German · 12 phrases

Exclamations & Outbursts

Pain, shock, the dropped phone, the electricity bill. Germany's outbursts run from the clean (Mein Gott, Oh Mann) to the heartfelt (Verdammte Scheiße), with a rich seam of religious oaths that still carry weight in the Catholic south.

Autsch! OWTCH Ouch! / Ow! Mein Gott! MINE GOT My God! / Oh my God! Oh Mann! OH MAHN Oh man! / Ugh, come on! Quatsch! KVATCH Nonsense! / Rubbish! / No way! Ach du Scheiße! AKH doo SHY-suh Oh shit! / Oh crap! Heilige Scheiße! HY-lig-uh SHY-suh Holy shit!

Herrgott nochmal! HAIR-got NOCH-mahl For God's sake! / Good Lord! Himmel, Arsch und Zwirn! HIM-mel ARSH oont TSVEERN For crying out loud! / Bloody hell and damnation! Scheiße! SHY-suh Shit! / Damn! — the all-purpose German expletive Verdammt! fair-DAMT Damn! / Damn it! Was zum Teufel? VASS tsoom TOY-fel What the hell? / What the devil? Verdammte Scheiße! fair-DAM-tuh SHY-suh God-damn shit! / Bloody hell!