German words you won’t find in every dictionary

Here are some of the useful German words you might not find in your dictionary:

der Gaumenschmaus

is some really delicious food. If you are invited to a party in Germany, you might want to use this word as a compliment to the hostess.

English translation you can find online: treat for one’s taste buds, culinary delight.

der Pantoffelheld

What der Pantoffel (slipper) has to do with that?

Well, unter dem Pantoffel stehen means ‘to be henpecked’. Therefore, der Pantoffelheld  is a man who is ‘continually harassed or tormented by the persistent nagging of a woman (especially his wife)’.

die Unrast

You might see this word quite often when reading German newspapers. I find it useful for writing essay too.

English translation you can find online: restlessness, agitation, disquiet, unrest (looks similar to the German word, does not it?), restless Person

 jdn. veräppeln (Umgangssprache)

This expression belongs to the colloquial speech. For example, you can veräppeln your friend. English translation is: to make fun of somebody, to pull somebody’s leg.

Another similar German verb that also belong to the colloquialism is:


You can verläppern your time or money, which means ‘to trifle away’.

die Kinkerlitzchen (pl.)

Sounds cute to me. 🙂 This informal plural noun means ‘knick-knacks’.

Another cute German word is:

die Naschkatze

Of course, it has nothing to do with cats and means ‘guzzler’ or ‘to have a sweet tooth’.

das Kaffekränzchen

Especially if you are a woman, you might get invited to a Kaffekränzschen in Germany by your new female colleague/friend. This German word is translated as ‘coffee circle’ in English.

der Sankt-Nimmerleins-Tag (Umgangssprache)

If you are going to do something on this day, it means you will never do it. Am Sankt-Nimmerleins-Tag means nie, niemals.






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