Mistkerl
What does “Mistkerl” mean in English?
It's an insult for a nasty or unpleasant person. Literally, it translates to 'dung fellow.'
Literally “dung fellow”
You'd use it like calling someone a 'piece of shit' in English, aimed directly at someone to express moral condemnation.
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Related German words
Bastard
3/5 · VulgarIt's an insult for someone considered nasty or contemptible. The literal meaning refers to someone born outside of marriage, which carries a stigma.
Drecksack
3/5 · VulgarIt's an insult for someone who's nasty or dishonest. Literally, it translates to 'dirt bag.'
Dreckskerl
3/5 · VulgarIt's an insult aimed at a nasty man or scoundrel. The literal translation is 'dirty fellow.'
Saukerl
3/5 · VulgarIt's a coarse insult aimed at a nasty man, similar to calling someone a 'bastard' or 'asshole' in English. Literally, it translates to 'pig fellow.'
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 4troDev/profanity.csv (MIT). Editorial content © Swear Atlas.