du Bastard
/duː ˈbastart/word by word
The German phrase for "you bastard" is du Bastard.
du Bastard is used as a direct insult to a person, similar to the English usage.
Which one should you use?
Other informal options exist. Du Mistkerl means "You scoundrel," and Du Drecksack means "You despicable person."
How do you pronounce it?
/duː ˈbastart/
Did you know?
- The term Drecksack is a very common, aggressive alternative to Bastard. It combines 'Dreck', meaning dirt or filth, with 'Sack', meaning bag, to create an insult roughly equivalent to 'you dirty bag'.
- The word Bastard originally referred specifically to the illegitimate children of the nobility rather than being a general insult. In historical contexts, it described a person's legal status rather than their character.
- Unlike English, where 'bastard' can sometimes be used as a term of endearment among friends, du Bastard is almost never used affectionately in German.
Examples in context
- Du Mistkerl, wie konntest du das nur tun?You scoundrel, how could you do that?
- Du Bastard!You bastard!
- Hör zu, du Bastard.Listen, you bastard.
Example conversation
Hannah discovers Lukas lied to her about something important.
- HannahDu hast mich angelogen, du Bastard!You lied to me, you bastard!
- LukasEs tut mir leid, Hannah.I am sorry, Hannah.
- HannahEntschuldigungen helfen jetzt nicht mehr.Apologies don't help anymore now.
- LukasBitte hör mir einfach zu.Please just listen to me.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (du, Bastard) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries Bastard, du, CC BY-SA 4.0.
