Why do I need to know sauber?
The German adjective sauber is a pretty common term in daily life.
You might find use for it in the kitchen, bath or laundry room while asking for clean objects or explaining that you have cleaned something.
But sauber is also useful as a slang term.
What does it mean?
Sauber, pronounced like this, is most basically defined as meaning clean, neat or tidy.
In some cases, sauber can also be used to imply a sort of ideological cleanliness e.g. moral, proper, pure or accurate.
But outside of the daily chores, you'll often hear sauber used in its slang form as a term of praise, basically meaning "well done" or "nice one!"
Sauber as a slang term therefore functions in the same way "clean" or "fresh" are used as slang terms in English.
For example, among skateboarders a move might be described as "clean" when its performed smoothly - if they are German skaters, then perhaps the trick was sauber.
In this sense, sauber functions somewhat similarly with other descriptors that can be used in place of the English word "cool". A few other options that are good to have on hand are toll or geil.
Just keep in mind that the more common use for sauber in particular is in giving congratulations.
Use it like this:
Er hält sein Zimmer immer sauber.
He always keeps his room clean.
Hast du den Skifahrer gesehen, der einen Frontflip gemacht hat? Das war so sauber!
Did you see that skier land a front flip? It was so clean!
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