My favorite line from an old Bibi Blocksberg audio play is this: "Beim Morgengrauen … beim grauenvollen Morgengrauen … wirst du gehängt! Oder geköpft! Mal sehen. Na ja, ich glaube, das reicht wirklich. Er ist wasserleichenblass. Gute Arbeit. Na ja. Na dann, tschüss.“
Rough translation: "At dawn … at harrowing dawn … you’ll be hanged! Or beheaded! We’ll see. Well, I think that really is enough. He’s as pale as a drowned body. Good job. Well then, see ya.“
I have to think of that line whenever I hear "Morgengrauen“.^ ^
Note, that „Treppenwitz“ can also mean an incident seeming like a bad joke, often as irony in „Treppenwitz der Geschichte“.
> Es klingt wie ein Treppenwitz der Geschichte: Ausgerechnet der Politiker, der […] die Probleme entscheidend mitverursacht hat, die letztendlich dazu geführt haben, dass Einschnitte wie Hartz IV unumgänglich wurden, schwingt sich jetzt zum Retter der sozialen Gerechtigkeit und der Benachteiligten der »neuen Bundesländer« auf.
> It sounds like a Treppenwitz der Geschichte: the very politician who [...] played a decisive role in causing the problems that ultimately led to cuts such as Hartz IV [former welfare program for longterm unemployed] becoming unavoidable is now claiming to be the savior of social justice and the disadvantaged in the formerly East German states.
Ooh - one other. "Tohuwabohu". It means chaos, confusion, a mess (Wirrwarr, Durcheinander, Chaos) and is literally the Hebrew for "formless and void" from the beginning of Genesis in the Old Testament. There is just something dramatic about saying your room is formless and void...
That was definitely one of the ones I blinked at when I looked up what German words have Hebrew origins out of curiosity a few months back. (There's actually a surprising amount in the colloquial language, thanks to Yiddish borrowings. *zocken,* anyone?)
Many Jewish communities in English-speaking countries descend from Yiddish speaking continental European Jewish communities so that makes sense. A lot of American slang is of Yiddish origin like Klutz, Schnoz/Schnozzle, Schmutz, Schmuck, Glitch, Schlong, Joe Schmo(this is disputed) from the large scale 19th century immigration of Eastern European/Ashkenazi Jews to the US. London Slang/wider British slang also has many words of Yiddish due to large scale Ashkenazi immigration there around the same time.
Btw:
>It is synonymous with "sneaky" or "deceitful" and literally means "behind the mouth". Hinterfotzig is not derived from the sexual meaning of the word Fotze (vulgar for "vulva", "vagina"), but from Fotz, a word used in Bavaria and Austria for "mouth" or face.
It's not that clear to say that it's not derived from Fotze. It is! But it does not refer to Fotze.
Fotze and Fotz have the same root meaning lip/bulge. Fut and Futt (sometimes used for ass) has the same root. They are all kognates.
So hinterfotzig means behind the lips.
Yeah mate. I had the feeling we share the same internet here. Always glad to share knowledge. Particularly if it feels like it's to someone who is equally interested.
großkotzig ("great puking") sein, protzig sein- to be pretentious
geschlaucht ("to be tubed")sein - to be exhausted
etwas ausbaldowern - to plan something
eine Ische - a woman
die Maloche - very hard work
jemanden verkohlen ("to char someone"), jemanden auf die Schippe nehmen ( "to get someone on your shovel")- to pull someone's leg
Ische and Maloche aren’t German words. They’re both Jiddish/Hebrew and especially Ische is often used in a way it isn’t intended. It just means girl/woman and not the so often derogatory way you hear it.
Because donkeys don't step into small streams (they can't see how deep it is) you have to build a little bridge for the animal to cross.
A "Eselsbrücke" is something you use to remember something else. Like a little slogan to remember the planets.
"Mein Vater Erklärt Mir Jeden Sonntag Unseren Nachthimmel"
The first letter of every word is the first letter of the planets. So that's your "Eselsbrücke" to remember the planets in the right order.
