Are Germans rude? Is the German language hard and rude? 

Many, many people around the world had learned by watching TV in one of the World-War-2 movies, some German words where someone barked at any other person: “Los, los – schneller, schneller!” or “Hände hoch!” or “In Deckung!” – As you can see here, the Germans in Hollywood movies always talk with exclamation marks! Nobody knows who invented the exclamation mark, but a German must have applied for a patent on it!

Back then, when I went to the pub every Friday after work for an evening pint and a little chat with friends and acquaintances, there was a genial guy, somewhat older than me. He was at the age where he was ready to retire and was working for the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and had lived and worked for three decades as a musician. He had travelled with the Orchestra around the world, had experienced many foreign cultures, and had met a variety of strange people. 

One day he asked me if I knew about the big difference between the German language and other languages such as English or French. I told him I do not know and was eager for an answer.

“Well, in a situation of great joy, or of a big surprise, in a moment someone stops movement, and the mouth goes open as the brain is looking for an appropriate word for this amazement – what does an English man say?” 

Here I didn’t have any clue what he meant and told him, so he purred out in the sweetest tongue:

“Oh … how beautiful, just wonderful!”

Well, that was reproducible for me and a common response for this situation. He then went on to ask me: “… and how would a French person react in such an astonishing situation?”

My shoulders shrugged and he sugar-touched told me then:

“Oh … c’est merveilleux, absolument magnifiques!”

Well, that would also be my words – I thought to myself – if my few French lessons weren’t too long ago. “… and how is a German guy reacting in an absolutely fantastic, awesome moment?” 

Again, my shoulders went high, and I did not have any clue about the answer. He took a step backwards, raised his arms just like an entertainer on stage and shouted at me:

“Ja … leck mich doch am Arsch!”

Well, here he got the point!

For your better understanding: “Ja” means: “Yes” – here used as the word “Well”, to start a sentence – and the rest you can google, because I do not translate it in this article.

Nevertheless, if you ever get in this situation hearing this German sentence live: it is not meant as a challenge, nor as a demand or an order, nor for granting any request. If you think you must react in any way: Don’t do that – that’s no invitation!

This sentence is simply a term of stunning astonishment in the German language! 

Did you google this sentence? Go on, do it, so you could judge by yourself if German is a rude or hard language?

Not yet? – Los, los – schneller, schneller!!!

By the way, did you know the canon in B-flat major composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, which is about the Swabian salute?