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All You Need To Know About Messen Posted by Sten on Jul 25, 2017
What if there was a place where you could find out everything you always wanted to know about anything? About the most niche thing you can think of? Well, this place exists. In Germany: Messen. Finde deine Leidenschaft In Germany, Messen (trade fairs) are held for all kinds of different things and topics. From the coffee, tea and…
Sayings + Expressions 14 – Money II (+ Time) Posted by Sten on Jun 12, 2017
Today, as promised, we will talk about money again. Making money is what you probably do on a Montag (Monday) anyway. But it is also Monday, the international day for mourning the end of the weekend. So, I thought, let’s take the bitter out of that bittersweet feeling, and include time in today’s post. Time…
Sayings + Expressions 13 – Money I Posted by Sten on Jun 9, 2017
Money. Something so universally present in our lives that, of course, there are many sayings and expressions about it. Also in German. Today, we explore a Sprichwort (saying) and an Ausdruck (expression) concerning Geld (money). Because there are so many, we will explore money and time related ones on Monday. For today, let’s begin with the Sprichwort! Geld regiert die Welt Money rules the…
Untranslatable German Words: Tante-Emma-Laden Posted by Sten on May 18, 2017
We all have this Großmutter (grandmother), Onkel (uncle) or Tante (aunt) that complains that all the big Supermarktketten (supermarket chains) are taking over, and there is no space left on the market for the small shops, wie es früher mal war (like it once was back in the day). So as a sign of resistance, Tante Emma opened her own little grocery store. That is a Tante-Emma-Laden…
The Curiosity of the German Word “Weg” Posted by Sten on May 4, 2017
Wegisweg. That is the Dutch word for Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley. Weg means “lane”, but also “away”. They sound exactly identical, though. The same word, weg, means the same both things in German. But they are pronounced differently. Why? This is what weg sounds like: This is what der Weg sounds like: Ok, I already hear you say: But Sten, there is a…
Sayings + Expressions 12 – Butter! Posted by Sten on May 2, 2017
In this long series of Sprichwörter (sayings) and Ausdrücke or Redewendungen (expressions), it is time for yet another. Today, we will discuss… Butter. Yeah, butter with its smooth consistency and easily melting nature is a popular subject in language. Also for Sprichwörter and Ausdrücke. Check these two out! Alles in Butter! Everything in butter! (Everything’s ok!) This Sprichwort is short, but pretty much has the…
Did America Almost Speak German? Posted by Sten on Apr 29, 2017
You have probably heard of that one Gerücht (rumor): The United States once had a vote that would have decided what the official language of the country was going to be. And only one vote decided whether that was going to be English – or German! The deciding vote was cast by Frederick Muhlenberg. This legend is…