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Joe Warnimont Last updated: September 29, 2023

Annoyed to Outraged: 15 Fiery German Words and Phrases for Those Angry Days

What if you could speak to your spouse, kids, coworkers, friends or just about anyone in German, but not express when you’re ticked off?

Telling your significant other you love them is nice, but revealing anger is just as important as schmoozing when it comes to resolving problems.

That’s why I put together a list of some of the most common angry German words for you to express your feelings, get a point across or even to tease your friends.

Why Would You Want to Learn German Sentences That Show You’re Angry?
15 Heated German Words and Phrases to Use When You’re Mad

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Why Would You Want to Learn German Sentences That Show You’re Angry?

Anger is a natural emotion, so if you need to express that you’re dissatisfied at a business meeting or disappointed with a friend, you must learn how to show that in the German language. It’s also nice, since many of these anger-based sentences double as joking statements when speaking with friends.

You can also leverage anger to show people that you’re truly being serious. This works great for many professions, such as teachers or coaches who need to grab attention quickly.

It’s worth noting that although we won’t cover many curses in German, the German population generally has no problem with cursing, and they show it on TV without any censorship. That’s another perfect reason for learning angry German words and sentences! I can’t imagine a good German movie or TV show without some sort of conflict involved. So if you’re learning German through books, movies or TV, it’s imperative to recognize these emotional sentences.

Video content featuring native speakers is a great way to hear German used in lots of different situations. By seeing and hearing the language in action, you can learn how to properly utilize German expressions with confidence. You can find plenty of German videos online, and you should watch with the eyes and ears of a learner–taking copious notes of how emotion is conveyed in varying degrees through words.

Another content resource that offers a more learner-friendly approach is FluentU, a language learning program that teaches German using authentic videos like commercials and news segments. The videos come with interactive subtitles that translate words and provide vocabulary usage examples. You can search the videos by difficulty level and topic, letting you learn words and phrases used for various situations and emotions.

Hearing German words and phrases in context while watching movies or web videos will help the language you learn stick better in your mind. See if you can find videos on the web that feature the phrases from our list below.

And now, let’s get grouchy with our list of quarrelsome German vocabulary.

15 Heated German Words and Phrases to Use When You’re Mad

1. Quatsch!

Pronounced like “Kvatch,” this is one of the more commonly used terms when showing your angry side. The point is to come back with the word when someone is talking nonsense, so although it doesn’t have a direct English translation, it pretty much means “Nonsense!”

2. Schleich dich!

Schleichen is a verb that means “to creep,” yet when combined with the word dich, it has a literal translation of “Get lost.”

I enjoy this saying because you can fit it into playful conversation as well as angered dialogue. It’s also not too vulgar or insulting that you would end up getting into a brawl with it.

3. Hau ab!

Hau ab is another way to say “Get lost,” but keep in mind that the verb hauen means “to hit,” so it’s a tad more aggressive than the “Schleich dich!” option.

If you find yourself at a beer garden in Munich, and a guy tries to pick a fight with you, consider staying away from the “Hau ab!” phrase.

4. Ich bin sauer.

This is a simple statement that states “I’m angry.” Although it may not seem like the ideal way to reveal your emotion, being clear and to the point is often the most rational method instead of throwing a tantrum or something like that.

This is also a better way to tell a friend, coworker or relative that you aren’t to be messed with right now, since it’s not all that aggressive, and you can keep the situation from going out of control.

5. Ich bin wütend.

Translated as “I’m furious,” this sentence takes the level up a notch, revealing that you truly mean business. Germans don’t have that many hand gestures to pair with these statements, so when you’re feeling furious, resort to the standard face expressions and arm movements you would consider when speaking English.

A red face and a grimace usually gets the point across. Not to mention, flipping the bird is as understood in Germany as it is in most parts of the world.

6. Halt deinen Mund.

You may not even use this as an angry statement, but it works for that as well. The sentence simply means “Be quiet,” but the more literal translation is “Shut your mouth.”

7. Geh mir aus den Augen!

The sentence “Geh mir aus den Augen!” means “Get out of my sight,” which can obviously be used in many situations such as when frustrated with a significant other, worker or child.

8. Leck mich!

The literal translation for this is “Lick me,” but that doesn’t make much sense, now does it? The “Leck mich!” phrase is actually what you would use if you’re trying to say something like “Bite me” or “Screw off!”

9. Leck mich am Arsch!

Tying into the goofy “Lick me” statement above, we have an even funnier direct translation that doesn’t actually mean what the translation says. “Leck mich am Arsch!” directly translates to “Lick me on the a**.” Now that’s not intimidating. It’s certainly weird though.

Although that’s the case, it’s actually the German version of “Kiss my a**.” For a more PG-rated version of this phrase, simply replace the word Arsch with Hintern to say “Kiss my butt!”

Try the hand gesture:

Much of the world uses the “a-OK” hand gesture as a way to indicate that things are going well. However, some Germans use the gesture to represent the word a**hole, which you can pair with the saying above to put some emphasis on what you mean.

10. Du kannst mich!

To keeps things open-ended, the “Du kannst mich!” saying means “You can ~ me,” allowing you to fill in the blank with your own imagination.

11. Du kannst mich gern haben!

If you’d like to get a little more specific with the “Du kannst mich!” sentence, consider this one. The immediate translation is “You can like me,” but that would be crazy to tell to someone you’re mad at.

What it’s actually saying is “No, forget it, I’m not doing that,” which is ideal if someone is trying to get you to do something you don’t want to do at work or school.

12. Hast (du) ein Wahn oder was?

This means “Are you crazy or what?” since the word Wahn means “deluded” or “delusional.” To take it a step further, you may consider telling another person they’re an idiot, with the phrase “Du bist ein Dummkopf.”

Germans also pair this saying with a hand motion, somewhat flexing the bicep in front of the chest and patting the elbow with the opposite hand. The motion indicates that the other person’s brain is located in their elbow.

13. Mist! / So ein Misthaufen!

If you stick to the word Mist, it’s like saying “Crap!” since the German word means manure. However, you can also take it a step further by saying “So ein Misthaufen,” which translates to “What a pile of crap!”

14. Ach du lieber Himmel!

“Ach du lieber Himmel!” has a rough translation to “Good heavens!” for when you get frustrated with someone or you can’t believe how dense someone is being.

15. Lass mich in ruh!

The final angry German word works wonders for that moment when you can’t stand being around people. “Lass mich in ruh!” is a simple way to say “Leave me alone.”

Obviously we don’t condone yelling at people in German only to strike up an argument, but it’s human nature to get frustrated or angry sometimes, so it’s essential to have an arsenal of angry German words to express your emotions and reach a state of fluency.