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.
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 [ahrsh], with a long “ah” and the “sch” sound like “sh” in English.
- 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
- Arschkarte ziehen – to draw the short straw (bad luck)
- 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”)
Its antonym? In tone: Engel (angel). In anatomy: Gesicht (face)—though no one actually says that as a contrast.
Grammatical case examples:
- Nominative:
Der Arsch tut weh vom vielen Sitzen.
The ass hurts from too much sitting. - 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
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
🎥 Learn Arsch and the rest of the top 1000 German nouns in our free online video course:
https://deutschable.com/nouns/
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!