21 December 2025
How do you say ass or asshole in German?
When Germans want to talk about someone’s behind - or insult someone to their face - they say Arsch. It’s crude, direct, and one of those words that turns up in more idioms than you’d expect. It’s also one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German!
The noun Arsch means ass (or asshole), butt, or jerk, and it’s one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German. It’s used literally to refer to someone’s rear end - and figuratively, often insultingly, to describe a person.
It’s a masculine noun, so we say der Arsch.
Pronunciation
Arsch is pronounced [aʁʃ], with short a and sch like English sh; regional r pronunciations vary.
- One syllable, deep and harsh.
- It hits hard - because it usually means to.
Example sentences:
- Er fiel auf den Arsch.
He fell on his ass. - Was für ein Arsch!
What an asshole!
Nuance and usage tips
Arsch walks the line between body part and profanity:
- Anatomical
- auf dem Arsch sitzen - to sit on your butt
- Arschbacken - butt cheeks
- auf den Arsch fallen - to fall on your behind
- Insults / slang
- Du Arsch! - You jerk! (strong insult)
- ein fauler Arsch - a lazy bum
- jemandem den Arsch retten - to save someone’s ass
- sich den Arsch aufreißen - to work your ass off
- Idiom-heavy word
- die Arschkarte ziehen - to draw the short straw (bad luck)
- jemandem in den Arsch kriechen - to suck up to someone (vulgar)
- am Arsch der Welt - in the middle of nowhere (literally “at the ass of the world”)
Related contrast: Engel means angel and Gesicht means face; neither is a direct antonym of Arsch.
Grammatical case examples:
- Nominative:Mir tut der Arsch weh vom vielen Sitzen.
My ass hurts from sitting so much. - Accusative:Ich tret dir gleich in den Arsch!
I’ll kick your ass in a second! - Dative:Mit dem Arsch auf dem Sofa rumliegen ist keine Arbeit.
Lying around on your butt isn’t work. - Genitive:Wegen des Arsches konnte er kaum noch sitzen.
Because of his butt, he could barely sit.
Masculine case pattern: der, den, dem, des
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Word variations and language tidbits
Variation Station:
- Arschloch - asshole (very rude, common insult)
- Arschtritt - kick in the ass
- Arschgeige - idiot (slang, literally “ass-violin”)
- Arschkalt - freezing cold
- Arschkriecher - suck-up / brown-noser
- Hintern - neutral, polite version (butt)
Fun cultural note:
In German soccer culture, die Arschkarte ziehen (to draw the ass card) supposedly comes from referees pulling the red card (which used to be kept in their back pocket) - a bad omen. Whether or not it’s true, the idiom stuck.
📘 Duden entry: https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Arsch
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Alternate translations note:
For polite or clinical settings, use Gesäß (formal), Po (child-friendly), or Hintern (neutral). But in everyday speech - especially among adults, especially with emotion - Arsch is the word that gets used, whether to insult, laugh, or commiserate.
Ready for more German words of the day? Do you know what Auftrag means? How about Auftritt? Find out!
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