Archive for October, 2021
How Are Jamaica and German Traffic Lights Related? Posted by Sten on Oct 28, 2021
After German elections, you might hear more and more about Kenia (Kenya), Jamaika (Jamaica) or die Ampel (traffic light). But how are these countries and a traffic light related to each other? It’s all in the political Koalitionen (coalitions). The Kenia-Koalition The Kenyan flag consists of three main colors: schwarz (black), rot (red) and grün (green). That would be a Koalition of the CDU/CSU in their black colors…
The Difference Between Machen And Tun In German Posted by Constanze on Oct 27, 2021
Guten Tag! Last week on the blog, I wrote about the phrase Ich habe zu tun (I’m busy) and briefly covered the verb tun – to do. A lot of you asked for a post on the difference between tun (to do) and the more widely known machen (to do/to make), so here it is!…
How to Make a Phone Call in German Posted by Larissa on Oct 26, 2021
Having a phone call in another language can be daunting. I remember when I first moved to Germany I avoided speaking on the phone in German, however in some situations you can’t avoid it. Here are some scenarios to help you prepare for your phone call. There is also another great post that you can…
Germany Elected A New Parliament: What Happens Now? Posted by Sten on Oct 25, 2021
Germany elected a new parliament! That’s all nice and well, but what happens next? How do we go from here to a new German Bundeskanzler (m, Federal Chancellor)? Here’s how the process works! The new German Parliament after the September elections The German federal elections were held at the end of September, and they were quite a…
The German Phrase ‘Ich Habe Zu Tun’ Posted by Constanze on Oct 20, 2021
Guten Tag! Today we’re going to look at a slightly unusual-sounding phrase in the German language. Maybe you’ve come across this phrase before, but thought a word was missing, or that it didn’t sound quite right. The phrase in question is this one: Ich habe zu tun. Ich habe zu tun This phrase, literally translated…
German has sentence tags, hasn’t it? – Tags in German Posted by Sten on Oct 15, 2021
English is a bit (in)famous for its use of sentence tags, those little endings of sentences to indicate that you are looking for agreement or confirmation. It’s nice, isn’t it? German, like many other languages, doesn’t have such tags. But we do ask for confirmation like this, too, of course! So, how does German do…
German Library Vocabulary Posted by Constanze on Oct 13, 2021
Guten Tag! Today’s post is all about German library vocabulary. Did you know that Transparent Language Online is available in many libraries all around the world? Perhaps you’re reading this post from a library right now! In this post we’ll look at German vocabulary related to libraries, and I’ll tell you a little about one…