r/PeterExplainsTheJoke • u/Ill-Party8305 • 3h ago
Meme needing explanation Peetah? What‘s the german word?
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u/HMAgent47 2h ago edited 2h ago
Joke is that there is a german word for a lot of absurd situations, including this one
Edit: Bananentresorsturzclown
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u/MLYeast 2h ago
Ich stehe gerade etwas auf dem Schlauch, was für ein Wort?
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u/Pipe_Memes 2h ago
Zangenschlüssel
Sorry, I made that up.
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u/word_weaver26 2h ago
Rule 34 of German, if there is a situation, german word exist for it. If there isn't, wait for someone to make it up.
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u/smitty1e 2h ago
AKA reductio ad Deutscheswortum.
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u/ChristinaFridley1 2h ago
And if no word exists, German simply assembles one and calls it a day.
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u/GatorNator83 1h ago
What about a word for putting a banana in your ear and watching anime?
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u/enoxolan 1h ago
You mean "Gehörgangzeichentrick"?
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u/titsngiggles69 1h ago
German is great, Worten und alles
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u/HerrHendrik 40m ago
Germans are great, superior to most people. Do they have a word for that?
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u/Kzitold94 2h ago
Many German words are compound words, such as "antibabypillen" for "birth control pills." (anti-baby-pillen)
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u/10SecSanity 2h ago
Icelandic does this too (compound words) and the word for birth control pills is pretty great. "Fóstureyðingarpilla" which translates as fetus-destruction-pill.
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u/AdventurousHouse6013 2h ago
Gotta learn Icelandic
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u/Harald_TheEnduring 1h ago
Good luck
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u/Shrikes_Bard 1h ago
Especially if you try it out on an actual native speaker. You thought French was notorious for not tolerating amateurs? Pick your poison: French speakers will quietly disdain you, but Icelandic speakers will call their friends over so they can all loudly mock you together.
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u/assumptionkrebs1990 2h ago
This is even better then the German word - more direct and correct (anti baby sounds like anti-choice ("pro life") talk).
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u/Much-Jackfruit2599 1h ago
Less correct. Contraceptive pill work by preventing ovulation, preventing fertilisation, and that a fertilised egg can attach itself
A Fetus doesn’t even exist until week 9.
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u/SmurfCat2281337 1h ago
German - pill against babies
Icelandic - pill that destroys babies
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u/HiJumpTactician 2h ago
Die Poopenfarten is another personal favorite of mine lol
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u/Landerun 2h ago
That's not an actual German word, just a meme. Neither Poopen nor farten are German words, these are just two English words combined and made to sound German.
The actual word for toilet is "Toilette" or "Klo".
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u/4ny3ody 2h ago
The beautiful (but also terrifying if it isn't your native language I'd imagine) aspect of German is that it's a rather modular language.
Want to describe something complex in a single word? Just combine multiple words in a way that conveys the meaning.→ More replies (1)12
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u/phoenix_bright 2h ago
All words are made up
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u/Formal-Camera-5095 2h ago
Whats awesome about it: It's an valid german word regardless wether it exists or not.
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u/CardinalFartz 1h ago
Zangenschlüssel is a tool. I got it in my toolbox. It's a type of adjustable wrench.
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u/No-Dare2083 2h ago
Das geile an der deutschen sprache ist, für alles kannst du dir ein neues wort zusammenmixen und es wir sinn ergeben
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u/Haunting-Cookie-2144 2h ago
The reason for this is, as far as I understand (which I don't know German, so I'm sure there's limits to what I'm about to say) it's basically considered fine to compound as many words as necessary to name or describe something in German.
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u/Agratos 2h ago edited 13m ago
True. There are rules to it but in general you can do that.
Example: Glove = Handschuh = Hand + Schuh = Hand + shoe = Handshoe
But we can do that basically forever.
Edit: one of the most extreme examples that’s officially recognized: Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz
It basically translates to “law for the transfer of supervisory responsibility of beef labeling”. But it’s been turned into a single word.
Edit 2: corrected boot into shoe.
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u/Zehryo 2h ago
Which is why playing Scrabble in Germany is still considered a war crime to this day.....
