German word of the Day: Backpfeifengesicht

Whether it’s your inconsiderate neighbour, your friend’s rude boyfriend, or your patronising aunt, everybody knows somebody they’d really like to just slap in the face.

Das Backpfeifegesicht, pronounced like this, is the word you can use for them, or as a descriptor for their appearance rather.

Constructed from Backe (cheek), Pfeife (whistle) and Gesicht (face), the literal translation of ‘cheek whistle face’ seems a little hard to decode.

But a Backpfeife is actually a slap in the face, so a Backpfeifengesicht is a face that really deserves to be slapped – or a punch-able face, put more simply. 

It’s not usually used to imply that someone is ugly, per se. 

Instead, it’s applied to people who are annoying and irksome.

Use it like this:

Er hat ein richtiges Backpfeifengesicht; er ist total lästig.

He has a really slappable face; he’s so annoying

Das freche Fräulein hat ein Backpfeifengesicht.

The cheeky young lady has a slappable face.