faul
/faʊ̯l/
The German word for lazy is faul.
The word faul describes someone who is unwilling to work or exert effort. It is important to note that faul is polysemous. While it describes a person's character or state, it also means rotten or spoiled when referring to food, such as fruit.
Meaning: unwilling to work (adj)
How does it change in a sentence?
When used as an attributive adjective before a noun, faul changes its ending. It takes the ending -er before a masculine singular noun in the nominative case, such as ein fauler Hund. It takes the ending -e before a feminine or plural noun in the nominative or accusative case, such as eine faule Katze.
How do you pronounce it?
/faʊ̯l/
Did you know?
- While faul is the direct translation for 'lazy', Germans may use the phrase den inneren Schweinehund überwinden to describe the struggle of overcoming one's lazy side.
- The English word 'foul', as in a 'foul smell', is a direct linguistic sibling to the German 'faul'.
Examples in context
- Du bist so faul!You're so lazy.This sentence demonstrates how to use faul to describe someone.Tatoeba #2649968 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #2649060 by CK
- Ich bin zu faul.I am too lazy.This sentence shows how to express being too lazy.Tatoeba #9951168 by wolfgangth, translation #4404682 by Evie
- Sei nicht so faul!Don't be so lazy.This sentence is an imperative way to tell someone not to be so lazy.Tatoeba #2109047 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #1860509 by CK
- Mein Kollege ist träge. Er erledigt seine Arbeit nur langsam.My colleague is lazy. He only gets his work done slowly.
- Die Studentin ist faul. Sie verbringt die ganze Zeit mit Nichtstun.The student is lazy. She spends all her time doing nothing.
- Max ist ein richtiger Faulenzer. Er will nicht mal seine eigenen Socken zusammenlegen!Max is a real lazybones. He won't even fold his own socks!
- Du bist wirklich ein Faulpelz. Mach endlich mal was!You're such a lazybones. Finally, do something!
- Deine fehlende Motivation ist nichts weiter als eine faule Ausrede. Du könntest mehr tun, wenn du wirklich wolltest.Your lack of motivation is nothing more than a lazy excuse. You could do more if you really wanted to.
- 201 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lukas and Sarah are sitting on the sofa on a Sunday afternoon.
- LukasIch bin heute einfach zu faul zum Kochen.I am just too lazy to cook today.
- SarahDu bist wirklich ein fauler Mensch, Lukas.You really are a lazy person, Lukas.
- LukasDas stimmt, ich möchte nur schlafen.That's true, I only want to sleep.
- SarahDann lass uns einfach zusammen faulenzen.Then let's just lounge around together.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “lazy” translations and entries faul, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries faul, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