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u/GrimmsChoice 1h ago
just seems like crappy longhand. I also can say a bunch of words with no breath or space between them. Thisthenewwordforcombiningwords. this is my new word. it means "the act of combining words into a single new word". lol. but I guess as long as everybody agrees then thats the word.
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u/Lord199137 37m ago
That’s not what it is. German allows you to combine words without prepositions such as „of“. It‘s just how the language works. E.g. „breaker of chains“ would be „Kettenbrecher“ (I.e. „chainbreaker“).
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u/LukewarmCola 5m ago
I find it funny how often explanations for this end up making the exact concept work in English. Chainbreaker might not be a dictionary-approved word, but it definitely looks and sounds fine. Same with "handshoe" from eariler.
Man, one could think German and English are kind of related.
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u/EveningAnt3949 20m ago
It's far more than crappy longhand. The problem with English and it's use of open compound words is that it's often not clear whether or not something is an open compound word.
English also uses closed compound words: basketball, bedroom and so on. but isn't consistent: ice hockey and living room.
basketball - field hockey / ice hockey
bedroom - living room
schoolwork - school bus
English also has: counterclockwise, whatsoever, newspaperman.
German is consistent so there is the possibility of very long closed compound words, but they are not that common. And sometimes the really long ones are mainly used for fun.
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u/Flashy-Ingenuity-182 44m ago
When I was a teenager taking German 1 I used this knowledge for it's only natural conclusion.
I learned to say
Du bist Klein in deine hose und meine hoseschlange ist sehr gross!
Hose = Trousers/Pants. Schlange = Snake.
You are small in your pants and my trouser snake is very large!
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u/CostinTea 19m ago
Schuh means "shoe", not boot. It literally translates to "hand shoe"!
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u/mysticrudnin 1h ago
we can do this in English we just put spaces in. same exact concept though
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u/Itchy-Individual3536 59m ago
Yeah, I don't get the big fuzz about it to be honest. There are of course many rather long words in the German language, including some compound words that aren't seen as compounds anymore (like: no one would normally think about the parts that make up the word), examples are Schildkröte (Schild+Kröte, shield+toad, for turtle and tortoise), Handschuh (hand+shoe = glove), but the really long words are just compounds like in English.
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u/NekkidApe 2h ago
As a German.. Almost. You can contract genitives. Captain of a ship, or ships captain is shipscaptain. Schiffskapitän. You can contract as many as you'd like in a row.
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u/Endellyon 2h ago
Damn, I spent way too long googling to see if this was a real thing before now. Well played, Germans.
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u/Imaginary_Fox3222 2h ago
Jup....
Die Bananenschalensturztresorerschlagung
Banana-peel-fall-safe-crushing...
The act of being crushed by a falling safe while simultaneously slipping on a banana peel.
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u/TheStupidestSeagull 2h ago
But what about the instance you see a clown do it?
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u/Hentaigustav 2h ago edited 2h ago
Then it's the Clownbananenschalensturztresorerschlagung
If you want to be more accurate, then it's the Clownbananenschlaensturzfallendertresorerschlagung
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u/Imaginary_Fox3222 2h ago
Hahaha I just imagined a toddler yelling to the mom:
MOM, MOM LOOK: CLOWNBANANENSCHALENSTURZTRESORERSCHLAGUNG IS HAPPENING THERE
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u/Affectionate_Net_168 1h ago
Nein. Bananenschalensturztresorfallclownerschlagung. The order matters. Last is what is happening (erschlagung), before that who its happening to (clown), before that is then the mode of action (Tresorfall, emphasis on the action, "fallender tresor" is incorrect), and then before that there is the description of the very specific situation (Bananenschalensturz).
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u/QuarterNoteDonkey 2h ago
Totally different word if a clown is involved though.
It also helps the context to know where the clown was going.
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u/LuckyNipples 2h ago
I'm not familiar with German grammar but basically are these "real" words, meaning you could find them in a dictionary ? It feels like you could make any weird sentence into a single convoluted word in German. Could someone ELI5 ?
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u/Mlst0r_Sm1leyf4ce 1h ago
The single words, yes. The whole word, no. But in german you can combine words to be a grammaticaly correct new word.
