Weird German words / phrases

Question 1

Ohrwurm

Answer 1

(Ear worm)

Having a song stuck in your head

Question 2

Fernweh

Answer 2

(Distance pain)
The feeling of wanting to be somewhere else. It’s like a reverse homesickness (Heimweh in German), a longing for a place that isn’t where you are right now.

Question 3

Kummerspeck

Answer 3

(Grief bacon)

The excess weight put on by emotional overeating.

Question 4

Innerer Schweinehund

Answer 4

(Inner pig dog)

Laziness

Question 5

Fremdschämen

Answer 5

(Exterior shame)

The feeling of shame when seeing someone else in an uncomfortable or embarrassing situation.

Question 6

Torschlusspanik

Answer 6

(Closing-gate panic)

The feeling of urgency to accomplish something before “it’s all too late.”

Question 7

Treppenwitz

Answer 7

(Staircase joke)

The joke that comes to your mind after you needed it

Question 8

Lebensmüde

Answer 8

(Life tired)
This word literally means being tired of life. Nowadays lebensmüde is what you call your friends when they are attempting something especially stupid and possibly life threatening

Question 9

Weltschmerz

Answer 9

(World pain)

The world fails to live up to what we wish it was.

Question 10

Weichei

Answer 10

(Soft egg)
Means someone who is weak and cowardly. The same is also conveyed by calling someone Würstchen, the diminutive of sausage.

Question 11

Backpfeifengesicht

Answer 11

(Slap face)

Someone who you feel needs a slap in the face.

Question 12

Erklärungsnot

Answer 12

(Explanation poverty)
It’s what you find yourself in when put on the spot without a sufficient explanation or excuse for something you have done or failed to do.

Question 13

Sitzfleisch

Answer 13

(Sit or seat meat)
it describes a character trait. Those who possess a lot of seat meat are able to sit through and weather something incredibly hard or boring.

Question 14

Purzelbaum

Answer 14

(Tumble tree)

It describes a somersault on the ground, a favorite way of children to get their clothes dirty.

Question 15

Dreikäsehoch

Answer 15

(Three cheeses high)

It describes is a person who is vertically challenged, implying they’re only as tall as three wheels of cheese.

Question 16

Zungenbrecher

Answer 16

(Tongue breaker)

Tongue twister, a phrase that’s very hard to pronounce even for native speakers.

Question 17

Schattenparker

Answer 17

(Shadow parker)
This word is part of a series of insults for men which accuse them of unmanly behavior. In this case, of parking their car in the shadow to avoid heating up the interior. These kinds of derogatory terms were something of a meme some years back and whole lists of them exist on the internet. Alternatives include Warmduscher (someone who showers with warm water), Sitzpinkler (a man who urinates while sitting down), or Turnbeutelvergesser (someone who used to forget their gym bag in cardio class).

Question 18

Kuddelmuddel

Answer 18

Kuddelmuddel describes an unstructured mess, chaos, or hodgepodge. Alternatives which are equally awesome include Tohuwabohu, Wirrwarr, Mischmasch, and Kladderadatsch.