die  Sau

B1

Estimated CEFR level.

/zaʊ/

🐷 What Exactly is a "Sau"?

The German word die Sau (plural: die Säue or die Sauen) has several meanings:

• 🐖 Animal: The most common meaning is the female domestic pig, especially an adult one that has given birth to piglets (Mutterschwein - mother pig or sow). Example: "Der Bauer füttert die Sau im Stall." (The farmer feeds the sow in the barn.)
• 🗣️ Insult: It's often used as a coarse insult for a messy, dirty, or indecent person (regardless of gender). Example: "Du bist so eine Sau! Räum endlich dein Zimmer auf!" (You are such a pig! Finally clean your room!) It can also serve as an intensifier in negative expressions (e.g., Sauwetter - awful weather, Sauarbeit - crappy work).
• 🍀 Luck (colloquial): In the phrase "Sau haben" (or "Schwein haben"), it means to have unexpected luck. Example: "Ich habe die Prüfung nur knapp bestanden, da habe ich echt Sau gehabt!" (I barely passed the exam, I was really lucky!)

🚨 Attention: Using it as an insult is very informal and can be offensive.

🧐 Grammar Insights for Die Sau

"Sau" is a feminine noun and always takes the article die.

Declension

Example Sentences

1. Die Sau wühlt im Schlamm. (The sow wallows in the mud.)
2. Er benahm sich wie eine Sau auf der Party. (He behaved like a pig at the party.)
3. Da hast du aber wieder Sau gehabt! (You were really lucky again!)
4. Die Säue grunzen zufrieden im Trog. (The sows grunt contentedly at the trough.)

💡 How to Use "die Sau"?

• Literally (Animal): Mostly used in agricultural or biological contexts to refer to a female pig. Less common in everyday language than "Schwein".
• Figuratively (Insult): Very colloquial and often vulgar. It expresses strong disapproval of a person's behavior or hygiene. Can also be used as an intensifier (e.g., saukalt - terribly cold, sauwohl - extremely comfortable - here not always negative!).
• Idiom ("Sau haben"): Fixed expression meaning 'to be lucky'. Synonymous with "Schwein haben". Used informally.
• Other Idioms:
  • "Perlen vor die Säue werfen": Lit. "to throw pearls before swine" - To give something good or valuable to someone who doesn't appreciate it.
  • "Unter aller Sau sein": Lit. "to be beneath all sow" - To be extremely bad or unacceptable (quality, behavior).
  • "Die Sau rauslassen": Lit. "to let the sow out" - To party wildly, to let loose.

Comparison: "Schwein" is a more general term for the animal (male/female, young/old) and is also used as an insult and in the luck idiom. "Sau" is more specific (female) and often considered a bit cruder as an insult than "Schwein".

🧠 Mnemonics for Sau

Article Mnemonic: Think of the mother pig, die Mama-Sau. She is female, so use the feminine article die.

Meaning Mnemonic: Imagine you have amazing luck (Sau gehabt 🍀), finding a winning lottery ticket in a terribly messy room (what a Sauerei 🐷), while outside a female pig (die Sau 🐖) is oinking loudly. This connects the three main concepts: luck, mess/insult, and the animal.

🔄 Similar and Opposite Terms

Similar but misleading words:

• Säule (die): pillar, column - Sounds similar, but unrelated.
• Saum (der): hem, seam, border - Different meaning and gender.

😂 A Little Joke

Fragt der Bauer seinen Sohn: "Warum rennst du denn so schnell zum Schweinestall?" Antwortet der Sohn: "Ich habe gehört, die Sau hat geworfen – ich will sehen, wie weit!"

Translation: The farmer asks his son: "Why are you running so fast to the pigsty?" The son replies: "I heard the sow 'threw' (gave birth / threw something) – I want to see how far!" (This plays on the double meaning of "werfen": to give birth and to throw).

📜 Poem about the Sau

Die Sau im Stall, die grunzt voll Freud,
hat Ferkel klein, zur Mutterzeit.
Doch ruft man dich im Zorn mal "Sau!",
dann ist die Laune meistens rau.
Und hast du Glück, ganz ohne Plan,
hast "Sau gehabt", sagt man dann und wann.
Ein Wort, drei Sinn', merk dir das genau!

Translation:
The sow in the barn, she grunts with joy,
has little piglets, in her mother-time employ.
But if in anger you're called "Sau!" aloud,
then the mood is often under a cloud.
And if you have luck, without any plan,
"Sau gehabt", they say now and then.
One word, three meanings, remember this vow!

❓ Little Riddle

Ich bin ein Tier, das grunzt im Stall,
bin Schimpfwort auch, beim lauten Knall
von Ärger. Hab ich Glück im Spiel,
dann sagt man's auch, das ist mein Ziel.
Ich bin feminin, das ist der Clou.

Wer bin ich? Na klar, die ...?

Translation:
I am an animal that grunts in the sty,
Also an insult, when tempers fly high.
If I have luck in a game or a deal,
They say my name too, that's how I feel.
I'm feminine, that's the main clue.

Who am I? Of course, it's ...?

Solution: Sau

💡 Other Interesting Facts

• Word Compounds: "Sau-" is often used as an intensifying prefix in colloquial German, mostly negative (Sauarbeit - crappy work, Sauwetter - awful weather, Saukerl - bastard/son of a bitch), but sometimes positive (saugut - damn good, sauwohl - extremely comfortable, saustark - awesome/super strong).
• Wildsau: Refers to the female wild boar (also called Bache).
• Cultural Significance: The pig (Schwein, and by extension Sau) is considered a symbol of good luck in many German-speaking regions (Glücksschwein - lucky pig).