Customer Reviews

Dirty German: Everyday Slang from "What's Up?" to "F*%# Off!" (Dirty Everyday Slang)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have lived in Germany for 10 years and speak German fluently. This book is full of obsolete terms and badly translated expressions. Profanity and slang are very culturally specific and difficult to translate in any language. English profanity is centered around feces, procreation, and genitalia whereas German is less so. The authors seem to be unfamiliar with German idioms and are trying to make a quick buck translating English street talk literally. My German friends had not heard many of these expressions before. This book might be fine as a joke gift, but don't use
it to try and fit in or sound hip in Germany. I would like to have had a German urban dictionary that catalogs and defines current slang.

Ey Alder, isch habe schon 10 Jahre Deutschland auf den Buckel, boh glaubst Du! Diese Buch ist voll krass der Brueller und als ich in Berlin damit die Ischen klar machen wollte, war isch der Burner des Abends. Willste gangstamaessig cool rueberkommen in Germany, dann hol Dir den Schinken.

I am German, (and moreover 40+). As we Germans take everything very serious, here is my philological review of this important book:

Being a German (did I mention that already?) I can recommend this book without concerns to Germans to learn "Dirty (American at least) English" - seriously !
The other way round it is more tricky. You will learn much about German language without doubt, but many of the used phrases are not 100% correct or not really common or are out of a certain joke and what is meant, could be understood only, if the person knows that joke or you tell him/here the joke before..

Some examples:

"Schnitzelkind" cannot be commonly understood, you need to know the mentioned joke/explanation before.

Of course many words and phrases fit well, and are commonly known, for example "Grufti", "dicke Freunde", "quatschen", "Das ist g#il."

"K#ckvogel" can be good understood as an insult but is not a common word, it's more a word creation.

"Eiweisstorsten" for a man having muscles, is difficult to understand and not at all a common word.

"Tussistempel" for a common tattoo which girls are used to have at the back at a certain place, is a wrong word nearly nobody would understand- "#rschgeweih" is the correct one for that.

"Hol mir mal ne Flasche Bier" is not a question, but an order.

"srz" as a German phrase used in a chat as a replacement for the English "sry" (sorry), was new to me. It may be a good joke in the hacker community knowing details about German keyboards, but it is surely not commonly understood. I laughed after understanding it (after 12 minutes and 8 s or so), but others may not get it at all... ;-)

And so on...

The author is far from native tongue (as my English here, srz for that).

At the best pages, there is even cultural critizism in place ("We have been having ##x for weeks now, don't you think we should use 'Du' ").

So, you learn much about German, but if you want to use one of the phrases, I recommend asking a native German speaker before. Or at least google the word.

But, maybe, if you want to get in contact with a German girl, it is more "charming" ('Ist der süüüß!') to talk slightly broken German ? Dunno. Then this book is perfect. But don't ask her, if her t#ts were a birthday present. That advice from my side... ;-)

This book is fine if you buy it as a joke, but otherwise useless. A German friend read through it and spent half of the time laughing hysterically at absurd phrases that no one would ever use, and the rest of the time *actually* cursing at the book in German because it contained so much utter nonsense. Anyone asserting that this book will help you sound like a real German is mistaken. If you can tell the difference between the few phrases that a German might actually use and the many that are complete horse***, then you don't need this book anyway. If you can't tell the difference, then reading it will do you more harm than good.

I bought this as a joke gift for a friend and of course read through it first. I expected it to be full of slang terms and phrases I couldn't use most places. Sure, those are in there, but there's a lot of useful slang too. Think of all the words and phrases we use with our friends that someone learning formal English wouldn't know. That's the idea, only in German. If you like to hang with the locals, this book can help you fit in.

Really funny to read and its a great lil present.
Since Im german I can tell that not everything in this book is correct. But hey even I learned some new "dirty german". :-)

I am an American expat living in Germany for the past 15 years. For the past 10 years, I have been married to a German woman with a rather sharp tongue. Personally, I speak German at an intermediate level. I found this book terrifically useful, accurate, and at times HILARIOUSLY FUNNY. I was happy to see that the American author does not make fun OF the Germans, rather he has fun WITH the Germans, their way of life, and the colloquial language that is spoken. His descriptions of phrases and situations are written in a vein of usually admiration, stark humor, and simply "this is just the way it is". I also liked the frequent comparisons of German phrases and ways of describing things vs. what we use in American english--this was tremendously helpful. There are many words and phrases that I have heard over the years from my sharp-tongued wife, German friends, and neighbors that finally now make more sense!

I strongly recommend this book for Americans that have already been, or are now being, exposed to the everyday world of German society.

This book is not only usefull and accurate, it is funny! My friends and I in my German class have enjoyed this book almost as much as our teacher. The translations and cultural notes are spot on as well as a little bit of grammar with the "Siezen, Duzen" section. My friends and I now speak to eachother in German using slang from this book and as my title suggests, this book is excellent! First rate! I totally reccomend it to any advanced German student who wishes to take their German further!

I've read a few different German slang books and none are anywhere near as cool and funny as "Dirty German" All Slang comes and goes...I mean when was the last time you said Tubular or righteous, but "Dirty German" is packed with tons of cultural tidbits and funny anecdotes to make learning German...and not all of the phrases and terms in the book are "Dirty"...easier and fun. Scheiss auf die anderen...Dirty German ist VOLLKRASS!
I totally recommend "Dirty German" to anyone interested in having a laugh and learning German at the same time.

Like the other reviewers, I really appreciate the variety of subjects this book covers and the author keeps the writing on a pretty light note. I also read through Talk Dirty German, a similar slang book, but that was not nearly as well written and more just a collection of dirty phrases than useful slang you could use with your friends.

This is a funny book. I think the author does a fine job reviewing the German language to prepare for the book. It is not a beginner's German book, but funny for the intermediate to advanced.