What is the Meaning of Donnerwetter in English?
Donnerwetter literally translates as ‘thunder weather’ into English. That said, “Donnerwetter” can mean one of four things in English: Thunderstorm, a heated argument, an outcry of anger or a cry of admiring astonishment.
Donnerwetter as thunderstorm
Donnerwetter is an obsolete term for ‘thunderstorm.’
In German, if you would like to talk about a thunderstorm, you would generally use “Gewitter” instead.
Donnerwetter as a word for a heated argument
Donnerwetter can also be used in a metaphorical way to mean “a heated argument.”
So, for instance, we could have the following German sentence:
Example:
Wenn du nicht bald aufhörst zu spielen, gibt es garantiert wieder ein Donnerwetter!
Translation:
If you don’t stop playing soon, there surely will be another heated argument!
Donnerwetter to mean outcry of anger
In German, Donnerwetter can also be used as some sort of curse word.
Example:
Zum Donnerwetter nochmal, wie oft muss ich Dir das denn noch sagen?
Translation:
For God’s sake, how many times do I have to tell you?
Donnerwetter to mean a cry of astounding astonishment
The last meaning that Donnerwetter has in English is to express admiration for something or someone.
Example:
Donnerwetter, der Typ weiß aber wirklich wie man Fussball spielt!
Jesus (Holy sh**), that guy really knows how to play football!
A language full with ‘funny’ words
In German, there’s not just Donnerwetter. There are so many really fascinating and cool words for you to explore. This is why we would like you to have a look at the following articles:
- 11 untranslatable German words
- The very best German sayings! (you won’t believe the grammar of #12!)
Hey fellow Linguaholics! It’s me, Marcel. I am the proud owner of linguaholic.com. Languages have always been my passion and I have studied Linguistics, Computational Linguistics and Sinology at the University of Zurich. It is my utmost pleasure to share with all of you guys what I know about languages and linguistics in general.