How do you say “A couch potato” in German?
The closest natural German equivalent is eine Couch-Potato, which literally means “a couch potato”. English speakers use a couch potato to mean someone who spends a lot of time sitting and watching television. German uses the borrowed English expression too. It is an informal label for someone who spends a lot of time on the sofa. Register: informal. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural German
eine Couch-Potato
/ˈaɪnə ˈkaʊtʃ pəˈteɪtoʊ/
- Literal meaning
- “a couch potato”
- Register
- informal
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Near-exact equivalent
96 out of 100
What a native German speaker would actually say
The potato image travels into German as a loanword. Use a capital letter because it is a German noun: “Couch-Potato”.
The word is grammatically feminine even when it describes a man. It can be a light self-description or an unkind label for another person.
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning5 out of 5
- Tone5 out of 5
- Context5 out of 5
- Literal similarity5 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
In context
English
I was a couch potato all weekend and watched three whole series.
German
Ich war das ganze Wochenende eine Couch-Potato und habe drei ganze Serien geschaut.
English
He calls himself a couch potato, but he walks the dog every morning.
German
Er nennt sich eine Couch-Potato, aber er geht jeden Morgen mit dem Hund spazieren.
Related expressions
Last updated 2026-10-01