Hello everyone,
and welcome to our German Word of the Day. This time we’ll have a look at the meaning of
hauen
A word that you’ll probably not find in text books and that means it’s probably super cool.
The origin of hauen is the super ancient Indo European root *kāu-, which meant to strike, to hew. And yes, to hew is also an offspring of that root, as do the word hay and the German translation das Heu, which literally are “that which is hewn”. And you know what other word belongs to the same family? Code.
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again a wonderful article
So can I generally use hinhauen in same sense I would use klappen? Es klappt – it works out. Es haut hin?
“hinhauen” sounds more “experimental” or “make-shift”.
I would first learn to use “klappen” and then sprinkle in a “hinhauen” here and there, but not use them interchangeably. That’ll be too much “hinhauen” then and it’ll come across like you’re trying really really hard to use slang.
Hi Emanuel
I am watching a German show for learning English and it translated “Wenn ich sie alle reinhaue.” As “When I f*** ‘em all up.” I didn’t find reinhauen to be a curse word anywhere else. Maybe they translated it like that because the character was acting real intimidating when her pretty blonde self said it so it just emphasized her hardness but might it be a “bad” word like the translation “f***” would imply?
Hmmm… quite confusing actually.
It kind of sort of would make sense to me, if “sie/them” referred to a bunch of exams that the speaker then botches (f’***s up)
I would not use “reinhauen” that way, but that’s what I understood at first.
But if it’s about actual violence… it doesn’t feel like an idiomatic use of “reinhauen” to me.
Could you give me a bit more context as to what’s happening in the scene?
Or is it on Youtube maybe, so I can take a look?
Thanks for responding!
It’s actually from a short series on Lingopie called “Pax Aeterna”…and I just found it on YouTube at https://youtu.be/0RQDtrSYGg8
The line happens at about 6:20.
All right, got it.
She is saying:
But she does mumble it and it does sound similar to what you heard.
“jemandem eine reinhauen” means “to punch someone in the face”.
Ah, got it. I’ll add that to my Fighting Words vocabulary list. Is that considered “adult language” or would that show up on kids shows in Germany?
Definitely in cartoons and I can see kids use it in school. It does sound rather violent though, so it’s not just a slap.
Hi Emanuel
This article reminded of one of recent episodes of EasyGerman podcast. They use the verb “raushauen” a couple of times. I don’t remember the exact sentence but as they are talking about Olaf Scholz, Cary says something like this:
It’s probably the same as:
I didn’t find enough about this verb. duden says “spontan äußern” but it doesn’t help much. Could you please give me more details. What does it exactlz mean when used in combination with words like “Spruch, Wort, Satz”.
Thanks a lot!
It’s basically just a colloquial, energetic sounding verb for “to say”… usually in contexts of “dropping” something that’s impressive (knowledge, insult, truth…).
The way they used it in the podcast as you described is new to me, and does NOT fit Olaf Scholz’ mode of talking but yeah… it’s a colloquial term so people are free to use it however they want :)
It makes more sense now
I think it’s one of the words that I need to see or hear in different contexts before I get a better feeling for.
I read your Articles a few times per month but they are among most important resources for my language learning.
Thanks Emanuel
Hi Emanuel!
First i would like to thank you for your great blog. Is it possible that reinhauen and abhauen have their origin from knocking on the table when leaving a big group or the act of closing the door shut while u leave? Just curious!
Best Regards
That would make total sense but I can’t tell for sure. There’s no etymological source to be found for this use :).
> You punch the food in your mouth
hilarious. will not forget this.
I recently heard a coworker use “anhauen” and when I asked someone about it, they explained it to mean “to call on someone”, but I’m still not quite sure what it means.
It’s a very colloquial use… I would understand it in a sense that someone asks you for (loaned) money or a favor.
– Kann ich dich um 10 Euro anhauen.
Hi Emanuel
Ich habe kürzlich den folgenden Satz gelesen:
Wenn sie keine Lust hat, dann haut sie ihre Hausaufgaben einfach schnell hin.
Ich verstehe diesen Satz nicht ganz. Es scheint widersprüchlich zu sein. Er bedeutet, gut zu arbeiten, aber jemand hat nicht den Wunsch dazu. Was gibt es hier?
Wie immer, Vielen Dank!!!
Ah, nein, das ist ein Missvertändnis. In diesem Kontext ist “hinhauen” ein sehr sehr umgangssprachliches Wort für “slap down” im Sinne von “schnell machen, ohne sich Mühe zu geben”.
Aber versuch nicht, das selber zu verwenden. Das passt fast nie!
Hoffe, das hilft.
For those interested in more examples with reinhauen, Deutsche Welle explained this word in one of their posts here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152171834627394.1073741833.146790007393&type=3 They have a whole album on fb called Wortschatz that is literally the dream of every german learner!
Looks great! But the link only leads to the folder, not the post about “hauen/reinhauen”. Is there any way to get to that directly? Becuase they have a lot of stuff there :)
I came across the word hauen in the satirical verse of Jan Boehmermann that has so upset the Turkish president – (https://www.spiegel.de/kultur/tv/jan-boehmermann-das-sind-die-fakten-der-staatsaffaere-a-1086571.html)
Thanks for explaining its meaning and origins.
