German

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Etymology

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From Sau (sow, female pig). Compare schweine-. Further also hunde- or hunds-, from Hund (dog).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /zaʊ̯/, [z-], (southern also) [s-]
  • Audio (Berlin); [zäo̯]:(file)

Prefix

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sau-

  1. (colloquial) Intensifies adjectives.
    Synonyms: arsch-, schweine-
    sau- + ‎teuer (expensive) → ‎sauteuer (very expensive)
    sau- + ‎geil (cool, awesome) → ‎saugeil (very cool)
  2. (colloquial, derogatory) Creates disparaging or pejorative forms of nouns.
    sau- + ‎Wetter (weather) → ‎Sauwetter (terrible weather)
    sau- + ‎Arbeit (work) → ‎Sauarbeit (unpleasant work)

Derived terms

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  • saublöd, saudoof, saudumm, saufrech, saugut, saukomisch