25 German Slang Words and Everyday Expressions Locals Actually Use

Textbook German gets you through the door, but slang gets you into the real conversation. German slang is where the language loosens up: the words friends use at a bar, in a group chat, or grumbling about the U-Bahn. Learn a few and you stop sounding like a language app and start sounding like a local.

Below are 25 German slang words and everyday expressions locals really use. For each one you get the meaning, an example in context, and the English translation, so you know exactly when to drop it.

German Slang for Reactions

The words Germans use to react to anything, good or bad.

1. Krass

Meaning: Intense, extreme, wow. Works for amazing and awful alike.

Example: "Das Konzert war so krass!" ("That concert was so intense!")

2. Geil

Meaning: Cool, awesome, great. Literally it means horny, but in everyday speech it just means brilliant. Casual only.

Example: "Der Film war echt geil." ("That movie was really cool.")

3. Mega

Meaning: Super, really, mega. An intensifier stuck in front of almost anything.

Example: "Das Essen ist mega lecker." ("The food is super tasty.")

4. Der Hammer

Meaning: Something amazing, a big deal.

Example: "Deine neue Wohnung ist der Hammer!" ("Your new flat is amazing!")

5. Fett

Meaning: Literally fat, but as slang it means cool or huge.

Example: "Fette Party gestern!" ("Awesome party yesterday!")

German Greetings and Fillers

How Germans open a conversation without a stiff Guten Tag.

6. Na?

Meaning: A one word greeting: so, how's it going? Often answered with another Na?.

Example: "Na, alles gut?" ("Hey, everything good?")

7. Was geht?

Meaning: What's up? Casual, among friends.

Example: "Was geht, Leute?" ("What's up, guys?")

8. Moin

Meaning: Hi, used any time of day, especially in northern Germany.

Example: "Moin! Schon wach?" ("Hey! Already awake?")

9. Alles klar?

Meaning: All good? Okay? Both a greeting and a check in.

Example: "Alles klar bei dir?" ("Everything okay with you?")

10. Alter

Meaning: Dude, man. Literally old one, used to address a friend or to express surprise.

Example: "Alter, was machst du da?" ("Dude, what are you doing?")

11. Digga

Meaning: Bro, mate. Originally Hamburg slang, now heard all over Germany.

Example: "Digga, das glaub ich nicht!" ("Bro, I don't believe it!")

German Slang for Everyday Life

The words that fill ordinary days.

12. Bock haben

Meaning: To be up for something. Ich hab Bock means I feel like it; kein Bock means can't be bothered.

Example: "Hast du Bock auf Kino?" ("Do you feel like going to the cinema?")

13. Chillen

Meaning: To chill, relax, take it easy.

Example: "Wir chillen heute nur zu Hause." ("We're just chilling at home today.")

14. Abhängen

Meaning: To hang out, hang around.

Example: "Wir hängen im Park ab." ("We're hanging out in the park.")

15. Quatsch

Meaning: Nonsense, rubbish. Also Quatsch machen, to fool around.

Example: "Red keinen Quatsch!" ("Don't talk nonsense!")

16. Kohle

Meaning: Money, dough. Knete works the same way.

Example: "Ich hab gerade keine Kohle." ("I've got no money right now.")

17. Malochen

Meaning: To work hard, to graft. From the Ruhr region's industrial roots.

Example: "Ich muss heute richtig malochen." ("I have to really graft today.")

18. Verpeilt

Meaning: Scatterbrained, disorganized, all over the place.

Example: "Sorry, ich bin heute total verpeilt." ("Sorry, I'm totally scatterbrained today.")

19. Verarschen

Meaning: To take the mickey, to mess with someone. Casual, a bit crude.

Example: "Willst du mich verarschen?" ("Are you kidding me?")

Slang like this only clicks when you hear it in real conversations. Our Colloquial German Stories drop these words into everyday scenes, so you learn the rhythm and the context, not just a list.

German Expressions and Idioms

Whole phrases that carry the humor of the language.

20. Die Nase voll haben

Meaning: To be fed up, literally to have the nose full.

Example: "Ich hab die Nase voll von dem Job." ("I'm fed up with that job.")

21. Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof.

Meaning: I understand nothing, literally I only understand train station.

Example: "Erklär es nochmal, ich versteh nur Bahnhof." ("Explain it again, I understand nothing.")

22. Auf dicke Hose machen

Meaning: To show off, act rich or tough, literally to act like fat trousers.

Example: "Er macht immer auf dicke Hose." ("He's always showing off.")

23. Das ist mir Wurst.

Meaning: I don't care, literally that's sausage to me. A very German shrug.

Example: "Kino oder Bar? Ist mir Wurst." ("Cinema or bar? I don't care.")

24. Schnapsidee

Meaning: A crazy, harebrained idea, literally a schnapps idea, the kind you get after a few drinks.

Example: "Um Mitternacht wandern? Was für eine Schnapsidee." ("Hiking at midnight? What a crazy idea.")

25. Läuft bei dir.

Meaning: Things are going well for you, nice one. Often said with a wink, sometimes ironically.

Example: "Neuer Job, neue Wohnung, läuft bei dir!" ("New job, new flat, things are going great for you!")

How to Use German Slang Naturally

To go from reading to sounding local:

1. Start with the safe staples. Krass, mega, Na?, and Bock haben are friendly and hard to misuse. Lead with those.
2. Watch the register. Geil and verarschen are casual only, never for work or formal settings.
3. Build a daily habit. The 5-Minute German Journal turns small daily practice into fluency, and 100 German Phrases for Travelers gives you the everyday language around this slang.

Keep going: pair this with 30 German idioms that make no sense in English, and learn the difference between an idiom and a saying to sharpen your ear.