Archive for July, 2019
French Loan Words In German Posted by Constanze on Jul 31, 2019
Guten Tag! We have talked before about loanwords in the German language. There is quite a big crossover of both English words used in German, and German words used in English. However, did you know that there are many French words used in the German language, too? And many of these are everyday words we…
The German Dish Labskaus Posted by Constanze on Jul 29, 2019
Guten Tag! I’m coming at you today with a word you may not have realised is German in origin. We’ve talked several times on the blog about English words that are actually German, including angst, wanderlust and rucksack, to name but a few. If you’re interested, there are posts on these here, here and here…
Why Merkel Is Sitting Down Now Posted by Sten on Jul 25, 2019
Something is going on with Germany’s Bundeskanzlerin (Federal Chancellor) Angela Merkel. The Powerfrau (power woman) experienced heavy Zittern (tremors) several times in the past few weeks, and it got the Germans worried. What’s behind the Schüttelattacken (shake attacks)? Geht es ihr gut? Die Zitteranfälle On June 18, during a state ceremony, Bundeskanzlerin Merkel shook visibly . Afterwards, she declared “Ich habe inzwischen mindestens drei…
3 Words About Former West Germany Posted by Constanze on Jul 24, 2019
Guten Tag! I recently read a book about the history of Germany. It contained many words I hadn’t heard of before, that gave insights into specific aspects of German history. The section on the post-war/Cold War period (1945-1991), in particular, used several German words when discussing the topic of East and West Germany. We all…
3 Words About Former East Germany Posted by Constanze on Jul 22, 2019
Guten Tag! I recently read a book about the history of Germany. It contained many words I hadn’t heard of before, that described specific aspects of eras in German history. The section on the post-war/Cold War period (1945-1991), in particular, mentioned several German words when discussing the topic of East and West Germany. We all…
What The German Mittwoch Means Posted by Sten on Jul 18, 2019
Yesterday was Mittwoch (Wednesday), the third day of the German week. It’s a Tag (day) that does not even deserve to be called a Tag, Mittwoch simply indicates the middle of the Woche (week). And even that is not true anymore. Why does this day have to suffer so much and be singled out like this? Let’s find out. From Wodan to Jesus…
Untranslatable German Words: 08/15 Posted by Sten on Jul 11, 2019
Untranslatable words can also be a simple array of 4 numbers – 08/15 is a term that has entrenched itself in everyday German. Pun intended. What does 08/15 mean? According to the Duden, 08/15 means “bar jeglicher Originalität, persönlichen Note; auf ein alltäglich gewordenes Muster festgelegt und deshalb Langeweile oder Überdruss erzeugend” (bare of any originality, personal character…