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Untranslatable German Words: Verschlimmbesserung Posted by Constanze on Oct 18, 2017
Guten Tag, and welcome to another ‘untranslatable words’ post! This is a series where we look at words unique to the German language, and try to find an equivalent English translation for them. So without further ado, today’s word is: die Verschlimmbesserung. What does die Verschlimmbesserung mean? Die Verschlimmbesserung describes an action that is supposed…
Six Reasons To Learn German Posted by Constanze on Oct 5, 2017
If you’re reading this blog post, it’s safe to assume you’re either a) already learning German, or b) thinking about it. Maybe you have a specific reason to learn German (family, work, etc.) or you’re interested in language learning in general, and are considering German as the language you want to learn. Whatever your reason…
Apfelkompott – German Apple Sauce Posted by Constanze on Sep 25, 2017
It’s that time of year when the apples are falling from the trees and people begin adding spices to everything. If you’re a fan of Herbst (Autumn) and autumnal foods, then I hope you’ll like this post about traditional German apple sauce – otherwise known as Apfelkompott or Apfelmus. This is the easiest thing in…
10 German Tongue Twisters Posted by Constanze on Sep 15, 2017
Guten Tag! Today we’re going to look at tongue twisters. In German, tongue twisters are called Zungenbrecher (which literally means ‘tongue breakers’!). Not only will I write the tongue twisters and their translations down for you, but I’ve recorded each one, too, so you can hear exactly how they are meant to be pronounced. Hopefully…
German Herbs & Spices Posted by Constanze on Sep 6, 2017
Guten Tag 🙂 We’ve had a great selection of food-related posts on the blog already, which make great resources for all of you German learners who are also foodies! What we’re honing in on today are the small (but important!) foods – the herbs, spices, and specific ingredients used in baking. I hope you’ll find…
3 Lazy German Words Posted by Constanze on Aug 30, 2017
Guten Tag! Today I’d like to bring you not one, not two, but three ‘untranslatable German words’ for your amusement. These are words that do not have a direct translation in English, and are often rather interesting and/or quirky. It’s rainy and dull here today, and I’m sure many people just want to be at…
Office German 2: Customer Complaints Posted by Constanze on Aug 28, 2017
A few years ago I worked in an office as a German language assistant. During that time I read and wrote a lot of emails in German and learnt how to write in a more ‘business-friendly’ way. Now I’d like to share some more of that business German with you here (I began this series…