Dreckskerl
What does “Dreckskerl” mean in English?
It's an insult aimed at a nasty man or scoundrel. The literal translation is 'dirty fellow.'
Literally “dirty fellow”
You'd use it to directly insult someone you think is contemptible, similar to calling someone a 'dick' or 'bastard' in English. It carries a moderate level of disdain.
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Related German words
Drecksack
3/5 · VulgarIt's an insult for someone who's nasty or dishonest. Literally, it translates to 'dirt bag.'
Drecksau
3/5 · VulgarIt's a coarse insult aimed at someone considered filthy or contemptible. Literally, it translates to 'dirty sow.'
Drecksbalg
3/5 · VulgarIt's a coarse insult used to refer to a troublesome child, implying they're dirty or unruly. The literal translation is 'dirty brat.'
Dreck
2/5 · CoarseIt's a dismissive term for something worthless or rubbish. While it literally means 'dirt', that's not how it's used here.
About this data
Swear Atlas is a source-attested, AI-curated reference — not a native-speaker-certified dictionary. Meanings and the 1–5 Burn Rating are approximate editorial assessments that vary with context, region, tone and speaker. Inclusion of a word does not constitute endorsement of its use.
The literal gloss is a short editorial translation to show word-for-word sense, not an etymological claim.
“Sounds like” is an English-friendly approximation of how the word sounds, not an authoritative pronunciation. Where shown, the romanisation is a conventional Latin-script transliteration of the original spelling.
Term attested via FlacSy/BadWords (MIT AND CC-BY-4.0). Editorial content © Swear Atlas.