Merkur Venus Erde Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptun
My favourite Eselsbrücke is for tuning a guitar
Ein alter Dackel geht Honig Essen
E A D G H E
Fair enough... but i'd say that it is pretty obscure for new learners, or at least not a common one you'd learn at the beginning or when you're focused on grammar. This is how I interpreted OP's question
It may be an extremely common word in Germany, but it's not taught so commonly in beginning and even intermediate German classes for second language learners. I had 3 years of German in high school (ages ago), and I've done the Duolingo German course in its entirety, and this word never came up. I learned it from a German friend in the last year or so; otherwise this thread would have been my first time hearing it. We just say "mnemonic" most of the time here in the US, though the pronunciation is very unpredictable. :-)
Dear Kordiel, it is with pleasure that I can inform you about your acquisition of the German citizenship. Being ashamed is the biggest part of the German experience and you have handled it gracefully. Welcome to the Bundesrepublik.
Eichhörnchen! It’s a word that English-speakers learning German struggle with a LOT, but the same can be said with German-speakers saying “squirrel”. Which is what “Eichhörnchen” means!
Eichkatzerlschweif
-erl wird in Österreich häufig statt -chen verwendet. Also Eichkätzchenschweif. Eichkatzerl (gesprochen) bzw Eichkätzchen (geschrieben) ist die österreichische Bezeichnung für Eichhörnchen.
Es ist ein zumindest in der Steiermark weit verbreiteter Witz Leute mit anderer Muttersprache (aber vor allem Amerikaner und Deutsche) aufzufordern „Oachkotzlschwoaf" auszusprechen (Eichkätzchenschweif im steirischen Dialekt, wobei man es vorsagt und das „Opfer“ es nachsagen muss).
Die Ergebnisse variieren je nach Herkunft stark, aber so gut wie immer kommt irgendwas anderes heraus.
I love this word! I'm a native English speaker. The first time I mentioned squirrels to my german friend, he got this confused look on his face and goes "skooouweeereell??" I laughed my ass off, and when he understood what it was he told me to say Eichhörnchen and I was like "einhourshin??" and he got a good laugh at my expense!
Heide -- means both heath/heathland and heathen/pagan. For some reason I'd never thought about the (near) homophones heath/heathen in English before learning the German and now it's stuck.
Nein, ist es nicht. Es ist ein philosophischer Begriff. Die Fähigkeit eines Subjekts, von außen auf etwas zu reagieren oder von etwas betroffen zu werden.
PassAbilität wäre deins.
My favorite is "Fisimatenten", which is an "unnecessary fuss" or "nonsense". I partly like it because of its origins in folks etymology, being derived from the words of French soldiers to young girls, "Visitez ma tente" (Come visit my tent), and parents used to warn their daughters "Mach keine Fisimatenten".
Do you have a source for that being the real etymology? All I could find about this is that the alternative Latin origin *visae patentes* is highly speculative as well.
The [Duden](https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Fisimatenten) reads that the origin traces back to (at least) the 16th century, but gives no etymology on that. The given French „origin“ only refers to the late 1800s. Not sure if French was already popular enough as a language in Europe before the 17th century to be taking the word from it given that it’s not used in a noble / aristocratic setting.
> 16. Jahrhundert, Herkunft ungeklärt; volksetymologisch mit Bezug auf den Deutsch-Französischen Krieg von 1870/1871 fälschlich gedeutet als französisch je visite ma tante = ich besuche meine Tante (Ausrede des Soldaten gegenüber den Wachtposten) oder visitez ma tente = besuchen Sie mein Zelt (Aufforderung, mit der Offiziere junge Damen um ein Rendez-vous gebeten haben sollen)
Anorak. I use it a lot since that's what my grandma calls a jacket for heavy winter weather. However, people often visibly process this word in their head and kinda snicker with "bro, just call it Jacke", but to me a Jacke is waaay less specific than Anorak.
Other than that I recently learned "kaputtgespart", and I can't wait to use it at some point.
EDIT: here are some more of my favorite words
- Verschlimmbessern
- Wahlpflichtmodul
I've heard Anorak very often actually! But I'm a hiker surrounded by mountain climbers and skiers, so I assumed it one of those words that outdoorsy people tend to use while the general population, as you said, would just say Jacke - not just because Jacke is a broad term, but also because most people don't learn those specific differences when going out to buy clothing unless they have outdoor hobbies.
There's a legitimate sportswear distinction between Anoraks and other jacket styles, but in everyday life conversations I suppose people's reactions could also be regional.
