blue streaks

[nnozomi]

Hello everyone, please come and swear at me in your native/preferred language? I am interested in how people cuss when stubbing a toe, etc., and/or favorite curse-word expressions or euphemisms (including native English speakers please!).
My dad used to say “Judas Priest!” in the car when other drivers annoyed him. My mother’s language in the same situation was considerably more colorful. Japanese is actually not all that satisfying to swear in compared to English, but there is a whole verb conjugation which is basically equivalent to modifying the verb with “fuckin'...” or similar. Chinese has 我去 (hi, Zhao Yunlan, maybe a slightly politer version of 我操？) or 糟了 (hi, Shen Wei) or 给我你滚滚 (hi, Jiang Cheng, I kind of like this one for being something like “do me a favor and fuck off”) and its variations. And many others I don’t know about.
I think my own current go-to when stubbing a toe is along the lines of “いった〜い^owww、fuck!” or something like that... .

Comments

[elenothar]

'Fuck' is the English staple for me (and its many variations - fucking hell, for fuck's sake, what the fuck), though I also go in for some more British flavours like 'bloody'. I don't think I tend to swear in whole prases? In my native German it's mostly 'Scheiße' und 'Mist' - so mostly excrement-based I guess - but I swear a lot less in my first language than I do in my second language. Much more of a barrier to it there. In fact, I'd probably be quite likely to insert English swearwords into German speech if I felt the need to swear.

My favourite swear anyone has ever said around me though, came from my biology teacher way back when, who liked to say 'Jesus, Maria und Josef schmeiss Hirn vom Himmel' whenever a pupil was being particularly dense. (English trans: Jesus, Maria and Joseph chuck brain from the heavens). More of a prayer than swearing, I suppose, but the intent is the same.

[nnozomi]

'Jesus, Maria und Josef schmeiss Hirn vom Himmel' whenever a pupil was being particularly dense.
That's fantastic. I wonder if the prayer was ever answered?

[elenothar]

That would certainly be something. Given the frequency with which he used it, probably not though...

[lilysea]

In addition to

"Fuck!"

I also say

"Fuck It In A Bucket in Nantucket"

"Fuck It In A Bucket In Kentucket"

"Fuck fuck fuckity fuck"

"For fuck's sake"

"Christ!"

"Ye fishes and little gods!"

[nnozomi]

"Fuck It In A Bucket in Nantucket"
This is delightful. "bucket" seems to be a frequent swear-word addition, maybe because of the rhyme...

[clevermanka]

My standard is a very unimaginative motherfucker when I injure myself. Plain old fuck when something irritates me. I use shit and damn/god damn more often incorporated into sentences, like "that's shitty" or "this has gone on too god damn long." Shit does get used more when I'm nervous-upset, like if I'm running out of time or something I'll whisper it like a mantra.

Euphemisms/alternates I occasionally use: piss in a bucket, christ alive, and, in especially sensitive situations (around kids or my parents) geez-oh-pete. The first two I made up (or at least don't remember learning them from anyone) and the last I got from my grandmother (who also said "crap" a lot, which I wasn't allowed to say growing up 😆).

[nnozomi]

Euphemisms/alternates I occasionally use: piss in a bucket, christ alive, and, in especially sensitive situations (around kids or my parents) geez-oh-pete.
"bucket" seems to turn up in euphemisms etc. a lot! "Geez-oh-pete" is new to me, but we said "Geez Louise" when I was growing up, much to the annoyance of a couple of Louises.

[clevermanka]

much to the annoyance of a couple of Louises.
LOL oh my gosh I would 100% plague any Louises I knew with that. 🧡

[laireshi]

I don't swear in Polish. All my rarely used Polish curses are PG-rated xD (Though I do remember my, uh, extremely Catholic guardian at a point in my life being very offended at one of them. I'd say it's like heck?) Mostly it's for contexts like "what the hell"--I just say "ow" if I hurt myself and I don't do that "curse words as a comma" thing. I was a very withdrawn, polite kid who read more than talked to other kids, lol.

I swear in English...in writing? I write "fuck" a lot, I do not actually say it 😂 also I mean, I don't swear in Polish but I still know English is extremely boring in comparison ;)

[nnozomi]

I was a very withdrawn, polite kid who read more than talked to other kids, lol.
Ha, same. I can remember being shocked to hear a classmate say "fuck" when we were twelve or so, because I'd thought she was another of the same kind...
I realized that I don't swear much in actual speech aloud in English because the only people I talk out loud to in English these days are my mom (not that she would care) and kids I volunteer with, who would be amused but not edified, lol.
Also I want to come back to your Chinese post as soon as I'm more together...

[eight_of_cups]

Sudden pains or mishaps I usually greet with a "Fuck!" or "Godddammit!" or, if I'm feeling particularly vexed, my Okie comes out and I howl "God damn motherfucking sonofa BITCH!"

