I would say this is a pretty important German expression to know. It means (if you haven’t figured it out already) – “No sex with Nazis!” Photo Kristi Fuoco

I’m gonna tell you something important so listen up. German is ridiculously hard to master. It is kicking my butt every single day (and I’ve always considered myself good at languages.) After two and half months in Germany I still feel like I am speaking like a beginner (or Kinder Deutsch as I say to people here.) This is partly due to German being very hard and partly due to most Germans being able to speak English (especially in a big city like Hamburg.) But, I refuse to give up!

One of the ways I’m keeping German fun (because believe me, you need to keep German learning fun) is to learn slang, fun expressions and great sounding words. I’m very grateful to have a very close German friend and a cousin who loves slang, teaching me what I need to know to really speak like a local. Here are just a few of the words and expressions that I’ve learned here that I either find A) really useful, B) really funny or C) just fun to say. In no particular order…

1. viel Spaß!  – Have fun! (but one of my favorite things is when Germans say the literal translation in English to me – much fun!)

2. der Fußgänger – pedestrian/walker (But to me it sounds like some sort of foot gang)

3. lecker! – yummy!

4. Das geht/Das geht nicht! – That works/that doesn’t work! (you will use these ones ALL the time, and it literally means ‘that goes’ or ‘that doesn’t go’)

5. die Bierkiste – beer crate (very important in Germany of course but to me it sounds like kissing beer, a very nice idea)

6. süss! – cute! (works especially well for cute animals and kids but you can use it for anything/anyone)

7. Gute Fahrt! – Have a good/nice trip! (Oh but I still laugh about this one…yes I have the humor of a child)

8. Das sieht lächerlich aus!  - This is/sounds ridiculous!

9. schwul – gay (as in a gay man and not to be confused with ‘schwül’ which means ‘humid’…oh yeah, no danger in mixing these up!)

10. das Ampelmänchen- the walking man in the traffic light (one of the first words I learned here and still a favorite to say)

11. Ich bin krank. – I’m sick (rather important one to know)

12. Ich habe einen Kater. – I have a hangover. (equally important to know)

13. schicki micki – hoity toity (like Shaughnessy for instance)

14. Du bist (informal) or Sie sind (formal) nett. – You’re nice/kind. (you can say this to a stranger who helps you out or a friend)

15. Das ist ja wirklich ganz toll!/Das ist super geil! – This is really great/This is awesome! (careful with the second expression here since the word ‘geil’ literally means ‘horny’ so use this in the right way!)

This is pretty much how I feel every day when I try to make progress in German. German Gandalf is standing in my way! Photo Kristi Fuoco

And now you can speak German! Mach weiter so! (Keep it up!)