Fun German Words | Weird & Hilarious

As a language, German is famous for its long words.

What many people don’t know, is that many of these words are compound words; meaning that they are made up of other words.

However, often the new word has a completely different meaning than you would imagine from the parts.

Here I show you a few of my favorite fun German words:

der Dreikäsehoch

This expression literally means “three cheeses high”.

Nowadays we mostly use it for fun, to scold children when they’re getting a little naughty. For example:

Sei nicht so frech, du Dreikäsehoch!
Don’t be so cheeky, Dreikäsehoch!

das Backpfeifengesicht

‘Backpfeifengesicht’ – is a German word for a face that badly needs a punch.

der Weltschmerz

‘Der Weltschmerz’ refers to the pain of that discrepancy between what we want the world to be and our reality.

das Luftschloss

The German word Luftschloss refers to an unrealistic dream; an impossible thing that can’t be achieved. Kind of like building a castle in the air!

der Purzelbaum (a fun German compound word)

It sounds like a tree, right?

But it’s not! The word has a completely different meaning.

This German word describes a somersault in the ground, that kind that often lands in dirt!

das Weichei – my favorite fun German word

Well, maybe a special German word for a breakfast egg?

No!

In German we use this fun German word to refer to someone weak-willed or a little coward; someone that just goes along with the crowd.

das Kopfkino

The fun German word ‘Kopfkino’ refers to mentally playing out an entire situation in your mind, as if you were watching it in a movie theater.

I’ll be adding more fun German words soon, so stay tuned.