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Top 10 German Words of 2014 Posted by Constanze on Mar 12, 2015
When you learn a language, you are not just learning the words and phrases that make up that language; you learn about the culture of the country it’s spoken in, too. In fact, you can learn a lot about a country’s culture and politics from its words alone. There’s no better example of this than…
Die Überfremdung and PEGIDA Posted by Constanze on Mar 4, 2015
Guten Tag! Often when I write posts about ‘untranslatable’ German words I try to include references to German culture (where applicable) or add in extra information relating to those words. Today I’ve chosen a word that is relevant to the current political situation in Germany. Die Überfremdung. What does Überfremdung mean? Überfremdung describes excessive…
Bavarian Lessons: Making Pancakes Posted by Constanze on Feb 23, 2015
Today I am posting a very special Bairisch (Bavarian German) lesson in honour of the glorious celebration of Pancake Day/Shrove Tuesday (Der Fastnachtdienstag in German). I know, I know, I’m a bit late, but why should pancakes be limited to one day of the year? I made some today – in fact, I make them…
Aus vs. Raus Posted by Constanze on Feb 16, 2015
Guten Tag! One of my favourite ways of getting inspiration for blog posts is simply by talking to people. I absolutely adore it when people ask me questions, because even if they are as simple as, “What’s the word for xyz in German?” I always come away from the conversation with new ideas. This particular…
Untranslatable German Words: Kummerspeck and Frustfressen Posted by Constanze on Feb 9, 2015
Guten Tag, and Willkommen to another edition of untranslatable German words! Today the word I’m going to break down for you is Der Kummerspeck. What does Kummerspeck mean? Kummerspeck is the name for excess fat gained by emotional eating – specifically, the excessive eating people do in times of stress or sorrow. What does Kummerspeck…
Es schneit! German Snow Vocabulary Posted by Constanze on Feb 7, 2015
Es schneit!! It’s snowing!! As I left work earlier it started to snow, and it just so happens that today was the day I decided to write this post: German snow vocabulary! What a lovely coincidence! Though many people whinge about it I, for one, adore the snow. We’ve never had much of it here…
Recognising Basic Bavarian Words and Phrases Posted by Constanze on Jan 25, 2015
A while back I said I wanted to introduce some Bavarian (Bairisch) to the blog. I wrote a couple of posts on the Bavarian language, which you can read by clicking on their titles below: An Introduction to Bavarian I Liab Di: Bavarian Love Words and Signs you Might Encounter in Deepest Bavaria However, I…