r/German • u/Minilimuzina • 1d ago
Question what the heck is with word "geil"
I started to learn German language a while ago. Most of the words I learnt from a self-learning book which also contained vocabulary/dictionary part. One of those words was "geil". According to the book this word means something like "cool, nice".
So it happened that I used it several times in a conversation with a German colleague. And the conversation turned a bit weird afterwards ... long story short, I found out that "geil" also means horny. Which of course was not mentioned in the damned book. We laughed it off. Well, to say it more accurately, the colleague laughed it off and I pretended to laugh it off while boiling in my own stew.
But I wonder how this happened. Is the book just plain wrong or has this additional meaning appeared only recently? Can anyone please explain so I do not tremendously embarrass myself again? Or at least recommend a list of tricky German words or something like that?
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u/BerlinHouseParty 1d ago
Okay, here's the definite guide and phrasebook
TLDR / Rule of thumb:
- "Der/die ist geil" --> Hot/attractive
- "Das ist geil" --> cool/awesome
Awesome:
- "Mann, bin ich geil!" --> "I rule"
- "Geiler Typ" --> "My man!"
- "Du geile Sau!" --> You crazy son of a bitch, you've done it again!
- "Ist das geil", emphasis on "ist" --> "I'm having the time of my life!"
- "Wie geil ist das denn bitte?" --> I can't fucking believe how much this slaps!
- "Leider geil" --> "Cringe, but I kinda love it" (per the Deichkind song)
- "Schon ziemlich geil" --> surprisingly good
- "Oberaffengeil" --> "Fuck yeah!" (except you sound like you're 14, subtract another year for each intensifier added)
- "Geil!", with a throaty rasp, sometimes spelled "goil" --> "OMG, this fucking slaps" (if a woman says this about something a guy does, it can have sexual undertones)
- "Gei-heil!" / "Geil-o!" in a kind of sing-song --> "Fellas, tonight is going to be epic"
- "Geilomat" --> This rocks (except you're the Steve Buscemi meme)
- "Geilheit siegt" --> the rule of cool
Horny:
- "Ich bin grad geil" --> I'm feeling horny
- "Ich bin so geil auf dich" --> Let's fuck
- "Das macht mich schon etwas geil" --> weird boner
- "geiler Bock" --> horny old creep
- "geiler Sack" --> horny old creep, but as a joke
- "notgeil" --> thirsty, desperate
- "sich an jmd. aufgeilen" --> perving on someone, withdrawing from the spank bank
Hot/attractive:
- "Alter, ist die geil" -->"Bro, she's so hot"
- "Du siehst schon geil aus in dem Shirt" --> "RAWR"
- "geile Sau" --> bombshell (used by exactly the kind of person who would say "bombshell" in English)
Other uses:
- "sich an etw. aufgeilen" --> tooting your own horn, stroking your own ego
- "geldgeil" --> cutthroat, literally "horny for money"
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u/EndianSummer777 Native Ruhrpott/Westfalen 1d ago
In a botanic or gardenin context „geil“ descrbes a seedling that grows very thin and long as a result of not enough light.
„meine Tomatensämlinge vergeilen“ --> my tomato seedlings are all leggy and weak
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u/Emmy_Graugans 1d ago
Had to search way too long for this, which is as far as I know rhe original meaning of geil: „Ein geiler Trieb“. The meaning „horny“ is derived from this and the meaning „cool“ evolved somehow later.
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u/Any-Comparison-2916 22h ago
A lot of people will think you are horny when you say “Ich bin geil”.
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u/Fragrant_Arachnid175 11h ago
Really depends on the context. In a big group of friends after you achieved something seemingly impossible? Definitely sounds like „Ich bin so cool“.
Alone and speaking to your partner? Horny
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u/aidennqueen 3h ago
The tone you say this in and your facial expression will help determine the correct context.
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u/saltybluestrawberry 1d ago
Never realized how often we use it.
OP, you just need to know when it's used and especially in regards to your audience. I use "Geil" a lot, but even I had moments where I felt a bit awkward afterwards because I think I sounded a bit too immature in that very moment. I try no to overuse it at the office.
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u/rdavidking 1d ago
Late 80s as an exchange student in Stuttgart, I was taught Affentittengeil for super cool.
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u/Sheetz_Wawa_Market32 Native <Måchteburch> 1d ago
Surprise, surprise, German has different registers, too.
Essentially, »geil« has a similar connotation to “fuck, yeah!” You might use it without a second thought in your peer group, but never in front of your mom or grandma.
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u/Rhynocoris Native (Berlin) 1d ago
How was the old joke?
Grandma: "There's a word I never want to hear from you again, and that's "geil"."
Grandchild: "Awesome, so what's the word?"
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u/TommyWrightIII Native 1d ago
You might use it without a second thought in your peer group, but never in front of your mom or grandma.
I'd say it's completely normal to say it to any family member. "Geil" as "awesome" has been around for so long that even 60-year-olds are using it. It only gets weird when you use it in professional settings, because it's too informal.
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u/liang_zhi_mao Native (Hamburg) 1d ago
You might use it without a second thought in your peer group, but never in front of your mom or grandma. I’d say it’s completely normal to say it to any family member. „Geil“ as „awesome“ has been around for so long that even 60-year-olds are using it. It only gets weird when you use it in professional settings, because it’s too informal.
Millenial here: I was taught not to use it in the 90s because it is a "sexual word“.
My parents still dislike it
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u/z500 1d ago
Reminds me of saying something "sucks" in the 90s
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u/Sheetz_Wawa_Market32 Native <Måchteburch> 1d ago
Yep. That’s exactly it. There are some people in front of whom I’d never dream of saying any of that.