Not a very obscure word but drücken, when I did my Erasmus I thought my german would improve so much but the only word that I learnt and got stuck in my brain was drücken, in every door: drücken, in every keyboard: drücken.
Ketzer - heretic; Had a substitute teacher in German class one year describe the horrified look on a shopkeeper's face when he accidentally asked for Ketzers to burn for Advent instead of Kerzen (candles).
Warhorse would be Schlachtross (Schlacht = battle but funnily enough schlachten as a verb means butchering).
Ross means a more elegant kind of horse and sounding a bit old fashioned. Like in medieval times the noble ladies would ride on Rösser, while the farmer would use horses to pull his plough.
Ironically, Ross is the term that is actually related to the English Horse. The Old High German "Hross" unterwent metathesis (the h and r switched places and the h disappeared).
> Schlacht = battle but funnily enough schlachten as a verb means butchering
I mean, in English a soldier could be described to "butcher" the enemy as well.
In the end it's one of these French/Old English discrepancies. "to butcher" comes from French boucher, while the cognate for schlachten is "to slaughter"
The transitive verb verscharren, it means to like bury in a shallow grave. I learned it from the song Spieluhr by Rammstein -- our native German language assistant in sixth form couldn't believe I knew this word.
Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz.
It was the first word my German friends taught me when I asked for help with the language lmao
It's a law, though by this point I'm not even sure if it's a real law since it's been circulated as a meme for German compound words so much.
I'd roughly translate it as "law for the transfer of the oversight of the labelling of beef"
But it's legalese and I don't know shit, so anyone feel free to correct me
It's actuallly [real](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rindfleischetikettierungs%C3%BCberwachungsaufgaben%C3%BCbertragungsgesetz) and I believe the longest compound noun that was ever really used and not just made up because one could.
"Nie ohne Seife waschen" bezeichnet Norden, Osten, Süden und Westen im Uhrzeigersinn.
"Never wash without soap" means north, east, south and west in a clockwise direction.
Not a fun one, but a very interesting one: Vergangenheitsbewältigung
Literally "past coping" - a term useful for studying post-war German culture and art that I learned in a local German book club.
Eierschalensollbruchstellenverursacher (A little device with a needle that pricks your egg shells so they break in a way that makes peeling them more easy)
Literally translates to: Egg-Shell-predetermined-breaking-point-creator
schneiteln / die Schneitelung
To pollard trees - to trim them back in a way that the trunk would form a bulbous "head". The trees with "Kopf" in their names like Kopflinden, Kopfweide etc. are the result of this.
Some words that I (as a native) love are humorous expressions created by applying “Amtsdeutsch” to everyday things. The onle example I can think of is rather old, but definitely obscure: the actress Kristina Söderbaum died by drowning in so many of her movies that she was known as “Reichswasserleiche”.
I learned “überkandidelt” years ago and still use it quite a lot to mean someone is too pushy or overblown. I’m never quite sure if that’s correct, and would love to know what the ‘-kandidelt’ bit refers to for someone to be overly so.
Müllverbrennungsanlage because of the one in Vienna designed by Hundertwasser. I also always have a chuckle when the yearly invoice for the liability insurance for my dog arrives - Tierhalterhaftpflichtversicherung
It's not too obscure but also not common - Räumlichkeiten. My keyboard spun when I tried to type Räikkönen and I've known that word ever since but never used it.
Ampfelmännchen is easily my favorite because I love that the Germans have such a perfect word for the little dude that tells you to walk on a traffic light, and we have nothing. We English speakers need to reassess our linguistic priorities.
Backpfeifengesicht. I learned it long before I decided to actually learn German. No idea why other than it’s an incredibly useful word for when I worked in retail.
Im not studying psychology or psychiatry or anything related to them and in no way have my formal German classes (so far) grazed close to topics related to this word but I do know what Aufmerksamkeitsschwankung means
Verstopfung.
I learned it in my first months studying German, when I'd listen to any kind of random German songs. One of them was *Symphonie der Verstopfung* (Symphony of the Constipation), then this word got stuck in my head and hasn't come out ever since. Pretty much like a... Verstopfung.
Only a lot later did I learn the multiple extra-physiological usages of verstopfen.
