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German slang and idiom vocabulary: 448 words

Sound like a local — common colloquial words and idioms with their natural equivalents in each language (English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese). This page lists 40 of them with their German translations, then lets you practise the full set in either direction with spaced repetition.

English to German: the first 40 words

EnglishGermanNotes
coolcoolImpressively good, stylish or admirable in casual praise. Not about low temperature.
awesomesuperExtremely good, said with enthusiasm about something you really like.
guy, dudeTypInformal for a person; friendly, not insulting in casual speech.
to hang outabhängenTo spend unhurried free time somewhere, usually with friends.
to chill, relaxchillenTo let go of tension and rest calmly after effort or stress.
No way!Auf keinen Fall!An emphatic refusal meaning absolutely not, under no circumstances.
Awesome, right?Cool, oder?A casual tag inviting the listener to agree that something is great.
It's a piece of cakedas ist ein KinderspielIdiom: very easy to do, not about actual cake.
It's raining cats and dogses regnet in StrömenIdiom: heavy rain, not animals falling.
to cost an arm and a legein Vermögen kostenIdiom: extremely expensive, not literal body parts.
to pull someone's legjemanden auf den Arm nehmenIdiom: to tease or joke with someone, not physical.
to be brokepleite seinHaving no money, not damaged or injured.
Speak of the devilwenn man vom Teufel sprichtIdiom: person arrives just as you mention them.
not my cup of teanicht mein DingIdiom: not something you like or enjoy.
to hit the nail on the headden Nagel auf den Kopf treffenIdiom: to say or do exactly the right thing.
Good luck!Viel GlückSaid before a performance or challenge.
little by littlenach und nachGradually, in small amounts or stages over time.
more or lessmehr oder wenigerApproximately, roughly true but not exactly.
What a mess!Was für ein Chaos!An exclamation about a scene of great disorder or muddle.
Are you kidding?Machst du Witze?Said in disbelief, asking whether the speaker is joking.
no worrieskein DingA casual reassurance that everything is fine and nobody should fret.
awesome timeeine super ZeitA hugely enjoyable stretch of fun.
to be fed updie Nase voll habenVery annoyed or tired of something; impatient.
on the dotauf die MinuteExactly on time.
big deal, a loteine MengeA very large amount or quantity of something.
to mess upMist bauenTo blunder and spoil something through your own clumsiness.
step by stepSchritt für SchrittProceeding one stage at a time in careful order.
It's worth ites lohnt sichSaid when the effort or cost is repaid by the result.
so-soso lalaNeither good nor bad, only middling.
to keep an eye onein Auge behaltenIdiom: to watch or monitor, not literal eye.
Get it?, Understood?Alles klar?A short question checking that the listener has grasped what you said.
Okay, alrightokayA word expressing agreement or consent to what was proposed.
to be worth nothingnichts taugenTo have no value or usefulness whatsoever.
hurry up!beeil dich!A command telling someone to move or act faster right now.
to be in a hurryes eilig habenTo have too little time and need to act quickly.
for real, seriouslyim ErnstGenuinely and truly, without any joking.
That's lifeso ist das LebenA resigned remark that such unwelcome things simply happen.
Better late than neverbesser spät als nieA saying that doing something behind time beats not doing it at all.
little by little the bird builds its neststeter Tropfen höhlt den SteinProverb: steady progress achieves goals over time.
to be on cloud nineim siebten Himmel seinIdiom: extremely happy, not literally in sky.

408 more words in the full “Slang & Idioms” library, each aligned across seven languages and scheduled for you by spaced repetition. Add it to your account and start drilling English to German in one click.

What to watch out for in German

  • Accents count. Answers are graded accent-sensitively, so you need ä ö ü ß Ä Ö Ü — LinguaSwap shows a one-tap keypad for them while you type.
  • Capitalisation counts. German nouns are capitalised, and answers in German are graded that way — haus is not Haus.
  • 448 words carry a usage note in the full library, for the cases where a direct translation would mislead you.

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The same topic in other languages

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