How rude is "Quatsch!"?

Question

I've seen Quatsch! translated as Bullshit, which I was fine with as I had only heard it used among friends. Today, a university teacher used the Q-word in response to a student's serious suggestion in a somewhat professional setting.

How rude is Quatsch?

Let me guess: that teacher has a propensity for rudeness in the classroom? Because that reaction was rude. — Jürgen A. Erhard, May 24 '11 at 22:04
@jae not necessarily. Imagine a student expressing the opinion that you should parse HTML using regular expressions for example. Or something else that is blatantly untrue, or an often-misquoted urban legend. Depending on the tone, "Quatsch" can then be just a very straightforward dismissal - but not necessarily rude. — Pekka, May 24 '11 at 22:16
So would Quatsch! be more akin to Crap! or Bullcrap!, perhaps? — Kyralessa, Jun 02 '11 at 03:03
I regurlarly use “Nee, Quatsch!” in front of students, however always because I said something stupid right before (e.g. “33 weniger 24 ist 8... Quatsch! 9!”). I wouldn't do it if I thought it'd be rude. — cgnieder, Apr 26 '12 at 18:52
Hmm. I used to watch a German show and they used to say "Quatsch" at least twice every episode. — Anurag Kalia, Mar 08 '13 at 17:09
I guess the rudeness depends on context and how harshly it is pronounced. — anonymous, Mar 08 '13 at 17:08
My dad likes to call badly designed products or things that don't work / he isn't used to "Quatsch". He means something like "rubbish" by it. I have built up a certain ignorance against him calling digital technology "Quatsch", as soon as he can't handle it ... — Sam, Nov 16 '14 at 22:32
A more fashionable/sophisticated way of saying that is: "Quatsch Mit Soße". :) — bchetty, Jan 04 '12 at 15:39
Sorry for unburying this, but I believe “poppycock” is a very good translation of Quatsch. — Philipp, Sep 22 '15 at 16:31

splattne · Accepted Answer · 2014-06-25T06:34:54.973

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Quatsch is not vulgar at all and can be used in normal everyday speech to denote "nonsense":

Kinder machen Quatsch. (The children fool around in a harmless and funny way, e.g. making faces.)

But replying with "Quatsch!" might be perceived as offensive in the same way as "Nonsense!" would be in English - depending on the tone, facial expression and other situational factors.

Edit: If you're in Bavaria or in Austria, you could use the equivalent expression "Schmarrn!".

edited Jun 25 '14 at 06:34

answered May 24 '11 at 21:04

splattne

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+1 for “nonsense”, that’s actually a very good translation! – poke May 24 '11 at 21:06
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I would like to emphasize on the relevance of the tone. Quatsch itself is more or less inoffensive, but using a loud and angry tone can make it quite offensive. That's probably quiet similar to the English nonsense. – Koraktor May 24 '11 at 21:21
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My grandmother used to become angry when I said "Quatsch" to her. The term was/is perceived as much more offensive by older people. – Tomalak May 25 '11 at 11:54
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@Tomalak Quatsch! – splattne May 25 '11 at 12:04
@splattne: Sach nich Quatsch zu mir! – Tomalak May 25 '11 at 12:05
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+1 for Schmarrn :) ! – Sebastian Jun 01 '11 at 11:57
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In British English, I think "rubbish" would be more common than "nonsense"; but with that word too, the offensiveness depends on how you say it. – Nick Dixon Jun 03 '11 at 10:42
I think it also depends on the fact how well you know the person you say it to, and/or what situation you're in. For example, it's not something one would use in a business meeting, or when talking to a stranger. – takrl Aug 23 '11 at 11:22
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what about "Quatsch mit Soße" ? – Johannes Schaub - litb Sep 16 '11 at 21:52
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I am from Austria and i tend to use: "Blödsinn" – HectorLector Mar 08 '13 at 13:51
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I am from Vienna and i tend to use: "geh' bitte!" – Nikolaj-K Jun 21 '13 at 08:04
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@HectorLector Bledsinn... – Andreas Niedermair Jun 25 '14 at 13:57
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On the Oktoberfest I once found a sign announcing Kaiserschmarrn ( a sort of sliced pancake) as emperors nonsense, which is obviously complete Quatsch! – guidot Jun 27 '14 at 20:26
in many settings it is still considered as somewhat informal. i would not advise to use "quatsch" when talking with people who strongly value professionality – Neuron Oct 23 '17 at 09:24

markus · Answer 2 · 2011-06-06T08:52:01.670

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Quatsch is not as strong as Bullshit.

In Germany you can use Ach, Quatsch for example if someone tells you some news you can hardly believe, and it won't be offensive at all. You may not want to use it in a very formal context.

edited Jun 06 '11 at 08:52

answered May 24 '11 at 21:05

markus

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true, a tiny little "ach" before makes it much less offensive. :) – ladybug May 25 '11 at 12:35

score 14 · Answer 3 · answered May 24 '11 at 21:15

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Quatsch states that something is nonsense. In your described situation, it is not appropriate to say this to a student but it is not offensive.

It is the informal way to say: "This obviously does not make sense".

answered May 24 '11 at 21:15

Matthias

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score 7 · Answer 4 · answered Nov 05 '13 at 01:13

Welcome to the university, where (like it or not) students' 'serious suggestions' are often utter bullshit, or rubbish, or what have you, and where professors (like it or not) are tasked with the responsibility not to be polite, but to formulate and express coherent, accurate thought.

Also, no, it doesn't mean 'bullshit.' It is more like saying, 'That's absurd!'

How rude is "Quatsch!"?

4 Answers4