_ there wasn't another word needed. It came across fairly close to _'You f*cking done yet?!'_

_But now,_ _just when I was about to caution a respondent against using a form of „Sie“ when hurling an insult or swearing,_ I read your z.B. _„Für Sie immer noch, Sie Arschloch!“_ and I laughed so hard at what could be taken as the tremendous sarcasm in it. _(Sie mit Ihrem „Herrn Nachbar“ ... das Arschloch! ... Fünf Minuten später lache ich immer noch!)_ 

Tschüß ... _und danke!_


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## Hutschi

There is a very similar word to "Fuck you!" with a very different meaning:
"Verfick dich!" = "Verpiss dich!" = "Zieh ab!" = "Verschwinde!" (go away!")
I gave the sequence with coarse words at the beginning and rather neutral at the end.


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## Geo.

Geo. said:


> _Sie mit Ihrem „Herrn Nachbar“ ... das Arschloch! ..._



_Sie mit Ihrem „Herrn Nachbar“ ... *dem* Arschloch! ... _​
(For all the many, and egregious, mistakes I make in German when I don't know better, _I can't stand it when I've made one of which I'm not ignorant!_ (It only bothered me for three years. See, this is what happens when no-one corrects you, you've no occasion to speak German in over 40 years, and you forget to take your OCD medication). Seriously, I feel poor grammar lowers the tone, and doesn't help those who are not already strong in a language, but trying to learn.


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## Schimmelreiter

Geo. said:


> I feel poor grammar lowers the tone, and doesn't help those who are not already strong in a language, but trying to learn.


Hear, hear!


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## bearded

I find that a German expression, often used in similar situations as 'fuck you' in English, could be 'Du kannst mich mal...''
oder ''Sie können mich mal..'' (I have doubts on whether it would be appropriate to quote the *complete* sentence in the Forum..). Would Germans regard it as more vulgar or offensive than 'fuck you'?


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## Schimmelreiter

bearded man said:


> I have doubts on whether it would be appropriate to quote the *complete* sentence in the Forum..


_Er aber, sag’s ihm, er kann mich im Arsche lecken!_ 

Geheimer Rat Johann Wofgang von Goethe, _Götz von Berlichingen,_ 3. Aufzug


Zu beachten ist in Sonderheit die Dativbildung.


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## bearded

Hallo SR
Zwei Fragen: 1. Dativbildung mit e beachtet, ist aber 'im' statt 'am' noch gebräuchlich in diesem Satz? und 2. bedeutet die Tatsache, dass auch Goethe den Ausdruck verwendete, dass dieser letzten Endes doch nicht so vulgär ist? Weniger vulgär als 'fuck you'?


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## Glockenblume

Ganz allgemein kann man feststellen, dass im Deutschen Schimpfwörter aus dem analen Bereich (Scheiße, Arschloch, ...) relativ häufig vorkommen, während in den romanischen Sprachen der vaginale Bereich viel stärker vertreten ist (diverse Ausdrücke rund um die Geschlechtsteile sowie Anspielungen auf den Geschlechtsakt und auf Prostitution). Englisch scheint mir, obwohl es eine germanische Sprache ist, in dieser Hinsicht eine Zwischenstellung einzunehmen.
Häufiger vorkommende Schimpfwörter wirken oft weniger stark als seltener auftretende.
Von daher frage ich mich, ob der Ausdruck "Fick dich" nicht wesentlich verletzender ist als der Ausdruck "Fuck you", der im Englischen doch relativ verbreitet scheint.

Ich persönlich würde viel empfindlicher darauf reagieren, wenn mir jemand "Fick dich" sagt, als wenn er "Arschloch" sagt. 
Im Französischen ist es gerade umgekehrt: Wenn jemand "putain" sagt (wörtlich übersetzt: Hure), so ist das nicht einmal ein Schimpfwort, sondern so flucht jemand vor sich selbst hin; dagegen ist das Wort "trou du cul" eine weitaus gröbere Beleidigung als das deutsch "Arschloch" - auch wenn man letzteres normalerweise vermeiden sollte. 
Wie im Englischen "Fuck you" genau einzuordnen ist, weiß ich nicht.

Von daher kann ich mich meinen Vorrednern nur anschließen: Man kann die Schimpfwörter nicht so leicht übersetzen. Auch kommt es darauf an, ob ein Schimpfwort eher als ein Vor-sich-Hinfluchen sein soll (wie z. b. "Scheiße") oder eine persönliche Beleidigung (wie z. b. "Arschloch")


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## Schimmelreiter

bearded man said:


> Hallo SR
> Zwei Fragen: 1. Dativbildung mit e beachtet, ist aber 'im' statt 'am' noch gebräuchlich in diesem Satz? und 2. bedeutet die Tatsache, dass auch Goethe den Ausdruck verwendete, dass dieser letzten Endes doch nicht so vulgär ist? Weniger vulgär als 'fuck you'?


