German · Frustration & Fed-Up
Am Arsch!
am ARSH · /am aʁʃ/
Screwed / done for / knackered
2/5 Bar-safe
coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances
Literally
"At the arse"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
Wonderfully flexible. "Ich bin am Arsch" = I'm screwed/exhausted; "Der Wagen ist am Arsch" = the car's had it; "am Arsch der Welt" = the middle of nowhere ("the arse of the world"). And "Du kannst mich am Arsch lecken" is the full insult it's clipped from. Coarse but affectionately so.
Heard in the wild
Nach der Doppelschicht bin ich komplett am Arsch.
After the double shift I'm completely knackered.
Where it lands
Germany, Austria — universal
Quick answers
- What does "Am Arsch!" mean?
- In German, "Am Arsch!" means "Screwed / done for / knackered". Literally it's "At the arse". Wonderfully flexible. "Ich bin am Arsch" = I'm screwed/exhausted; "Der Wagen ist am Arsch" = the car's had it; "am Arsch der Welt" = the middle of nowhere ("the arse of the world"). And "Du kannst mich am Arsch lecken" is the full insult it's clipped from. Coarse but affectionately so.
- Is "Am Arsch!" offensive?
- It's on the mild end — 2/5 (Bar-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances.
- How do you pronounce "Am Arsch!"?
- Say it "am ARSH" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: am aʁʃ.
Related in German
Mist! MIST Crap! / Rats! — the family-friendly 'damn' Verdammt nochmal! fair-DAMT NOCH-mahl God damn it! / For crying out loud! Verdammte Scheiße! fair-DAM-tuh SHY-suh God-damn shit! / Bloody hell! Herrgott nochmal! HAIR-got NOCH-mahl For God's sake! / Good Lord! Oh Mann! OH MAHN Oh man! / Ugh, come on! So ein Mist! ZOH ine MIST What a load of crap! / Damn it all!
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "Tough luck".
- French C'est nul ! That sucks / That's lame
- Greek σιγά Big deal / whatever / calm down / as if — dismissive minimizing.
- Italian Merda! Shit! / Damn it!
- Japanese 勘弁して Give me a break / spare me / oh, come on
- Korean 아이고 Oh dear / oof / good grief — the sound of Korea sitting down after a long day.
- Polish szlag Damn it — 'szlag by to trafił' = may a stroke strike it.
- Portuguese Chato Annoying / boring / a pain
- Russian Капец! That's it, it's over / Damn / Whoa
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