Archive for September, 2019
Don’t Let It Confuse You! – Gift Posted by Sten on Sep 27, 2019
All the way back in February, we discussed how the word “Chef” means quite something else in German than in English! Our reader Michael suggested the word “gift”. Now, you may also wonder what gift means in German. A dangerous one to confuse… Let’s check it out! For previous posts in this series, click here…
4 Ways German Differs From English Posted by Constanze on Sep 25, 2019
Guten Tag! When learning a language, people often want to know how the target language differs from their own. Recognising these differences can be a very useful way to get to know and understand the characteristics of the language you are learning. So here are four ways that German differs from English! English has the…
Everything is named after this 250 year-old German Posted by Sten on Sep 22, 2019
On September 14, last week, the Geburtstag (birthday) of one of the most important German Entdeckungsreisender (explorers) was celebrated. Seen as a “Vordenker für das 21. Jahrhundert” (pioneer for the 21. century), Alexander von Humboldt made remarkable Entdeckungen (discoveries) and made a mark on different scientific fields and well, naming things. Let’s have a closer look on the 250…
German Sayings + Expressions 25: Cooking Dangerously Posted by Sten on Sep 12, 2019
Germans like kochen (to cook). However, sometimes you have to be carefully what, or more aptly, who you cook! And there are Sprichwörter (sayings) and Ausdrücke (expressions) for this in German, of course. Let’s have a look! For older posts, please follow this link. We’re doing it differently today – we begin with the Ausdruck (expression)! Jemanden zum Kochen…
Similar German Words: Stimme, Stimmung, stimmen Posted by Constanze on Sep 11, 2019
Guten Tag! Today we’re going to look at three words that appear extremely similar, but which have different meanings. It can be confusing to a language learner to see a word that you think you recognise, only to find out it means something else entirely. So let’s start with three words: Stimme, Stimmung, and stimmen…
Neuschwanstein is 150 years old! And it has a surprise up its sleeve Posted by Sten on Sep 5, 2019
You’ve heard of this place. And you have definitely seen it, or a version of it. Schloss Neuschwanstein (Castle Neuschwanstein) is celebrating its 150th birthday today, on September 5. We say herzlichen Glückwunsch! But there’s more: it comes with a special Geburtstagsüberraschung (birthday surprise)! Grundsteinlegung Schloss Neuschwanstein is one of Germany’s most famous sights. With its märchenhafte (fairytale-like)…
4 ‘Untranslatable’ German Summer Words! Posted by Constanze on Sep 4, 2019
Guten Tag! As the summer draws to a close I thought it would be fun to see what words and phrases are used in German to describe summer weather, as there are several that are ‘untranslatable’ – ie. unique to the German language! Of course, these words can really be used at any time of…