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These contractions seem to add a lot of ambiguity though. Since "Backpfeifengesicht" is not commonly used, I thought it described a person who has been getting
by Matt3o12_ 11y ago
These contractions seem to add a lot of ambiguity though. Since "Backpfeifengesicht" is not commonly used, I thought it described a person who has been getting a lot of slaps across the neck so that his face took that form. Without context, these words are sometimes hard to understand unless they're commonly used.
Another example is Sitzpinkler. While this word is not ambiguous, it still sounds funny. I'd never use that and probably say "a person who pees while sitting". It might be used on some sign, although it makes the place where such a sign is found sound cheap because that word is really colloquial.
Nevertheless, it does create some great words such Schadenfreude, and Werdende. While i would never use Werdende, i believe it is used a lot in lyric (poems and that stuff). Schadensfreude is a really nice word through.
Disclaimer: my native language is German.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- etqwzutewzu 11y agoin French there is an expression for backpfeifengesicht, "tête à claques" (i.e., the kind of face that deserves to be slapped) that is commonly used
- usrusr 11y agoExpressions like that can sometimes be traced to a single literary source. They also spread through translated versions. In that case, even a "naturally occurring" expression in one language could spawn an expression coined by literature in another. Without further data, it might be entirely possible that Backpfeifengesicht was composed by a single translator trying to transfer the well-known-expression nature of "tête à claques" into german.
- aoloe 11y ago"Faccia da schiaffi" in Italian... To me, the German expression feels the weakest of the three mentioned languages...