Guten tag!
Valentine’s Day is coming up and so I have all the vocabulary you need to get you through the day.
Let’s start off with which Geschenke (presents) to buy:
Die Schokolade Chocolate
Das Lebkuchen Herz Gingerbread heart (they also have pet names written on them)
Lebkuchen Herz. Own photo.
Der Blumenstrauss A bunch of flowers
Die Rosen Roses
Die Tulpen Tulips
Die (Valentins)karte Valentines day card
Der Schmuck Jewellery
Die Halskette Necklace
Das Armband Bracelet
Der Ring Ring
Der Verlobungsring Engagement ring
Das Parfüm Perfume
There are so many fields in Germany where you can pick your own flowers! (You still have to pay but it’s a lot cheaper and perfect for Valentines day). Own photo.
Here are some typical German Kosenamen (pet names):
Schatz/Schatzi Dear
Mausi Maus translates to Mouse, so this would literally translate to “Mousey” – although in English it doesn’t sound so nice in Germany it’s a very common and affectionate name!
Liebling Darling
Süße Sweety
Engel Angel
Schnucki This comes from the word Schnuckelig which means cute/cosy.
Pupsi No real translation for this one!
Some Ideen (ideas) of what to do on the day:
Das Abendessen Dinner
Das Picknick Picnic (…maybe a bit cold for February)
Das Kino Cinema
Der Urlaub Holiday
Der Wellnesstag Spa day
If Valentinstag goes well then perhaps you have a new boyfriend/girlfriend! The German word for boyfriend/girlfriend in German is Freund/Freundin, which can easily get mixed up with friend (also Freund/Freundin). I always mixed these two words up and although I wanted to say I was meeting a friend, I always ended up saying I was meeting my boyfriend by accident. Here’s how to say it correctly:
“Mein Freund” “my boyfriend”
“Meine Freundin” “my girlfriend”
“Ich treffe mich mit meinem Freund” “I am meeting up with my boyfriend”
“Ein Freund” “a friend”
“Freunde” “friends”
“Ich treffe mich mit einem Freund von mir” “I am meeting up with a friend”
“Ich treffe mich mit Freunden” “I am meeting up with freinds”
So the lesson is: If you want to say boy/girlfriend you say „Mein Freund/Freundin”, and if you want to say a friend then you say “mit einem Freund/Freundin von mir”. There are of course Ausnahme (exceptions) just to make it more confusing, for example you could say “Meine Freundin” and just mean “Best friend”, but if you stick with the sentences above you should always say what you mean!
To end with I have a little German Gedicht (poem), see if you understand it:
Du bist mein Licht
Wäre ich die Sonne, du das Licht
und es gäbe meine Liebste nicht,
dann wäre nur Finsternis um mich,
denn ohne Licht scheint auch die Sonne nicht.
You can find the poem here and it is written by Tom H. Here’s my English translation of it:
You are my Light
If I was the sun, and you the light
And if you were not my love,
Then the darkness would surround me,
Because without light the sun does not shine.
Larissa
Comments:
Sarah:
Enjoy reading the blog as a way of refreshing language skills and find the range of topics covered very stimulating. However I would be even happier if vocabulary were posted with genders. Any chance?
Larissa:
@Sarah Hi Sarah,
Thanks for the comment and making me aware that I didn’t put any genders! I’ve updated the post and put all the genders in so you should be able to see them now 🙂
Larissa
EP:
More gingerbread hearts!
Jenny:
I’ve just found this website and I really like it!
I just have to make a small correction:
Aussagen means statement (or utterance/message/…)
while the translation for exception is Ausnahme
And although it’s quite common to say “Ich treffe mich mit einem Freund von mir.” it would be considered too colloquial in writing (you would simply write “Ich treffe mich mit einem Freund.”)
Larissa:
@Jenny Thanks for the input Jenny!
You’re completely right so I’ve just updated the post to change it to Ausnahme 🙂 thanks for letting me know!
Larissa