ordinär

Ordinär is an adjective used in German to describe something vulgar, crude, or tasteless. It is generally pejorative and applied to behavior, language, appearance, or other qualities that are perceived as rude or lacking refinement. The term can refer to crude jokes, uncouth manners, or clothing that is considered tacky or unbecoming in a social context. In contemporary German, ordinär is typically avoided in formal speech and writing, where more neutral terms like gewöhnlich or einfach are preferred for “ordinary,” while ordinär remains associated with low-class or uncultured impressions.

Etymology and cognates

Ordinär derives from the Latin ordinarius (“regular, usual”) and spread into German through Old High German and other medieval linguistic pathways, parallel to the French ordinaire and the English ordinary. The core meaning related to regularity or being standard evolved in German into a pejorative sense describing low quality or coarse character.

Cross-linguistic usage

In Dutch and Flemish, the cognate ordinair (often written ordinair) generally means ordinary, plain, or commonplace and is closer to a neutral sense, though context can impart a mild negative nuance when implying unsophistication or crudeness. In Dutch, as in German, tone and context determine whether the word reads as neutral description or a subtle insult.

See also

Ordinary, ordinaire, ordinaire language. The exact sense of ordinär is language- and region-specific, with its strongest negative connotation in German and a broader, more neutral range in Dutch.