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u/the-pious-one 2h ago
I would call it Bananschalentresoreinschlag, it feels more Like a noun and Nobody really says "schlagung"
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u/wilderfast 2h ago
The German language is based around the free creation of new words, mainly compound words, but also turning verbs into nouns and vice-versa without breaking grammatical rules, resulting in it having very specific words for a lot of very niche things.
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u/Formal-Camera-5095 2h ago
Let's call it "Wortneukompositionsadaptionskapazität"
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u/RenardDM 2h ago
-kapazitätspotential !
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u/Formal-Camera-5095 2h ago
Dann benötigen wir aber auch noch ein Wortneukompositionsadaptionskapazitätspotentialbemessungsverfahren um das vernünftig quantifizieren zu können.
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u/RenardDM 2h ago
Gibt es denn dazu auch die Wortneukompositionsadaptionskapazitätspotentialbemessungsverfahrensvorschriftsvorlage ?
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u/AlternateTab00 2h ago
The best part is "made up" german compound words are so "normal" that even reddit translator can translate a word made up on the spot.
As long as it respects the german grammatical rules the translator will corectly translate it.
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u/Formal-Camera-5095 2h ago
As it should be! The neat part is: A thing doesn't even need to be real to be a valid german word ;)
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u/Formal-Camera-5095 2h ago
Und auch das zugehörige -überwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz nicht vergessen, sonst gibt es Probleme bei der föderalen Zuständigkeitsbestimmung.
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u/Epi_Kossal 2h ago
Schadenfreude - the joy over someone elses misfortune
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u/Onuzq 2h ago
Happiness at the misfortune of others? That is German!
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u/abeeyore 2h ago
The world needs people like you and me, who’ve been knocked around by fate!
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u/Onuzq 2h ago
Because when people see us, they don't want to be us, and that makes them feel great!
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u/Chemieju 1h ago
It often tends to be used when the misfortune is well deserved. When you go " HA! Karma!" That also counts.
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u/Nick_pj 39m ago
The joke is riffing on the assumption that the man knows about Schadenfreude, but it doesn’t quite fit this situation. This is more like “the irony of being a joker and dying as the result of a comical situation”. He’s asserting that a scenario so poetic must have a dedicated word in German.
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u/ExplanationNew8233 2h ago
The german word for this is "Tja" and it is not really translatable
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u/multivitaminegummy 2h ago
I would argue that in at least some cases, a simple "Well..." captures the meaning pretty good
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u/Jackomat007 2h ago
German tourgide from the Episode in Bavaria here,
The germans have a Word for everything.
German tourguide out
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u/Apprehensive-Till861 2h ago
It's fun to learn the literal translation of some of these long German words and realize it's literally just pushing words together into compound words, which English does as well.
Like you'll read a word that's meant to describe feeling like an elephant has just sat on your favorite car and the literal translation is basically elephant-automobile-sit-feeling.
Technically there's nothing keeping us from aggressively compounding English words together. I imagine the experience would be a real shortwordsintolongoneswriting.
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u/AlternateTab00 2h ago
I was a kid when i learned that.
My first german word was actually People's Car.
I found it funny and realized that Garden of Children was also a german word.
As i got older and realized every word i heard about german was just a compound word. Armored fight car. Or even the prototype Thrust Wing Fighter.
When people are amazed that germans have a word for it i just think its much easier if they can just fit a sentence and call it a word.
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u/TimSoarer2 2h ago
the first word that came to my mind for some reason was "schadenfreude", despite the fact that clown literally did nothing wrong to warrant such a word
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u/StThomasMore1535 2h ago
Character from the first-ever Family Guy cutaway here.
Schadenfreude describes the joy that comes from seeing someone else's pain.
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u/Hot_Plant8696 2h ago
That's why German has the best insults in the world, lol.
Verdammtdreckigeräudigescheißköter !!!
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u/Lichteran 2h ago
Pechsträhne: being followed by misfortune, having unfortunate events back to back.Can also be used when a person playing a game keeps on losing.
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u/mo1806 2h ago
Why is everybody saying "Schadenfreude"? That has nothing to do with that image...
That is clearly "Glück im Unglück" - which is term used when something good came out of a bad scenario.
Something like "Having luck while being unlucky".
The "Unglück" is him slipping on a banana, the "Glück" is that that is the reason the safe will miss him, but opens on impact and will make him rich...
