Textbook German gets you through a test. Real German gets you through a night out with friends. This popular slang list is packed with the words and expressions people actually use on the streets, in group chats, and over coffee – not the stuffy phrases you memorized for class.
We’ve gathered around 200 everyday slang terms that’ll help you decode conversations, catch the jokes you’ve been missing, and sound way less like a walking textbook. Each entry comes with a straightforward meaning and a natural example sentence, so you can see exactly how the slang lives in the wild.
Ready to sound a little less textbook and a lot more like a local? Scroll to the bottom of the article for the free printable German Slang in Germany vocabulary list PDF and the free downloadable printable German Slang in Germany flashcards.
Use this list as a starting point, then keep going in the Yak Yacker German section for more words, phrases, and study-friendly reference pages.
Quick Quiz
Think you can already throw around German slang like a local? Give our quick vocabulary quiz a try and find out how many of these expressions you really know.
Browse the Full List
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| abchecken | UP-CHek-en |
| abchecken | UP-CHek-en |
| abgehen | AP-gay-en |
| abgehen | AP-gay-en |
| abhängen | AP-hen-gen |
| abhängen | AP-hen-gen |
| absichtlich | intentional, deliberate, willful, intended, wilful |
| abziehen | AP-tsee-en |
| abziehen | AP-tsee-en |
| alles klar | AL-les klar |
| alles klar | AL-les klar |
| Alter | AL-ter |
| Alter | AL-ter |
| Antike | classical antiquity, ancient world |
| Antike | classical antiquity, ancient world |
| au | ouch! ow! |
| au | ouch! ow! |
| auslegen | lay out, spread out |
| begleichen | settle, pay off, discharge, square, honor, honour, pay |
| begleichen | settle, pay off, discharge, square, honor, honour, pay |
| begrenzt | limited, restricted |
| beschweren | weight down |
| beschweren | weight down |
| betragen | amount to, total, come to, work out at, run to |
| betragen | amount to, total, come to, work out at, run to |
Free German Slang Vocabulary List and Flashcard PDFs
Grab the purple German Slang in Germany vocabulary list button and the teal German Slang in Germany flashcards button to download both resources. They’re 100% free with no signup, so you can study right away.
