Flirting in German - helpful phrases to get flirty

Publish date: 2024-05-11

We’ve all been there, whether it’s been flirting with the boy in your local shop, or admiring a stranger afar. Trying to get someone’s attention and flirt can sometimes be tricky! Let’s go through some flirty phrases in German.

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How do you express your feelings in German?

Have you ever had butterflies in your belly? – “Hattest du schon einmal Schmetterlinge im Bauch?” is a very common term in various languages – also in German – to describe that you are in love, or you fancy someone. 

Have you ever been head over heels in love? – “Warst du schon einmal Hals über Kopf verliebt?”

Or at least have had the hots for someone – “Warst du schon einmal scharf auf jemanden?”

But didn’t know how to get the attention of this person or how to break the ice? – “Wusstest du nicht, wie du das Eis brechen solltest?”

Guide on how to flirt in German

German love vocabulary

Start flirting in German

Actually, it’s not that difficult to chat someone up, most of the time – at least in German – the simplest way is the best:

Don’t worry, in Germany, it’s no problem at all to take the first step – “den ersten Schritt machen”. You don’t have to wait around for a shy guy, go ahead!

Regardless of whether you are a man or a woman don’t be too straightforward and give the other person a chance to get to know you or they might turn you down really quickly. – “Einen Korb bekommen oder geben.” This is a way to express being turned down by someone or to turn someone down.

Most of you will know that’s not a nice feeling at all, and if you were really into the person it even might end up in some good old love sickness – “Liebeskummer”.

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What to say after the first line

So, what to do after the first “Hallo! Wie geht’s?”

Ask something or think of something that catches your eye regarding the other person. If it’s online, maybe you read something interesting in the profile of the person, about their hobbies, etc. Or if you are in a bar or a club compliment the person about their dancing style. Just nothing too cheesy – kitschig, and best to be honest. Germans definitely like honesty!

If you were able to avoid “eine Abfuhr zu bekommen” – to be brushed off, it’s totally fine to ask the person if they would like to go for drinks or a coffee. This is not your classic German pick up line, it’s just pure honesty:

If they say yes, go ahead and ask for their phone number, if they don’t give it to you, you already know that it didn’t go THAT well:  

How to break up a date in German…

And what to do if it doesn’t work out, because your date was a total disaster?

“Den Laufpass geben.” – To break up with someone is never easy.

Actually, I don’t think there is an excellent way to do that. But whatever you plan to say, do it face-to-face and be honest and direct.

It’s important to be clear that you want to break up, so don’t beat around the bush. – “Rede nicht um den heißen Brei herum!” You DON’T want them to come back!

So, what do you think? Are you ready to flirt in German?

Whatever you do, don’t worry too much! Always remember, mostly it’s about the fun “jemanden zu bezaubern” – to charm someone.  

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Katharina Dittmar

Kindergarten teacher, translator, content author and martial arts lover. Living in Mexico as an Austrian and working for 4 years in a bilingual school and as a part time German teacher she got the opportunity to learn and feel the power of languages. She thinks it's amazing how much our language not only influences our daily life, but also our culture and our outlook on life. She loves to create new material for my pupils – young and old, write texts and explore how her mother tongue influenced her. She believes her job is more than teaching just a language. It’s teaching a language, a culture and the history of millions of people.

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