Archive by Author
The Secret to Pronouncing German Words Posted by Sten on Mar 28, 2022
There are a few things German is infamous for. Its Umlaut with ä, ö, ü, its many cases, and its long, looong words. What about Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz? You might see a very long word with natural pause points where the different words are separated. Or you simply see a whole bunch of letters that are seemingly arranged at…
Don’t Let It Confuse You: The German Words All and Sämtlich Posted by Sten on Mar 11, 2022
When you see the German word All, you might easily see the English word all – however, this appears to be a false friend! So, what does All mean? And how do you say all? And what’s with sämtlich? There are multiple answers to these questions, so let’s have a look at the German word All and all. Click here…
What’s the difference between billig and günstig? Posted by Sten on Mar 4, 2022
Billig means cheap. Günstig is cheap. But why do Germans need two words that mean the exact same thing? Well, it’s not that simple. They have subtle differences. So let’s find out what those are, and how they are similar. Click here for other posts that discuss the difference between similar terms, like the difference between werden…
What’s the difference between the German Hähnchen and Hühnchen? Posted by Sten on Feb 24, 2022
We have a confusing situation on German menus: Sometimes, you encounter die Hühnerbrust (chicken breast), other times it’s der Hähnchenbraten (chicken roast). But what is the difference between Hühnchen and Hähnchen? Are they used interchangeably, or should you be careful which one to use? Here’s all you need to know about these curious German words. Click here for more posts…
Germans and Games 1: The Gaming Scene Posted by Sten on Feb 18, 2022
Like in basically every country, Germans enjoy Spiele (n, games). Whether it’s Videospiele (video games), Brettspiele (board games), Kartenspiele (card games), Germans like it! In this series, I want to look at some peculiarities of the German market and some Spiele that the Germans particularly enjoy. I won’t talk about Sportarten (f, sports) here. If you want to learn about that, we’ve written about Swiss National…
Successful Germans at the 2022 Winter Olympics! Posted by Sten on Feb 11, 2022
Currently, the Olympischen Winterspiele (Winter Olympic Games) are in full force. While there is contention around them, and plenty of countries decided not to participate due to a host of reasons, Germany did end up sending a delegation. Here’s how Germany’s been doing so far, and some vocabulary for you to understand the Winterolympiade (Winter Olympics) in…
Anglicism of the Year 2021: Germans Made This English Word! Posted by Sten on Feb 3, 2022
We’ve already talked about the German Wort des Jahres (word of the year) of 2021 and the German Unwort des Jahres (“non”-word of the year) 2021, as well as the Jugendwort des Jahres (youth word of the year). But there’s one more that I would like to discuss – the Anglizismus des Jahres (Anglicism of the year)! Anglizismen are…