Top oder Flop: Aufgaben beim Easy-German-Podcast

Does “top” mean “great” in German?

In this behind-the-scenes “Top oder Flop” round at the Easy German podcast, the team rates their own tasks, and the verdict on recording is quick: «Top oder flop? Top.» German has borrowed the English top as an everyday word for “great, excellent, first-rate.” “Das ist top!” means “that’s brilliant,” and a “Top-Angebot” is a great deal.

Its opposite, der Flop, means a flop or failure, also straight from English. Pairs like “top oder Flop” show off Germany’s love of English loanwords, the playful side of what Germans call Denglisch. Don’t confuse colloquial top with the formal “spitze” or “klasse,” which mean the same thing.