{"id":9589,"date":"2018-02-14T09:33:33","date_gmt":"2018-02-14T09:33:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=9589"},"modified":"2018-02-14T09:33:33","modified_gmt":"2018-02-14T09:33:33","slug":"untranslatable-german-words-die-scheisfreundlichkeit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/untranslatable-german-words-die-scheisfreundlichkeit\/","title":{"rendered":"Untranslatable German Words: die Schei\u00dffreundlichkeit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guten Tag! We\u2019re back with another untranslatable words post! In this series, we look at the quirkiest, most interesting words the German language has to offer \u2013 words which, often, point at a very specific feeling or situation, and don\u2019t have a perfect translation in English. Today\u2019s untranslatable word is die Schei\u00dffreundlichkeit.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

What does die Schei\u00dffreundlichkeit mean?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Schei\u00dffreundlichkeit <\/span>is used to describe fake friendliness in people. One example of this is when someone is extremely nice to your face, but you know they secretly dislike you. You would say those people are being schei\u00dffreundlich. <\/em>Another example of Schei\u00dffreundlichkeit is in the overly-friendly (not genuine) nature of some sales assistants.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"smiley<\/a>

A person who is schei\u00dffreundlich always wears a fake smile. Photo by J E Theriot on flickr.com under a CC license (CC BY 2.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

What is the literal translation of die Schei\u00dffreundlichkeit?<\/span><\/h2>\n

It is made up of the words der Schei<\/strong><\/span>\u00df\/die Schei\u00dfe <\/span><\/strong>(shit) and die Freundlichkeit<\/strong> (friendliness), so it\u2019s literally \u2018shit friendliness\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

How would you use die Schei\u00dffreundlichkeit in a sentence?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Using it as an adjective, you simply say someone \u2018is\u2019 s<\/span>chei\u00dffreundlich, in the same way that you’d say someone is freundlich (friendly):<\/span><\/p>\n

J<\/span>ulia ist so s<\/span><\/strong>chei\u00dffreundlich<\/strong> \u2013 <\/span>Julia is so shit-friendly.<\/em>
\nWarum muss sie immer so s<\/strong><\/span>chei\u00dffreundlich <\/span><\/strong>sein?<\/strong> – Why does she always have to be so shit-friendly?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Car<\/a>

Ever met a salesman who was schei\u00dffreundlich? Photo EveryCarListedP by on flickr.com under a CC licence (CC BY-SA 2.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

What is the nearest English equivalent to die Schei\u00dffreundlichkeit?<\/span><\/h2>\n

The closest I can think of is ‘fake’ or \u2018two-faced\u2019, when someone acts one way but is another. Then there\u2019s the more colloquial word \u2018frenemy\u2019 – a mixture of friend<\/em> and enemy<\/em>. But none really capture the essence (and bluntness!) of <\/span>Schei\u00dffreundlichkeit. <\/span>Can you think of any?<\/span><\/p>\n

Good to know:<\/span><\/h2>\n

In the German language, you can add the word Schei\u00df<\/strong> to the front of any word to emphasise what you are saying. For example, to say it\u2019s cold you\u2019d say Es ist kalt.<\/strong> However, if it\u2019s really cold, and you want to express annoyance at that, you can say Es ist schei\u00dfkalt!<\/strong> (‘It’s bloody cold!’). This works for nouns as well as adjectives: If a particular object is annoying you, for example, you can express this annoyance by saying Diese Schei\u00dflampe!<\/strong> (This shitty lamp!) or Dieser Schei\u00dfk\u00fchlschrank!<\/strong> (This shitty fridge!) <\/span><\/p>\n

Please note that using Schei\u00df in this way is strictly informal \u2013 don\u2019t use it around your German boss or anything. \ud83d\ude09<\/span><\/p>\n

I hope you’ve found this interesting. As always, leave any further suggestions in the comments!<\/p>\n

Bis bald,<\/p>\n

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

Guten Tag! We\u2019re back with another untranslatable words post! In this series, we look at the quirkiest, most interesting words the German language has to offer \u2013 words which, often, point at a very specific feeling or situation, and don\u2019t have a perfect translation in English. Today\u2019s untranslatable word is die Schei\u00dffreundlichkeit. What does die…<\/p>\n

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