It is the desire to leave your home and go out into the world, taking in the sites and culture all while filling up your Instagram feed.Įveryone’s favorite year in school turns out to be a loanword from German as well. If you’re a frequent traveler or someone who wants to travel, then you know what Wanderlust is. While it may describe a messy situation, it does have a pretty clean rhyme. It originally meant “dirty linen” in the Low German. This word describes a chaotic situation or frustrating confusion that doesn’t make sense. Have you ever looked at a situation and thought that it was a complete mess? Next time, call it a Kuddelmuddel. Supposedly, when you meet your Doppelgänger, your death will soon follow. The origin of the word comes from German folklore and means “double goer.” It describes a spirit or ghost of yourself that exists in this world. There are many such cases, especially with celebrities, where people look very similar to one another. Imagine someone who looks nearly identical to you but isn’t related. This loanword is quite popular in mystery and suspense novels. If you imagine bees swimming excitedly around a beehive, that’s the kind of excitement someone with schwärmen expresses. SchwarmereiĬoming from “schwärmen,” meaning to swarm, this word refers to excessive excitement or enthusiasm. The word recently gained mainstream popularity even though it has been used quite regularly throughout artistic spheres. The resulting smile that slips across your lips is Schadenfreude.Ĭoming from “Shaden” meaning damage and “freude” meaning joy, this word describes the feeling of pleasure at someone else’s pain. But the teacher notices and fails him, forcing him to retake the course. Instead, he’s messing around and even making fun of you for doing all the work. Imagine working on a group assignment with several people and one person isn’t doing his share. And it’s not a flattering term as it’s usually meant to tease someone or remind someone that they’re trying to do something they’re not quite old enough (or mature enough) to do. Whether its a coworker or a politician, someone with Backpfeifengesicht brings a deep feeling of frustration to the surface when you see their face.ĭreikäsehoch means “three-cheese high” or the height of three wheels of cheese stacked on top of each other. If you’ve ever heard someone being described as having a “punchable face” then you know exactly what Backpfeifengesicht is. It’s knowing that the world will always fail to meet your expectations because of the prevalence of pain existing throughout it. Have you ever felt disappointed after reading a sad news story? Or maybe you walked passed a homeless person begging for change and felt a sudden turn in your stomach? That feeling is Weltschmerz. Have you ever heard a song that you can’t seem to shake? It plays in your head over and over again all day long and you find yourself humming it or singing the words out of the blue? That’s an Ohrwurm or “ear-worm.” It comes from the combination of “storm” and “free.” 3. It describes the sense of freedom you get at having the place all to yourself. You’ve felt Sturmfrei the moment your parents or flatmates left you alone in your house. It’s quite similar to the “mid-life crisis.” It is the sudden realization that you need to do something with your life because it will not last forever. And it doesn’t have to slip in at old age either. This word combines “gate-shut-panic” to illustrate the feeling you get when you realize that you’re suddenly getting older, and you don’t have much time left. Luckily, that won’t be hard with how unique (and sometimes hilarious) they can be. That means that you’ll need to commit them to memory. Still, there is no English equivalent to these untranslatable German words. Probably without even knowing realizing that they reflect German culture and thinking. In fact, people even throw these words in casual English conversations. You may not see these words in your average language learning course, but people do use them. If you’re interested in learning German, but need a break from your traditional German language lessons, then you want to check out these 16 untranslatable german words. These German Words Have No English Equivalent