Jens ClasenJan 5, 2023

The German interjection "hä?" can mean lots of things:

- What?
- Not really!
- I couldn't hear you.
- I don't understand.
- Wait... I thought it was exactly the other way round?
- What are YOU doing here?
- How the f... is this supposed to work?
- ARE YOU F...ING KIDDING ME?!

Yeah, I know:

Makes you wanna go "HÄ?!"

Enjoy our language!

#TheGermanWord

Show threadGina B Fla
@jensclasen
I use it every day! 😂
Also, I use 'gau?' generously, I think it's the equivalent to German 'neh?' for nicht war?
Jan 5, 2023 at 1:40pmWeb
Show threadChristian Pietsch (old acct.)Jan 5, 2023

@Ginafla @jensclasen

I never head anyone say "gau" in German. It must be a dialect I never came across. In my original dialect (Thuringian), we append “ge” to sentences to get the effect you describe. In adjacent dialects I heard it's “gell”. In other German dialects, it's “ne”, “nich”, “nech” or similar. In written German, it's “nicht wahr?”.

Show threadTobias WeibelJan 6, 2023
@chpietsch @Ginafla @jensclasen "gäu" is the same in Swiss German.