funny german compound words in German

Learn funny german compound words in German. Build fluency with personalized exercises, chats, and video recommendations.

German is famous for its compound words—strings of nouns joined together to create new words. Some of the funniest/unusual German compounds:

Kummerspeck (der Kummerspeck) literally “grief bacon”; weight gained from emotional overeating
Backpfeifengesicht (das Backpfeifengesicht) a face that cries out to be slapped
Ohrwurm (der Ohrwurm) “ear worm”; a catchy tune stuck in your head
Fremdschämen (verb: sich fremdschämen) to feel embarrassed for someone else’s actions
Treppenwitz (der Treppenwitz) “staircase joke”; a witty comeback you think of too late
Schnapsidee (die Schnapsidee) a crazy idea conceived under the influence of alcohol

Unlike English, German can combine nearly unlimited nouns—and sometimes other parts of speech—to create incredibly descriptive (and humorous) words.