Why do I need to know ur?
If you're living in Austria, especially in Vienna, you'll hear ur everywhere: on the street, in cafés, in schoolyards, and in everyday chats. It's an informal intensifier that means “very”, “really”, or “super”, and it gives your spoken German a local, relaxed feel. Using it is a quick way to sound more natural - and more Austrian.
What does it mean?
Ur (pronounced like “oor”) is used before adjectives and adverbs to amplify them, just like sehr (very) or wirklich (really) in standard German. But ur adds an extra layer of local colour - it’s more casual, more expressive, and often used with a certain enthusiasm or exaggeration.
It can also be combined with other Viennese expressions:
– urleiwand – super cool or awesome
– urmüde – really tired
– urarg – totally intense or crazy
– urschön – very beautiful
Use it like this:
Der Film war urgut!
(The film was really good!)
Ich bin urgut drauf heute.
(I’m in a really good mood today.)
Es war urkalt gestern – ich hab fast gefroren!
(It was freezing yesterday – I almost froze!)
So next time you want to turn up the volume on how you feel or what you think, throw in a casual ur. It’s short, expressive, and pure Austrian charm.
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