mies
lousy
Colloquial for very bad, of poor quality, or unpleasant.
EXAMPLE
Der Film war total mies, ich bin fast eingeschlafen.
The film was totally lousy; I almost fell asleep.
mies
lousy / awful
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Meanings
mies
awful
Colloquial for feeling physically or emotionally unwell, miserable, or bad.
EXAMPLE
Mir ist heute richtig mies, ich glaube, ich bekomme eine Grippe.
I feel really awful today; I think I'm coming down with the flu.
mies
mean
Colloquial for unfair, nasty, or morally bad.
EXAMPLE
Es war eine miese Tour, ihn einfach so im Stich zu lassen.
It was a mean thing to do, just abandoning him like that.
Usage tips
Colloquial language
'Mies' (lousy/awful) is a colloquial word and is mainly used in spoken or informal communication. It is rather uncommon in formal texts.
EXAMPLE
Ich hatte heute einen richtig miesen Tag im Büro.
I had a really lousy day at the office today.
Context clue
If 'mies' refers to a person or action, it often means 'mean'. If it refers to a thing or situation, it means 'of poor quality'. When used with 'mir ist...' (I feel...), it describes physical discomfort.
EXAMPLE
Das war eine miese Aktion von dir!
That was a mean thing for you to do!
Feeling unwell
To express that someone feels unwell, you use the construction 'jemandem ist mies' (someone feels awful). The person is in the dative case. Alternatively, you can also say 'sich mies fühlen' (to feel awful).
EXAMPLE
Iss das lieber nicht, sonst ist dir nachher mies.
You'd better not eat that, or you'll feel awful later.
Compare with
mies vs schlecht
bad
Schlecht and mies can both express poor quality. Schlecht is a neutral evaluation in standard German. Mies is colloquial, sounds more emotional, and is often more disparaging; it is therefore especially suitable in casual conversations.
mies
Unter Freunden sagt die Prüferin, dass das Essen echt mies war.
Among friends, the examiner says that the food was really lousy.
schlecht
Im Bericht bewertet die Prüferin die Qualität des Essens als schlecht.
In the report, the examiner rates the quality of the food as poor.
In real life
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