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German may be the most widely spoken language in the European Union, but let's be honest - it's just downright funny sometimes. We roasted French, so now it's time for the German language to have its turn.

People around the world learning how to speak German have long struggled with German's fearsome grammar, in which multiple funny words are stuck together to make more descriptive terms. This leads to things like long, aggressive store names and job titles, as well as migraines for tourists and expats in Germany. The spelling of these long German words is an even more sensitive subject.

Since German is an ancestor to English, a lot of funny German words were passed down to us but changed in spelling over time. The original German forms of these words now have... Well, 'interesting' connotations. See for yourself below.

Oh, and just for the lols, here is the longest word in German - Donaudampfschifffahtselektrizitatenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengessellschaft. Standing proudly at 80 letters, this word translates to "Association for Subordinate Officials of the Head Office Management of the Danube Steamboat Electrical Services" and is an absolutely real concoction of letters. Try not to break your tongue with it!

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    Nobody Expected That From You, German Language

    Nobody Expected That From You, German Language

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    However, according to Olly Richards, a polyglot and the founder of I Will Teach You A Language, German actually isn't too difficult to master.

    "One of the main reasons German isn’t all that hard to learn is that German and English originate from the same language families and share more similarities than you probably realize," Richards wrote. "Both German and English are Indo-European languages that stem from the Germanic family of languages. About 40% of German vocabulary is similar to English vocabulary, which is good news for native English speakers!"

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    #3

    Mastering A Second Language

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    Richards said that pronunciation is also more straightforward than you might think and grammar is relatively easy to pick up thanks to recognizable patterns. "If we examine the phrases 'what is that?' and 'was ist das?', the connections are obvious."

    Also, the polyglot thinks that it's is much easier to pronounce words phonetically in German than in English. "In English, letters often change sounds without any logical explanation. This isn’t the case in German."

    "Although some aspects of German may seem difficult, once you break the language down, it's not actually that hard."

    #5

    There's A Word For Everything In German Language

    There's A Word For Everything In German Language

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    #8

    The Language Of Poets

    The Language Of Poets

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    troux avatar
    Troux
    Community Member
    7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    These all have direct English equivalents: "I got tossed in the back of a car" "We came together after the movie" "I gave my bird what she needed last night"

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    #10

    Funny German Language

    Funny German Language

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    jenny-sorensen avatar
    Juana
    Community Member
    7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Why do the write the names of the languages and then throw in Mexico? For continuity they should have written Spanish. And a flag of Spain.

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    #11

    Hand Shoes Make Perfect Sense

    Hand Shoes Make Perfect Sense

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    romanhans_2 avatar
    Roman Hans
    Community Member
    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Here Germany makes much more sense. Why make up a new word when you can repurpose old ones? Gloves really are “hand shoes.”

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    #14

    Funny German Language

    Funny German Language

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    volkerburmester avatar
    Volker Burmester
    Community Member
    7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Sechs is german for six and sound almost like sex. Vier means four in german and sounds like fear. And fünf is german for five.

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    #15

    When German Language Wasn't Scary But Cute

    When German Language Wasn't Scary But Cute

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    marythepoem avatar
    Mary Peace
    Community Member
    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The French say "How are you called?" when they want to know your name. I suppose it's like asking "How do I get your attention?" really.

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    #16

    Naming Animals In German

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    #18

    When German Language Had Like A Gazillion Ways To Say "Why".

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    crabcrab avatar
    Hans
    Community Member
    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    All of these have a different connotation and add to the richness of communication. You would also rather say "for which purpose do you use a rifle" than "why", if you seek to explore the intention.

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    #19

    When A Single Letter Made A Huge Difference

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    When German Language Wasn't As Cold And Ugly As They Always Say … But Beautiful And Emotional

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    #21

    Makes Sense

    Makes Sense

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    #22

    This Is Why I Love The German Language

    This Is Why I Love The German Language

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    tomasz_sztuk avatar
    Tomek Sztuk
    Community Member
    3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Brilliant, although it's a purposefully complicated joke name :D Fahrradständer is a real German name for a bicycle stand, above says something in line of "climate protection enforcing device securing place" ;)

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    #23

    Funny German Language

    Funny German Language

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    maechew avatar
    Lilya
    Community Member
    7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Person: That's amazing! Me: That's sausage to me. Person: No, the post I was talking about. Me: SAUSAGE

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    #24

    Have Some Class

    Have Some Class

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    juliajuhas avatar
    JuJu
    Community Member
    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Nope. We use both. Usually depending on the vowel or Umlaut before the ss/ß.

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    #25

    When Even The Simpsons Had To Show The World How The German Language Is Trolling Everyone

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    katerynagedz avatar
    Kateryna
    Community Member
    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "Die" is "the" relating to the feminine gender... so it sounds like they are indicating Bart is female

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    #26

    Funny German Language

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    #27

    When Germany Showed The World What "Wordception" Means.

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    crabcrab avatar
    Hans
    Community Member
    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You may need context. Essen is a town in the Ruhr area. Essen means food. essen means to eat. "Wollen wir heute in Essen ein wenig Essen essen?" thus makes sense.

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    #29

    German Is A Beautiful Language.

    German Is A Beautiful Language.

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    nadinebamberger avatar
    Nadine Bamberger
    Community Member
    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'd go with "Klugscheißer" (clever-pooper), don't know what that word above is supposed to mean.

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    #30

    When German Language Was Only For The Brave.

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    When German Language Was So Logical That It Confused You.

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    #35

    Dear People Learning German...

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    #36

    Funny German Language

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    likesnowflakesinthesky avatar
    Cat Meow
    Community Member
    7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Someone count the points please. I'm curious. (I really don't play Scrabble... XD)

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    #37

    German Language Jokes

    German Language Jokes

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    #38

    German Grammar Struggle

    German Grammar Struggle

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    duncan-hunter avatar
    Dee Hunter
    Community Member
    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And if you REALLY want to confuse them: Use Russian. They have two more cases.

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    #39

    Funny German Language

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    copper-fractions avatar
    Tiny Dynamine
    Community Member
    7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    For your information, German isn't shouted aggressively by Germans at all. We imply that from the second world war because of how the Gestapo were. If you say the above German word normally, it sounds quite nice.

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    #40

    1. When German Language Nailed It.

    1. When German Language Nailed It.

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    #41

    When Animals Sounded Way Cuter In German. Like Raccoon.

    When Animals Sounded Way Cuter In German. Like Raccoon.

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    teijake555 avatar
    Femme Finn
    Community Member
    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Whoa! Same in Finnish, pesukarhu. I guess it comes directly from German.

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    #43

    When German Language Showed That Germans Have A Strange Relationship To Their Tools. Or Their Mothers

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    #44

    German Language

    German Language

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    nadinebamberger avatar
    Nadine Bamberger
    Community Member
    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Emphasis on the first syllable- possible grave bodily harm court case coming your way, emphasize the last part and you're good.

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    #47

    Funny German Language

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    #48

    When German Language Surprised You By Somehow Not Being Accurate Anymore

    When German Language Surprised You By Somehow Not Being Accurate Anymore

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    juliajuhas avatar
    JuJu
    Community Member
    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    But there is only one that can suck and blow! The famous Heinzelmann.

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    #49

    When German Words Looked Like They Have To Be Kidding You

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    #50

    Learn German If You Der

    Learn German If You Der

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    Femme Finn
    Community Member
    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Well when you really think about the word "butterfly", is it a sexy word? Butter. Fly.

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    Note: this post originally had 86 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.