Let’s have some fun with this weird German language!
In this series of posts, I’ll show you how to make your German speaking colleagues laugh, with ONE simple sentence.
Einen Kater haben
(To have a male cat)
“der Kater” is the male cat in German (auf Deutsch).
So we say “die Katze” (female cat) and “der Kater” (male cat).
Yes, we have a male version :-) (eine männliche Version)
And there’s another word that sounds very similar (sehr ähnlich) to “Kater” in German, it’s “Katarrh“.
I think you know this word also from English (aus dem Englischen):
“der Katarrh” = “catarrh”
Catarrh or catarrhal inflammation is a disease that makes you feel unwell, like when you have a terrible cold and a headache (eine schlimme Erkältung und Kopfschmerzen).
Those are actually the same symptoms you oftentimes have the next day after drinking too much alcohol , aren’t they (nach zu viel Alkohol, nicht wahr)?!
And that’s exactly what we mean with this German expression.
So when we say in German:
- Du hast einen Kater!
We actually mean:
- You have a hangover!
- You’re hung over!
Got it?!
So here’s your action step:
Imagine your German-speaking colleague Karl-Heinz invites you to drink some beer after work (ein paar Bier nach der Arbeit).
After a couple of beers, drink a toast to him and say to Karl-Heinz:
- Prost Karl-Heinz! Morgen haben wir bestimmt einen Kater! (Cheers Karl-Heinz! Tomorrow we’ll have a hangover for sure!)
And this is what it sounds like:
Then, tell me in the comments below how they reacted :-)