German Advent Calendar 25 – Day 3

Hello everyone,

Welcome to day 3 of the Advent Calendar, and behind today’s door is… drumroll… a word.

der Muffel

Looks a bit like muff, which is this sort of fur tube that you can put both hands into in winter. It’s also called der Muffe in German, by the way.
The word comes from the French word moufle which just means glove.

Anyway, der Muffel has nothing to do with keeping your hands warm, but it still is a very useful word especially if you spend your winter in Berlin. We have Muffel aplenty here, muffeling around, spreading their Muffeligkeit. You may even become one.
Heck, you probably ARE one, for one thing or another. Like sports, or reading, or taking a shower

So what is it?

Well, think of this one friend or relative who is an evening person and is really grumpy in the morning for the first hour. That version of them is a Muffel. A muttering, grumpy sullen person who hates everything.

Dict.cc, the dictionary I usually use, lists several translations and I feel like grouch and sourpuss were the best, but I’m not sure, so let me know if you feel like something else would be better.

Muffel is not about being actually angry, it’s really about not liking something and showing it.

• “Warum bist du denn so ein Muffel?”
  “Der Kaffee ist alle! Was für eine dumme Frage, alter Schwede!”
• “Why are you such a grouch?”‘
  “We’re out of coffee! What a dumb question, holy cow!”

There’s also the adjective muffelig, which describes the same mood.

• “Bist du immer so muffelig?”
  “Nee, nur auf Arbeit.”
• “Are you always this grumpy?”
  “No, only at work.”

And you can also find it made into a verb sometimes.

• “Die Tatsache, dass du beim Schach verloren hast, ist kein Grund, hier den ganzen Abend rumzumuffeln.”
• “That fact that you lost at chess is no reason to sulk around here all evening.”

But what’s maybe the most useful aspect of Muffel is the fact that you can use it in compounds. You can just add it to a noun to say “person who doesn’t like the noun”.

• Maria ist ein Morgenmuffel.
• Maria is not a morning person. (as in, I’m grumpy)
  (If morning grouch a thing?)

• “Thomas ist ein Sport-, Kunst- und Lesemuffel.”
  “Wow, da swipe ich direkt links.”
• Thomas doesn’t like doing sports, doesn’t like art and doesn’t like reading.”
  “Wow, I’ll swipe left on that right away.”

• Franzosen sind als Trinkgeldmuffel berühmt.
• French people are famous for “not being into tipping”.

Some nouns like Morgenmuffel or Sportmuffel are pretty well established, but it’s definitely a pattern you can get creative with.
Does it work with ALL nouns?
Well, not really. It’s not simply about “not liking a thing”, it’s more about not liking a thing that involves you doing something or going there.
But don’t think too much, just try it out. Even if it’s not 100% idiomatic, it’ll definitely sound cute.

And speaking of sound, that also brings us to the origin of the word. Because that is likely an old root that was just kind of imitating this grumpy muttering into one’s beard.
A bit like “mmpf”. Or even meh, in a way.
Also the sound of a cow ties in here, which very well describes what I do in the morning if I see that the coffee jar is empty. And there might be a connection to the English to mope, which would definitely make sense in terms of meaning.

Either way, I think Muffel is one of those German words that really “sound the part” and I absolutely recommend to add it to your active vocabulary.
And you know what the best way is to do that? Using it!

So please leave a comment telling everyone one thing you’re an absolute Muffel about … Lesemuffel, Morgenmuffel, Kommentar-auf-Deutsch-Schreib-Muffel. Whatever you want – the world is your oyster to reject here.

So let me know in the comments, and of course, if you have any questions about Muffel or any related words (there are a few more), please let me know.

I hope you enjoyed this, have a great day und bis morgen!