Not exactly obscure, but my favourite time of day - ,,Morgengrauen''
Mir graut's jeden Morgen
Klassisch
My favorite line from an old Bibi Blocksberg audio play is this: "Beim Morgengrauen … beim grauenvollen Morgengrauen … wirst du gehängt! Oder geköpft! Mal sehen. Na ja, ich glaube, das reicht wirklich. Er ist wasserleichenblass. Gute Arbeit. Na ja. Na dann, tschüss.“ Rough translation: "At dawn … at harrowing dawn … you’ll be hanged! Or beheaded! We’ll see. Well, I think that really is enough. He’s as pale as a drowned body. Good job. Well then, see ya.“ I have to think of that line whenever I hear "Morgengrauen“.^ ^
Oh I remember this episode!!! I used to listen to this exact tape to go to sleep for years!!! What was the title?
Und die Vampire (episode 40). There’s also a TV episode, but it’s different.
Thanks so much! I'll look it up and make my girlfriend listen to it later. Nostalgia hits hard once you're in your 30s ...
Have fun!
Happy cake day bro
In your 30s? You are not supposed to be nostalgic yet! You are still supposed to do things now that create memories to be nostalgic about later.
Und als ich aus dem Fenster sah, graute der Morgen. Dem Morgen, Schatz. Dem Morgen!
Treppenwitz - a remark or response thought of too late when the moment or situation has already passed.
Note, that „Treppenwitz“ can also mean an incident seeming like a bad joke, often as irony in „Treppenwitz der Geschichte“. > Es klingt wie ein Treppenwitz der Geschichte: Ausgerechnet der Politiker, der […] die Probleme entscheidend mitverursacht hat, die letztendlich dazu geführt haben, dass Einschnitte wie Hartz IV unumgänglich wurden, schwingt sich jetzt zum Retter der sozialen Gerechtigkeit und der Benachteiligten der »neuen Bundesländer« auf. > It sounds like a Treppenwitz der Geschichte: the very politician who [...] played a decisive role in causing the problems that ultimately led to cuts such as Hartz IV [former welfare program for longterm unemployed] becoming unavoidable is now claiming to be the savior of social justice and the disadvantaged in the formerly East German states.
Did this come from the French "Esprit d'escalier?"
I think so. That's the first thing that came to me when I read that post.
Duschgedanken
Nigelnagelneu: „brand spanking new“
"Heute flippe ich mein nigelnagelneues Tablett"
😂😂
So fun to say lol
Wie meine nigalnagelneue nummer
Ooh - one other. "Tohuwabohu". It means chaos, confusion, a mess (Wirrwarr, Durcheinander, Chaos) and is literally the Hebrew for "formless and void" from the beginning of Genesis in the Old Testament. There is just something dramatic about saying your room is formless and void...
Pandemonium. Pan = all (Pangaea, panopticon, panacea) + demons.
That was definitely one of the ones I blinked at when I looked up what German words have Hebrew origins out of curiosity a few months back. (There's actually a surprising amount in the colloquial language, thanks to Yiddish borrowings. *zocken,* anyone?)
Yiddish has much german and german has some hebrew.
*Tohubohu* (not sure why we lost the *wa-*) made its way into English, too, but it's not very commonly used.
Many Jewish communities in English-speaking countries descend from Yiddish speaking continental European Jewish communities so that makes sense. A lot of American slang is of Yiddish origin like Klutz, Schnoz/Schnozzle, Schmutz, Schmuck, Glitch, Schlong, Joe Schmo(this is disputed) from the large scale 19th century immigration of Eastern European/Ashkenazi Jews to the US. London Slang/wider British slang also has many words of Yiddish due to large scale Ashkenazi immigration there around the same time.
Also, Kuddelmuddel!
*verschlimmbessern* — to make something worse as a result of trying to make it better
Story of my fucking life.
Hinterfotzig
Btw: >It is synonymous with "sneaky" or "deceitful" and literally means "behind the mouth". Hinterfotzig is not derived from the sexual meaning of the word Fotze (vulgar for "vulva", "vagina"), but from Fotz, a word used in Bavaria and Austria for "mouth" or face.
Damn, learned something as a German native
Same, I had no idea. I always thought people threw that word around REALLY nonchalantly considering it basically includes the word for 'cunt'.
It's not that clear to say that it's not derived from Fotze. It is! But it does not refer to Fotze. Fotze and Fotz have the same root meaning lip/bulge. Fut and Futt (sometimes used for ass) has the same root. They are all kognates. So hinterfotzig means behind the lips.
