German · Emotions & Descriptions

"Lazy" in German: faul

faul

fowladjective/faʊ̯l/

Lazy in German is faul. Say Ich bin heute faul or ein fauler Sonntag. Faulenzen means to laze around.

Sunday mood

Ich bin heute faul und bleibe im Bett.

I'm lazy today and staying in bed.

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How to pronounce faul

Say it

fowl

/faʊ̯l/

fowl. Au like ow in how. Clear final l.

"Lazy" in German: quick reference

German	English	When to use
faul	lazy Core adjective.	Core adjective.
fauler / faule / faules	lazy (inflected) Before nouns.	Before nouns.
faulenzen	to laze around Related verb.	Related verb.
zu faul	too lazy Common hedge.	Common hedge.

How to use faul in real life

1Sunday mood
Ich bin heute faul und bleibe im Bett.
I'm lazy today and staying in bed.
Bin … faul.
2Teasing
Du fauler Hund, hilf endlich mit.
You lazy dog, finally help out.
Fauler before noun.
3Self-deal
Ich bin zu faul zum Kochen — Pizza?
I'm too lazy to cook — pizza?
Zu faul.

Mistakes English speakers make with faul

Incorrect: Ich bin lazy

Correct: Ich bin faul.

Use faul, not English lazy.

Incorrect: eine faul Katze

Correct: eine faule Katze

Feminine ending: faule.

Good to know

Calling yourself faul is common Sunday humor. Calling someone else faul can sting — soften with heute or ein bisschen unless you're joking with friends.