German · Insults & Name-Calling
Drecksau
DREK-zow · /ˈdʁɛk.zaʊ/
Filthy pig / dirty swine
3/5 Watch your audience
genuinely rude; friends only, never at work
Literally
"Dirt-sow / filth-pig"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
"Dreck" (dirt/filth) plus "Sau" (sow) — aimed either at someone morally grubby or, literally, at whoever left the shared kitchen disgusting. The "Sau" family is enormous in German: Sauwetter, sauteuer, "unter aller Sau." Rude and pointed, but this side of a real fight.
Heard in the wild
Wer hat hier reingekotzt? Diese Drecksau!
Who threw up in here? That filthy pig!
Where it lands
Germany, Austria — universal
Quick answers
- What does "Drecksau" mean?
- In German, "Drecksau" means "Filthy pig / dirty swine". Literally it's "Dirt-sow / filth-pig". "Dreck" (dirt/filth) plus "Sau" (sow) — aimed either at someone morally grubby or, literally, at whoever left the shared kitchen disgusting. The "Sau" family is enormous in German: Sauwetter, sauteuer, "unter aller Sau." Rude and pointed, but this side of a real fight.
- Is "Drecksau" offensive?
- It's genuinely rude — a 3/5 (Watch your audience) on the Punch-o-Meter. Fine among friends, never at work or with people you've just met.
- How do you pronounce "Drecksau"?
- Say it "DREK-zow" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ˈdʁɛk.zaʊ.
Related in German
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "Disgusting".
- French Ça craint ! That's sketchy / That sucks / This is bad news
- Greek αηδία Gross / disgusting / yuck.
- Italian Che schifo! How gross! / Yuck!
- Japanese キモい Gross / creepy / disgusting
- Korean 극혐 So gross / absolutely revolting — maximum disgust in two syllables.
- Polish syf Filth / grime / a dump — squalor as a one-syllable verdict.
- Portuguese Bosta! Crap! / (a) piece of garbage
- Russian Фу! Yuck! / Ew! / Gross!
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.