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Archive for August, 2015

Untranslatable German Words: Arschgeweih Posted by on Aug 29, 2015

Guten Tag! Welcome to another edition of German untranslatable words, dedicated to teaching you quirky German words, their meanings, and how to use them! Today the word is das Arschgeweih. What does Arschgeweih literally translate to? This German compound noun is made up of the words der Arsch (butt/ass/arse) + das Geweih (antlers). Its literal…

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Vocabulary for food in German Posted by on Aug 24, 2015

I’ve composed a list to help you understand what you’re buying in der Supermarkt (the supermarket). I’ve listed basic everyday food below and I’ve also added the plural to each one. The general rule when saying an object is plural in the nominative and accusative cases is that the gender changes to “die”: for example der Apfel…

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Reading Pennsylvania German Posted by on Aug 19, 2015

With any language, being aware of its different dialects and variations is just as important (and interesting!) as learning the standard language. Recently I did a post on Pennsilfaanisch Deitsch (Pennsylvania German) and how it has developed from standard German. In that post, I focused on key words, and gave you two videos of people…

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The Power of German Traffic Lights Posted by on Aug 17, 2015

Who knew a pedestrian crossing could have such an impact? Yet that’s exactly what the Ampelmann (also sometimes called by its more endearing term, Ampelmännchen) has been doing in Germany and Austria over the years! A LITTLE BACKGROUND The fascination with pedestrian crossings in Germany started with the famous Ost-Ampelmännchen, which was born in Berlin…

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Rumspringa With Pennsylvania German Posted by on Aug 5, 2015

It was some years ago when watching a documentary on Amish teenagers that I heard the word Rumspringa for the first time. But that sounds like a Bavarian word!, I thought. At this time I knew nothing about the Amish, let alone their German roots. Everyone knows that German is spoken in Germany and Austria…

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