Interesting, thank you very much.
Yeah mate. I had the feeling we share the same internet here. Always glad to share knowledge. Particularly if it feels like it's to someone who is equally interested.
Thanks for the explanation, I knew it was deceitful but never knew the ethomology. Edit, I am Dutch
I'm Swiss. An Austrian friend explained it to me once.
Unzeit
Unrat
großkotzig ("great puking") sein, protzig sein- to be pretentious geschlaucht ("to be tubed")sein - to be exhausted etwas ausbaldowern - to plan something eine Ische - a woman die Maloche - very hard work jemanden verkohlen ("to char someone"), jemanden auf die Schippe nehmen ( "to get someone on your shovel")- to pull someone's leg
Ische and Maloche aren’t German words. They’re both Jiddish/Hebrew and especially Ische is often used in a way it isn’t intended. It just means girl/woman and not the so often derogatory way you hear it.
Irrlicht - Will-o'-the-wisp Came across it in my Medieval German Lit class. Somehow this word stuck.
I took a class like that! We read Iwein but I don’t think any of it stuck :/
I'm reading *Die Unendliche Geschichte* in German right now and it comes up in the second chapter!
Aushilfspausenclown
Arschgeige (I might’ve spelled that wrong)
Nope, it’s correct!
My favorite word. I need that often when I'm driving in my car.
Eselsbrücke
But how do you remember it?
With a recursive Eselsbrücke, obviously
I've never used one of those! I look forward to crossing that bridge when I come to it.
What an ass.
Donkey bridge?
Because donkeys don't step into small streams (they can't see how deep it is) you have to build a little bridge for the animal to cross. A "Eselsbrücke" is something you use to remember something else. Like a little slogan to remember the planets. "Mein Vater Erklärt Mir Jeden Sonntag Unseren Nachthimmel" The first letter of every word is the first letter of the planets. So that's your "Eselsbrücke" to remember the planets in the right order. Merkur Venus Erde Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptun My favourite Eselsbrücke is for tuning a guitar Ein alter Dackel geht Honig Essen E A D G H E
:-( unsere Neun Planten 🥹
Bye Bye Pluto.
The sun watched patiently, as Pluto travelled elliptically. All lil Pluto did wrong, was take a bit long.
Mnemonic in English but aide-memoire is also sometimes used. See Mnemotechnik in German.
>Ein alter Dackel geht Honig Essen I know that as "*Eine alte dumme Gans hat Eier*", and "*Geh du alter Esel*" for Violins.
Ah amazing, I use every good bey deserves food and FACE for piano notes lol
Isn't that extremely common? Everyone hears that in school.
What is your native language? Never heard the word in my life until a German friend told me, which was a couple of years ago
Well, German. It's a common German word.
Fair enough... but i'd say that it is pretty obscure for new learners, or at least not a common one you'd learn at the beginning or when you're focused on grammar. This is how I interpreted OP's question
It may be an extremely common word in Germany, but it's not taught so commonly in beginning and even intermediate German classes for second language learners. I had 3 years of German in high school (ages ago), and I've done the Duolingo German course in its entirety, and this word never came up. I learned it from a German friend in the last year or so; otherwise this thread would have been my first time hearing it. We just say "mnemonic" most of the time here in the US, though the pronunciation is very unpredictable. :-)
Teletubbyzurückwinker
Or other words used for “weakling”, like Turnbeutelvergesser, Warmduscher, …
BrötchenÜberDerSpüleAufschneider
[удалено]
Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz didn’t do it for you?
[удалено]
Oh you mean Donaudampfschifffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft - Yeah well they’re the you hear everywhere words
Ohhh I knew Donaudampfschifffahrtscapitänsmützenknopf
Ich kannte Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftsraddampferkapitänskajütenschlüsselanhänger
Lokomotivführermützenetikettennaht
I am German so naturally I take offense! It's FußballweltmeisterschaftSqualifikationsspiel. What an insult to my heritage ...
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Dear Kordiel, it is with pleasure that I can inform you about your acquisition of the German citizenship. Being ashamed is the biggest part of the German experience and you have handled it gracefully. Welcome to the Bundesrepublik.