My back's been out since Saturday night, so most of my movements the last several days have been liberally seasoned with mutters of "fuck fuck fuck fuckity FUCK fuck fuck fucking fuck fuck this motherfucking fuckery fuck fuck fuck" which is not terribly creative, but then that's not the point of swearing, is it? :)

[nnozomi]

Oh dear, I hope your back is better soon, with or without the aid of medicinal fucks.
(Um. That did not come out quite right, but you know what I mean. ;) )

[yaaurens]

My fave standby swear is fuck a DUCK because I'm a sucker for rhyming. I'll also use motherforker and frakabanjo when I'm being a little less obviously sweary.

[nnozomi]

My fave standby swear is fuck a DUCK because I'm a sucker for rhyming.
I like this one too! Poor ducks. Or not as the case may be.

[schneefink]

I swear a lot in English because it does not have the same taboo attached to it in my head that German swear words do. My favorite German swear word is "Vollkoffer!" for someone who is being stupid (literally "total luggage.")

[nnozomi]

My favorite German swear word is "Vollkoffer!" for someone who is being stupid (literally "total luggage.")
This is great! Not actually profane but ruthlessly expressive.

[naye]

My parents raised me not to swear, so I don't in French or Swedish, usually. Also I operate in English! Where I drop a lot of F-bombs (except around my parents), including when I stub my toe.

But in Swedish, the standard curses are all religious taboos. So it's variations of the devil/hell and God/Jesus. And then the usual focus on butts and poop. So if you're very upset at someone who's been mean to you, you can call them a "jävla skitstövel" - "devil shit-boot".

[nnozomi]

So if you're very upset at someone who's been mean to you, you can call them a "jävla skitstövel" - "devil shit-boot".
Good heavens. Most of my knowledge of Sweden comes from reading Helene Tursten's murder mysteries, which seem to involve quite a lot of swearing, but I don't know how much is the translator's work...

[naye]

I'm sure if there's swearing in the translation, it's because it was there in the original! Swedish does have quite a lot of cussing available. (And then there's a lot of milder versions along the lines of "oh dear me" for those who don't do profanity.)

[tinny]

Lol, I love this!

The German word Stinkstiefel ("stinky boot") seems to be similar. :D

[marycrawford]

I honestly don't understand how swearing in English could be satisfying to anyone, even though Dutch ppl casually throw around English 'fuck' in Dutch conversation all the time. It's...so boring and generic, to me.

The Dutch use a lot of either Bad Diseases or religious swearwords. The major religious swearword is 'god damn me' which has a lot more impact than just 'god damn', I feel, even when most ppl don't have any use for god at all. And I hate to hear ppl swear with cancer swearwords, but it happens a LOT. I kind of like the ones that use ancient and uncommon diseases like cholera or pleurisy, for the novelty value at least.

[nnozomi]

The major religious swearword is 'god damn me' which has a lot more impact than just 'god damn', I feel, even when most ppl don't have any use for god at all.
Interesting! Closest to "I'll be damned" in English, but that's more like "well, whaddayaknow" than a use in anger... . I will have to research Dutch swearwords more.

[trobadora]

I mainly swear in local dialect, or else in very generic English terms - fuck, bloody, that sort of thing. I'm not very creative in my swearing. *g*

[nnozomi]

Now I'm curious about the local dialect! (although that may be more information than you want to provide on the Internet). Regional-specific words, swearwords included, are fascinating.

[trobadora]

Dialects and their vocabulary are so fascinating, yes!)

(Yeah, sorry, that's why I wasn't more specific. I probably shouldn't have commented since I didn't actually say anything concrete ...)

[nnozomi]

Dialects and their vocabulary are so fascinating, yes!
They are! I have read more than one really terrible Japanese novel just because it used a regional dialect that interested me...

I probably shouldn't have commented since I didn't actually say anything concrete ...
Not a bit of it, this is for schmoozing, not, like, serious business data collection. I'm always glad to see you turn up.

[stultiloquentia]

I'm fond of Canadian French, which just stacks up religious icons and artifacts unless sufficient emphasis has been achieved. "Tabarnak!" when you stub your toe. "Esti de crisse de câlice de tabarnak de sacrament de trou viarge!" when you stub it really really hard.

Also you can conjugate! (Warning for medium cops-and-robbers-style violence.)

[nnozomi]

Thank you for the link! That's a trip. Canadian French cusswords seem to be unique.

