If you’re living in Berlin (or even just visiting) and you want to sound like a local, you’ll need to know some popular slang.\u00a0In this post, you’ll learn 24 slang words commonly used in Berlin to add to your vocabulary.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This is the day-to-day language used in the city, which you probably won’t learn in your typical online language course<\/a> or in-person classes<\/a>.\u00a0Practicing this Berlin slang will help you connect with locals and impress your German friends.<\/p>\n (Please note: the audio pronunciations in this post are in a “Standard German” accent, so they don’t sound exactly as they would coming from a real Berliner.)<\/p>\n [fluentu-toc] Standard German Equivalent: <\/strong>Guten Tag<\/em><\/p>\n Juten Tach <\/em>is simply the written form of the way a person with a Berlin accent would pronounce\u00a0Guten Tag,<\/em> which later became a typical way to say \u201cHello\u201d in Berlin.<\/p>\n Juten Tach<\/strong>! Wie geht’s?<\/em> (Good day! How are you?)<\/p>\n Standard German Equivalent: <\/strong>Bruder\u00a0<\/em>or Alter<\/em><\/p>\n Berliners might refer to a close friend as their Keule<\/em>, which literally means “mace”. But don’t worry, no bludgeoning is necessary, you can probably stick with a friendly fist bump instead. This one is most popular in the\u00a0Wedding<\/em> district in the North West of Berlin.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hey Keule<\/strong>, wat geht?<\/em> (Hey bro, what’s up?)\u00a0<\/p>\n Standard German Equivalent:<\/strong>Bruder\u00a0<\/em>or Alter<\/em><\/p>\n Here’s another way to refer to a good friend. You’ll hear this one favoured over\u00a0Keule\u00a0<\/em>in the south West around Zehlendorf.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Meene Atze<\/strong> wird heut drei\u00dfig. <\/i> (My buddy is turning thirty today.)\u00a0<\/p>\n Standard German Equivalent: <\/strong>Angst<\/em><\/p>\n In Berlin, Bammel\u00a0<\/em>describes the feeling of doubt, fear and uncertainty.<\/p>\n Da brauchste keen Bammel<\/strong> zu ham! (You don’t need to be scared of that!)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Standard German Equivalent: <\/strong>T\u00fcr<\/em><\/p>\n Brett<\/i>\u00a0is used to describe doors, especially those in a house.<\/p>\n Mach’s Brett<\/strong> ran. Es zieht!<\/em> (Close the door. There’s a breeze!)\u00a0<\/p>\n Standard German Equivalent: <\/strong>kaputt<\/em> or verloren<\/em><\/p>\n In Berlin, you can say futsch<\/em> to say things that are broken, but it can also mean that whatever you’re talking about is gone or lost.\u00a0<\/p>\n Meen janzes Jeld is futsch<\/strong>!<\/em> (All my money is gone!)\u00a0<\/p>\n Standard German Equivalent: <\/strong>schlau<\/em><\/p>\n Helle<\/em> is an adjective that describe a clever, switched-on kind of person.\u00a0<\/p>\n Unsere neue Azubi is nich’ besonders helle<\/strong>. (Our new apprentice isn’t particularly bright.)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Standard German Equivalent: <\/strong>ich<\/em><\/p>\n Ick <\/em>or icke <\/em>are\u00a0just like Juten Tach<\/em>, they’re a spelling that’s based on the Berlin accent. It’s pronounced like “ich”<\/em> <\/i>in Standard German.<\/p>\n Ick<\/strong> hab heut n\u00fcscht zu tun.<\/em> (I have nothing to do today.)<\/p>\n Standard German Equivalent:<\/strong>Ortschaft<\/em><\/p>\n In Berlin, Kaff\u00a0<\/em>means a small, suburban village that’s not interesting and which is isolated from urban areas and cities. You might hear the term\u00a0j.w.d.<\/em>\u00a0in reference to such places, which stands for janz weit drau\u00dfen\u00a0<\/em>(very far out).\u00a0<\/p>\n Das ist so ein Kaff<\/strong> jwd<\/em>.<\/em> (That’s one of those backwater places way far out.)<\/p>\n Standard German Equivalent: <\/strong>ein langweiliger Mensch<\/em><\/p>\n If someone’s being a bit of a stiff bore, you might call them an \u00d6lj\u00f6tze<\/em>. Again, this is with the famed Berlin preference for “j” over “g”. Without the specific accent, it’d be an \u00d6lg\u00f6tze.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Der sitzt da wie een\u00a0<\/span>\u00d6lj\u00f6tze<\/strong>.<\/span><\/em>\u00a0(He’s sat there like a real bore.)\u00a0<\/p>\n Standard German Equivalent: <\/strong>Dummkopf<\/i><\/p>\n In Berlin,\u00a0you’re not an idiot, you’re a\u00a0Flitzpiepe<\/em>. This one is often used endearingly between friends or family, so it’s not as harsh as it may seem.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wat machst du, du Flitzpiepe<\/strong>?<\/em> (What are you doing, you nitwit?)\u00a0<\/p>\n Standard German Equivalent: <\/strong>sich\u00a0streiten<\/em><\/p>\n Kabbeln<\/em> is a slang verb found in various parts of North Germany that describes actions such as squabbling, arguing and fighting. It’s usually used to describe minor, short altercations.<\/p>\n Die Br\u00fcder Markus und Lukas kabbeln<\/strong> sich\u00a0oft.<\/em> (The brothers Markus and Lukas fight each other very often.)