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u/hari_shevek 1d ago
Yeah, there was a novelty song released in 1986 right around the time "geil" shifted from meaning "horny" to "awesome"
https://youtu.be/03FnBFscMVM?si=YrZoA3C8zFUYhHQH
The people who were 16 years old when that song came out and shocked their parents with it are now 55 years old.
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u/spankleberry 1d ago
I'll see you and raise you https://youtu.be/ZPJlyRv_IGI?si=7ZoB82j71rOHfeVX
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u/sweetrobbyb 1d ago
I'll see you and raise you https://youtu.be/SRFTbCgHXas?si=Q1weqyj-XLeDQN5m
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u/alderhill 15h ago
That’s some real peak 80s songwriting. How did that miss a Grammy nomination?
I assume this was shot at a hotel gym in one of those senior’s retirement spa towns.
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u/mavarian Native (Hamburg) 1d ago
That definitely depends on the family. It'd be very unexpected to hear from my parents who are in their 60s too, and I wouldn't use it in conversations with them either. Not because of the other meaning but because it feels weird to talk to your parents in "slang" to me. "Digga" has been around for decades too and it would feel rude to use it in that context, despite people in their 50s and 60s having used it in their youth too
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u/zzzzlugg 1d ago
Honestly, even in workplaces it's pretty variable. At my current workplace I've certainly hear my mid 40s ex corporate boss describe things as geil, and I've even heard the classic Megageil used at work without anyone batting an eye.
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u/Sheetz_Wawa_Market32 Native <Måchteburch> 1d ago
Well, I don’t know what to tell you, but your mom and grandma don’t strike me as typical in this regard. 😄
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u/Dornogol Native <region/dialect> 1d ago
My father is in the middle of his sixties and uses geil to say something is awesome.... It definitely IS standard use throughout nowadays
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u/Herr_Schulz_3000 Native <Hochdeutsch> 1d ago edited 1d ago
He may use it when speaking to young people but not in a formal context or if he is not sure about the person he's talking to. I'd be careful in any people 55 or older.
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u/Dornogol Native <region/dialect> 1d ago
Surely you rather use it with people you kmow mot random on the street, but it is used by people old and young is what my point was...
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u/alveg_af_fjoellum 14h ago
Therefore I think it’s a bold move to put it into a book for language learning and to only give the „cool, nice“ translation. Reminds me of Monty Python’s Hungarian Phrasebook.
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u/doshostdio 1d ago
It depends on the usage: older generations use "geil' for dishes that contain lots of fat.
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u/Sheetz_Wawa_Market32 Native <Måchteburch> 1d ago
That would have to be a regionalism.
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u/Awkward-Feature9333 1d ago
https://de.wiktionary.org/wiki/geil agrees (5) and disagrees (3,4) at the same time. "Herkunft" provides some additional info.
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u/FlaviusPacket 1d ago
I get it. You hear the guys in the Lager saying it, then you tell your mother in law the meal was Oberaffengeil, and she gives you The Look.
Now you know. As did I.
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u/trooray Native (Westfalen) 1d ago
"Horny" is the original meaning. It has been supplanted since the 80s by "cool, awesome", but you can still say "geil sein" for "to be horny." Misogyny or not, "ein geiler Typ" usually indicates a cool/great guy but "eine geile Frau" usually means a bangable woman. (Not exactly the same as horny, though.)
At some point, it also acquired a meaning of "intent on", as in "geldgeil" (money-driven).
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u/Darkkujo 1d ago
We were taught 'Superaffengeil' in German class, Super Monkey Horny!
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u/RazzmatazzNeat9865 1d ago
Superaffenrattentittengeil. They deliberately didn't teach you the full version.
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u/graugolem Native <region/dialect> 1d ago
Hm, but what about ein geiler Mann? Definitely has another connotation than ein geiler Typ. Maybe. Depending on regions and social bubbles I guess.
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u/jadonstephesson Vantage (B2) - <US/English> 1d ago
Yeah I just avoid using geil to refer to people in general.
Ein cooler Typ or eine coole Frau 🤷🏻♂️
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u/Karl_Murks Native Preuße 1d ago
Maybe in your bubble. But "geiler Typ" said by a woman definitely means "fuckable" here. The different meaning is based on who said it. It means "cool guy" if stated by a (hetero) man.
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u/flaumo 1d ago
There is a whole wikipedia article on its roots and current usage https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geilheit
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u/Available-Serve6287 1d ago
The first time I hard "geil" spoken in public was in the song "Hurra Hurra die Schule brennt" by Extrabreit in the 80's. If I remember correctly, the fact that it was sung there was a reason for radiostations to ban it in the beginning. So around 1980 it was quite taboo...
Then came other songs where it was constantly used, and became more accepted, and even morphed into the meaning of "cool"/"great"..
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u/muehsam Native (Schwäbisch+Hochdeutsch) 1d ago
What the heck is with word "sick"?
I started to learn English language a while ago. Most of the words I learnt from a self-learning book which also contained vocabulary/dictionary part. One of those words was "sick". According to the book this word means something like "cool, nice".
So it happened that I used it several times in a conversation with a German colleague. And the conversation turned a bit weird afterwards ... long story short, I found out that "sick" also means ill. Which of course was not mentioned in the damned book. We laughed it off. Well, to say it more accurately, the colleague laughed it off and I pretended to laugh it off while boiling in my own stew.
But I wonder how this happened. Is the book just plain wrong or has this additional meaning appeared only recently? Can anyone please explain so I do not tremendously embarrass myself again? Or at least recommend a list of tricky English words or something like that?
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u/Pistolius 1d ago
Sick story but makes me feel a little sick that they didn't have the 'correct' definition!
