einen Kater haben

to have a hangover

Origin

Attested around the mid-19th c.; per Küpper probably a corruption of "Katarrh" (colloquially: malaise), which in Saxon dialect sounded like "Kater". Coined by Leipzig students.

Source →

Building blocks

Words in this expression

der Kater· tomcat der Morgen die Party· party

Grammar that uses this word

Local preposition 'unter' (under, Wohin?/where to? + accusative)Lokale Präposition 'unter' (Wohin? + Akkusativ)

Examples

Nach der hatte ich am nächsten einen fürchterlichen .
After the party I had a terrible hangover the next morning.