German · 4 phrases · a local category
The Du/Sie Trap
Germany's uniquely grammatical weapon. Two words for "you" — formal Sie, intimate du — turn politeness into a blade: insulting in cold Sie is peak contempt, while "duzing" a stranger is a slight in its own right. Includes the legally-loaded insults where register meets the courtroom.
Du kannst mich mal! doo KANST mikh MAHL You can get stuffed / up yours — the polite half-curse Wir haben zusammen keine Schweine gehütet! VEER HAH-ben tsoo-ZAM-en KINE-uh SHVINE-uh guh-HUE-tet Don't you dare address me so familiarly — we're not on 'du' terms Leck mich am Arsch! LEK mikh am ARSH Kiss my ass! / Get stuffed! (and, oddly, 'well I'll be damned!') Sie Arschloch! ZEE ARSH-loch The formal-register insult — cold, deliberate contempt