If you’re chronically online or around the youth in Germany, you’ve probably had at least one conversation where every other word sounded completely made up.
Teenagers are constantly reinventing slang, and in Germany terms come from social media, gaming, English and other languages -- as well as occasionally giving familiar terms entirely new meanings.
So how are the rest of us to keep up?
Well one small leg up, comes from the dictionary publisher Langenscheidt, which each year invites young people -- from 11 and 20 years old -- to nominate and vote for their favourite slang words and expressions.
From baffling numbers and viral song lyrics to gaming jargon and TikTok trends, this year's shortlist for the German 'Youth Word of the Year' offers a snapshot of the phrases teenagers can’t seem to stop saying.
Here are this year's top 10 finalist terms, listed in alphabetical order:
67
To anyone over the age 30, this was perhaps the most mystifying entry on this year’s shortlist. But kids around the world, including in Germany, just can't stop saying "six seven".
In this case the 'word' is more of a viral trend really -- which seems to have originated in the US via TikTok, basketball memes and the rap song 'Doot Doot (6 7)' by Skrilla.
It’s used as a kind of inside joke that can fit almost any situation, often accompanied by a distinctive hand gesture.
Crashout
If someone completely loses their temper, overreacts or has an emotional meltdown, they’re having a 'crashout', an expression that can be used both seriously and ironically.
Example:
“Wenn der Zug jetzt ausfällt, gehe ich komplett Crashout.”
“If the train gets cancelled now, I’m going to completely crashout (lose it).”
Digga
Some youth slang disappears almost as quickly as it arrives. But not this one.
A sort of veteran in the German slang lexicon, it has once again made the shortlist. It is used a bit like "bro" or "dude" in English, often also to get someone's attention.
Example:
“Digga, was war das denn?!”
“Mate, what was that?!”
Du bist gut genuuuuug
One of this year’s biggest viral phrases came from a song by procedures KitschKrief featuring Blumengarten and Shirin David.
The exaggeratedly sung lyric “Du bist genuuuuug” (You are good enough) escaped the song itself and took on a life of its own online, spawning countless memes and parody versions. Funnily, English speakers mishearing the lyrics led to a large number of videos of people singing, "Doobie scoot canoe".
Social media users have since taken the viral the rhythm of the phrase from the song and applied it to everything from Arbeitsbetruuuuuuuuug (Working time frauuuuud) to Es ist wam genuuuuug (It’s warm enough).
For a bit of a laugh, you can see Tagesschau presenter Susanne Daubner attempt to sing the phrase in her best falsetto in the video clip below.
View this post on Instagram
Gute Käse
If something isn’t just good but genuinely excellent, it might be described as gute Käse (good cheese).
Despite what the literal translation suggests, no dairy products are involved, and it’s simply another way of showing approval.
Example:
“Dein neues Tattoo ist gute Käse.”
“Your new tattoo is seriously good.”
Macker
Older readers may think this one never really went away, but for the youth it might seem like a new term.
'Macker' has enjoyed a revival among younger Germans and can refer to a friend, boyfriend, crush or mate, often with an affectionate or slightly ironic tone.
Peak
Borrowed directly from English, peak describes something that’s the very best or the absolute highlight.
Example:
“Der Sonnenuntergang gestern war echt peak.”
“Yesterday’s sunset was peak (amazing).”
Ragebait
Anyone familiar with clickbait will probably recognize the idea behind ragebait.
The term refers to social media posts deliberately designed to make people angry through provocative opinions, misinformation or wildly questionable takes, all in the hope of collecting comments, likes and clicks.
Schere
Returning to the shortlist for a second year, Schere originally came from the gaming world, where players used it after making an obvious mistake.
These days it’s simply another way of saying “my bad”.
Example:
“Schere. Habe mich wochenlang nicht gemeldet.”
“My bad, I haven’t been in touch for weeks.”
Süper
Borrowed from Türkish, Süper simply means “super”.
The expression became popular on the back of a viral video clip in which Arda Saatçi, an ultramarathon runner from Berlin, was asked how he was feeling after a long race, and replied, “Süper!”
One popular phrase was cut
The above terms were selected from the terms most commonly suggested to the publisher Langenscheidt.
But this year one particularly popular word received enough nominations to make the top 10 but was intentionally removed from the finalists.
That term was 'Mehrzweckeiier'.
The publisher said the phrase broke two of the competition’s rules because it originated as 'part of a political campaign' and was also based on a personal insult.
The nonsensical phrase is a play on the slogan 'Merz leck Eier', which became a popular phrase of protest and rallying cry in Germany, especially at demonstrations against compulsory military service this year.
Police reportedly opened an investigation against one demonstrator, on suspicion of defaming the chancellor, who had written the phrase on a protest poster.
Voting has begun
This year’s 'youth word' shortlist was unveiled on Monday, with voting now open until August 20th. The three most popular terms then advance to a final round before the winner is announced on October 10th.
Young people aged between 11 and 20 can vote for their favourite expression until August 20th on the Jugendwort.de site.
