Previously on iHeartBerlin, you could learn some unique German words of happiness, get your casual German on fleek, delve into the charming world of German insults and even pimp up your Deutscher dirty talk. But as we’ve realized, we haven’t published any new installments of this series ever since we’ve issued these four articles in our Learn Deutsch with iHeartBerlin book! And because we’ve really missed this format, here goes the brand new edition of our German lessons: 10 German Terms that Describe Complex Personalities in One Word!
Do you know the saying that a picture can be worth a thousand words? Well, as it turns out, a specific German word can sometimes convey a thousand words of another language. Here’s a list of 10 German terms used to describe complex personalities that less efficient and imaginative languages could only dream of.
Freigeist
[ˈfʁaɪ̯ˌɡaɪ̯st]
A free spirit, only in German. It could mean they plant some funky seedlings in addition to herbs in their balcony garden or decide to live with only two extra insurances.
Hallodri
[haˈloːdʁi]
Sounding a bit like some groundbreaking variation of the familiar halloumi, a hallodri is the type of careless, happy-go-lucky person who’d write ‘’here for a fun time, not a long time’’ in their Tinder bio.
Tausendsassa
[ˈtaʊ̯zn̩tˌzasa]
While I am quite perplexed as to the actual etymology of Tausendsassa, I feel like I should note that it doesn’t imply a person has so much sass it could literally be counted by the thousands. However, it could well be the case – Tausendsassa is an all-rounder, someone with versatile talents excelling at many things.
Zampano
[ˈt͡sampano]
Zampano means someone who’s being loud and bossy and likes to brag. Incidentally, using this term could be interpreted as a double brag itself: first of all, it shows the mastery of German vocabulary, and secondly, it hints at the knowledge of vintage Italian cinema (since Wiktionary informs ‘’Zampano’’ is actually a term taken from Fellini’s ‘’La Strada’’).
Tollpatsch
[ˈtɔlpat͡ʃ]
A Tollpatsch is someone whose general clumsiness has become their hallmark. In other words, it’s someone who makes the impression like they’re forever stuck on a U1 Richtung Warschauer Strasse on a pre-quarantine Saturday night.
Luftikus
[ˈlʊftikʊs]
Not unlike Hallodri, Luftikus is a person with some commitment issues. Although the word is a bit similar to the plant ficus, you probably shouldn’t even trust them with that.
Griesgram
[ˈɡʁiːsˌɡʁaːm]
Contrary to what you might think, this word isn’t a silly attempt at naming an Instagram account for Griessmühle. However, the news of the club’s closing initially turned everyone into a bit of a Griesgram – someone grumpy and in a bad mood.
Überflieger
[ˈyːbɐˌfliːɡɐ]
Überflieger is not just a term for wind sports enthusiasts on Tempelhofer Feld. You’re an Überflieger if your achievements in a particular field go above and beyond the achievements of everybody else.
Geduldsengel
[ɡəˈdʊlt͡sˈɛŋl̩]
A must-have personality trait for going out in Berlin. Quite unlike the guestlist devils, the unassuming angels of patience eventually get the bouncer’s blessing.
Draufgänger
[ˈdʁaʊ̯fˌɡɛŋɐ]
A bit of a go-getter, although only the ‘’going’’ part is entailed. It’s not always the material things a Draufgänger is after – he might be a rebel, but not without a cause.
