Skip to content

gallig

bilious, caustic, bitter

adjective GAL-ikh Rare

Also means

acerbic, acidly sarcastic

Usage Note

Gallig means bitterly sarcastic or sharp-tongued, from Galle (bile/gall). A galliger Kommentar is a biting, acidic remark. More literary than everyday but understood and used in journalism and critical writing.

Examples

"Die gallige Satirikerin sparte niemanden aus."

Natural Translation

The caustic satirist spared no one.

Literal Translation

The bilious satirist spared no one.

Free starter pack

Building your German vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common German words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Explore German by topic