Deutsch fließend sprechen: Tipps zu Grammatik, Angst und Hörverstehen

What does “durchmogeln” mean in German?

Two language coaches walk into a Japanese class sure they can just listen a bit and somehow fake their way through — “irgendwie durchmogeln.” The word means getting through a hard moment by bluffing, not by really knowing the answer. Here it is playful and self-mocking: they thought they could coast on being coaches, then their teacher fired off fast Japanese and they understood nothing. It usually carries that “I’m only pretending I’ve got this” feeling.

Spoken line: “Wir dachten, wir könnten einfach so reingehen, ein bisschen zuhören und uns irgendwie durchmogeln” — “We thought we could just walk in, listen a bit, and somehow wing our way through.” “durchmogeln” is built from “mogeln” (to cheat a little, fudge) plus “durch” (through), so it is literally “to fudge your way through.” It usually points at small bluffing, not serious cheating, and often sounds light or self-mocking. More examples: - “Ohne zu üben hat er sich irgendwie durchgemogelt.” — “Without practising, he somehow bluffed his way through.” - “Beim Smalltalk mogle ich mich oft durch.” — “In small talk I often just wing it.” - “Er hat sich durch das Meeting gemogelt, ohne eine Frage zu beantworten.” — “He coasted through the meeting without answering a single question.” It works as a reflexive verb (you mogel yourself through — “sich durchmogeln”). The “durch” part splits off in shorter sentences: “Ich mogle mich durch.”