When you spend some time among German speaking people, the word “Alter” will sooner or later fall. Maybe you already know the basic meaning of the word, literally “age” as a noun. Das Alter (neuter). And you wonder why Germans constantly shout about age or different types of old people and old things.
Alter – with as many exclamation marks as you want – is an expression of surprise or disbelief. It can be both a positive and negative reaction and you’ll be able to distinguish that from context and tone of voice.
The exact origin of how it came to be used as it is used today is unclear. Originally Alter was used to address a friend. The noun was basically substituting the matching adjective “alt”. So, my old friend “mein alter Freund” was shortened to Alter and still is used today, although pretty much only among men.
Typical nouns after “Alter”
As an expression of surprise, however, everyone uses it these days. Alter can then stand on its own or in combination with words that seem a bit random and funny really. Very common are the following:
Alter Schwede → Old Swedish Person
Alter Falter → Old butterfly/moth or someone who folds something
Alter Verwalter → Old administrator
Alter Vatter → Old father (the double t is crucial here)
Alter Scholli → This noun literally doesn’t exist at all
As you can see, Germans really enjoy turning random words into emotional expressions. Most of these phrases are not meant literally at all and often just sound funny, dramatic or nostalgic.
So the next time somebody suddenly shouts “Alter Schwede!” or “Alter Verwalter!”, don’t worry. Nobody is actually talking about old Swedish people or administrators.
