An intensifier that marks something as notably extreme or unexpected without judging whether that's positive or negative — restrained surprise made into a word.
Krass is what you say when something catches you off guard — not quite shocking, but definitely worth remarking on. It's the word you reach for when something is more extreme than expected, whether that's impressive, terrible, or just surprisingly intense. The tone stays measured, never overblown, fitting how you'd actually react when something registers as notably different from the ordinary.
The word traveled from Latin through centuries of German student slang, transforming from an academic term meaning crude or coarse into something far more useful: a flexible way to acknowledge intensity without committing to whether that's good or bad. By the late 20th century, it had settled into mainstream youth language as the go-to intensifier.
What makes krass work is its refusal to take sides. You can use it for an amazing performance or a disaster, a surprising fact or an unexpected turn of events. It fills the space between casual acknowledgment and genuine shock, giving speakers a way to register impact without overdoing the reaction. This emotional restraint — expressing surprise while staying composed — fits naturally into how German speakers tend to measure their responses, making krass feel less like slang and more like the word that was always missing.