{"id":8564,"date":"2017-07-26T10:41:39","date_gmt":"2017-07-26T10:41:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=8564"},"modified":"2017-07-26T10:41:39","modified_gmt":"2017-07-26T10:41:39","slug":"untranslatable-german-das-backpfeifengesicht","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/untranslatable-german-das-backpfeifengesicht\/","title":{"rendered":"Untranslatable German: Das Backpfeifengesicht"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guten Tag and welcome to another \u2018untranslatable words\u2019 post, where I bring you the quirkiest words the German language has to offer. Today\u2019s word is a popular one that was requested by a reader: das Backpfeifengesicht.<\/p>\n

\"SLAP\"<\/a>

Backpfeifengesicht. Photo by freyaspargo on flickr.com under a CC license (CC BY 2.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

What is the meaning of das Backpfeifengesicht?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A Backpfeifengesicht is the word for a face you don\u2019t like \u2013 to be specific, a face you just want to slap or punch!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What is the literal translation of das Backpfeifengesicht?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Backpfeifengesicht looks like quite a mouthful. It breaks down into 3 separate words:<\/p>\n

back<\/em> <\/strong>\u2013 from die Backe, meaning cheek<\/strong><\/p>\n

pfeifen<\/em> <\/strong>\u2013 German verb meaning to whistle<\/strong><\/p>\n

das Gesicht<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 The German word for face<\/strong><\/p>\n

So it literally means \u2018cheek whistle face\u2019. Sound strange? When you put the words back<\/strong> and pfeife<\/strong> together you get die Backpfeife<\/strong>, which is the German word for a slap<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

So the actual translation of the word is \u2018slap face\u2019 or, as is the popular translation, \u2018a face in need of a slap\u2019!<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How would you use das Backpfeifengesicht in a sentence?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You\u2019d say someone has<\/em> a Backpfeifengesicht, so for example:<\/p>\n

Andreas hat ein richtiges Backpfeifengesicht
\nAndreas has a right slappable face<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s not used so much for people you think are unattractive (see Gesichtsbremse<\/a>) but for people you don\u2019t like, or people whose faces annoy the hell out of you for whatever reason.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also worth noting that it\u2019s not a common<\/em> German word, so don\u2019t expect to hear it on a daily basis!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What is the nearest English equivalent of das Backpfeifengesicht?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Backpfeifengesicht often pops up on lists titled things like \u201910 German Words English Needs To Adopt!\u2019 so I think it\u2019s safe to say there isn\u2019t an English equivalent that does it justice (feel free to prove me wrong, though). Instead, let\u2019s take a look at three more German words related to the word Backpfeifengesicht:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

das Watsch’ngsicht<\/strong>
\nThe Bavarian version of Backpfeifengesicht, Watsch\u2019ngsicht comes from the Bavarian-German Watschn<\/strong> (a slap on the cheek) and Gesicht<\/strong> (face).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

die Hackfresse
\n<\/strong>A term for a person you think has a very ugly face. The word hack<\/strong> is from the verb hacken (to chop\/mince)<\/strong> and die Fresse<\/strong> is German slang for mouth<\/strong> (der Mund). When put together you get die Hackfresse, which is reminiscent of the word das Hackfleisch \u2013 minced meat<\/strong>. So by calling someone a Hackfresse you are implying their face looks like it\u2019s been minced. Not a very nice word, by any means!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

die Grinsebacke<\/strong>
\nMade up of the verb grinsen<\/strong> (to smile) and die Backe<\/strong> (cheek), this word is used to describe someone who is always smiling! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So, who do you think has a Backpfeifengesicht? Be sure to check out more of these words by clicking the \u2018untranslatable words\u2019 tag below, and see how fascinating the German language really is!<\/p>\n

Bis bald!<\/p>\n

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

Guten Tag and welcome to another \u2018untranslatable words\u2019 post, where I bring you the quirkiest words the German language has to offer. Today\u2019s word is a popular one that was requested by a reader: das Backpfeifengesicht.   What is the meaning of das Backpfeifengesicht? A Backpfeifengesicht is the word for a face you don\u2019t like…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":8569,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,8],"tags":[935,95131,960,451644,138,337679,257573,13],"class_list":["post-8564","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-language","tag-german","tag-german-language","tag-german-vocab","tag-german-words","tag-slang","tag-untranslatable-german","tag-untranslatable-words","tag-vocabulary"],"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