{"id":8332,"date":"2017-04-26T11:53:00","date_gmt":"2017-04-26T11:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=8332"},"modified":"2017-05-08T12:12:56","modified_gmt":"2017-05-08T12:12:56","slug":"untranslatable-german-words-das-anstandsstuck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/untranslatable-german-words-das-anstandsstuck\/","title":{"rendered":"Untranslatable German Words: das Anstandsst\u00fcck"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hello and welcome to another edition of untranslatable German words, where I bring you the quirkiest, funniest, most unusual words the German language has to offer \u2013 and ones that are difficult to find a direct translation for! Today\u2019s word is das Anstandsst\u00fcck.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\"A<\/a>

The last bit of cake = das Anstandsst\u00fcck. Foto: sidneiensis on flickr.com under a CC licence (CC BY 2.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0What does das Anstandsst\u00fcck mean?<\/h2>\n

Das Anstandsst\u00fcck refers to the last bit of food at a party or event \u2013 a bit of food that everybody wants, but that no one is to take. Like the final piece of a cake, for example. There seems to be unwritten rule in Germany that you simply do not touch the last piece of food unless it is offered to you.<\/p>\n

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What is the literal translation of das Anstandsst\u00fcck?<\/h2>\n

It is made up of the words der Anstand<\/strong> (decency\/manners) and das St\u00fcck<\/strong> (piece). The \u2018decency piece\u2019. This is a great example of where the word itself points at the social implications of something \u2013 in this case, the social implication of eating the Anstandsst\u00fcck!<\/p>\n

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How would you use das Anstandsst\u00fcck in a sentence?<\/h2>\n

Use it as if you are talking about any item of food.<\/p>\n

Wir haben gegesssen, bis nur das Anstandsst\u00fcck \u00fcbrig war<\/strong>
\nWe ate until the Anstandsst\u00fcck was the only thing left.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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What is the nearest English equivalent to das Anstandsst\u00fcck?<\/h2>\n

Urban Dictionary came up with a \u2018shame piece\u2019 \u2013 the last piece of something that, out of shame, nobody will eat. This is a pretty direct translation (there goes my theory of this being an untranslatable word) but I\u2019ve never heard it being used in real life. Have you?<\/p>\n

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* * * * * *<\/p>\n

As it\u2019s related, I\u2019d also quickly like to answer a blog comment from someone asking what \u2018Hasenbrot\u2019 is.<\/p>\n

Das Hasenbrot<\/h2>\n
\"mit<\/a>

das Hasenbrot is only called das Hasenbrot once it’s come back home, uneaten. Foto: erix on flickr.com under a CC licence (CC by 2.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

Das Hasenbrot literally translates to \u2018rabbit bread\u2019<\/strong> and refers to a piece of bread that\u2019s been taken on a school trip or to work, but come back home uneaten. Why exactly it is called \u2018Hasenbrot\u2019 is somewhat unclear; possibly because it’s a bit soggy by the time it comes home, and therefore only suitable for rabbits\/animals to eat, or because the word was used to make daddy\u2019s uneaten sandwiches sound ‘fun’ enough to his children (‘Jaaa, es gibt Hasi-Brot!’) so that they\u2019ll eat them when he comes home from work. Das Hasenbrot is also known as die Knifte<\/strong> in other parts of Germany.<\/p>\n

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So there you have two more quirky German words which point at two opposing attitudes to leftover food! I hope you\u2019ve enjoyed this post. If you have, take a look at some more unusual German words by clicking the \u2018untranslatable German\u2019<\/strong> tag below.<\/p>\n

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Bis bald!<\/p>\n

Constanze<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Hello and welcome to another edition of untranslatable German words, where I bring you the quirkiest, funniest, most unusual words the German language has to offer \u2013 and ones that are difficult to find a direct translation for! Today\u2019s word is das Anstandsst\u00fcck.   \u00a0What does das Anstandsst\u00fcck mean? Das Anstandsst\u00fcck refers to the last…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":8336,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,70,8],"tags":[376022,376024,376066,95131,376023,337679,257573],"class_list":["post-8332","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-food","category-language","tag-culture","tag-food","tag-german-culture","tag-german-language","tag-language","tag-untranslatable-german","tag-untranslatable-words"],"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