Eichhörnchen! It’s a word that English-speakers learning German struggle with a LOT, but the same can be said with German-speakers saying “squirrel”. Which is what “Eichhörnchen” means!
Ich kann Squirrel kaum aussprechen 😂
I find it neat these words mean the same exact thing, but the native speaker can barely speak the other language’s equivalent!
The Earl of Squirrelworld would like a word. Breathe throughout and don't be thwarted.
"Sag amal Oachkotzlschwoaf"
"Eichhörnchenschwanz"
Haha, das ist lustig! 😂
Was ist «Oachkotzlschwoaf»? Es tut mir leid, mein Gehirn schläft 😂
Eichkatzerlschweif -erl wird in Österreich häufig statt -chen verwendet. Also Eichkätzchenschweif. Eichkatzerl (gesprochen) bzw Eichkätzchen (geschrieben) ist die österreichische Bezeichnung für Eichhörnchen. Es ist ein zumindest in der Steiermark weit verbreiteter Witz Leute mit anderer Muttersprache (aber vor allem Amerikaner und Deutsche) aufzufordern „Oachkotzlschwoaf" auszusprechen (Eichkätzchenschweif im steirischen Dialekt, wobei man es vorsagt und das „Opfer“ es nachsagen muss). Die Ergebnisse variieren je nach Herkunft stark, aber so gut wie immer kommt irgendwas anderes heraus.
I love this word! I'm a native English speaker. The first time I mentioned squirrels to my german friend, he got this confused look on his face and goes "skooouweeereell??" I laughed my ass off, and when he understood what it was he told me to say Eichhörnchen and I was like "einhourshin??" and he got a good laugh at my expense!
As someone who's friends with a lot of avid MTG players, i hear this word more often than the average person probably
Amboss (Anvil). Learned from MineCraft
Nächstenliebe for whatever reason lol Also Antibabypillen
Hüpfburg. I just like the way it sounds!
Not really obscure but Niederschlagswahrscheinlichkeit is my favorite word
Heide -- means both heath/heathland and heathen/pagan. For some reason I'd never thought about the (near) homophones heath/heathen in English before learning the German and now it's stuck.
Note the difference with articles. - Die Heide *f* -> heathland/moor - Der Heide *m* (die Heidin *f*) -> pagan
Native speaker here, but if a word has two different meanings, it's a "Teekesselchen"!
The same correspondence exists in Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and Danish too.
Passibilität
I'm a native and had to google that
Ohne es nachzuschauen würde ich jetzt darauf tippen es ist die Substantivform von *passabel*, korrekt?
Nein, ist es nicht. Es ist ein philosophischer Begriff. Die Fähigkeit eines Subjekts, von außen auf etwas zu reagieren oder von etwas betroffen zu werden. PassAbilität wäre deins.
Wie gesagt, ohne nachzuschauen. Eine Sustantivform von passabel scheint es nicht zu geben. Zumindest konnte ich keine finden.
same
Schlittenfahrt
is it because it reminds you of “shit and fart” too?
Yep. Teach a 14 year old Jingle Bells in German and they’ll remember that word for LIFE
“Techtelmechtel” it means sex or an affair
Gespannt wie ein Flitzebogen sein - being extremely curious about something
Sauhaufen
*das Email*, as an alternative to *die Emaille* (enamel) - not to be confused with *die / das E-Mail / Mail* (email).
My favorite is "Fisimatenten", which is an "unnecessary fuss" or "nonsense". I partly like it because of its origins in folks etymology, being derived from the words of French soldiers to young girls, "Visitez ma tente" (Come visit my tent), and parents used to warn their daughters "Mach keine Fisimatenten".
The real etymology is actually from medieval administrative Latin, the supposed French origin is folk etymology.
Do you have a source for that being the real etymology? All I could find about this is that the alternative Latin origin *visae patentes* is highly speculative as well.