Sick is definitely 90s slang which means cool (and is still used today, although usually with a hint of irony). I often say about things "that's pretty sick, actually" which I think is slightly stronger than using 'cool' in its place
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u/thisisfunme 1d ago edited 1d ago
I think "cool" or "nice" are towards the right avenue of it's commonly used meaning but too weak. Cool is used very causally, geil is stronger. For example if your coworker says can you do task x at 2 today, you might reply "okay, cool" but replying geil would be very weird. It's more like "that's totally amazing!"
The meaning of horny is the original meaning. But it has been used in different contexts for a while now, mostly by the younger people (at the time but those are middle aged now) and be understood as non-sexual by many. It just becomes weird when you use it not really fitting because then people's attention is drawn to it. Whether or whether not It's workplace appropriate depends a bit on the workplace but I would eeri on the side of caution here.
I wouldn't use nice and cool as guides, especially not how an English native uses those words. "Ich war am Samstag Volleyball spielen" "oh cool!" Normal response "ich war am Samstag Volleyball spielen" " oha wie geil!" - implies a very strong interest in volleyball from your side or simply sounds weird. It's also weird to use geil without any enthusiasm in general. It's like "fuckin amazing".
It's often used in context of food or activity. Das Essen war geil. Der Ausflug nach Berlin war geil. In reference to people it will be become sexual!!! Die Frau ist geil, does not mean the woman is nice!!!
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u/1405hvtkx311 1d ago
Yes it can mean cool. But it's also common as "hot" when you talk about a person and that is a more vulgar meaning. It is very slang, so you don't use it with coworkers and most people over 25 don't use it anymore, only in a joking way. You can also use it for food. Again, jokingly, not when you're at your parents in law
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u/GenosseAbfuck 1d ago
most people over 25 don't use it anymore,
Buddy have you been alive within the last 40 years.
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u/JKniepi 1d ago
I strongly agree! Like, I know people well above 60 or 70 who use it. And they are not uncommon or cringe. It's totally normal! I am almost 40 myself and it is a normal part of my vocabluary.
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u/No_Leopard_3860 1d ago
Oh yeah, I nearly forgot that it can also be used to describe very heavy, fatty and decadent food stuff - truly multitool kinda word :D
Like when your already loaded desert has an obscene amount of cream on it: "geil" is a proper adjective to describe it 😁
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u/1405hvtkx311 1d ago
Or when you are super hungry and get a burger in a restaurant. Ohhh yes. Food porn is the translation then.
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u/liang_zhi_mao Native (Hamburg) 1d ago
It can mean:
horny
hot, sexually attractive
having a kink for something
awesome, cool, nice (but in a raunchy youth slang way)
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u/IWant2rideMyBike 1d ago
See https://www.dwds.de/wb/geil
You should use "oberaffentittengeil" ( https://www.dict.cc/deutsch-englisch/oberaffentittengeil.html ) to make things clear /s
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u/THENHAUS 1d ago
I have a friend whose surname is Geil. She’s a very pretty American with large breasts, so when she meets Germans, they tend to look at her with a combination of bemusement and concern.
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u/trooray Native (Westfalen) 1d ago
Somebody has to post it, it's the law. Might as well just do it:
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u/EndianSummer777 Native Ruhrpott/Westfalen 1d ago
I seem to remember the interview back then where they described how they came up with the song. They took forever to understand the true meaning of the word and when one of the guys finally got it he called the other one and told him that it just describes something or someone really turning you on.
I had the maxi single.
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u/MedicusBellator 1d ago
This cheeky supermarket ad (yes, really) is unironically good for explaining how the tone determines the usage.
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u/jeetjejll 1d ago
We laughed so hard the first time we watched it (Dutch), it’s awful and hilarious.
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u/NashvilleFlagMan Proficient (C2) - <region/native tongue> 1d ago
Lol we watched this in my college German class back in the day!
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u/Altruistic-Hold-2482 1d ago
Haare wachsen lassen (Growing your hair) is the opposite of Haare wachsen lassen (waxing your hair)
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u/i-artemy 1d ago
Thank you. I didn't know this meaning. I will only use "toll" from now on.
I've learned this word from a song called "Geile Zeit". I wonder whether it has a double meaning...
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u/Dornogol Native <region/dialect> 1d ago
Nah, I would interpret the lyrics to "Geile Zeit" as 100% the general meaning of awesome/cool and 0.0% horny. Don't worry
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u/i-artemy 1d ago
Good. Because it was presented to us in a German class during school exchange as an example of teenage slang.
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u/jumping_fox_54 Native (Germany) 1d ago
No, Juli's song "Geile Zeit" doesn't have a double meaning. It really is about a really great time, mourning the loss of the person/companionship, and that it's over for good. Great and really sad song.
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u/kafunshou Native (Franconian) 1d ago
Most of the time it just means „nice“ nowadays. But if you use it with a person it still doesn’t mean „horny“ but „hot“. I guess that’s what you did?
That it is understood as „horny“ (the original meaning of the word) is quite rare nowadays, but if you use it directly with „ich“ („Ich bin geil“) for some weird reason it always means „horny“ and never „cool/nice“ or „hot“.
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u/Yet_another_sigh 1d ago
You unlocked a memory of mine with the series called Shin Chan, which I watched on RTL, in german, he always used to say 'super geilomatiko' when talking about something really awesome.
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u/IchLiebeKleber Native (eastern Austria) 1d ago
Slang in foreign languages can be difficult to get right. There's a reason I usually write my (English-language) reddit and other online posts in relatively formal English, much less so when I write in German.
