Today's words · 😎 Colloquial words
Real-life German: 10 colloquial words your textbook skipped
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If you only catch half of what your German friends say, these ten words are probably why.
Your textbook taught you ‘Ich habe kein Geld.’, but your German friend says ‘Ich bin pleite, keine Kohle mehr!’ Everyone laughs and says ‘krass!’, and you laugh along without a clue.
Today's ten words are colloquial German that friends use all the time. Knowing them makes TV series, YouTube and friends' chat much easier to follow. Just save them for casual moments, not the office or the town hall! 😎
📋 The ten words at a glance
- der Quatsch — nonsense, rubbish (colloquial)
- doof — stupid, dumb; annoying (colloquial)
- quatschen — (colloquial) to chat, natter; to talk nonsense
- der Kumpel — (colloquial) mate, buddy; miner
- die Klamotten — (colloquial) clothes, gear; stuff
- die Kohle — (colloquial) money, dough; coal
- pleite — broke, bankrupt (colloquial)
- pennen — (colloquial) to sleep, kip; to doze
- chillen — (youth slang) to chill (out)
- krass — (youth slang) awesome, crazy; extreme, glaring
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
der Quatsch
[kvatch]nonsense, rubbish (colloquial)(Sg.)
📌 Das ist doch Quatsch! Das glaube ich nicht.
→ That's nonsense! I don't believe it.
💡 Possibly from the squelch of mud underfoot 💬 Mushy talk = Quatsch!
Bonus Quatsch mit Soße! = Total rubbish!
doof
[dohf]stupid, dumb; annoying (colloquial)📌 Ich finde den Film echt doof.
→ I think the film is really stupid.
💡 Same root as English deaf 🙄 Someone who doesn't get it.
⚠ Calling a person doof can be rude. It's safer for situations: Das ist doof.
quatschen
[KVATCH-en](colloquial) to chat, natter; to talk nonsense(quatscht – hat gequatscht)
📌 Wir haben die ganze Nacht über alte Zeiten gequatscht.
→ We chatted about the old days all night.
💡 The verb from Quatsch 🗣️ Chatting all night, or talking nonsense — both quatschen.
Bonus Lass uns mal quatschen! = Let's have a chat!
der Kumpel
[KOOM-pel](colloquial) mate, buddy; miner(Pl. die Kumpel (colloquial die Kumpels))
📌 Am Samstag gehe ich mit ein paar Kumpels zum Fußball.
→ On Saturday I'm going to the football with a few mates.
💡 Originally what miners called each other ⛏️ Your mate from down the mine.
⚠ Plural: die Kumpel, though die Kumpels is common in speech.
die Klamotten
[kla-MOT-en](colloquial) clothes, gear; stuff(Pl. (Sg. die Klamotte))
📌 Pack deine Klamotten, wir fahren in einer Stunde!
→ Pack your things, we're leaving in an hour!
💡 Sounds like a pile of clothes tumbling out of the wardrobe 👕
⚠ Usually plural: meine Klamotten
die Kohle
[KOH-luh](colloquial) money, dough; coal(Sg.)
📌 Für den Job gibt's ordentlich Kohle, aber die Arbeitszeiten sind mörderisch.
→ The job pays good money, but the working hours are murderous.
💡 It literally means coal 🪨 Like coal, money keeps things running.
Bonus Another slang word for money: die Knete
pleite
[PLY-tuh]broke, bankrupt (colloquial)📌 Am Ende des Monats bin ich immer pleite.
→ I'm always broke at the end of the month.
💡 From a Yiddish word for escape 💸 All your money ran away.
Bonus The noun die Pleite = bankruptcy, a flop
pennen
[PEN-en](colloquial) to sleep, kip; to doze(pennt – hat gepennt)
📌 Nach der Nachtschicht hat er bis mittags auf dem Sofa gepennt.
→ After the night shift he kipped on the sofa until midday.
💡 Picture nodding off over your pen in class 😴
Bonus verpennen = to oversleep and miss something: Ich hab verpennt.
chillen
[CHIL-en](youth slang) to chill (out)(chillt – hat gechillt)
📌 Am Wochenende wollen wir einfach nur am See chillen.
→ At the weekend we just want to chill by the lake.
💡 English chill + -en 🛋️ Now it's a German verb.
Bonus Chill mal! = Calm down!
krass
[krass](youth slang) awesome, crazy; extreme, glaring📌 Krass, du hast den Marathon in unter drei Stunden geschafft?
→ Wow, you ran the marathon in under three hours?
💡 Same root as English crass 🤯 Use it for amazing and for awful.
Bonus In formal writing it means extreme: ein krasser Unterschied
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
German has registers too. Today's words are for relaxed talk with friends, family and colleagues you know well. At a job interview, the town hall or with older people you've just met, stick to Geld, Kleidung and schlafen.
Colloquial German also changes from region to region. In the north people greet you with ‘Moin!’, in the south with ‘Servus!’. Asking a German friend ‘What do you say where you're from?’ is a great conversation starter.
Youth slang moves fast. Every year a ‘youth word of the year’ (Jugendwort des Jahres) is chosen in Germany, and plenty of adults have no idea what it means. 😄
✅ Quick quiz
Q. It's the end of the month and a friend suggests an expensive restaurant. How do you say no casually?
- ① Krass, ich komme mit!
- ② Ich penne schon seit Montag.
- ③ Sorry, ich bin total pleite.
Show the answer
③ Sorry, ich bin total pleite.
pleite means broke, so you can't go.
Slip one of today's words into a message to a friend. How about ‘Lass uns am Wochenende chillen!’? 😎
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 💰 Money