Slang (Germany-wide)
"Normal" German slang, works nationwide
Short answerIn Germany, say krass — Intense / crazy / wow.
Slang level: medium → heavy. Items marked young are more common with younger people, online, and in friend groups.
If you want local but safe, use the ones without a young badge. Items marked very casual are not for work.
Everyday reactions (common)
- krassIntense / crazy / wow.
- geilAwesome. Can sound crude in other contexts, but common as "cool".
- megaSuper.
- safeyoungFor sure.
- stabilyoungSolid / good.
- läuft gutIt's going / all good.
- Hammer!Awesome — literally "hammer".
- Wahnsinn!Insane / unbelievable — good or bad, tone decides.
Want / don't want
- (kein) Bock(Not) in the mood / up for it.
- ich bin dabeiI'm in.
- Ich hab keinen Bock drauf.I can't be bothered with that.
- Hast du Lust?Do you fancy it?
- Auf jeden!youngDefinitely — clipped from "auf jeden Fall".
- Lieber nicht.I'd rather not.
- Passt mir gerade nicht.Doesn't work for me right now.
- Ich bin raus.youngI'm out — count me out of this one.
Addressing friends (tone matters)
- Alter!Dude! / bro! — tone matters.
- Digga/DiggeryoungBro / dude. Very casual.
- Bruder / BroyoungBrother — used like mate, mostly among young men.
- Leute!Guys! — the safe one for a whole group.
- Mann!Man! — frustration or emphasis, never a word for a person.
- KollegeyoungMate — jokey and slightly ironic between friends.
- SchatzLove / hon — partners and close family only.
- Jungs / MädelsLads / girls — calling over a mixed group.
Useful micro-phrases
- keine Ahnung → kpyoungNo idea. Shortened to "kp" in texts.
- ich schwöreyoungI swear.
- Bist du lost?youngAre you clueless? Can come across as rude.
- Genau.Exactly — and, just as often, pure filler while they think.
- Ach so!Ohh, I see — the realisation noise.
- Echt jetzt?Seriously?
- Quatsch!Nonsense! / rubbish!
- JeinYes and no — ja plus nein, and a real dictionary word.