Ask a German for their Handy and they will hand you a mobile phone — even though no English speaker has ever called one that. This little word is a “pseudo-anglicism”: English-looking, English-sounding, and entirely made in Germany. It is one of thousands of quirks that make everyday German a moving target for learners and a source of endless argument for the people who love the language. This is Guide № 006 in The Love Germany Guide series.
Get the Full Collectible Guide (Free PDF)
German Slang & Denglisch — in a beautifully designed, printable booklet. The Love Germany Guide № 006.
What “Denglisch” Actually Means
Denglisch (a blend of Deutsch and Englisch) describes the heavy use of English words and constructions inside German. Some of it is straight borrowing — downloaden, chatten, das Meeting — often bent to fit German grammar, so you get conjugations like ich habe gedownloadet. Other examples are inventions that only look English. Beamer means a video projector (to an English speaker it is slang for a BMW), Public Viewing means watching sport on big outdoor screens, and Home Office means working from home rather than a UK government department.
The reference dictionary Duden tracks these words as they settle into standard usage, and it does not shy away from the informal ones — Shitstorm was added to its pages in 2013 and even earned an entry as a legitimate German noun, complete with a gender (der Shitstorm).
Slang That Changes at Every Border
German greetings alone will tell you where you are standing. In the north you will hear Moin — used morning, noon and night despite sounding like “morning” — while Bavaria and Austria favour Servus and the more formal Grüß Gott. Everyday intensifiers travel further: geil (literally “horny”, but used to mean “awesome”), krass (intense, wild), and Quatsch (nonsense) turn up across the country. Digga, a casual “mate” or “dude”, spread out of Hamburg youth slang; Bock haben means to be up for something.
Because so much of this is regional, institutions like the Goethe-Institut and the broadcaster Deutsche Welle build their free learning material around the standard Hochdeutsch you will be understood in everywhere, then flag the colloquialisms separately. That is a useful order to learn them in.
Why the English Keeps Creeping In
Advertising, tech and corporate life drive most of it. German firms lean on English slogans because they read as modern and international, though surveys have repeatedly shown that many customers misunderstand them. The most cited real-world case is Deutsche Bahn, the national rail operator, which filled its stations with terms like Service Point and Call a Bike and then announced in 2013 that it would trim the anglicisms and issue staff a German-English glossary to keep things clear for older travellers.
The People Who Track — and Fight — the Trend
German has a lively ecosystem of language-watchers. The Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache selects the “Wort des Jahres” (Word of the Year), while a separate jury of linguists runs Anglizismus des Jahres, celebrating the English loanword judged to have most usefully enriched German. Publisher Langenscheidt hosts the popular “Jugendwort des Jahres” (Youth Word of the Year) public vote, which is how words like cringe and lit ended up officially crowned.
On the sceptical side sits the Verein Deutsche Sprache, a campaign group that argues excessive Denglisch erodes German and lobbies against it. Between the enthusiasts and the critics, the language keeps doing what it has always done — absorbing, adapting and arguing about itself.
Using It Without Embarrassing Yourself
A few habits go a long way. Match the register: slang like geil or Digga is fine among friends but out of place with a shopkeeper or an official. Watch the false friends — asking for a Beamer at a rental desk gets you a projector, not a car, and Handy only works for a phone. And remember that grammatical gender still applies to borrowed nouns, which is why Germans debate whether it should be der, die or das E-Mail (the north tends to say die E-Mail).
Myths Worth Retiring
Myth: “Handy” is borrowed from English. It is a German coinage — a pseudo-anglicism no native English speaker would use for a phone. Its exact origin is disputed, but it is homegrown, not imported.
Myth: Denglisch proves German is dying. German has borrowed heavily for centuries, especially from French (Trottoir, Portemonnaie) and Latin. Absorbing foreign words is a sign of a living language, not a failing one.
Myth: Slang is the same everywhere in Germany. Greetings, insults and filler words shift dramatically by region — a fluent Moin in Hamburg can draw blank looks in Munich, where Servus rules.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Denglisch considered “proper” German?
Many individual loanwords are fully standard and appear in Duden, so using das Meeting or downloaden is perfectly correct. Piling on English purely for style, though, is widely seen as sloppy — and language groups like the Verein Deutsche Sprache actively push back against it.
Will locals be annoyed if I use slang as a visitor?
Generally the opposite — a well-placed geil or a regional Moin usually goes down well and shows you have paid attention. Just keep it casual and read the room; stick to standard German in formal or professional settings.
What is one slang word worth learning first?
We would start with geil — it is everywhere, low-risk in casual company, and instantly makes your German sound more natural. Follow it with Quatsch (“nonsense”) and the regional greeting for wherever you are heading.
More The Love Germany Guides
The Love Germany Guide is a numbered series — one tightly focused subject at a time, each with its own downloadable collectible edition. Guide № 001 is The Pretzel (Brezel), Guide № 002 is Oktoberfest, Guide № 003 is The Beer Stein, Guide № 004 is German Beer & the Purity Law (Reinheitsgebot), Guide № 005 is German Beer Garden Etiquette, This is Guide № 006. More editions are on the way.
🇩🇪 Join Love Germany
Every week, get hidden stories, local secrets, and travel inspiration from people who live and love it.
Tours & experiences in Germany
Powered by Viator. Some links are affiliate links — we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.