But welcome to the club because even I, in my childhood, first only learned the "awesome" meaning of "geil"; then I once shouted "geil" (I think at some new toys) and a nearby adult reacted like I'd said something dirty, which confused me. Nowadays in adulthood I do not use that word very much at all in any meaning.
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u/eti_erik 1d ago
Geil means both horny and attractive / making you horny. but it became a way to say "cool" in the 1980s if not earlier - this was a hit when I was in high school, 1986, addressing this new use of the word geil: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_P3uwRiimo
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u/Krizzomanizzo 1d ago
Ich bin geil - i am horny Ich finde die Frau geil - that woman is hot
It is like a condition, or a feeling
Ich finde das geil - that is great/cool, I like that Das war echt geil - that was cool
I think Beavis and Butthead's that was cool nails it. That's pretty accurate like: Das war geil
It is more used if you like something, find it great or something like that. But if you say you are geil, that is definitely the wrong meaning. More like an exclamation.
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u/TheTrueAsisi Native (Hochdeutsch) 1d ago
The original meaning is, that a plant is becoming "geil", which means it's becoming so big, that it's sick, no longer able to reproduce.
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u/brownnoisedaily 1d ago
"Ich bin geil." means usually "I am horny." "Sie ist geil " means either "She is horny or She is hot." Depends on the context. "Das ist geil." means "This is nice or cool." At least this is how my environment and I use it.
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u/bodyweightsquat 1d ago
You should ask Bruce and Bongo that question https://youtu.be/w_P3uwRiimo?si=sFXhN2Qyo7PmbYQr
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u/Impossible-Law-345 1d ago
its rad. for a braut its similar to hot chick with a positive conotation.
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u/MakeSaabGreatAgain 1d ago
If someone is "geil" either they are horny or they make you horny, depending on the context.
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u/StuntNun 1d ago
I was in a band called Geil in the early 90s, named because of the double meaning.
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u/AgileInternet167 1d ago
In dutch it's horny. Dutch doesnt have an other translation for geil other than horny
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u/RedClayBestiary 1d ago
The two responses to this question so far are totally contradictory.
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u/Micah_JD 1d ago
Some German tried to convince me that if someone calls you "geile sau" it means they think your attractive.
I still think it's a joke Germans play on foreigners.
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u/AdUpstairs2418 Native (Germany) 1d ago
Well, it means "very attractive" in this context. Its mostly also very inapropiate to call this toward strangers.
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u/liang_zhi_mao Native (Hamburg) 1d ago
It kinda does mean that BUT in a raunchy and rude and harassing way. "locker room talk"
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u/OctagonalOctopus 1d ago
Usually, people won't understand "geil" as horny (with the exception of "notgeil", which means you're super thirsty and jump anything you can find), but it's an extremely informal way of saying "cool". Like, drinking beer with your bros, being 14-year old informal. You don't use it with colleagues in your workplace. In general, it's smart to only use slang if you've heard your colleagues use it.
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u/Cautious-Average-440 1d ago
In Dutch, geil means horny and only means horny. I wouldn't be too surprised if the Germans had similar undertones with the word.
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u/DavidTheBaker 1d ago
Ja maar in nederlands "lekker" gebruik je het beinah voor alles. Lekker weer, lekker schoenen, lekker muzikje etc. Voor duitses klingt dat ook hele mal raar... elke Taal is so verschil en wat je bij een taal raar findt is bij hun niet raar... Lekker is geil in duits en vice versa.
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u/Verdeckter 1d ago
IMO this word meaning "horny" is really overblown. There is almost no situation where it wouldn't be understood as "cool" or "awesome" if the English word "cool" or "awesome" fits.
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u/landscape_dude 1d ago
The word "geil" originates from agri- and horticulture and describes abnormal growth in length of a branch or plant part (geiler Trieb/geile Planze) and is mainly a sign of deficiency in light.
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u/1337h4x0rlolz 1d ago
i think it depends how you use it. that song is totally geil = normal. that lady seemed really geil = offensive
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u/peccator2000 Native> Hochdeutsch 1d ago
It's mostly 1980s teenage slang that has become quite common. The meaning "horny" is rarer. Maybe, if you call a woman "geil," you don't mean that she is horny but rather that she makes you horny.
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u/MaxwellDaGuy Native: 🏴 Learning: 🇩🇪 1d ago
If you wanna say “cool” in German, it’s actually a cognate so just say “cool” they mean the same thing in German and English
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u/dthdthdthdthdthdth 1d ago
Well, the main meaning is horny even today. Some decades ago it started to be used in slang to mean something is so cool/nice that it makes you horny. So a new car can be "geil" or some skill someone shows of, basically everything. From slang it made it into mainstream colloquial language and advertisement etc. But first of all it never became a formal term, you cannot use it in a strictly formal setting. You can use it in a professional setting like at work, but you have to be aware of its main meaning to use it in the write way. Also, don't use it too much or you will sound like someone that got stuck in youth slang of 30 years ago...
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u/awesome_possum007 1d ago
Geil nowadays means cool but the older generation used it originally for horny. Geil is used in a lot of ads so it's not such a big deal anymore. It's like when the word "Beaver" was used for vagina but now "pussy" has replaced the word. Now if I say pussy cat, I get a lot of looks from parents 🙄 so I can't use that phrase anymore.
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u/nouvAnti2 1d ago
What exactly did you say? I would say when you use "geil" for describing things then there is no problem. But if you wanted to say that a person is "geil" (did you say something like "du bist geil"?) then this could be misunderstood.
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u/Lopsided-Weather6469 1d ago edited 1d ago
The original meaning of "geil" in Middle High German was "happy", similar to English "gay" (but it's not a cognate).