<\/p>\n Standard German Equivalent: <\/strong>ein gro\u00dfer Mann<\/em><\/p>\n Lulatsch<\/em> is an adjective that refers to tall, thin individuals.<\/p>\n Neben mir sa\u00df so ein Lulatsch<\/strong>.<\/em> (Next to me sat a beanpole.)<\/p>\n Standard German Equivalent: <\/strong>gucken<\/em><\/p>\n Look alive! Here’s another very typical Berlin word. It’s often used when someone is staring at something or someone.<\/p>\n If, for example, you’re donning an uncharacteristically stylish outfit that day, and your friend is goggling you in amazement, you might smugly reply: “Da kiekste, wa<\/em>?” (Amazed, are we?)\u00a0<\/p>\n Wat kiekst<\/strong>‘n so?<\/em> (What’re you lookin’ at?)\u00a0<\/p>\n Standard German Equivalent: <\/strong>Brille<\/em><\/p>\n Nasenfahrrad<\/em>\u00a0means “nose bike” when literally translated into English. It’s an ironic way to describe glasses in Berlin slang.<\/p>\n Naja, ick find ihn mit Nasenfahrrad\u00a0<\/strong>sch\u00f6ner.<\/em> (Well, I think he’s more handsome with glasses.)<\/p>\n Standard German Equivalent:<\/strong> frech<\/em><\/p>\n Pampich <\/em>is an adjective used to describe someone who’s direct, sassy and bold. Again, like\u00a0juten Tach<\/em>, this is a way of writing the word\u00a0to reflect the Berlin accent, as it would otherwise be\u00a0pampig<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jetzt werd\u00a0ma <\/span>nich pampich<\/strong>!<\/span> <\/em>(Now, don’t get sassy!)<\/p>\n Standard German Equivalent:<\/strong> heftig regnen<\/em><\/p>\n When raining heavily, the verb Berliners use to describe the weather is pladdern<\/em>, as it’s shorter than the Standard German equivalent, heftig regnen<\/em>.<\/p>\n Es pladderte<\/strong> die janze Woche lang. <\/em>(It rained heavily all week long.)<\/p>\n Standard German Equivalent: <\/strong>kleiner Junge<\/em><\/p>\n Though it may sound like the English “people”, Piepel <\/em>means a young boy.<\/p>\n Schon als kleener Piepel<\/strong> hab ick viele Gedichte jeschrieben.<\/em> (I was already writing poems as a young boy.)\u00a0<\/p>\n Standard German Equivalent: <\/strong>benebelt \/ benommen \/ bet\u00e4ubt<\/em><\/p>\n Rammd\u00f6sich <\/em>is usually used to describe someone who’s tired, confused and unable to form clear thoughts. Once again, we’ve written this how it would be pronounced in the Berlin accent; it would otherwise be\u00a0rammd\u00f6sig.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Diese Hitze macht mich rammd\u00f6sich<\/strong>. <\/em>(This heat is making me woozy!)\u00a0<\/p>\n Standard German Equivalent:<\/strong> [mit weit ausgreifenden Schritten]gehen<\/em><\/p>\n Stiefeln<\/em> means walking with slow and far-reaching steps. It means “boots” in Standard German, so it might refer to the way you would have to walk when wearing some big snow or rainboots.\u00a0<\/p>\n You’ll see in our example sentence below, the word\u00a0stiefeln\u00a0<\/em>is in its past participle form\u2014gestiefelt.\u00a0<\/em>But because we’re in Berlin, we’ve written it how it’d be pronounced in a proper Berlin accent, where the “g” sound is often replaced with a “j”.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ick bin den janzen Weg von der Uni nach Hause durch den tiefen Schnee jestiefelt<\/strong>. <\/em>(I strode all the way home from the university through the deep snow.)\u00a0<\/p>\n Standard German Equivalent: <\/strong>Bier<\/em><\/p>\n Molle\u00a0<\/i>is a classic bit of Berliner slang meaning either a bottle or glass of beer. You even go the whole hog and ask for a Molle mit Korn\u00a0<\/em>which is a beer and a shot of corn schnapps. Bottoms up!\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n1. Juten Tach<\/em> (Good Day)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
2. Keule <\/em>(Bro\/Man\/Pal\/Buddy)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
3. Atze<\/em><\/strong>(Bro\/Man\/Pal\/Buddy)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
4. Bammel <\/em>(Fear)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
5. Brett<\/em> (<\/strong>Door)<\/h2>\n
6. Futsch <\/em>(<\/strong>Broken\/Gone)<\/h2>\n
7. Helle <\/em>(<\/strong>Clever\/Bright)<\/h2>\n
8. Ick<\/em> or <\/strong>Icke <\/em><\/strong>(<\/strong>I)<\/h2>\n
9. Kaff<\/em> (<\/strong>Hicksville\/Backwater)<\/h2>\n
10.<\/strong> \u00d6lj\u00f6tze (Deadpan person\/boring person<\/strong>)<\/em><\/h2>\n
11. Flitzpiepe<\/em> (<\/strong>Nitwit\/Birdbrain)<\/h2>\n
12. Sich kabbeln<\/em> (<\/strong>To squabble)<\/h2>\n
13. Lulatsch<\/em> (<\/strong>Beanpole; a tall man)<\/h2>\n
14. Kieken<\/em> (<\/strong>To look)<\/h2>\n
15. Nasenfahrrad<\/em> (<\/strong>Glasses\/Specs)<\/h2>\n
16. Pampich<\/em> (Cheeky\/sassy)<\/h2>\n
17. Pladdern<\/em> (<\/strong>To rain heavily)<\/h2>\n
18. Piepel<\/em> (<\/strong>Young boy)<\/h2>\n
19. Rammd\u00f6sich<\/em> (Woozy\/Dizzy\/Groggy)<\/h2>\n
20. Stiefeln<\/em> (<\/strong>To stride\/to walk)<\/h2>\n
21. Molle<\/i> (A glass or bottle of <\/strong>Beer)<\/h2>\n