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(Keinen) Bock haben auf...

The German noun der Bock means a mammal of the male gender, similar to the English word "buck," and is often particularly used to describe a male goat or "billy goat." However, the expression Bock haben auf or keinen Bock haben auf has a meaning quite different from what you might expect based on the direct translation of the noun!

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Blumio hat Bock auf gute Unterhaltung.

Blumio is keen on good entertainment.

Caption 6, Blumio - Rappen für gute Unterhaltung

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Oh, zerkleinern, das macht mir Spaß. Da habe ich Bock drauf.

Oh, chopping, that's fun. I'm up for that.

Caption 10, CHoE Rocker - Profi-Grilltipps

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Sie hat Bock auf Shopping, also in die Stadt

She feels like shopping, so it's off to the city

Caption 23, Cro - Bye Bye

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Ey, Nina, hast du Bock auf 'ne Wurst?

Hey, Nina, do you want to go out for a wurst?

Caption 6, Die Pfefferkörner - Cybermobbing

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The slang expression Bock haben auf is the equivalent of the expression Lust haben auf and may be translated in a variety of ways. Note that if a noun follows the preposition auf, then the noun case should be accusative. When you use the expression as a negation, just place the accusative case of kein in front of the masculine noun Bock

 

Jeder kann so seiner Wege gehen,

Everyone can go their own way

wenn er keinen Bock auf die anderen hat.

whenever they aren't in the mood to be around the others.

Caption 47, rheinmain - Szene Selig

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Jedes Mal, wenn du von deiner Arbeit,

Every time when you come home from your work,

von deinen Führungen, nach Hause kommst, bist du fertig,

from your tours, you are exhausted,

hast keinen Bock mehr auf irgendwas.

don't want to do anything.

Captions 28-29, 12 heißt: Ich liebe dich - Kapitel 4: Liebe auf den ersten Blick

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You may also use the phrase in the form of question, in which case auf becomes worauf:

 

Worauf hast 'n du Bock?

What are you up for?

Caption 29, Mario Barth und Paul Panzer - Männersache

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Further Learning
Read the Duden dictionary page for der Bock and scroll down to Wendungen, Redensarten, Sprichwörter to read other expressions related to this noun. You can also go to Yabla German and search for other examples using the noun der Bock to see other contexts where the phrase is used.

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