I Thought “Dickköpfigkeit” Meant Something Completely Different

Today I learned the German word:

Dickköpfigkeit.

And as an English speaker, I had questions.

Because I saw dick.

Then I saw Kopf.

And my brain translated both parts with absolute confidence.

Dick + head.

Excuse me, German?

What exactly are we talking about here?

For a few seconds, I genuinely thought I had discovered a surprisingly inappropriate German word.

Unfortunately—or fortunately—German was completely innocent.

In German, dick doesn't mean what dick means in English.

dick = thick / fat
der Kopf = head
der Dickkopf = a stubborn person
dickköpfig = stubborn
die Dickköpfigkeit = stubbornness

So German looked me directly in the eyes, showed me the word Dickköpfigkeit, and expected me to calmly understand:

stubbornness.

No.

My English-speaking brain had already created an entirely different story.

And this is one of my favourite things about learning German: sometimes the vocabulary isn't even difficult.

Your other languages are the problem.

Now I will probably remember Dickköpfigkeit forever.

Not because I studied it.

Not because I made flashcards.

But because my brain translated it incorrectly once and traumatized itself into remembering the correct meaning.

Honestly, that might be the most effective vocabulary-learning method I've discovered.

And if someone tells me I'm wrong?

I will refuse to change my mind.

Pure Dickköpfigkeit.