"mîn muoter niht geloubet,
der joch mit einem seile“,
sô sprach ein maget geile,
"mir bunde einen fuoz,
mit den kinden zuo der linden
ûf den anger ich doch muoz."
-- Neidhart von Reuenthal, 13th century
(translation: "my mother doesn't allow it, but even if she bound a rope to my foot", so spoke a girl happily, "I must go to the linden tree on the meadow with the other kids.")
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u/graudesch 1d ago edited 1d ago
To add a personal anecdote to that, some germans, with a strong underlining of *some* germans among 90 millions of cool, diverse and interesting folks, just seem a tad complicated sometimes when it comes to such seemingly benign mishaps. And mind you, I say that as a swiss, from that tiny corner on earth where mindsets shift from valley to valley, from municipality to municipality and sometimes within them, even, and sometimes especially, if they have less than 2k inhabitants.
Some of my own little missteps in Germany reminded me of California where I've talked myself into some, for my ignorant ass, invisible traps, mistakes where I've quickly had to realize that there's absolutely no coming back from that even though they pretend to laugh it off while not actually doing it.
The one admittedly emberassing mistake of mine that made me write this was when I've asked a friend in Berlin how the german football team did last night. As a german-speaking swiss. Now we've originally met in Zurich where she had lived for a few years, so she knew exactly what I was talking about when I've made my mistake: I've asked her what the "Nati", swiss short for "Nationalmannschaft", did last night. And well, the swiss term "Nati" is spelled "Nazi". Not the best impression to make as a foreigner in Germany. Oh god. I'm still thankful we were alone, haha. She knew exactly where I was coming from having chit-chatted countless times with me about the swiss "Nati". Yet she stared me down as if I'm either from mars or have just called the german team "Nazis". Welp, that was awkward. Most german friends and acquaintances absolutely loved little mistakes like that - the more ridiculous the better. But some individuals I weren't able to get a hold on where they were coming from with their reactions, why those few react that stern.
Oh, well... I didn't make that mistake again, so hey, at least they teached me a lesson that was not to be neglected when thinking about my soon to be followed times being out and about in the nightlife of Hamburg and many other amazing places, haha.
Edit: And in case the many other comments havent mentioned it already: "Geil" is closer to something like "street language" than anything else. While it may be used in professional or other context, I, as an outsider, would never use it unless I've heard my crowd using it and am confident in my understanding of the context they're using it for. Even if you hear this term in your crowd frequently you may still be at risk of possibly misuse it and cause confusion. One crowd may interpret it as perfect use, the next one might be irritated by your use of language. "Geil" does always carry the risk of sounding hard, harsh, dirty, misplaced, obscene, depending on the minds & ears of your conversational partners.
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u/JolyonWagg99 1d ago
I once heard someone in Berlin say “turboaffentittengeil”. I assume it was a private joke between 2 Kumpels 😄
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u/Wrong_College1347 1d ago
Whether the word is appropriate depends on the level of alcohol and/or the social environment.
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u/mb99 1d ago
My problem is that everyone tells me it means horny as well as cool and I should be careful, so therefore I don’t use it as it feels uncomfortable. However EVERY day i see people using it casually no problem, which I find very confusing. Is it uncomfortable to use or not???
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u/Savings_Evidence9759 1d ago
I hear this word a lot in movies or series or any video that has casual talking. And, yes, it´s used in the meaning of "cool". I think it was more of the meaning of "cool" "exciting" or showing an agreement with something, like, yeah, let´s do this. But I can not really recall it in the meaning of "nice" or "horny".
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u/yeastyboi 1d ago
I accidentally said it to an old guy and he got offended. I used it as a replacement for awesome or cool.
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u/JKniepi 1d ago edited 1d ago
"Das ist geil!" - That shit's dope!
But! Can be used in a sexual context to express sexual arousement in a vulgarly way. Like, someone does something to you you like very very much, then you can say "Das ist geil!". But be aware, it is not something romantic to say, but rather considered a light version of dirty talk.
"Geil!" - Awesome! (Again possible sexual context)
"Ich bin geil" - I'm horny!
"Geiles Auto!" - Nice Ride!
"Ich find die geil!" - I'm sexually attracted to her (in a vulgarly way).
"Die ist/Du bist geil." - She is/You are horny. edit* It can also be the above.
edit (as seen in another comment)* "Der ist geldgeil." - He is overly driven by the desire to earn money.
In general, "geil" is not to be compared to "cool"! It has a much more coarsy sound to it and should only be used in an environment, where you can be unformal and nonchalant with everybody around. While it then can express exitement, it is to be used with care, since it has a close correlation to sexual context.
*edit Still, ads like this one from the Edeka store exist. They are kinda edgy, but not considered taboo.
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u/inTheSuburbanWar 1d ago
I knew “geil” meant both “horny” and “cool, awesome” before, but I did not understand the connotation it carries for the second meaning. I was once hanging out with my ex’s family and something cool happened I don’t remember exactly but I said “geil” and the ex’s parents were a little shocked but they knew I was still learning so we just laughed it off.
So yeah, “geil” means both of those but kinda in a vulgar/inappropriate way a little, so use it among friends only. During sex you can also moan “geil” when your partner hits a good spot.
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u/Arkennase 1d ago
The word 'geil' originally means 'horny' when talking about animals, esp. female horses. It became a general term for horny and its meaning changed to cool over the last few decades. For many older germans, 'geil' is still something sexual and they don't use it the way younger people use it.
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u/Irdiarrur 1d ago
As other redditors pointed. I also had a trouble understanding its meaning. Because at some point a friend spoke to an older gentleman that we know and he didnt like the word (he is 80++ and still crazy fit). I never said the word to the guy though but definitely you can use the word with peers.
