It’s like German, but it’s not

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Are you ready for the first ever A1 Major Vienna presented by Swatch? Are you ready to be a part of it all? And most importantly, can you speak Viennese?

I know you’re thinking, ‘they speak German in Austria’, what is all this Viennese bibble-babble?

Well we’d beg to differ, Vienna has its own way of, and how should we say this? Well Vienna has its own way of using the German language – a more musical, unique way if you will. It’s like German, but German that has been breaded and fried crispy, it’s like German that uses vinegar in potato salad instead of mayonnaise, it’s like German that drinks cider on a very hot day. So in order to get you ready for the #ViennaMajor, we’ve compiled a very short list of phrases and words you must know when travelling to Vienna, enjoy!

1. Oida

Can be roughly translated to mean: come on guy, move it!

Phonetic pronunciation: Oiy-dah

As in ‘heast oida’ to which you use when someone is dawdling and you have five minutes before the match starts at the Center Court and your favorite team is playing AND you still have to find a seat, you have literally no time.  So move out of the way please! Why we love this word: it fulfills our deepest passive aggressive desires.

I Said. Hurry. Up. Photocredit: Daniel Grund

2. Fesch

Can be roughly translated to mean: stylish, fashionable, looking good (wink wink)

Phonetic pronunciation: Fesh

As in ‘Bist du Fesch’ when you see someone dressed to the nines, be warned, when you say this, it should always be accompanied by an approving nod and a glint in the eye. So when you see Mr/Miss so and so at the Beach Village and you think that saying ‘you look great’ won’t cut it, best you have this little phrase in your back-pocket. Why we love this word: it’s one word and encompasses so many things, it actually needs to be absorbed into English so literally spread the word.

How you behave when your friend says ‘Bist du Fesch’ Photocredit: Malte Christians

3. Leiwand

Can be roughly translated to mean: cool, awesome, like totes amaze

Phonetic pronunciation: Lie-vant

As in ‘echt leiwand’ when you see something where ‘das ist cool’ just won’t describe aptly, like Ms Laboureur’s shank or Ms Larissa’s ability to transition anything into a point for example. Open mouth:  completely optional. Why we love this word: because its charming when Viennese people pronounce it.

I mean… Leiwand! Photocredit: Michael Kunkel

4. Hawara

Can be roughly translated to mean: dude, bro, mate

Phonetic pronunciation: Huh-va-rah

As in ‘Hawara bist deppert?’ when your bro is doing or saying something cray cray? Of course you don’t just let him carry on without the appropriate narration. Why we love this word: its foreign and we are always looking for new words to call out our friends.

Because real friends call each other out. Photocredit: Malte Christians

5. 16er Blech und Eitrige

Can be roughly translated to mean: One beer and a cheese-griller sausage to go please

Phonetic pronunciation: Take a native-speaker with you and have fun with it

As in ‘Ein 16er Blech und eine Eitrige bitte’ when you’re at a würstlstand (that is a sausage stand btw) and are in need of urgent nourishment, because you were on the Danube Island the entire day and the party didn’t stop till early in the morning! So obvs the only thing you want is a can of Ottakringer and a Käsekrainer for the win. Why we love this word: it helps us get food.

Just ONE please. Photocredit: Malte Christians

6. Gemma

Can be roughly translated to: let’s go!

Phonetic pronunciation: G-eh-mah

As in ‘Gemma Österreich’ when you want your team to win! Or “Gemma, we’re all ready to leave so let’s go, stop dawdling!” Or Gemma as in let’s do this, when you’re standing, about to make your way onto Center Court and play your heart out! A little bit of inter-team motivation. Or Gemma! This place is boring let’s bounce. This is probably the most Austrian word you could learn and you can find many opportunities to use it. When using it, make sure you inflect upwards on ‘ma’ so that your team knows just how enthusiastic you are about them winning. Why we love this word: you can use it in any context, any context. You can even answer questions with it. It’s the word that’s going to make you sound like you really know how to speak the language even when you really don’t.

Gemma! We got this! Photocredit: Michael Kunkel