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German · The Compound Machine

sauteuer

ZOW-toy-er · /ˈzaʊ.tɔɪ.ɐ/

Ludicrously expensive / a total rip-off price

1/5 Grandma-safe

mild, playful; fine on daytime TV

Literally

"Sow-expensive"

Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.

How to use it

The third great intensifier prefix, "Sau-" (sow), which makes anything more extreme: sauteuer (dead pricey), saukalt (freezing), saugut (really good), sauschwer (dead hard). Milder than the Scheiß- and Arsch- families — you can say "sauteuer" in front of most people — but it still counts as slang. The pig is German intensification incarnate.

Heard in the wild

Vier Euro für einen Kaffee? Das ist ja sauteuer!

Four euros for a coffee? That's a total rip-off!

Where it lands

Germany, Austria — universal

Quick answers

What does "sauteuer" mean?
In German, "sauteuer" means "Ludicrously expensive / a total rip-off price". Literally it's "Sow-expensive". The third great intensifier prefix, "Sau-" (sow), which makes anything more extreme: sauteuer (dead pricey), saukalt (freezing), saugut (really good), sauschwer (dead hard). Milder than the Scheiß- and Arsch- families — you can say "sauteuer" in front of most people — but it still counts as slang. The pig is German intensification incarnate.
Is "sauteuer" offensive?
It's on the mild end — 1/5 (Grandma-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. mild, playful; fine on daytime TV.
How do you pronounce "sauteuer"?
Say it "ZOW-toy-er" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ˈzaʊ.tɔɪ.ɐ.

Related in German

Scheißwetter SHYSE-vet-ter Miserable, filthy weather arschkalt ARSH-kalt Freezing cold / bloody freezing scheißegal SHYSE-eh-gahl Couldn't-care-less / don't give a damn Arschgeige ARSH-guy-guh A useless idiot / a hopeless article Klugscheißer KLOOK-shy-ser Know-it-all / smartass Arschbombe ARSH-bom-buh A cannonball (jumping into a pool bum-first)

The same idea, elsewhere

Via concepts like "Outrageously expensive".

how to say "Outrageously expensive" →

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