What does Abklatsch mean? Der Abklatsch, which sounds like this, is a noun meaning a pale imitation, carbon copy or cheap knock-off – something that copies the form of an original but lacks its spirit or quality. Think of a restaurant that imitates a famous chef’s concept without the talent or a pop song that sounds suspiciously like a hit from five years ago. The word comes from the verb abklatschen, which literally means “to stamp off” or “to press a copy from”. It originally
referred to a printing technique in which ink was transferred from one surface to another, producing a faded, imperfect duplicate. That image of something pressed from an original, losing definition in the process, is exactly the meaning the word carries today. Why do you need to know Abklatsch? If you spend any time in Germany discussing culture, food, fashion or politics, you’ll encounter and want to use Abklatsch fairly quickly. Germans are not shy about expressing disappointment when something fails to live up to an
original and this word lets you do exactly that with absolute precision. It’s particularly useful in Berlin, where debates about authenticity in art, nightlife and gastronomy are practically a civic pastime. Calling something an Abklatsch signals you know the original and you’re not fooled by the imitation. Related words worth knowing include Kopie (copy), Imitat (imitation), and the slightly more forgiving Nachahmung (emulation). Abklatsch, on the other hand, carries a distinctly dismissive edge that the others don’t quite match. How to use Abklatsch Der neue
Club ist nur ein Abklatsch vom Berghain. The new club is just a poor imitation of Berghain. Das Buch ist leider nur ein schwacher Abklatsch des Originals. Unfortunately, the book is just a weak copy of the original. Ihr neues Album klingt wie ein Abklatsch ihrer früheren Arbeit. Their new album sounds like a pale imitation of their earlier work. Das Restaurant ist ein billiger Abklatsch von dem, was es mal war. The restaurant is a cheap imitation of what it used to be. Das
ist kein eigenständiges Konzept, das ist ein Abklatsch. That’s not an original concept, it’s a carbon copy.
Abklatsch, German word of the day, meaning of Abklatsch, abklatschen, pale imitation, carbon copy, cheap knock-off, Berlin authenticity