usury / price gouging
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usury / price gouging
Demanding an excessive price or interest rate for a product or service while taking advantage of the other person's hardship or inexperience.
Zehn Euro für eine Flasche Wasser am Bahnhof? Das ist ja Wucher!
Ten euros for a bottle of water at the train station? That's price gouging!
'Wucher' (usury / price gouging) is related to the verb 'wuchern', which originally means 'to grow luxuriantly' or 'to proliferate'. This idea of excessive, uncontrolled growth is transferred to excessively high prices or interest rates.
Die Zinsen für diesen Kredit sind so hoch, dass sie an Wucher grenzen.
The interest rates for this loan are so high that they border on usury.
The word is often used as an indignant exclamation when you think a price is far too high. The sentences 'Das ist Wucher!' (That's price gouging!) or 'Das ist ja reiner Wucher!' (That's pure price gouging!) are very common in everyday life.
Zwanzig Euro für ein Sandwich am Flughafen? Das ist doch Wucher!
Twenty euros for a sandwich at the airport? That's definitely price gouging!
Common verbs used with 'Wucher' (usury / price gouging) are 'Wucher treiben' (to engage in usury / price gouging) and 'an Wucher grenzen' (to border on usury / price gouging). These expressions describe active behavior or the assessment of a situation as exploitative.
Manche Vermieter treiben mit den Mieten in der Innenstadt regelrechten Wucher.
Some landlords engage in outright price gouging with rents in the city center.
rip-off
Abzocke and Wucher can both refer to a greatly inflated charge. Abzocke is a colloquial judgment that something is unfair or fraudulent. Wucher is more specific: it also involves taking advantage of the affected person’s hardship or inexperience.
Fünfzig Euro für die Fahrt sind Wucher, weil der Fahrer die Notlage des Reisenden ausnutzt.
Fifty euros for the ride is usury because the driver is taking advantage of the traveler’s hardship.
Fünfzig Euro für diese einfache Taxifahrt sind reine Abzocke.
Fifty euros for this simple taxi ride is a complete rip-off.
