German · Germany · Austria · Switzerland

Arschloch

/ˈaʁʃlɔx/

Listen to how locals say it.

This entry covers Arschloch, an expression in German as used in Germany · Austria · Switzerland.

Machine translation Some text on this page is machine-translated and has not been reviewed yet.

Contents

Meaning

Arsehole — literally the anus, used almost exclusively as a personal insult.^[1]^[2]Machine-assisted translation

Pronunciation

IPA: /ˈaʁʃlɔx/

“ARSH-lokh” — final ch as in Scottish “loch”.^[1]^[2]

Intensity

SWEAR LEVEL

Rated in-culture by native reviewers, on three separate axes.

VulgarityVery Strong

Assessed as how taboo the word itself is inside its own culture.

AggressivenessExtreme

Assessed at the most aggressive natural use aimed at a person.

Social riskVery Strong

Assessed as what the speaker risks when saying it to a stranger on the street.

How common

Social Risk

Assessed social risk by setting.

With friendsContext-dependentEven as a joke it is aimed at a person, so it depends on how close the speakers are.
At schoolBest avoided
At workBest avoided
On the streetBest avoided
OnlineContext-dependentAimed at a named person it is a reportable offence on most platforms.

Low risk
Context-dependent
Best avoided

Shape and colour encode the same value.

Verification

Content review: Not verified yet
Translation: Machine-translated, review pending
Sources last checked: 2026-08-28

Not verified yetWaiting for native review

Published after an automated pre-check. No native reviewer has confirmed it yet.

A correction desk opens once native review starts. Until then this page records what the sources say.

How it's used

Unlike Scheiße this is aimed at a person, which is what makes it heavy. Calling a police officer this is a documented route to a fine in Germany.^[1]^[2]Machine-assisted translation

Cultural context

Wiktionary gives both the literal anatomical sense and the figurative insult sense.^[1]^[2]Machine-assisted translation

Literal meaning

arsehole^[1]^[2]

When to avoid it

Situations in which the expression is generally best avoided.

At school — Best avoided
At work — Best avoided
On the street — Best avoided
With friends — Context-dependent. Even as a joke it is aimed at a person, so it depends on how close the speakers are.
Online — Context-dependent. Aimed at a named person it is a reportable offence on most platforms.

Sources

Every claim on this page traces back to these entries.

↑Meaning ↑Pronunciation ↑How it's used ↑Cultural context ↑Literal meaning Arschloch — English Wiktionary (German)Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · summarised and translated here · accessed 2026-08-28
↑Meaning ↑Pronunciation ↑How it's used ↑Cultural context ↑Literal meaning Arschloch — Wiktionary (German)Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · summarised and translated here · accessed 2026-08-28

Passages derived from these dictionary entries are redistributed under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.