[salamandras]

I have no trouble swearing out loud, but writing it makes me weirdly uncomfortable, maybe because I didn't feel comfortable even saying damn out loud until college. I usually use motherf-er and many variations of f-ck, and when I sensor myself on autopilot at work I usually go for mother trucker. Fortunately, when in front of a larger audience my brain clamps down hard on my swearing and usually an angry 'gosh darn it' pop out instead. A friend and I made up a bunch of shellfish oriented substitutions, so I will occasionally revert to those (mother shucker, son of a clam), and as well as The Good Place swearword stand ins (holy forking shirtballs is a favorite).

[nnozomi]

A friend and I made up a bunch of shellfish oriented substitutions, so I will occasionally revert to those (mother shucker, son of a clam)
These are great! "mother shucker" if anything sounds almost worse than the original, lol. Calling someone a mollusc in anger could be satisfying...

[lilysea]

Another swear word I use is

AYANAKU

pronounced EYE - ANNA - COO

as far as I can tell, I made it up?

I use it when I'm stressed or Anxious.

[luzula]

The Swedish staple for many people including me is "fan!", which is religion-based, like many of the Swedish swear words (fan = the devil). There's also "jävlar", which also means "devil". But you also have the more vulgar "kuken", which means "the cock". Never just "cock" though.

My dad has a colorful one: "Alta-Mira grottornas förbannelse" = the curse of the Alta-Mira caves. No idea why!

[nnozomi]

The Swedish staple for many people including me is "fan!", which is religion-based, like many of the Swedish swear words (fan = the devil).
This made me laugh, because I was just watching a Chinese drama in which a disgruntled character exclaimed "Fan!". He was saying 烦, I'm annoyed, but clearly he was also unconsciously swearing in Swedish...

"Alta-Mira grottornas förbannelse" = the curse of the Alta-Mira caves.
This is great, it sounds like something Captain Haddock would say.

[tinny]

I was just watching a Chinese drama in which a disgruntled character exclaimed "Fan!".

Lolol, me too, and I stumbled and rewound and looked at what he was saying. It's so rare that someone says a single syllable that it pinged.

[tinny]

Funnily, we use Fuck a lot, it's just a universal language-transcending swear word, apparently. :D

I can't really think of anything else right now, I'd have to ruminate on it a bit (brain firmly stuck in English when doing fannish things).

[nnozomi]

Funnily, we use Fuck a lot, it's just a universal language-transcending swear word, apparently. :D

lol, cheeky Japanese teenagers used to ask me what it meant to see if they could embarrass me. I played innocent ;)

(brain firmly stuck in English when doing fannish things).
Ha, brain language switches are weird that way, I know what you mean.

(Can I ask you a favor sometime when you have the chance? I seem to have accidentally deleted the email chain where you sent me your beta reading notes; if you still have it in your mail and could forward it to me again just for my reference, that would be great. If it's not easy to find or it's gone or you don't have time, no problem at all. Thanks and sorry...)

[tinny]

I keep everything. <3 I'll send it right over.

[tinny]

Okay, so I thought of some German ones.

The southern regional dialect where I grew up has a lot of nice swear words, the only one I use are the "Dackel" (dachshund) variants, like for example "Grasdackel" ("grass dachshund" - why? no idea!).

Swearing at someone in traffic mostly yields "Vollidiot" ("complete idiot") or "Arschloch" ("asshole").

When I am annoyed with someone I outrank (being very vague... lalalala), I tend to say "Hackt's dich/Hackt's euch?", which is really hard to translate...? It's something in the vein of "Are you crazy?" I don't even know in which sense "hacken" is used here. No idea. I know my mother used it a lot when I was younger, and it stuck.

The mentions of "fuck a duck" above made me think of one that a colleague liked to use, and everyone picked it up. It's "Fick die Henne" ("fuck the chicken").

Another one I really like is "Holla die Waldfee" - it's more of a surprised exclamation (rather like "I'll be damned"), and it means... "Oy, the forest fairy" Why???? No idea. :D It's completely nonsensical, which makes it funny to use.

[nnozomi]

(combining two replies into one)
I can't imagine why a dachshund is a cuss word but it sounds handy when you want to swear without being really vulgar!
When I am annoyed with someone I outrank (being very vague... lalalala), I tend to say "Hackt's dich/Hackt's euch?", which is really hard to translate...? It's something in the vein of "Are you crazy?"
Interesting! "What's your problem?" in the non-literal sense in English, maybe. どうかしている？in Japanese.
one that a colleague liked to use, and everyone picked it up. It's "Fick die Henne" ("fuck the chicken").
Inside-office phrases like this are so much fun. And the forest fairy one is great!

I was just watching a Chinese drama in which a disgruntled character exclaimed "Fan!".
Lolol, me too, and I stumbled and rewound and looked at what he was saying.
Yes! Wang Shi'an the awful creep who is still kind of my favorite. I have no idea what the idiomatic translation is, "I'm mad" or "what a nuisance" or whatever, but I can put it to use.