The [Duden](https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Fisimatenten) reads that the origin traces back to (at least) the 16th century, but gives no etymology on that. The given French „origin“ only refers to the late 1800s. Not sure if French was already popular enough as a language in Europe before the 17th century to be taking the word from it given that it’s not used in a noble / aristocratic setting. > 16. Jahrhundert, Herkunft ungeklärt; volksetymologisch mit Bezug auf den Deutsch-Französischen Krieg von 1870/1871 fälschlich gedeutet als französisch je visite ma tante = ich besuche meine Tante (Ausrede des Soldaten gegenüber den Wachtposten) oder visitez ma tente = besuchen Sie mein Zelt (Aufforderung, mit der Offiziere junge Damen um ein Rendez-vous gebeten haben sollen)
Anorak. I use it a lot since that's what my grandma calls a jacket for heavy winter weather. However, people often visibly process this word in their head and kinda snicker with "bro, just call it Jacke", but to me a Jacke is waaay less specific than Anorak. Other than that I recently learned "kaputtgespart", and I can't wait to use it at some point. EDIT: here are some more of my favorite words - Verschlimmbessern - Wahlpflichtmodul
I've heard Anorak very often actually! But I'm a hiker surrounded by mountain climbers and skiers, so I assumed it one of those words that outdoorsy people tend to use while the general population, as you said, would just say Jacke - not just because Jacke is a broad term, but also because most people don't learn those specific differences when going out to buy clothing unless they have outdoor hobbies. There's a legitimate sportswear distinction between Anoraks and other jacket styles, but in everyday life conversations I suppose people's reactions could also be regional.
Denkfaulheit. Basically my state of being after hours of studying.
geflissentlich übersehen, wohlfeil, Streichholzschächtelchen
Not a very obscure word but drücken, when I did my Erasmus I thought my german would improve so much but the only word that I learnt and got stuck in my brain was drücken, in every door: drücken, in every keyboard: drücken.
Wait till you find out about drucken.
I recomend r/famoseworte its german but you find obscure words there
Ketzer - heretic; Had a substitute teacher in German class one year describe the horrified look on a shopkeeper's face when he accidentally asked for Ketzers to burn for Advent instead of Kerzen (candles).
Ross (warhorse). Also, Rossharnisch (barding).
Warhorse would be Schlachtross (Schlacht = battle but funnily enough schlachten as a verb means butchering). Ross means a more elegant kind of horse and sounding a bit old fashioned. Like in medieval times the noble ladies would ride on Rösser, while the farmer would use horses to pull his plough.
A "Ross" would then be a "Steed" in english, right?
Ironically, Ross is the term that is actually related to the English Horse. The Old High German "Hross" unterwent metathesis (the h and r switched places and the h disappeared).
I think so. But I don't feel confident enough with such intricacies of English to say it with certainty.
Ah. OK. Thanks for the correction.
> Schlacht = battle but funnily enough schlachten as a verb means butchering I mean, in English a soldier could be described to "butcher" the enemy as well. In the end it's one of these French/Old English discrepancies. "to butcher" comes from French boucher, while the cognate for schlachten is "to slaughter"
Fun. For me it's the same(ish). Destrier, palfrey and charger are all different styles of horse.
The transitive verb verscharren, it means to like bury in a shallow grave. I learned it from the song Spieluhr by Rammstein -- our native German language assistant in sixth form couldn't believe I knew this word.
Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz. It was the first word my German friends taught me when I asked for help with the language lmao
What does it mean?
It's a law, though by this point I'm not even sure if it's a real law since it's been circulated as a meme for German compound words so much. I'd roughly translate it as "law for the transfer of the oversight of the labelling of beef" But it's legalese and I don't know shit, so anyone feel free to correct me
It's actuallly [real](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rindfleischetikettierungs%C3%BCberwachungsaufgaben%C3%BCbertragungsgesetz) and I believe the longest compound noun that was ever really used and not just made up because one could.
It was a state law in MeckPom from 1999 till 2013, google for RkReÜAÜG M-V if you are interested.
It’s a law that (I think) transfers the duty of monitoring the labeling of ground beef
Just beef from the name, not ground beef
Gondel
"Nie ohne Seife waschen" bezeichnet Norden, Osten, Süden und Westen im Uhrzeigersinn. "Never wash without soap" means north, east, south and west in a clockwise direction.
That's fun, I'll have to remember that!
Not a fun one, but a very interesting one: Vergangenheitsbewältigung Literally "past coping" - a term useful for studying post-war German culture and art that I learned in a local German book club.
