Meaning of "Druck" und "Fixer" in this Sentence (...)

They are talking about drugs, and I often find this term “Druck”, but I don’t understand its meaning compared to what normally this word is translated.
Not sure about zusammenzuschlauchen either, if the AI generated text was correct.

Manchmal kam Detlef zu mir. Er war mir ganz fremd. Meistens kam er, weil er eine Mark oder 50 Pfennig von mir wollte. Dann war er dabei, sich einen Druck zusammenzuschlauchen

In this context, there are also 2 other words that I have translated this way.

Frank war aber auch der erste Fixer aus unserer Clique gewesen
*Er war als erster schwer körperlich drauf auf H.

Fixer: drug addict
H: heroin

Thanks for your help.

EDIT: I have corrected a misspelled from AI thanks to Eric. Age = H.

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Didn’t find anything related to “aug Age” but here is from chat gpt on the others:

From chatgpt:

Dann war er dabei, sich einen Druck zusammenzuschlauchen:

  • Dann: Adverb meaning “then.”
  • war er dabei: “Was in the process of.” “Dabei” here means “in the process” or “engaged in.”
  • sich einen Druck zusammenzuschlauchen: This phrase is a bit idiomatic and complex. “Einen Druck zusammenzuschlauchen” is a colloquial way of saying “to prepare to inject oneself (with drugs).” It literally translates to “putting together a shot” in the context of drug use.

“Dann war er dabei, sich einen Druck zusammenzuschlauchen” translates to “Then he was in the process of preparing to inject himself.”

2nd part:

Sure, let’s analyze the two sentences:

  1. Frank war aber auch der erste Fixer aus unserer Clique gewesen:

    • Frank: A proper noun, serving as the subject of the sentence.
    • war: The past tense (Imperfekt) of “sein,” meaning “was.” It’s used as the main verb.
    • aber auch: This phrase combines “aber” (but) and “auch” (also), and can be translated as “but also.” It adds emphasis and contrast to the statement.
    • der erste Fixer: “The first addict.” “Der erste” is a definite article and ordinal number meaning “the first,” and “Fixer” is a colloquial term for a drug addict, specifically one who injects drugs.
    • aus unserer Clique gewesen: “Aus” (from) indicates origin or membership, “unserer Clique” means “our clique” or “our group,” and “gewesen” is the past participle of “sein,” used here with “war” to form the past perfect tense.

    “Frank war aber auch der erste Fixer aus unserer Clique gewesen” translates to “But Frank had also been the first addict from our clique.”

  2. Er war als erster schwer körperlich drauf auf Age:

    • Er: He (referring to Frank).
    • war: The past tense of “sein,” meaning “was.”
    • als erster: “As the first one.” “Als” is a preposition meaning “as,” and “erster” means “first.”
    • schwer körperlich drauf: This is a colloquial way of saying that someone is heavily physically affected or addicted. “Schwer” means “heavily,” “körperlich” means “physically,” and “drauf” is a colloquial term used in the context of drug use.
    • auf Age: This is a bit tricky as it seems to be either colloquial or dialect-specific. It’s not standard German and might refer to a specific state or condition related to drug use. Without more context, the exact translation can be challenging.

    “Er war als erster schwer körperlich drauf auf Age” could be interpreted as “He was the first one to be heavily physically addicted in such a state,” with “auf Age” indicating a specific condition or state related to his addiction. However, the precise meaning of “auf Age” would depend on the broader context or specific regional usage.

Both sentences reflect on Frank’s role and condition within the speaker’s group, highlighting his status as the first serious drug addict and his physical condition due to drug use. The language used suggests a colloquial and possibly regional dialect.

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Do you know where the story takes place? Some random town in a German speaking country? Or do they mention a specific city?

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@ericb100 this was a quite good answer from chatGPT, thanks for checking this out.
The story comes from “Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo”.

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Ahh. I wondered if that was what you might be reading. I have it on my list too. It takes place in Berlin.

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@davideroccato, I went ahead and bought the e-book since I intend to read it anyway. It looks like something got garbled if you imported into LingQ. It’s not “auf Age”, it’s “auf H” (at least when I view in kindle app). Presumably they mean heroin.

"Frank war aber auch der erste Fixer aus unserer Clique gewesen. Er war als Erster schwer körperlich drauf auf H. "

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@ericb100 awesome. I was wondering about it. I have the audiobook and the ebook but I have a ton of short lessons of 5’, and I find it difficult to cut the text to add to the lessons. I have the intention to finish all the text and then eventually correct those problems.

Thanks for checking this out. I really love that book, it’s one of my best loved book and story.

I have edited the first post with the correction.

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I’m looking forward to reading it but it definitely sounds like it could be “heavy” (emotionally).

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@ericb100 well, it is definitely intense. I have read it when I was 14. There is the related movie as well, and it is quite intense as well. I’ve watched it several times.
There is also the new Amazon series but it’s quite different compared to the reality of the story. They wanted to glamourise it, and made it look cool. A complete different thing than the reality of what happened. The original movie is quite more serious, like the book.

