Archive by Author
How Twitter Can Help You Learn German Posted by Constanze on Jul 15, 2015
Since social media is a big part of modern life, it only makes sense to use it to its full potential. Yes, it might seem like a place reserved for angry rants and photos of people’s breakfasts, but if you use it in the right way it can be extremely useful, too! And this is…
How To Stay Safe During A Hitzewelle Posted by Constanze on Jul 5, 2015
Over the weekend temperatures in Germany hit 40⁰C, and everybody has been, quite rightly, out enjoying the Hitzewelle while it lasts. The reason it is so hot in Europe at the moment is because the hot Saharaluft (air from the Sahara desert) is blowing in our direction, causing heiße Tage – and tropische Nächte! I…
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…
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…