Literal translation: Duh
Meaning: When something is so obvious, there’s no point in even commenting on it. For instance: Grass is green, na no na ned you little sucker.
Literal translation: Mealtime
Meaning: ‘Moizeit’ is a religion. Between 11:30am and 2:00pm, ‘Moizeit’ is the official greeting in every office corridor and replaces all other greetings. Don’t ask further questions. Just say ‘Moizeit’, take a break and enjoy your lunch.
Literal translation: Old person
Meaning: Oida is the universal, first and only term you need to know in order to fake it till you make it in Vienna. You can add ‘oida’ (similar to the expression of ‘dude’ or ‘mate’) to literally any sentence in any mood possible to express your feelings. So beautiful, oida!
Literal translation: Repair beer
Meaning: Hair of the dog. Stems from the absolutely amazing idea that a hangover can be cured just by drinking more alcohol. There is nothing that another beer can’t fix. Try at your own risk, but don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Literal translation: Scratch the corner
Meaning: ‘A Kurvn krotzen’ is an utterly important characteristic and describes the art of disappearing without anybody else noticing it. So next time you’re a guest at a super lame party, make sure to ‘krotz die Kurvn’.
Literal translation: Do you hear?
Meaning: ‘Heast’ is the little brother of ‘oida’ and can be used in any situation to emphasize either a positive or negative feeling. Real world examples: ‘Heast’, I’m starving – ’heast’, I love it! Peak Viennese is to combine ‘heast’ and ‘oida’ and use it to communicate with your mates just through the means of intonation. Heast oida! Heast oidaaaa!
Literal translation: Air slap
Meaning: When you leave the warm, fuzzy atmosphere of a cosy bar hammered as hell and then the cold, fresh night air literally smacks you right in the face. Been there, done that. Raise your hand if you’ve also already been victimized by this ‘air slap’.
Literal translation: Soft pear
Meaning: The Viennese sometimes refer to a person’s head as a ‘Birne’ (pear) which makes no sense at all. (But what does make sense here besides standing on the right side of the escalator?) According to the definition, a ‘Wachbirn’ is not the brightest person and to put it more eloquently, a complete jerk.
Literal translation: Crazy, mad
Meaning: ‘Heast, i werd’ narrisch’ is a fixed star in the vocabulary of every Viennese person and is used on a daily basis to describe things that drive the average Viennese person mad, such as people taking forever at checkout at Billa. 10/10 recommend using it if you want to sound like a true grumpy local.
Literal translation: To inflate
Meaning: If you are broke and need some money, you can just beg someone for money. Although you don’t want to overdo it, ‘aupumpan’ somebody for money is totally acceptable in Vienna. And sometimes it’s the only choice you have. Just think of all those cute scenarios where it’s ‘cash only’ and you only brought your card. Oh, Vienna!
Literal translation: Coated in breadcrumbs
Meaning: Very interesting Viennese term and directly related to the beloved Viennese Schnitzel which is coated in ‘Panier’ (you know, the crispy crust). The Viennese also like to think of themselves as little ‘Schnitzels’, so whenever they dress up nicely, they put themselves ‘voi in die Panier’. How cute is that? So next time you’re attending a party, you can imagine you’re shaking your booty with actual Viennese Schnitzels.
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