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German Word of the Day: Der Schmarrn

The Local Germany
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German Word of the Day: Der Schmarrn
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With the Bavarian elections on Sunday October 14th, the national focus will shift to the southern state. The Bairisch dialect is notoriously challenging and its culture is distinctive, so we’ve taken a word which will give you a flavour of Bayern.

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Ein Schmarrn is a Bavarian dish, which is also popular in Swabia and Austria. The distinctive feature of a Schmarrn is that, after the ingredients have been cooked together, it is cut into small bits and mixed together. It is normally a sweet dish; Kaiserschmarrn is the most famous examples, and is made from cut-up pancakes. But it can also be savoury, as seen in the Kartoffelschmarrn.

Schmarrn is also used in a colloquial way in Bavaria, and refers to silly talk. When someone is talking nonsense, and what they’re saying is pointless chatter or gossip, it’s Schmarrn. Someone who talks a lot of Schmarrn could be labeled as a Schmarrnbeppi.

Examples:

Erzähl mich doch keinen solchen Schmarrn.

Don’t give me any of that rubbish.

Er hat so lang geredet, kommt aber nur Schmarrn aus seinem Mund.

He spoke for so long, but it was just rubbish coming out of his mouth.

 

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