Damned! Where Germans curse the most

A rant has its justification, especially from the point of view of the rant. Lately you can even curse to your heart's content in the museum. The exhibition "Potz! Blitz!” in the Berlin Museum for Communication is dedicated to the cultural heritage of scolding.

A damn good choice of location, by the way. Already on the way to the museum in Berlin-Mitte, visitors can familiarize themselves with the latest swear words in the capital, for example in the bus and subway, i.e. allow themselves to be insulted.

In the exhibition, cursing, nagging, banging is all the more lively. But not as an end in itself: visitors learn why scolding is also psychologically healthy. As linguist Kate Burridge puts it: “Swear words are socially and emotionally irreplaceable, critical components of our linguistic repertoire that help us reduce stress, manage pain, and increase strength and endurance.”

The curator and language expert Rolf-Bernhard Essig also thinks: “Is swearing part of being human? Hell yes. There's no other way to say it. From an early age, there is this special kind of attraction that expletives exude. We immediately have the impression that we can achieve something with it.”

The museum also asks visitors in which situation they curse most often. The top three are therefore: "On the road" in first place. It follows "When assembling an Ikea shelf". In third place: "On the crowded platform when the train composition is changed."

The online language learning platform Preply has also examined the swearing habits in Germany. The survey found that the average German swears 9.5 times a day.

Men typically use swear words more frequently than women: While they use an average of 11.06 swear words per day, the number for women is only 8.85.

And on which occasion is the most scolded? On the way in the car. 32.5 percent of Germans grumble behind the wheel or as a passenger.

Remarkable: Although men generally use more swear words than women, female drivers are more than twice as likely to use swear words. 37.9 percent admit that they swear most often behind the wheel, compared to only 18.5 percent of men.

The car rant is unusual compared to other nations. Only the Germans scold so vehemently while driving. Instead, Americans are most likely to swear at home (55 percent). Only seven percent complain on the streets.

According to Preply surveys, the situation is similar for Brits, Spaniards and Italians: the majority would rather scold at home than behind the wheel on the road. A possible explanation: They prefer to honk their horns angrily or give their opinion to the other person with clear hand signals.

The Preply portal also asked which German cities cursed the most. The Schimpf-Pokal goes to Dresden. With an average of 18 times a day, swearing is the most common here; the residents of Leipzig and Bochum complain the least.

Basically, Germans complain more about themselves than about others. And what about tolerance when others swear? 51.7 percent of those surveyed state that they feel disturbed by this, for 48.2 percent it is not a problem.

Visitors to the Schimpf exhibition in Berlin can test this until June 25, 2023. There is even a curse generator that creates new swear words. Suggestions are, for example, “ork-stylish thermal composter”, “fanatic trash lout” or “frivolous fecal worm”. On the way back in the subway, you can try out whether these swear words resonate in everyday life.