German slang: Digga, krass, geil, and what young Germans actually say

These are understood by every age group and used all over Germany. Tap a word to hear it in a sentence.

Each year the dictionary publisher Langenscheidt runs a public vote for the youth word of the year. The winners trace how teenage German has changed, and how much English it absorbs.

German messages shorten long words to a few letters. Knowing these makes group chats readable.

Germans express frustration with a set of mild words that are fine almost anywhere, even at work. They are the safe way to sound natural when something goes wrong.

Spoken German is full of small words that add attitude rather than meaning. They make speech sound natural; learners who use none of them sound like a textbook.

The same everyday idea has a different informal word in the north, the south, Austria and Switzerland. Read across a row.