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I have having trouble explaining to a German colleague what I mean by the music (or anything) being cheesy. Obviously most searches come back with food related results.
If I try searching for "naff" or similar words then I tend to get ätzend suggested, which for me is a poor translation as ätzend suggests you don't like something, whereas cheesy can be bad but you like it. For instance, you could do something cheesy on a date to impress a girl, here ätzend doesn't apply.

I am only B1 level and really struggling to express myself on this particular issue... I have tried Schlagerlich (from Schlager music) but apparently that is utterly wrong.

How would you express the concept of "cheesiness / naffness" to a German?

Thanks.

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I would recommend you using "geschmacklos"/"Geschmacklosigkeit" (tacky or bad taste).

If you do not want to be offensive, you should try "kitschig" (depending on where you are). Another option would be "schnulzig" or "schmalzig" respectively (that means also more or less "kitschig", but probably that is more derogatory, also depending on your location).

Regarding your question about "cheesy gestures": Don't go with "pimpelig". That's not common language nowadays (at least in Germany). Maybe you would just say something like "übertrieben" or "klischeehaft" for the described action (like trying to impress a girl on a date by getting a rose).

Maybe you have a look at this.

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    I thought about Geschmacklos, but that implies to my English brain that it is bordering on offensive (this music is tasteless!). Kitschig is useful though, and my colleague seems to understand what I am trying to say now.
    – Yonabart
    Feb 28, 2017 at 8:16
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    @Poggy Don't go with "pimpelig". That's not common language nowadays (at least in Germany). Maybe you would just say something like "übertrieben" or "klischeehaft" for the described action.
    – TeXnician
    Feb 28, 2017 at 8:27
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    What about Schmalzig? Is that appropriate? (thinking primarily for cheesy music)
    – Yonabart
    Feb 28, 2017 at 9:35
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    @Poggy I think that is appropriate. It has a very synonymous meaning to "schnulzig".
    – TeXnician
    Feb 28, 2017 at 12:07
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    +1 on schmalzig for songs. For cheesy gestures, you can use affektiert, which has the nice connotation to Affe. Consequently affig is colloquial.
    – Janka
    Feb 28, 2017 at 22:36

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