Archive for June, 2015
Untranslatable German Words: Die Knoblauchfahne Posted by Constanze on Jun 30, 2015
Today I’m going to talk about bad breath. As you do. Let me introduce you to your new, untranslatable German word: Die Knoblauchfahne. What does Knoblauchfahne mean? Die Knoblauchfahne means, quite simply, garlic breath! I know this seems like an easy word to translate and in some ways it is, but like all quirky…
Frida Kahlo’s German Roots Posted by Constanze on Jun 28, 2015
I have been a fan of Künstler (artist) Frida Kahlo for a long time. If you don’t know her for her Kunst (art), you’ll most likely know her for her Augenbrauen (eyebrows) or for the Affäre (affair) she had with Leon Trotsky. She was a pretty fascinating woman in all respects. But did you…
Traditional German Apfelkuchen Recipe Posted by Larissa on Jun 27, 2015
Here is a recipe for a traditional German Apfelkuchen (apple cake) that I baked yesterday. This is great übung (practice) for your German, expanding your vocabulary, practicing how to follow a German recipe and at the end of it you can reward yourself with homemade Apfelkuchen! I’ve written the recipe in German and English in case you get…
10 German Proverbs and Their Meanings Posted by Larissa on Jun 23, 2015
I got inspiration for this post from a comment on an earlier post of mine Useful Vocabulary for Everyday Life in Germany asking if I could translate a German proverb. Here are 10 common German proverbs, some of them you might recognise in English, and some not! Wer im Glashaus sitzt sollte nicht mit…
Urban German Graffiti: Berlin Posted by Constanze on Jun 21, 2015
Berlin has been called the most bombed city in Europe. It has also been called the “graffiti capital of Europe” . Coincidentally (or perhaps not so coincidentally), Berliners have a slang term known as Das Bombing, referring to the act of ‘bombing’ the streets with graffiti. This should be enough to tell you that Berlin…
What To Say In German When Words Fail You Posted by Constanze on Jun 13, 2015
A little while ago I wrote a post about words and phrases that’ll make your German sound more natural and ‘real’ (you can read that post here). One thing that many language learners get frustrated with is not sounding natural enough, and often that is because of the rather scripted nature of the things…
Urban German Graffiti Posted by Constanze on Jun 10, 2015
I’ve been quite interested in graffiti as of late. I like the way words are used in it, and I like the political, cultural meanings these words take on in their public settings. But I also just like the power of language that is contained in these scribbles. I thought that showing you some German…