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German word of the day: Geil

Ana Dilley
Ana Dilley - [email protected]
German word of the day: Geil
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

‘Geil’ is just about as omnipresent in Austria as bureaucracy and bratwurst.

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This colloquial word is commonly used by Austrians of all ages and is an excellent way to make yourself sound like a native speaker.

At first glance, this word can confuse some non-native German speakers. If you look up ‘geil’ in a dictionary you will likely find a translation along the lines of horny or lecherous. Whilst this is certainly the original use of this word, colloquially ‘geil’ is far more complimentary.

The best translation for ‘geil’ in its colloquial sense would be something like ‘great,’ 'cool,'  ‘awesome,’ or ‘wicked.’ It can also be used to compliment someone’s appearance, similar to calling someone ‘hot.’

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Geil’ is often used on its own as a response to something, to imply the person thinks that thing is great or cool.

It is not clear when exactly ‘geil’ shifted in meaning and became a popular colloquial adjective.

As ‘geil’ is such a popular adjective there are a number of adverbs it is often compiled with. The most popular combinations are probably 'super geil,' 'ur geil,' and 'echt geil.' All of these emphasise just how great something is.

Examples:

A: Heute abend gibt es ein Party.

B: Geil!

A: There’s a party on this evening.

B: Sweet!

Dieses Essen ist mega geil oder?

This food is really awesome isn’t it?

Gestern war der Film super geil, ich würde dir ihn wirklich empfehlen.

The film yesterday was super good, I’d really recommend it to you.

Der Alkoholkonsum ist ungesund aber leider geil.

Drinking alcohol is unhealthy but unfortunately it's cool.

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