Der Typ ist komisch

I have seen this sentence which means “This guy is funny”.
Is it correct understood that “typ” is slang and should only be used under informal circumstances?
 

Hallo RexV,

Yes. Just like its translation "the guy," der Typ is colloquial and informal.

Tschüss!

Liss

Hi Lisa,

When you write "Colloquial and informal" you basically mean informal? 

Best,
Rex

Hallo Rex,

Sorry for being unclear! I meant very similar things by these two terms, which do essentially boil down to "informal."

By "informal" I meant a more relaxed linguistic style (e.g. when you would use du with someone), and by "colloquial" I meant an even more relaxed type of speech (e.g. a very comfortable conversation where you might use some non-standard vocabulary or phrasings).

I guess the distinction of note is that der Typ isn't slang (which would be still even more relaxed than "colloquial"), as you'd suggested in your message - when using slang, you use far less standardized wording that might be considered inappropriate or even rude in other settings. You don't have to worry about that with der Typ.

I hope that this has cleared everything up!

Tschüss,

Liss

Is the word "Kumpel" another good example of a colloquial word?

I understand the word means "pal", "buddy", "mate" etc.

In British English I suppose it would be more or less equivalent to "bloke" or "chap".

By the way, does komisch mean "funny" in the sense of "amusing",  or in the sense of "strange"?

Hallo RexV und Peter--252,

Yes, Kumpel is colloquial too.

One good way to check if a word is colloquial is to pop over to a dictionary like Leo (www.leo.org) and see if "[coll.]" is added after a word - it is usually included to warn dictionary users that the word in question might not be good to use in formal situations.

Peter--252, for British English, I would say that Kumpel is closer to "mate" than it is to "bloke" or "chap" - there is a certain "chumminess" implied to it, like this person is a friend of yours. "Pal" and "buddy" are good translations of it in US or North American English.

Komisch, in turn, is just like "funny" in English, in that it can mean either "strange" or "amusing."

Bis zum nächsten Mal,

Liss