1. Being drunk
The most straightforward way to express alcohol-induced intoxication in German, which will leave no one in any doubt as to your state, is to use the word drunk meaning “drunk”.
Example:
He doesn’t care – he’s drunk!
He doesn’t care – he’s drunk!
2. Booze
Next up is the most common word for “boozing” in German. Drink can be used both as a verb and a noun to mean “to get drunk” or “drinking”.
Examples:
Let’s just keep drinking!
Let’s just keep drinking!
I have no problem with drinking
I don’t have a drinking problem.
3. Being drunk
This is more of a formal way to talk about being drunk, and is equivalent to the English “to be under the influence of alcohol”. You’ll usually hear authorities and newspaper reports using this phrase to talk about alcohol-related incidents.
Examples:
The driver was drunk
The driver was under the influence of alcohol
For security reasons, arriving drunk before the start of the game is prohibited.
For safety reasons, it is prohibited to arrive intoxicated before the start of the game.
4. Be blue
This expression, meaning literally “to be blue” has a pretty disgusting origin story.
In the middle ages, the plant woad was used to create a blue colour for dyes.
As only a small amount of alcohol was needed to speed up the dyeing process, using human urine containing alcohol was supposedly the cheapest way to ferment the dye.
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So the dyers drank beer all day and urinated into the vat where the plant was fermenting. Remember that next time you wear your favourite blue t-shirt.
Example:
He was so blue he couldn’t get his key in the door
He was so drunk that he couldn’t get his key in the door
5. Being tipsy
The phrase to be tipsy is equivalent to the English “to be tipsy” and not yet in the full throws of drunkenness.
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The word was first used in Austria in the 19th century and can be traced back to the verb swaymeaning to sway, as it describes a drunk person who finds it increasingly difficult to walk in a straight line.
Example:
I’m not drunk, just a little tipsy
I’m not drunk – just a little tipsy
6. Looking too deep into the glass
This idiom is most likely a jokey rethink of the idiom look deep in the eyes meaning “to look someone too deeply in the eyes” as a way of saying “to fall in love with someone”.
This phrase for drunkenness has been in use in the German language since around 1700 and has even made appearances in many literary works, including those of Goethe.
Examples:
Don’t drink too much or you’ll have to take a cab
You’d better not get too drunk, or you’ll have to take a taxi
More and more pensioners often drink too much water
More and more pensioners get drunk often
7. Be full as a bucket
This expression, meaning “to be as full as a bucket” is just one of a multitude of German expressions that include the word full (“full”) to express drunkenness.
There are numerous phrases that start with full like (“as drunk as”) and end in something heavy, such as garnet (grenade), Pig (pig), cannon (canon), and even full as a thousand Russians (“full as a thousand Russians”). Why not try making up your own variation?
8. Having one in the tea
This idiom, which is not that common in Austria, is believed to have originated in northern Germany, where a drop of rum was often added to tea on cold winter days for a warm comforting feeling and to protect against the cold – especially by sailors. After one or two, of course, you would be drunk, or at least a little tipsy.
Example:
He had a pretty good one in his tea
He’s pretty wasted
9. have a sit
This phrase is a shortened version of the older have a monkey sitting meaning “to have a monkey sitting” which was used to express a heightened state of inebriation.
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The origin of the phrase is disputed, but most believe it is to do with the fact that fools and jesters would often carry a monkey on their shoulder.
Example:
I really had a sit down yesterday
I was so drunk yesterday
10. Hangover
Although Kater is also the name for a male cat, this is the German term for “hangover” that you will inevitably need to use after consuming too much alcohol.
It’s widely believed that the origin of this word comes from the medical term “Katarrh”, an inflammation of the mucous membrane, which leads to symptoms such as cough, cold, malaise and headache – similar to those of a hangover.
Example:
I had a terrible hangover on Sunday
I had such a terrible hangover on Sunday