Are you studying the language of the devil and you don’t know to which saint to turn to anymore? No panic! We put together an exhaustive list of common German expressions that you will hardly forget. So close your grammar books and follow us!

1. Arschgeige (r. Arsch = ass, e. Geige = violin); literal translation, dipstick / dipshit/ arsehole

The typically German mastery of composing and using of composite words is known throughout the world. Our teutonic hosts have invented all sorts of these, both when sober and under the influence of susbstances. Arschgeige belongs to the second group.

2. Arschbombe (r. Arsch = ass, e. Bombe = bomb); literal translation, cannon ball

We continue the list of composite words with “ass”. And no, it is not referring to the effects of lactose on your flatmate, but to the jumping in the water in a cannon ball.

3. Arschloch (r, Arsch = ass, s. Loch = hole); literal translation, asshole / twat and so on

Yes, if you hear someone calling you an Arschloch you have every right to get mad.

4. Ich habe die Nase voll davon; literal translation, my nose is full / I’ve had enough

From the ass to the nose. This nice and colorful expression is used to describe situations, people, places, things, cities, etc. of which one has had enough of. It is a highly versatile and effective expressive.

5. Null – acht – fünfzehn; literal translation, zero – eight – fifteen

Did you know? Even with numbers you can say so many things in German. Especially if their combination refers to a heavy machine gun used by the German army in World War I. Surely you will have seen it in some documentary or vintage movie, but what you may not know is that in 1914 the infantry’s army’s automatic weaponry was about 12,000 more than the one in the other armies. The Germans were so fond of using the model number as an expression to indicate not an erotic position, but a mediocre person. Evidently the gun did not work very well.

Cover Photo: © Nina Helmer CC BY-NC ND 2.0

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