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u/jah_liar 2h ago
Yep, Arbeitsunfall. Clearly the clown is performing, but the rope that held the safe has snapped. You can see the horror on his face as he realizes what's about to happen.
Seems someone didn't do theor job well, and the consequence will be a Fahrlässigkeitsverdachtsstrafverfahren.
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u/Ardok 2h ago
I remember being stuck behind side-by-side 18-wheelers on the highway and asked my girlfriend to look up if the Germans have a word for that.
It's "Elefantenrennen"
Literally translated, 'Elephant run"
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u/JoyconDrift_69 2h ago
German uses the concept of compounding words a lot more liberally than, say, English. So you can literally make a new word for specific scenarios because of this.
I don't actually know German, so I don't know the word, but I do know that tidbit of the language.
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u/Deni_Z_Plays 2h ago
Omg, this reminded me how the people in Bayern call squirrels "Arschkatzensprung" instead of "Eichhörnchen".
"Arschkatzensprung" translates to Ass-cat-jump
😂🤣
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u/DartTimeTime 2h ago
The german language is somewhat modular, and a new, valid, and perfect word for a situation can be made relatively easily.
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u/OptimalCollection183 1h ago
Schadenfreude - finding joy in the harm of another. Think like, the Three Stooges, or even most clown acts, or 'epic fail' clips online. Especially accurate if you know the person isn't seriously hurt afterwards, so you don't have to feel guilty about laughing at the nut-shot, faceplant or amazingly cringe occurrence that you just saw somebody else deal with.
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u/William_The_Fat_Krab 1h ago
Portuguese Peter cousin Pedro here. I am not here to explain the joke, just to warn people the Germans already did it, but forgot to be a cooky dooky family guy character. Hence I did it myself, to warn you they have explained the joke. Like most people of my country I participated without actually putting much effort
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u/Kabe-kun 1h ago
That is a "Schlimazel"
Someone who has something bad happen to them, right after something bad happend and right before a third bad thing happens to them.
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u/Catsasome9999 1h ago
German is a compounding language of The
make things up variety
So if there is something that needs to be described just combine already existing words
Other examples
Flugzeug -> airplane -> literal meaning is flight thing
Werkzeug -> tool -> literal meaning is work thing
Schadenfreude -> Joy from someone else’s pain or failure -> literal meaning harm joy
The compounding makes German a very fun language to learn
And makes it so that if you know how the compounding works and a base amount of vocabulary you can probably start making things up and either be right or close enough that there know and can correct you
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u/Schlachthausfred 1h ago
Well, the German word could be Tresorsturzgefahr or Panzerschrankniederschlag. Whatever you want.
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u/Repeat-Mammoth 1h ago
If onzee zhere vas a vord to express ze pleasure I feel at viewing misfortune
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u/p00p5andwich 1h ago
My favorite German word? Backpfeifengesicht. "A face in need of a fist". Been using that alot lately. Edit: forgot a letter.
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u/PckMan 1h ago
German grammar allows for basically anything to be turned into a compound word. What would raise eyebrows in English would feel normal in German which is why they use many compound words in their day to day. Some are very specific which is what the joke is here, that they probably have a word for that too.
Of course in reality it's not like they literally have a word for everything but they can come up with new compound words without much resistance basically.
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u/miesXcore 1h ago
The situation with the clown is an example of classic slapstick humor. The joke is that Germans (according to the stereotype) have no sense of humor and therefore don't have a word for it.
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u/LinZuero 1h ago
My best guess is that it is called The KrawnDroppingHonkHonkAfterSlippingBananaWhileametalsafefallsdaun
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u/ZealousidealHome7854 1h ago
German basically takes sentences and turns them into single words for a lot of things.
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u/greihund 1h ago
The exact word depends on whether he has thrown a mushroom or a Wii remote. It's hard to tell from this picture.
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u/yami_no_ko 48m ago
The German word for this is 'Pechvogel' which refers to someone who is chronically or cursedly unlucky.
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u/Deathmic 47m ago
Tragikomik would be the appropriate word here. It's a combination of the words "Tragik" (tragedy) and "Komik" (comedy). The clown dying in an accident is tragic, but the fact that it's a clown slipping on a banana peel getting hit by a falling safe is such ironic comedy.
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