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LEARNING GERMAN

German word of the day: Lecker

Here's a delicious word to impress your German friends during your next dinner party.

German word of the day: Lecker
A woman cooks something 'lecker' in her Berlin kitchen. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Annette Riedl

German textbooks usually teach you to say “es schmeckt” or “es schmeckt gut” (it tastes good) if someone asks you how your food is. 

However, there is another way to say this that the textbooks often overlook:  “lecker!”, which means as much as “delicious” or “yummy”. 

READ ALSO: 10 ways of speaking German you’ll only ever pick up on the street

The word originates from the middle high German word “lecker” which is also the root of the verb “lecken” (to lick). 

While this seems strange at first, as a word-for-word translation might show up as “it’s a licker!”, it actually follows a similar logic to the word “tasty” which takes the verb “to taste” and turns it into an adjective. 

“Lecker” is similar, in that “lecken” is also sometimes used in the context of tasting something. In a cafe or informal eatery, especially in the south of Germany, you might see family members offer each other a taste of their drinks, and say “willst du mal daran lecken?” (Would you like a lick/taste). 

However, as a descriptive word, “lecker” is only ever applied to food, specifically the taste of food, unless you haven’t tried it yet, in which case it can also be used to describe the smell. 

A hungry dinner guest might say “das riecht aber lecker!” (That smells amazing!) while waiting within smelling distance of their eagerly awaited meal. 

READ ALSO: Nine tasty German food and drink idioms

In West Central Germany, “lecker” is also used as a slang word for “attractive”. In this case, the word doesn’t adapt to the gender of the noun like most adjectives do, and so is used like this:  

“Was für ein lecker Mann!” 

What a good-looking man. 

This is similar to the Dutch word “lekker”, which means “good” or pleasant in a broader sense. In Holland someone might say “Slaap lecker!” (sleep well) – though you would probably get some odd looks if you tried to use it that way in German. 

Examples: 

Hast du was leckeres gekocht?

Have you cooked something tasty? 

Das Essen war sehr lecker, danke. 

The food was delicious, thank you. 

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GERMAN WORD OF THE DAY

German word of the day: Dudelsack

This hilarious sounding German word describes something quintessentially Scottish.

German word of the day: Dudelsack

Why do I need to know Dudelsack?

In the run-up to the German v Scotland opening match of Euro 2024, there were a lot of these gracing the streets of Munich. More importantly, why wouldn’t you want to know a word like Dudelsack?

Just say the word aloud and it will brighten your day. 

What does it mean?

Dudelsack (pronounced like this) is one of those German words that’s both charmingly literal and somewhat onomatopoeic, describing a big bag or sack that makes a ‘doodling’ kind of noise: in other words, the bagpipes.

As well as sounding like the noise this traditional Scottish instrument makes, dudeln also translates as ‘to drone’, and anyone who’s heard the bagpipes will know that this is also a fairly accurate description of how they sound. 

READ ALSO: 10 German words with hilarious literal translations

As Scotland geared up to play Germany in the opening match of Euro 2024 in Munich, many sacks were doodled in the Bavarian capital. 

Seeing parades of kilts and hearing the distinctive wail of the Dudelsack against the backdrop of Munich’s gothic town hall isn’t something you experience every day, and we’re sure it’s an experience the people of Munich also won’t forget for a while. 

Use it like this: 

Hör mal auf, Dudelsack zu spielen! Es geht mir auf die Nerven.

Stop playing the bagpipes! It’s getting on my nerves.  

Weißt du, wie der Dudelsack klingt? Man hört ihn überall in Schottland.

Do you know what the bagpipes sound like? You can hear them everywhere in Scotland. 

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