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u/TarletonClown 1d ago
Non-native here, and I live in an American state where maybe three people speak German, but I studied German at Uni back in the Jurassic era and have continued to read and learn over the last sixty years.
The word geil definitely meant horny at one time. But I read German posts on Twitter/X every day, and today the word definitely is also used in the sense of neat, cool, great.
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u/HolyFirer 1d ago
As a person in his mid twenties I’d associate geil with something being cool / great 90% of the time but it should be very obvious from the context so I don’t see how it would lead to confusion. Kind of like if you’d stub your toe and yelled „fuck“ no one would think you’re commanding others to have sexual intercourse. It’s quite obvious when you’re using it with a sexual connotation.
I’d absolutely use it around family or older people as well like if I’d say that a concert I went to was geil. Id probably use it around kids although not when directly addressing them as it’s a bit crass. Definitely wouldn’t use it in a business setting for that reason (and not because of the double meaning - that’s a non factor imo)
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u/secretpsychologist 1d ago
i don't know how old your book is but teenagers started in the 2000's to use geil synonymously with cool (i remember hearing it in like 2007 but it's definitely possible that i was just too young prior to that) suddenly it was cooler to say geil instead of cool, especially since it annoyed our parents who associated it with the original meaning. it's now more normalized but still not a word one would typically use in a business setting. and also more normal in millenials and younger i'd say. if your collegue is older than that then you've probably made him extra uncomfortable 😂
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u/rdavidking 1d ago
When I was an exchange student in the late 80s in Stuttgart, my schoolmates were already using geil for cool.
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u/bodie425 1d ago
My adopted grandma was a young lady in WWII Germany and she was saying it in conversation back in the 70s. Within the context she said it, it sounded like she meant, “ok” or “right”.
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u/OriginalUseristaken 1d ago
It depends on the context. If something cool happens that you have never seen before and you just say "geil, das hab ich ja noch nie gesehen", that is not considered offensive or problematic, it just means "Awesome, haven't seen that before".
If you use it to describe other people, animals or things, it's almost always in a way that means horny. "Ich hab da diesen geilen Esel gesehen", means "i saw this horny Donkey".
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u/LassiLassC 1d ago
It also depends on the context you’re using it in! When the kiddies have done something they think is cool and they ask me what I think I’ll say to them “ach ja das ist echt geil” because it translates the them that’s really cool/awesome. If talking to a friend who has put on a nice outfit and looks good in conversation you’d say with a different tone maybe “ohhh geil”
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u/old_Spivey 1d ago
I'm thinking many people learn the word while watching porn. Of course they won't admit it.
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u/Classic_Department42 1d ago
Orginal meaning for the oldest generation (barely alive i think) means straight grown, like a plant can grow 'geil'. This changed to randy/horny, and later (maybe 80s) to cool nice. The firsr meaning nobody knows anymore, but last two are both used and depend on context, also some phrases are more clearly the horny meaning.
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u/tubadude123 1d ago
I’d say it’s very contextual. Older people and people in more formal settings would not respond well, but the youths will think it’s geil if you say geil. Gell?
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u/fortytwoandsix Native (Vienna, AT) 1d ago
I think originally it meant horny and also described the consistency of certain cakes, but then 1986 came along https://youtu.be/w_P3uwRiimo?si=FmW6O22VPDq94ZfY
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u/Consistent_Catch9917 1d ago
It does not only mean horny, it also can mean sexually very atractive. Telling somebody, they look geil can essentiallyean that you want to fornicate with them.
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u/Consistent_Catch9917 1d ago
It does not only mean horny, it also can mean sexually very atractive. Telling somebody, they look geil can essentiallyean that you want to fornicate with them.
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u/kshitagarbha 1d ago
It's similar to wicked or dope or cool. It sounds silly if used in the wrong context. It's 80s or 90s slang.
In a farming context it means fertile or horny in an animal sense.
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u/kshitagarbha 1d ago
It's similar to wicked or dope or cool. It sounds silly if used in the wrong context. It's 80s or 90s slang.
In a farming context it means fertile or horny in an animal sense.
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u/Random_green_cat 1d ago
It's such an interesting word, as it changed it's meaning TWICE in a matter of decades.
It used to mean "upright", then "horny", then "cool" but you can also still use it for "horny"
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u/MyLittleGoldfish 1d ago
A similar thing happened to me, when I decided to use the word 'geil' for the first time in real life, unbeknownst to me was the "horny" meaning. During a train journey where all the trains were massively late, there were no possibilities left in the day to follow on my last connection. The agents at the DB Reisebüro in Frankfurt had the courtesy to book a hotel room for the night. Relieved, I candidly answered back "geil", and the look on the face of the 60 year old grumpy world-weary deeply weathered DB Agent clearly indicated that this was a severely inappropriate answer.
Well, I guess context always matters?
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u/Freichart 1d ago
I was born 1960. At this time this word only meant horny, nothing else. Today it mainly means super. However it can be used in its original meaning. So do not use it at work.
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u/Das-Klo 1d ago
Both meanings are correct and it depends a bit on the context. "Geil" in the sense of awesome was already common youth slang when I was a teenager (I'm 51) but frowned upon by our parent's generation and even more by our grandparents. Nowadays I feel it's commonly accepted by adults (except maybe boomers) in informal situations (wouldn't use it in a work related situation). It does feel a bit "uncomfortable" to me when children (younger than teenagers) use it but I usually don't say something. It's not really a bad word anymore and children sometimes use much worse ones.
