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When I first moved to Hamburg for my studies, I was struck by the strange way of speaking up there in the north. For context: I come from Bavaria (which some Germans might as well consider as a foreign country) in Southern Germany, but the language differences between the South and the North of the same country left me flattered. Thus, I picked some of the most peculiar words and phrases that I came across.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If some words sound somewhat like English to you, you are quite right! Northern German accents get closer and closer to the Anglo-Saxon language area, so you might find it a wee bit easier to understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s dive right in:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whenever you enter a shop, a caf\u00e9 or your chef\u2019s office, the correct greeting will always be \u201cMoin<\/strong>\u201d, which is in fact an abbreviation of \u201cGuten Morgen\u201d (Good morning) \u2013 but it lost its original meaning and can be used any time of the day. You might also hear the double \u201cMoin moin!\u201d a lot, but usually a single \u201cMoin\u201d suits the taciturn locals much better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Male) friends often address themselves with “Digga<\/strong>” (Dude): “Moin Digga, was geht?” (Hello dear friend, how are you today?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u200d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u200d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is how it goes: Traditionally, one person starts by shouting \u201cHummel, Hummel!<\/strong>\u201d, whereupon the other one has to reply: \u201cMors, Mors!<\/strong>\u201d That is how people from Hamburg \u2013 supposedly \u2013 recognize each other. During the four years I\u2019ve been living in this city, I have never heard anybody calling this to anyone. But it got stuck in my brain, even though I never really knew where it actually came from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s the short version: The greeting goes back to the 19th Century and a water carrier called Johann Wilhelm Bentz, known as Hans Hummel. As Hummel would carry water through the streets, the children would run behind him shouting “Hummel, Hummel!” in order to annoy him. His answer \u201cMors, Mors\u201d is the short version of \u201cKlei mir an\u2019n Mors\u201d, which means as much as\u2026 \u201cLick my a**\u201d. Today, the greeting can sometimes be heard at local football games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u200d<\/p>\n\n\n\n If a local says goodbye to you by saying \u201cLass\u2019 mal schnacken\u201d, they\u2019re not suggesting to have a snack later on. Instead, they want to postpone the conversation at a later date. \u201cSchnacken\u201d or \u201ckl\u00f6nen\u201d means chit-chatting, \u201cder Schnack<\/strong>\u201d is, correspondingly, small-talk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u200d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve heard this quite a few times on different occasions. \u201cT\u00fcddelig\u201d is an adjective which also exists as a verb: \u201ct\u00fcddeln<\/strong>\u201d. It means to move [objects] restlessly back and forth or, more generally, to waste time instead of doing something meaningful. If a person refers to themselves as being particularly \u201ct\u00fcddelig\u201d today, it means they are nervous or scatterbrained. The next one sounds very similar, but behold! There\u2019s a huge difference, if you\u2019re saying\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u200d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now what that could mean? I\u2019ll give you a hint: After a few mulled wines on a Christmas market, you\u2019ll definitely be a bit \u201canget\u00fctert<\/strong>\u201d \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u200d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a response for a \u201cthank you\u201d, many Germans might say \u201cgern geschehen\u201d (you\u2019re welcome). In Hamburg, they say \u201cdaf\u00fcr nich\/da nich f\u00fcr<\/strong>\u201d: not for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u200d<\/p>\n\n\n\n2. So famous, yet never used:
The Hamburg Greeting<\/h4>\n\n\n\n3. Not an invitation for something to eat: \u201cschnacken\u201d<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
4. To be \u201ct\u00fcddelig\u201d<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
5. To be \u201canget\u00fctert\u201d<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
6. “Daf\u00fcr nich!”<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
7. Some extra vocabulary Schietwetter<\/h4>\n\n\n\n