German: Untranslatable Words
30 famous German words with no one-word English equivalent, from Schadenfreude and Kummerspeck ("grief bacon") to Handschuhschneeballwerfer. Front: the German word with its article. Back: the meaning and the literal translation.
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#1
Q:die Schadenfreude
- A:Joy at someone else's misfortune (Schaden "harm" + Freude "joy")
#2
Q:das Fernweh
- A:A longing for faraway places, the opposite of homesickness; lit. "far-ache"
#3
Q:der Kummerspeck
- A:Weight gained from emotional eating; lit. "grief bacon"
#4
Q:die Eselsbrücke
- A:A memory trick, a mnemonic; lit. "donkey bridge"
#5
Q:die Torschlusspanik
- A:Fear that time is running out for life goals; lit. "gate-closing panic"
#6
Q:das Backpfeifengesicht
- A:A face that is just asking to be slapped; lit. "slap face"
#7
Q:der Treppenwitz
- A:The perfect comeback you only think of too late; lit. "staircase joke"
#8
Q:fremdschämen
- A:To feel embarrassed on someone else's behalf
#9
Q:der Weltschmerz
- A:Sadness about the state of the world; lit. "world pain"
#10
Q:der Kabelsalat
- A:A tangled mess of cables; lit. "cable salad"
#11
Q:der Stubenhocker
- A:A homebody, a couch potato; lit. "room squatter"
#12
Q:verschlimmbessern
- A:To make something worse by trying to improve it (schlimm "bad" + verbessern "improve")
#13
Q:der innere Schweinehund
- A:The inner laziness you have to beat; lit. "inner pig-dog"
#14
Q:das Kopfkino
- A:A scene playing vividly in your imagination; lit. "head cinema"
#15
Q:die Schnapsidee
- A:A crazy idea that only sounds good after a few drinks; lit. "schnapps idea"
#16
Q:sturmfrei
- A:Having the home to yourself because parents or flatmates are away; lit. "storm-free"
#17
Q:die Gemütlichkeit
- A:A warm, cosy feeling of comfort and belonging
#18
Q:der Zugzwang
- A:Being forced to make a move you'd rather not make (from chess)
#19
Q:der Brückentag
- A:A workday between a holiday and the weekend that people take off; lit. "bridge day"
#20
Q:das Fingerspitzengefühl
- A:Intuitive tact in delicate situations; lit. "fingertip feeling"
#21
Q:das Sitzfleisch
- A:The ability to sit through long, boring tasks; lit. "sitting meat"
#22
Q:der Warmduscher
- A:A wimp; lit. "someone who takes warm showers"
#23
Q:das Drachenfutter
- A:A gift to calm down an angry partner; lit. "dragon food"
#24
Q:das Luftschloss
- A:A pipe dream; lit. "castle in the air"
#25
Q:der Handschuhschneeballwerfer
- A:A coward who criticises from a safe distance; lit. "glove snowball thrower"
#26
Q:die Zweisamkeit
- A:The happy intimacy of being a couple; lit. "two-someness"
#27
Q:die Waldeinsamkeit
- A:The peaceful feeling of being alone in the woods; lit. "forest solitude"
#28
Q:der Lebensabschnittsgefährte
- A:A partner for this phase of life, not necessarily forever; lit. "life-section companion"
#29
Q:das Hüftgold
- A:Love handles; lit. "hip gold"
#30
Q:der Dreikäsehoch
- A:A little kid; lit. "three cheeses high"