In kanada beer was limited to 4.5%, now IPA is around 7%. However “Everclear” packs a punch and will knock-your-socks-off.
I think I would say, ‘this beer blows your head off’.
I need some of that beer :D
This brewery has you covered:
https://www.schorschbraeu.de/portfolio-item/schorschbock-43-02-liter-amber-2015/
Danke!! deine Posten und Beiträge sind wie immer sehr interessant und hat mich etwas neue gelehrt. Während meine Reise nach Deutschland habe ich diese Wort getroffen, aber leider bis jetzt nicht richtig verstehen. Laut die Spectrum von Bedeutungen, es ist kein Wunder. Hau rein :)
Hier mal ein paar Korrekturen:
– Deine Posts (not “posten”) …. haben (not “hat” because plural) mich etwas neues (after “etwas” adjectives always get an “s”) gelehrt.
– Während meineR Reise nach Deutschland habe ich dieseS Wort getroffen …. “getroffen” ist nicht so idiomatisch in dem Kontext. Besser wäre “gehört”.
– … aber leider bis jetzt nicht richtig verstanden (not: verstehen)
– Laut dem Spektrum…. “laut” only works for textsor statements but not for a “Spektrum”. A really good word here would be “angesichts” (in light of, considering)
Ich finde Ihre Website super, um umgangssprachliches Deutsch zu lernen. Könnten sie bitte ein Paar weitere Beispiele für Redewendungen mit ,hauen’ erzählen, z.b. ,Das haut mich vom Hocker’ und “Wir haben richtig auf die Pauke gehauen’?
Die beiden, die du genannt hast, sind schon mit die besten. Weißt du, was sie bedeuten?
Hier sind noch ein paar:
– Ich hau mich auf’s Ohr. (so, wie “sich hinhauen”)
– Geld auf den Kopf hauen (spend an amount of money quickly, usually money you just earned)
– auf den Putz hauen (do something to an extreme… usually in context of party, also in sense of bragging)
– jemanden über’s Ohr hauen (to defraud someone)
– jemanden in die Pfanne hauen (to rat someone out, to betray/bring into a miserable position by talking)
Great stuff! Always thought ‘hauen’ was only prevalent in my home country, Austria. Hence ‘Fleischhauer’ for ‘butchet’. I also grew up in Vienna with the slang expression ‘sich abhauen’ when we found something amusing. “Ich hau mich ab.” “What a laugh. ” Seems a long time ago, though – not sure how much this is in use now. I love reading about origins of words. Thank you for your posts!
Hey, great to get the Austrian perspective every now and then :). Is “Fleischhauer” really used? Like… would you say “Ich geh zum Bäcker und zum Fleischhauer”?
As for the “abhauen” you mentioned… I’d say
“ich hau mich weg.”. But it’s not super common and I’m not sure as to how widespread it is.
“Ich hau mich ab!” sounds like “That cracks me up!” in English.
not so sure about the vocab definition of zuhauen (“do one blow”). I think to hit someone or strike a blow might be better. in English ‘do blow’ is to take cocaine.
Oh, then it’s not a good fit. I’ll go with strike a blow then. Thanks
Is it necessarily literal? Like, Marc runs out of his arguments, so he starts actually hitting people?
“Lash out” would fit the context there, but it’s more likely to be figurative.
Yeah, “zuhauen” is always literal. “Er haut zu” really means he punches someone.
“zuschlagen” on the other hand can be used figuratively, too…. something like “to hit” in sense of snatching an opportunity
– Wenn es irgendwo billige Jeans gibt, schlägt Thomas zu.
(not the best example, but I can’t come up with something good)
I actually hear “zuschlagen” a lot for “reinhauen” with food from somebody I know (who grew up in Bavaria, if there’s any regional aspect to it).
When I read “raushauen” I thought you would speak about prisons. It did later occur to me that you did not refer to this meaning of the word. For me the meaning: “jmd. aus etw. raushauen” is even stronger than the “to put out” meaning. You know if your friend is in a difficult situation and he really needs someones help like if he is arrested for inappropriate behavior you would say:
“Keine Angst. Ich hau’ dich da schon raus.” = “Don’t falter. I will get you out of there.”
You might not go as far as actually hitting your way through the police force but you play your cards pay money persuade lawers and judges. “raushauen”.
By the way thanks for another cool word of the day.
Oh, right! I totally forgot about this one. It’s definitely something people say in daily life, too. Thanks for adding that. Are you a native speaker of German or how do you know about this?
Well, yes, I am. But that does not mean I can’t read your post, does it? I mean there are evidently other Germans who enjoy your website and I can understand them. It is great. I stumbled upon it because a friend of mine learns German and I wanted to explain something to him and was frankly out of words. I linked him to you but I think nowadays I am more often on this site than he is. So, that was my story. By the way it also helps to broaden my English understanding if I read your posts. (At least that is what I am telling myself…)
Of course you can read the blog :). It’s really motivating for me that natives appreciate it and it’s also great to have some native speakers around they can correct me if I say something wrong or if I generalize too much.