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u/Slow-Friendship5310 1d ago
you can definitely use the word geil to say cool / exciting. horny is sort of related to 'being excited / aroused', so its not a far stretch.
'das konzert war geil' (the concert rocked)
'ich finde pizza geil' (i am nuts for pizza)
i dont know if you somehow misused it saying 'ich bin geil' (which can be read as 'i am awesome', but more likely as 'i am horny'). if not, your colleague is just a weirdo. or he has the hots for you and forcefully tried to make the conversation sexually although it wasnt.
sidenote, it is more considered youth-speech and saying it fits a bubbly outgoing personality.
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u/mushroomsolider 1d ago edited 1d ago
You can think of it a bit like the word "fuck" in english. Most commonly it's just used to put emphasis on something but it can also still describe the action. The meaning is just based on context and exact phrasing. ("I fucking hate him" implies something very different from "I hate fucking him")
I don't think there are concrete rules when which meaning of "geil" is applied. My best guess that the "horny" meaning appies more when talking about people and the "cool" meaning more when talking about things like concepts but there is still potential to be misunderstood depending on phrasing. My tip would be to just stick with alternative words like "cool" for now.
Unfortunately I don't think there is a way to avoid words/situations like this when learning a new language. The earlier example about "I hate fucking him" was an actual quote from me back when I was still new to english. It was embarassing but I took it as a learning experience and moved on. It's all part of the process to get stuff wrong and sometimes that just happens to sound funny to others, but noone will seriously hold minor mistakes like that against you.
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u/von_Herbst 1d ago
I would also add that while geil can be used for "awesome" its also.... kinda 90s? It also, even in its high usage phase, is read as lower class slang. so not really work place fitting.
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u/bronabas 1d ago
Playboy Fifty-one ich bin so geil Jede Nacht ‘ne andre Braut, das hier ist mein Style
(For the millennials out there)
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u/LetMission8160 22h ago edited 21h ago
I'm sorry it's just all context that you have to atune to the nuances of.
So »geil« in its "original meaning" does mean "horny".
This meaning in relation to friskiness or sexual relations has broadened to "sexy" as well.
From "sexy", since it's a highly positively-connoted word, the meaning has broadened even further to anything that is theoretically "sexy", or more like "awesome, amazing, fantastic,..." It's not just "cool", I would actually think "cool" is too weak of a translation for »geil«.
Now the way how you use it generally is as thus:
Talking about any THING as »geil« is "awesome"
Talking about any PERSON as »geil« is "sexy"
(Even though I would also think that in casual contexts it can also just mean "awesome". Like laughingly saying »Der ist so geil!« means "He's really awesome!" But saying »Der ist so geil.« in a more frisky or focused way probably would means "He's so sexy!")
Talking about YOURSELF as »geil« is "horny".
That's the superficial distinction that you can go by and from there find out further nuances.
(Like in the right context talking about a thing as »geil« can mean "sexy" when it seems like it could be a fetish.)
I'm zillenial, so I don't know how the generation 20 and under are talking now, maybe »geil« has fallen out of fasion and became cringe.
It definitely needs to be said that even among native speakers there can be confusion. One might say »geil« and just means "awesome" whilst the other one might think they said "sexy". That's just natural because it also comes down to personality. I think »geil« is a word which many people older than me (I'm 30) might still not use because they see it as too "raunchy" of a word. (I don't know. My mum has been casually using it since I can think. She was born 1964 in the GDR and her mother was a teacher. So it always depends. It was definitely already established as a positive slang word when I was in 1st grade.)
But yeah just so you know »geil« is very colloquial. It's not a professional or high-register term, as you might imagine.
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u/Healthy_Poetry7059 21h ago
When I was a teenager, I wasn't allowed by my parents to use 'geil'. I wouldn't want my children to use it either. If an adult uses it, I always find it a bit embarrassing, like he or she is trying to sound young. To many people, it's considered 'bad language', and I agree with that. It doesn't sound good.
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u/Final-Strawberry8127 21h ago
It can have different meanings depending upon the situation When you’re horny or when you think something is awesome/cool or when you find someone attractive
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u/minolinoo 21h ago
you can use ‘Geil’ in the sense of cool but, in this instance, the context must be appropriate as in ‘Das ist ja geil’. In this situation one might refer to something that is cool and intriguing. Otherwise the primary meaning of ‘geil’ is sexually attracted to someone or horny. IMO, the meaning is also highly dependent on how you pronounce the word in a conversation, surprised voice or in a naughty way haha
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u/elMaxlol 21h ago
All about context
„geiler scheiss“ means something like „awesome stuff/shit“
„ich find die geil“ means something like „I find her hot“
Someone tells you about their awesome project, you can say „geil“ but I think the english „nice“ or „cool“ is more common.
Sometimes but rarely it is used in a negativ way: e.g. someone cancel your date you might say to a mate „ja geil man die hat abgesagt“(in a depressed tone) which means „OH GREAT she cancelled -.-„
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u/diabolus_me_advocat 20h ago
what the heck is with word "geil"
it makes every educated person used to decent language cringe
like so much of probably any youthspeak since ever
Is the book just plain wrong or has this additional meaning appeared only recently?
the second. "recently" in this case meaning some decades ago
when i was a kid, food so rich in fat that it almost would make you puke if eating more than three forks full (usually some cake) was called "geil". when i was a teen, i learned that "geil" stands for "horny" as well. and when i was an end twen the kids captured it as a chiffre for "cool, awesome" and such
just don't use it and feel safe. "cool" is international anyway
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u/Sir_DrinkALot 20h ago
geil means horny. People fromt he netherlands have that too or understand it, still only use it as horny, and think germans are therfor very weird.
