{"id":13596,"date":"2021-12-09T11:22:41","date_gmt":"2021-12-09T11:22:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=13596"},"modified":"2021-12-02T11:23:20","modified_gmt":"2021-12-02T11:23:20","slug":"waltersobchakeit-a-german-word-that-isnt-german","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/waltersobchakeit-a-german-word-that-isnt-german\/","title":{"rendered":"Waltersobchakeit: A German Word That Isn’t German"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guten Tag! Today we\u2019re going to look at a German word that isn\u2019t actually a German word at all: Waltersobchakeit<\/em>. Confused? Read on to find out more!<\/p>\n

Firstly, you may have heard of loanwords<\/strong> in the German language, where the word is borrowed from another language. A few examples of loanwords from the French<\/strong> language in German, for instance, are:<\/p>\n

Das Abonnement<\/strong> \u2013 subscription
\nDer Champignon<\/strong> \u2013 mushroom
\nDer Friseur<\/strong> \u2013 hairdresser
\nDie Dusche<\/strong> – shower<\/p>\n

German is also peppered with English loanwords<\/strong> \u2013 so much so that even the Jugendwort des Jahres<\/strong><\/em> (German Youth Word Of The Year) candidates are often not even German words, but English ones! This year\u2019s winner is the word \u2018Cringe\u2019,<\/a> <\/strong>and in 2020 the word \u2018Lost\u2019<\/a><\/strong> came out on top. Click on either of these words to read more about them and the Jugendwort des Jahres.<\/p>\n

\"waltersobchakeit\"

Photo by Jason Leung<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

However! Today\u2019s word is not German… but it\u2019s not been loaned from any other language, either<\/em><\/strong>. Today\u2019s word is:<\/p>\n

Waltersobchakeit<\/h3>\n

The unique thing about this word is that, while it looks very German, it doesn\u2019t exist.<\/em><\/strong> It comes from the movie The Big Lebowski \u2013 specifically, it is named after a character in the film called Walter Sobchak.<\/p>\n

Waltersobchakeit\u2019s imaginary meaning is, \u2018You\u2019re not wrong; you\u2019re just an asshole\u2019. It\u2019s also used when people make up a German-sounding word that doesn\u2019t actually exist…<\/p>\n

So why, when you look at this word, does it look so German?<\/h3>\n

Firstly, the name Walter<\/strong><\/em> is a very common German name. Secondly, it\u2019s because of the German suffix -keit.<\/em><\/strong> Other, real German words ending in -keit<\/strong> include: die Einsamkeit<\/strong> (loneliness); die M\u00fcdigkeit<\/strong> (tiredness); and die M\u00f6glichkeit<\/strong> (possibility). Words with the –<\/strong>keit<\/strong><\/em> suffix take the feminine noun gender \u2018die\u2019, so although Waltersobchakeit is an imaginary word, its imaginary gender would be \u2018die\u2019 (die Waltersobchakeit)!<\/p>\n

\"waltersobchakeit\"

Photo by Amber Kipp<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

This is not the only word out there that sounds German, but is totally made up!<\/h3>\n

Another word that falls into this category is Stardenburdenhardenbart.<\/strong> This word became famous when a TikTok video showing a man calling cats in different languages went viral. The video shows the cats ignoring the man until he says, \u2018Stardenburdenhardenbart!\u2019, after which they sit up and pay attention. The man ends the video by saying \u2018German always works\u2019. Of course, Stardenburdenhardenbart is not a real German word, but a mixture of sounds that could pass as German!<\/p>\n

Read more about Stardenburdenhardenbart (and cats!) here.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The third German word that doesn’t officially exist is Altschmerz.<\/strong> This word comes from John Koenig\u2019s project, The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows.<\/em> This \u2018dictionary\u2019 fills gaps in the English language for feelings that were never given a name. Altschmerz is made up of the words alt<\/strong> (old) and der Schmerz<\/strong> (pain), and its definition is, \u2018Weariness with the same old issues that you\u2019ve always had\u2014the same boring flaws and anxieties you\u2019ve been gnawing on for years\u2019. This word does make sense, and it definitely could be a German word (it\u2019s actually a play on the word Weltschmerz<\/strong> \u2013 \u2018world pain\u2019), but it\u2019s not; it only exists in John Koenig\u2019s Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more about Altschmerz and Weltschmerz here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"waltersobchakeit\"

Photo by Paola Chaaya<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Are there any words you have come across that sound German, but aren\u2019t? Are there any you have made up yourself? My husband always says \u2018Schnichen schnochen!\u2019<\/strong><\/em> because that\u2019s how German sounds to him. This doesn\u2019t make any sense, but it does have a German ring to it!<\/p>\n

Bis bald (see you soon)
\nConstanze<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"waltersobchakeit\"

Guten Tag! Today we\u2019re going to look at a German word that isn\u2019t actually a German word at all: Waltersobchakeit. Confused? Read on to find out more! Firstly, you may have heard of loanwords in the German language, where the word is borrowed from another language. A few examples of loanwords from the French language…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":13599,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[95131,376023,269721,141],"class_list":["post-13596","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-language","tag-german-language","tag-language","tag-loanwords","tag-sounds"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t