Kacke
What does “Kacke” mean in English?
It means crap, often used to describe something of poor quality. The literal translation is excrement, but it's not as harsh as other terms for shit.
Literally “excrement”
You might hear it as an exclamation when something goes wrong or is disappointing, similar to saying 'crap' in English. It's generally lighter than 'Scheiße' and can be used in casual contexts.
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Related German words
kacken
2/5 · CoarseIt means to crap or take a shit. It's a straightforward term for defecation.
Kackwurst
2/5 · CoarseIt's a coarse term for a turd, often used as a childish insult. Think of it as calling someone a 'shit sausage.'
Kackfresse
3/5 · VulgarThis is a personal insult that translates to 'shit face,' used to demean someone, often focusing on their appearance or simply expressing contempt.
Kackstelze
3/5 · VulgarIt's a comedic insult for someone unpleasant, akin to calling someone a 'dick' in English. Literally, it translates to 'shit stilt,' but that doesn't quite capture its playful tone.
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 LDNOOBW, 4troDev/profanity.csv, Viddexa SafeText (CC-BY-4.0, MIT). Editorial content © Swear Atlas.