Na ja, ich hab das Literaturzitat genommen, um die Anstößigkeit zu mindern. Funktioniert übrigens - mit einem Augenzwinkern - auch im Alltag. Es soll Richter gegeben haben, die urteilten, ein Angebot könne nicht strafbar sein.

Im Zuge einer unironischen Invektive ist weder das Final-e noch _im _noch die Angebotsform _(kann) _gebräuchlich - letztere noch am ehesten -, dann ist das Ganze wirklich nur vulgär.

Im Übrigen scheint mir diese Injurie nicht - oder nicht dominant - der Fäkal-, sondern der Sexualsphäre zu entstammen.


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## ayuda?

Grüß dich!!

I see that none of the regulars are going to touch this with a ten-foot pole, if you’ll excuse the expression. 
I agree with Suilan; we don’t use a lot of swear words—but you sure as hell hear them a lot here!!

I once read somewhere that German has more ways of swearing than any other language. I’m starting to believe it. You can even buy books about it online. They have one at the local library here.  And, frankly, some of this stuff is so graphic, you just have to laugh. While I was in Germany, I once heard someone say to someone else, _“Du Arsch mit Ohren_.” I couldn’t stop laughing; and, to this day, I still chuckle about it when the word _Arsch_ pops up.
Maybe they are best used to talk _about_ someone, rather than _to _someone. If you do, though, *make sure you get a running* *start*. 

Butt, In the interest of promoting better international relations and for the purpose of cultural enrichment, here are a few more ways to tell someone what to do with themselves. It is probably more effective if, at the same time, you _jemandem den Stinkefinger zeigen_ .


On the lists, are just a few more examples of the _right_ way to say the wrong thing you’re probably not going to hear at the opera. 
You’ve got to admit, they certainly do communicate:   

http://www.youswear.com/?language=German
http://german.about.com/library/blvoc_avoidA.htm
http://www.toytowngermany.com/lofi/index.php/t4149.html
http://www.insults.net/html/swear/german.html

*Edit: *If anyone would like to alienate themselves in several languages and places, youswear.com has a "load" for you that would be a priceless addition to your guide book’s list of useful phrases—for instance,  something in Esperanto, Domari, or Jersey shore USA…


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## Hutschi

bearded man said:


> I find that a German expression, often used in similar situations as 'fuck you' in English, could be 'Du kannst mich mal ...''
> oder ''Sie können mich mal..'' (I have doubts on whether it would be appropriate to quote the *complete* sentence in the Forum..). ....?


 
Hi; I want to add one aspect of the incomplete sentence.

It is the possibility to use it as joke or to move it to a joke.

"Du kannst mich mal ... am Abend besuchen." (This form is rather common.)
This makes it rather difficult to translate "du kannst mich mal" - is there in English a similar form with two different endings?

There are other forms like this.

Schei...(ße)
...benhonig!
...benkleister!

This allows it to hide the swear word but include the content nevertheless.


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## Glockenblume

Mir fällt gerade noch ein:
Goethe steht nicht allein mit seinen deftigen Ausdrücken.
Die extremsten Ausdrücke sind meines Erachtens von Martin Luther überliefert worden. -
Ansonsten, auch sehr hörenswert: Mozart, KV 231 + KV 233 (Da wird in sublimer Musik mehr oder weniger der Goethesche Ausspruch besungen - der Kontrast zwischen Musik und Text ist äußerst bemerkenswert.)


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## bearded

Another (maybe outdated) 'swearing' expression that occurs to me is _Himmelarschundzwirn_​, the meaning of which I would be curious to learn.  Is it at all blasphemic (associating heaven and ass), and what does 'Zwirn' have to do with the rest of the word? Thanks in advance to native speakers.


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## ayuda?

Non-verbal insult:
Used when you’re in the fast lane and someone in a Porsche approaches you like a speeding bullet  from behind on the Autobahn.
Hand signal not in the official German driver’s manual.

No, they’re not complementing your driving or just plain happy to see those American license plates [that signal means OK in the USA ].
I don’t think you have to use your imagination too much to know what part of the anatomy they are talking about!
http://www.werbeblogger.de/2007/08/27/interkulturelle-gesten


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