By the way, the real Christiane Felscherinow is still alive, and she wrote a second book as well. The 2nd book is quite different because it is more “dysfunctional” and fragmented but if you put it into context (of her life as drug addict), it is ok. I liked it as well, as we could say I’m a fan. :slight_smile:

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zusammenschlauchen is synonymous to schnorren, beg, see:
schlauchen – Wiktionary
basically trying to hunt up miniscule amounts of the drug from
several people. Just enough for his next fix.

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The term “drücken” (literally “to push”) comes from the way some drugs like heroin are consumed. You push it into your veins using a syringe, therefore the term “drücken” for getting a shot and “Drücker” for heroin addicted individuals. “Fixer” is another one which should be of english origin, though.

“H” (pronounced the english way) is indeed a common term for heroin.

The term “schlauchen” is imho originated from the way fuel can be stolen from a car using a hose (german: “Schlauch”).

Hope that helps. :slight_smile:

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@Obsttorte that’s definitely very interesting. I also confused the fact that Druck could come from “drucken” and “Drucker”. Somehow even printing is a way to “push” the ink.

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Hi Davide,

Ah, you’re reading Christiane’s famous book.

Well, I wouldn’t focus on such words because that’s jargon (among heroin addicts).
And I’m not even sure, if those words are still used by contemporary addicts in German-speaking countries.

Personally, I don’t know those words (apart from “fixer”), but I also prefer to rely on my own morphines while working out :slight_smile:

That said, if you’re interested in “atypical milieus” in Germany, then “Luden” (on Amazon Prime) may also be of interest to you: :

This “milieu” has been destroyed by drugs, AIDS, and weapons in the second half of the 1980s.

Interesting series, even though the main character (the actor) isn’t believable (he probably wouldn’t have survived a minute in this “milieu”).

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PS -
This is the “original”, i.e. the inspiration for the main character mentioned above:

Interesting from a sociolinguistic point of view is also:

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@PeterBormann yeah, I have a personal attachment with some German books from my youth and this one is the top of the list. So, I decided to go for it anyway and step by step read it in the original language.

Thanks for the other tips. :+1:

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Sure, no problem.

However, I wouldn’t learn this jargon because it’s a specific “milieu” from a Germany / West-Berlin that no longer exists (that is, Germany in the 1970s with the strange state of Berlin, torn between West and East during Cold War 1).

I guess a lot of this “Szenejargon” is probably obsolete because the book was published in 1978…

Same with “Luden”, btw.

In short, these West-German (milieu-specific) “chapters” are closed nowadays…

PS -
“Als “Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo” vor 40 Jahren erschien, registrierten die westdeutschen Behörden 430 Drogentote, heute sind es bundesweit fast 1.300 pro Jahr.” 40 Jahre nach "Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo": Was wurde aus Christiane F.?

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Hier übrigens die “Original-Christiane” in einer Doku.
Wenn Du das alles verstehst, dann ist dein Deutsch tadellöser :slight_smile: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC_zO12nw1o

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@PeterBormann thanks for the links. I have a few Youtube videos already uploaded but I would probably understand them in 10 years (if I will). :rofl:

I’ve uploaded the article as well. I kinda like her story. I believe it’s been quite important for a lot of people, certainly for me.

I understand what you’re saying about the vocabulary but I don’t obsess about it. I learn what I can here and there. I’m going very slow.

1978 the published date, and the movie was 1981. I believe I watched the movie in 1986, and read the book the same year, thanks to the Italian language teacher that made us watch it. She just made us watch 2 movies, this one and Blade Runner. Incredible! I loved them both.

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I kinda like her story. I believe it’s been quite important for a lot of people, certainly for me.

Yes, def. an important story for many folks.

Interestingly, I can’t relate to her: I last saw her in an interview many years ago and the first thought that crossed my mind was: “Man, she’s so unstable and soft - she would have never survived WW 1 or 2.”
But, of course, I shouldn’t judge (as I’ve never been in her shoes).
I’m just wired completely differently. For ex., I broke some bones in my foot a few weeks ago while jogging in the woods and I though to myself: “How could this SOB (D. Goggins) run 40 miles with two broken feet while I can barely walk 10 km home?”
This was a huge motivation boost and when I came home I felt great having made it :slight_smile:
So, no Christiane for me - I prefer Kobe, Goggins or Jocko (on my MP3 player).

Anyway, as for vocabulary:
If you want, you can post a list of words/phrases from Christiane’s book here in this thread so that we German native speakers can tell you if the vocabulary is obsolete or still in use.

Then you can decide what to skip and what to learn…

Have a nice Sunday,
Peter

PS -

She just made us watch 2 movies, this one and Blade Runner. Incredible! I loved them both.
Excellent choice. So, kudos to your teacher!

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Slang words like these usually don’t remain relevant very long. The text is very old as you can see by the sentence " Meistens kam er, weil er eine Mark oder 50 Pfennig von mir wollte.".
Mark is the currency that Germany had before the Euro € was introduced.
I myself as a native never heard the Word Druck used in this context.
The current word for this would be Schuss. This means a dose of a drug that is injected.

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