Schiss
What does “Schiss” mean in English?
It refers to an act of defecation but is commonly used to mean fear, especially in the phrase 'Schiss haben' (to be scared).
Literally “act of defecation”
It's similar to saying someone is 'scared shitless' in English. You'll hear it in informal contexts, often when someone is expressing anxiety or fear.
Take it with you
Wear it. Stick it. Drink from it.
Put Schiss on a mug, a T-shirt or a sticker as Swear Atlas stamp artwork. You'll finish your order with Zazzle, our print partner — they handle payment, printing and delivery.
Adult/mature product · 18+. Purchases, delivery, returns and support are provided by Zazzle, not Swear Atlas. Availability is subject to Zazzle's policies.
Related German words
Schisser
2/5 · CoarseThis is an insult used to call someone a coward. It literally translates to 'person who shits', but that's not meant to be taken literally.
Pisse
2/5 · CoarseIt means piss, referring to urine in a coarse way. It's a straightforward term for bodily waste.
brunzen
2/5 · CoarseIt means to urinate, specifically in a coarse regional sense. It's a more casual way to say 'piss' in certain German-speaking areas.
kacken
2/5 · CoarseIt means to crap or take a shit. It's a straightforward term for defecation.
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.