German Words That Aren't Schadenfreude

If you couldn't tell by the last name already, I've got a little German in me — both hereditarily and dispositionally.

This collection honors one of the things Germans have nailed over the years — cooking up their own words that other languages often need a full sentence to even begin to match.

A spectacular compound made up of wolke (“cloud”) +‎ kuck... more
Used as an unhinged but exquisite insult, "evolutionsbrem... more
Torschlusspanik translates literally to "gate-closing pan... more
Feierabend, roughly translated to 'quitting time', actual... more
Hamsterkauf is a German noun that literally translates to... more
Habseligkeiten, chosen as the most beautiful German word ... more
Kopfkino literally translated to "head cinema," but more ... more
Translating literally to either “explanation poverty” or ... more
This brilliant compound is a pairing of 'teufel' (devil) ... more
I might be alone in this but especially since moving to t... more
Fernweh translates to far-pain or farsickness, but colloq... more
"Doch" is a versatile German word with no direct English ... more
Rambazamba is less of an entirely unique word and more of... more
Schnapsidee, literally translated to "booze idea", more a... more
Verschlimmbessern is a colloquial portmanteau of verschli... more
To have sitzfleisch means the ability to sit still for th... more

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