What is the relationship to “die Haut” (the skin)?
That comes from the Indo-European root *keu- (khad) which is about “covering with a hull”. Hood, hide, hat… they all come from that root. Looking at the roots of this and “hauen” it seems like they could be related but no such connection is mentioned in the sources. These roots often look very similar but ultimately I don’t think “Haut” is related in any way.
I never ever heard reinhauen for abhauen. That must be a regionalism in Berlin. BTW a Hauer can also denote a hewer – a miner who loosens rock and minerals in a mine.
I did a quick Google search to be sure:
https://www.google.de/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=abhauen%20bayern
The first two hits is the Bayrische Rundfunk using the word “abhauen” in a title, so it’s not a regionalism (Duden doesn’t list it as such either but I don’t want to reference Duden). As for “reinhauen”… I couldn’t find a reference with location online so maybe that is a regional thing. If so it definitely includes Brandenburg though. And “reinhauen” in sense of drugs or food is spread all over Germany as far as I know. Where are you from again? (I think I’ve asked you before but I forgot… was it Austria?)
Oh, I just realized I misread your comment.. I read “or” instead of “for” Sorry :)
I checked with a friend from Bochum today and she said she’s very familiar with “reinhauen” as “leaving” so it’s at least the northern half of Germany.
Thanks for another great post Emanuel. I believe you have correctly identified a cultural phenomenon about drinking culture in the anglosphere. While it might be OK for your mum to declare that a glass of beer has gone straight to her head, anyone who wants to sound cool had better keep that shit to themselves!
So there really isn’t a colloquial way to say that an alcoholic beverage has a strong effect (although it’s objectively not that strong maybe)?
This is tricky and contextual. I could say to my friends, who know me, that “this drink is strong”. Just from that, they’d know that I mean the alcohol is going to affect me. But if certain other friends were to say that, I’d know they just meant the taste is strong. I can’t think of a single phrase that carries the same intent as reinhauen. Maybe the word potent, but that sounds more formal to me.
Trying to think of a good way to say this… probably the closest that comes to mind is “has (got) a kick to it.” That’s not alcohol-specific, but definitely has the right meaning.
But yeah, “go to one’s head” sounds kind of stiff and definitely not colloquial nowadays. Part of the problem is that it’s much more commonly used figuratively – power or fame goes to somebody’s head, that sort of thing.
Sounds like “go to one’s head” is similar to “jemandem zu Kopf steigen”… that’s the phrasing for fame or sudden wealth or something making you arrogant.
“Having a kick” tends to be reserved for over proof hard liquor and is equally to do with the burning sensation in the throat as the dizzying effect on the brain. Standard spirits tend to be described on a scale from “rough” to “smooth”. If a beer is genuinely strong then I just don’t think there’s a cool or particularly colloquial way to say it. If remark should need to be passed, some variation of “this is strong” would do the job.
Maybe it’s regional, but I wouldn’t at all restrict it to hard liquor – actually, googling it now, I find that it’s most commonly a reference to spiciness in food. So I’ll agree that “kick” is more likely to do with flavor or sensation, but I think it could be understood with reference to alcoholic potency in context perfectly well, regardless of the specific beverage.
I’ve thought of something you could say if you really wanted to, although it would sound a bit like you were an undercover marketing tout for the beer in question: “this beer/cider will knock/hit you for six (i.e. cricket)” or “… knock you sideways”. I can imagine using those terms for my first few breathlessly enthusiastic encounters with “Thatcher’s Dry” (a rough dry cider from near Bristol – worth the price of a summer trip to Bristol by itself).
That’s true! I could definitely say “this will knock you off your feet”…definitely fits with hauen.
And among friends, ‘this will knock you on your ass”.
“Knock you on your ass” is probably the first American equivalent that would come to mind.
Yes, anything with “knock”. Thinking about it more (I really should get back to work), an assortment of idioms denoting the effect of a “severe personal setback” can be and are, I think, also used by young people, in a positive sense, to communicate the effect of their favourite poison. E.g. “a couple of pints of snakebite (strong lager mixed with strong cider) will defo fuck you up”
I frequently use phrases with hit to talk about the effect of alcohol, especially if I’m a little surprised. Examples: that beer/drink/alcohol hit me hard; I think/I can tell/whoa the alcohol is hitting me now.
“Hitting me hard.” Booze can hit you hard, weed can hit you hard, etc. However, things like news can also hit you hard, or the passing of a loved one; in this sense, it means to affect you emotionally. On the internet, you’ll often see (albeit facetiously) that something can “hit you (right) in the feels”.
Sounds like a quite good match. Danke!
Sounds like a quite good match. Danke!
US – strong effect, not only alcohol and understood anywhere: “Careful, that’ll f**k you up.” “Watch out now, that’s wicked.” “That’s kick-ass. You might want to take it easy.”