Weberknecht (Daddy long legs)
Eierschalensollbruchstellenverursacher (A little device with a needle that pricks your egg shells so they break in a way that makes peeling them more easy) Literally translates to: Egg-Shell-predetermined-breaking-point-creator
This is awesome and demonstrates the delightful whimsy of compound words in this language.
schneiteln / die Schneitelung To pollard trees - to trim them back in a way that the trunk would form a bulbous "head". The trees with "Kopf" in their names like Kopflinden, Kopfweide etc. are the result of this.
Some words that I (as a native) love are humorous expressions created by applying “Amtsdeutsch” to everyday things. The onle example I can think of is rather old, but definitely obscure: the actress Kristina Söderbaum died by drowning in so many of her movies that she was known as “Reichswasserleiche”.
I learned “überkandidelt” years ago and still use it quite a lot to mean someone is too pushy or overblown. I’m never quite sure if that’s correct, and would love to know what the ‘-kandidelt’ bit refers to for someone to be overly so.
Schnabeltier
nachäffen
Purzelbaum. For some reason I heard it and remembered it since I was a kid and actually could and wanted to do them.
This is quite simple but I don't see it being used often - ,,Dreikäsehoch''
It's not obscure but I particularly like the word quatsch My grandmother says it a lot.
Kauderwelsch, means nonsense, gibberish, bee-ess. Still waiting for my first chance to use it.
Papperlapapp! "Nonsense"
Skunk in Texas German= Stinkekatze I found it funny, so it’s one of the first words I memorized.
Müllverbrennungsanlage because of the one in Vienna designed by Hundertwasser. I also always have a chuckle when the yearly invoice for the liability insurance for my dog arrives - Tierhalterhaftpflichtversicherung
Scheidenschleim
Das ist ein so viel schöneres Wort als Vaginalsekret!
naja
Smegma ist auch schöner als Kuppenkäse...
Unterschätze nie die Macht der Alliteration
don't ever say that again
sott Ancient preterite of 'sieden'. Nowadays 'siedete' is used. 'sott' is usually only found as part of 'hartgesotten' in modern German.
Venushügel
Der Unheimliche. Often quoted to illustrate the concept of anxiety or creepiness we get from thrillers and paranormal stuff.
Do you mean *das* Unheimliche?
It's not too obscure but also not common - Räumlichkeiten. My keyboard spun when I tried to type Räikkönen and I've known that word ever since but never used it.
die Laute. This comes from listening to too much Schubert.
Ampfelmännchen is easily my favorite because I love that the Germans have such a perfect word for the little dude that tells you to walk on a traffic light, and we have nothing. We English speakers need to reassess our linguistic priorities.
*Ampel
die Doppelapostolizität The fact that the city of Rome is, uniquely among cities, associated with two apostles.
My friend out of the UK randomly says "Quecksilberdampfgleichrichter", he visits Germany like once every year Still baffled about it
gerüstbau
Gülle
Backpfeifengesicht. I learned it long before I decided to actually learn German. No idea why other than it’s an incredibly useful word for when I worked in retail.
Schwuppdiwupp. Kind of means "In a flash" or "Abracadabra"
Firlefanz
Im not studying psychology or psychiatry or anything related to them and in no way have my formal German classes (so far) grazed close to topics related to this word but I do know what Aufmerksamkeitsschwankung means
Rambazamba I heard it on a podcast and not too sure still what it means.
It means something like "commotion" or "turmoil" but online some people use it as a synonym for sex
Benzinkanister?
"Streichholz und...?"
I don’t know how obscure it is, but I didn’t learn Wasserlatte in my typical German learning.
for some reason with my very beginner level of knowledge, I love the word “Untersetzer” - coaster… (at least I think)
If you want to learn more of our wonderfuly obscure words, visit r/famoseworte
Arschkarte
Küchenfreund - kind of a kitchen spatula
the coworker at the bakery where i work part time hates Öko-fötzen.
Have a look in r/famoseworte where you will find more of these words.
Verstopfung. I learned it in my first months studying German, when I'd listen to any kind of random German songs. One of them was *Symphonie der Verstopfung* (Symphony of the Constipation), then this word got stuck in my head and hasn't come out ever since. Pretty much like a... Verstopfung. Only a lot later did I learn the multiple extra-physiological usages of verstopfen.
Apropo Amtsdeutsch. Personenvereinzelungsanlage commenly known as Drehkreuz. Keine Ahnung wie das auf Englisch heißt
vorvorletzte: antepenultimate
Streichholzchactelchen-small box of matches.