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German word of the day: Bubatz

Aaron Burnett
Aaron Burnett - [email protected]
German word of the day: Bubatz
Photo: Francesco Ungaro / Unsplash + Nicolas Raymond / flickr

You might be able to pick up some of this from a German pharmacy or ‘coffee shop’ in the next few years, with the government having recently agreed plans to legalise cannabis.

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What does it mean and how do you say it?

Bubatz is German slang for cannabis or marijuana. Germans use Bubatz much the same as English speakers would use any number of slang terms – weed, pot, reefer, dope, ganja, Mary Jane – you get the idea.

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How do you use it or where might you see it?

You would normally use Bubatz in an informal conversational where you’re fine using slang. If you need to use a more ‘proper’ term, you can simply go for Cannabis – yes, it’s the same.

That said, one key politician has used it on Twitter, at least twice. Finance Minister and liberal Free Democrat leader Christian Lindner made cannabis legalisation a key part of the FDP platform for the 2021 federal elections. In September 2022 he tweeted: ‘Weed soon legal?’ before announcing that Germany would see a draft law on legalisation early in 2023.

And in March 2024, Germany approved the law, paving the way for cannabis to be partially legal from April.

READ ALSO: Germany gives green light to partially legalise cannabis from April

Lindner once again tweeted, this time saying: "So, weed soon legal".

Bubatz is a noun that has no plural and der Bubatz can be used to imply either singular or plural. To ‘smoke up’ also has its own slang where cannabis is concerned. Rather than saying ‘smoke’ or rauchen, you can use kiffen.

Use it like this:

Wenn Bubatz legal in Deutschland wird, kiffen alle anstatt zu saufen. 

If pot becomes legal in Germany, everyone will smoke weed instead of drinking.

Ich glaube, Bubatz wird bis 2024 in Deutschland legalisiert. 

I think weed will be legal in Germany by 2024. 

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