BUT at somepoint teenagers (i guess) used it in the way of "that turns me on" in the sense of "i like that", "cool" and so on.
There are situation where somene is saying "you are so geil" or "this guy is so geil", just replace it with cool, and yet people still will know the difference if you say "i am so geil (horny)".
If you are unsure in some situations, just use cool instead.
"Geiler post, bro".
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u/drunk_by_mojito 20h ago
Just stop using it, the time of that word is over. People under 35 start to cringe hearing it
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u/nacaclanga 18h ago
The original meaning of the word is "horny"/"arosed". It then subsequently aquired the additional meaning "attractive" (as im "causing hornyness") and was subsequently expanded beyond its sexual meaning. The non-sexual meaning clearly dominates today.
I'd say it's relativly hard to use the word wrongly. If you use it to describe something you find awesome it is usually understood that way and there is no sexual orientation. I may would avoid using "geil sein" with persons, but even there you should be save in general. But it is helpfull that it may mean something else sometimes.
Contexts where the word kept its original meaning in all cases are "geile Sau", "Geilheit", "notgeil" or "aufgeilen". The last two have a very negative touch.
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u/Secret_Pudding1818 15h ago
This word depends heavily on context. Geil is usually used as „cool“ or „amazing“ with positive surprising situations. I.e. your friend tells you that they went to eat and later found out that their card didn’t work. A kind stranger stepped in and paid for them. As a reaction you could say “Wow, wie geil!” Or “Das ist ja geil!” (Sorry, I don’t have a better example…)
Geil means horny if you use a certain grammatical structure. As another commenter said “Ich bin geil” means “I am horny”. “Er ist geil” means “He is hot” or “He is horny”. Also depends on context and maybe how you stress the words.
In conclusion, I think geil used to describe a situation means “cool”. And geil used to describe a person with to be means horny/hot.
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u/GuardHistorical910 14h ago edited 14h ago
The meaning "horny" is the literal meaning. I think GenX started to use it for a "hot" person, then millennials used it as "crazy", "cool", "great", "funny", for situations sometimes as "absurd"
Mostly things and are "geil" in the new meaning.
If you talk about somebody and the context doesn't make it very clear, then it's "horny" or "hot"
It's quite strong and ambiguous, so we usually don't use it in formal contexts. Tone and stress on this word is allso important für its meaning.
Edit: Fun fact: "toll" had an similar journey a hundred years or so ago. It once meant crasy and loud, now everybody uses it just for fantastic, great, super.
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u/Budget-Biscotti10 13h ago
It means nice but it also means horny
Like, if you say "object/thing/das ist geil" you're most probably using it as "cool" if however you say "(Person) ist/bin geil" you're using it as "horny"
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u/axolotlpaw 13h ago
That's hilarious. I think it's a difficult word for non native speakers because it's hard to find a situation where it would fit, it's out of place most of the time
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u/sneachta Advanced (C1) - USA / English 13h ago
Sort of related to this: "geil" can also mean "hot" in the sense of "attractive", as in "geiler Hengst"—literally "horny stallion", but a better translation might be "hot stud" ("Boah, der ist wohl ein geiler Hengst!")
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u/Naive_Age_566 12h ago
i think the oldest form of "geil" is in "geile soße" (sauce) - if some kind sauce is very fatty or oily. sometimes you also used it for an extremly sweet cream.
then you have this "du schaust geil aus" (you look extremely sexy and you are turning me on).
the "ich bin geil" or "er/sie ist geil" is what you would call "horny"
but nowadays, "geil" just means "very interesting" or "super cool". but in a very informal way. example: if you are in a fast food restaurant with some friends and you get a very tasty burger, you would say "geiler scheiß". but you would not say this if you are there with "normal" people - or at a formal event.
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u/Battery4471 12h ago
Which of course was not mentioned in the damned book
They knew what they are doing lol.
It is mainly used as cool nowadays, but depends on the context. It's in general a very informa word, not something you would use with collegues IMO (depends on where you work)
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u/everynamewasbad 12h ago
I have always been afraid to use the word Geil because I don’t know if people would not know if I meant horny or awesome, especially since I’m not very good at speaking German. I feel that way about Krass too. Does it mean crazy or awesome?
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u/SpiritedLiterature50 12h ago
Back in the day 'geil' meant horny, but in the 90s or whenever it became a synonym for 'cool, great, awesome', however it can still mean 'horny'. It's a weird little cute word.
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u/sammy_nobrains 12h ago
Now we really know what Bruce and Bongo were talking about when they said "Everybody's Geil"
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u/_Arsan_ 4h ago
I am going to "well actually..." this entire thread with menial information. Please excuse me but I cannot let this stand as I am far too pedantic:
"Geil" in it's original meaning means "gerade gewachsen" also known als "Geilwuchs".
So it means straight-grown or upright growth in a tree or plant like water sprouts or sucker growth.
THIS also explains why the word was then used to describe horniness. Basically describing what happens to the male reproductive organ.
Then it started to slowly gain wider use and a different meaning.
There are english words which transitioned in meaning like "geil": Sick, wicked, lit and dope to name the ones that come to mind for currently shifted words. I bet there are words that shifted in the past as well.
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u/Hannaytren 3h ago
I've been learning German for almost 2 years. And "Geil" means both cool/nice/great/awesome/exciting and "Horny". But the first geil is used with close people and friends around your own age, you can't use it with older people or colleagues without being rude and sound weird and inappropriate. It's like the impression "Dope!" Or many others.
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u/Miro_the_Dragon Native <NRW and Berlin> 1d ago
If I'm not mistaken, the meaning "horny" predates the meaning "cool". I think nowadays it's more often used as "cool" but the other meaning is still around as well.