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German · The Du/Sie Trap

Leck mich am Arsch!

LEK mikh am ARSH · /lɛk mɪç am aʁʃ/

Kiss my ass! / Get stuffed! (and, oddly, 'well I'll be damned!')

3/5 Watch your audience

genuinely rude; friends only, never at work

Literally

"Lick me on the arse"

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

How to use it

Nationally beloved, thanks to Goethe: the line comes straight from his 1773 play "Götz von Berlichingen," so it's known as the "Schwäbischer Gruß" (Swabian salute) and even gets abbreviated politely as "der Götz" or "Er kann mich mal." Context flips it entirely — spat in anger it's "get stuffed"; muttered in amazement ("Leck mich, ist das groß!") it's "blimey!" Mozart wrote a canon with the title. Coarse but weirdly cultured.

Heard in the wild

Ach, leck mich doch am Arsch!

Oh, get stuffed!

Where it lands

Germany (esp. Swabia/Bavaria) — universal, culturally iconic

Quick answers

What does "Leck mich am Arsch!" mean?
In German, "Leck mich am Arsch!" means "Kiss my ass! / Get stuffed! (and, oddly, 'well I'll be damned!')". Literally it's "Lick me on the arse". Nationally beloved, thanks to Goethe: the line comes straight from his 1773 play "Götz von Berlichingen," so it's known as the "Schwäbischer Gruß" (Swabian salute) and even gets abbreviated politely as "der Götz" or "Er kann mich mal." Context flips it entirely — spat in anger it's "get stuffed"; muttered in amazement ("Leck mich, ist das groß!") it's "blimey!" Mozart wrote a canon with the title. Coarse but weirdly cultured.
Is "Leck mich am Arsch!" 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 "Leck mich am Arsch!"?
Say it "LEK mikh am ARSH" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: lɛk mɪç am aʁʃ.

Related in German

Verdammt nochmal! fair-DAMT NOCH-mahl God damn it! / For crying out loud! Hau ab! HOW AP Get lost! / Clear off! / Beat it! Verdammte Scheiße! fair-DAM-tuh SHY-suh God-damn shit! / Bloody hell! Herrgott nochmal! HAIR-got NOCH-mahl For God's sake! / Good Lord! Verpiss dich! fair-PISS dikh Piss off! / Clear off (with force)! Das kotzt mich an! das KOTST mikh AHN That pisses me off! / I'm sick to death of it!

The same idea, elsewhere

Via concepts like "Screw you".

how to say "Screw you" →how to say "Get lost" →

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