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.
fraud / cheating
'der Betrug' and 'der Wucher' can both have to do with unfair financial situations. 'Betrug' means that someone deliberately deceives others, for example through false information or lies. 'Wucher' means that someone demands a far too high price or interest rate while taking advantage of another person's hardship or inexperience. The risk of confusion lies in the fact that both seem unjust and can cost money. The simple difference is: with 'Betrug', the deception is the focus; with 'Wucher', the excessive price is the focus.
Fünfzig Euro für eine kurze Taxifahrt vom Bahnhof sind reiner Wucher.
Fifty euros for a short taxi ride from the station is pure price gouging.
Im Zug bemerkten wir den Betrug erst, als die Tickets kontrolliert wurden.
On the train, we only noticed the fraud when the tickets were checked.