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I'm after a particular slang term for 'toilet' in German but I'm not sure of the spelling of it. I think it's Scheißehaus. If this is the correct term, should it be written as one word, two words or hyphenated? Also, should the 's' in 'Scheiße' and/or 'h' in 'haus' be in upper case, or lower case?
(If 'Scheißehaus' isn't the term I'm after, any ideas on what the correct term is?)
It’s Scheißhaus. It’s a composition of the verb scheißen (not the noun Scheiße) and the noun Haus.
I am German, and I've never heard this. People will understand "Scheißhaus" - just like "Kackstuhl", but it is very unusual.
You usually say "Toilette" or "WC".
By the way, it is very common to combine "Scheiß" with something that makes you angry.
Example 1: As you want to open a window, it sticks. You can't open it and get angry. Then you could shout "Scheiß Haus!" (spoken quickly, so it sounds like "Scheißhaus")
Example 2: As you want to go to work, your car doesn't start. You might shout "Scheiß Karre!"
Example 3: As you want to store your thesis, the computer crashes. You shout "Scheiß Computer!"
Yes, it is spelled correctly.
German is often very literal and spelling is quite often (especially with compound nouns) linked to the meaning of the word.
As a native speaker I understand this kind of words like a combination of what you use a thing for (or what it does, or what you do to / with it) and what kind of it is itself. This - very literal - type of words is quite common and special thing to the German language.
For Example:
Flugzeug (Aircraft): Flug- (derived from fliegen, to fly) -zeug (gear) = flying-gear
Druckmaschine (printing press): Druck- (derived from drucken, to print) -maschine (machine) = printing-machine
Schiebetür (sliding door): Schiebe- (from schieben, to push forward) -tür (door) = pushing-(/sliding-)door
The Scheißhaus is spelled Scheißhaus because it is literally a (okay, more or less) 'house' to have a shit in - and the reason for some germans to somewhat ironically use this word, or the also popular "Kackstuhl", to describe a toilet maybe lies in that ludicrous literal way of describing things that makes you giggle.
Remember: These metaphors are colloquial, sloppy, and bad taste. So maybe don't use them.
The the metaphors are brilliant though. Even five years later.
