How to best express annoyance in German largely depends on whether it is done on purpose or not.

The words nerven and ärgern can both be used, and the reflexive sich/mich/dich/ihn etc. changes the meaning.

Examples

Er nervt mich! He’s annoying me! (not on purpose)

Die Musik nervt! The music is annoying!

Ich bin genervt! I am annoyed!

Ich ärgere ihn gerne! I like bothering him. (on purpose)

Die laute Musik ärgert mich! The loud music is bothering me.

Ich bin leicht verärgert/genervt. I am easily annoyed.

Lass dich nicht verärgern! Don’t let yourself be annoyed.

Dingsies are cute but very dumb. Guide them through the correct German words towards safety! The more you play, the better your German gets!


Good to Know

The word irritieren DOES NOT mean “to irritate”. In German, irritieren has the meaning of “to confuse” or “to distract” rather than “to annoy”.

About the Author Stephan

Stephan has been a professional language teacher since the early 2000s. He's been calling Berlin his home since 2006, when he started managing (and founding his own) language schools in addition to teaching German and English. He's the owner of Deutschable and loves writing about language, history, and game changers.

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