Archive for 'Culture'
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…
Untranslatable German Words: das Anstandsstück Posted by Constanze on Apr 26, 2017
Hello and welcome to another edition of untranslatable German words, where I bring you the quirkiest, funniest, most unusual words the German language has to offer – and ones that are difficult to find a direct translation for! Today’s word is das Anstandsstück. What does das Anstandsstück mean? Das Anstandsstück refers to the last…
9 German Food & Drink Idioms Posted by Constanze on Apr 19, 2017
Guten Tag! Ich hoffe, es geht euch alle gut. Recently I came across the German idiom klar wie Kloßbrühe, which is the German version of the English ‘clear as crystal’. In German, this idiom literally translates to ‘clear as dumpling broth’. In other words, it has nothing to do with crystal. It had me thinking…
Fairytales in German Posted by Larissa on Apr 18, 2017
German fairytales (Märchen) fascinate me as they are so gruselig (scary)! In English to end a fairytale you would say “And they lived happily ever after…”, whereas in German you would say “und wenn sie nicht gestorben sind, dann leben sie noch heute“, which translates to “and if they haven’t died, then they are still…
Devilish German Sayings Posted by Constanze on Mar 29, 2017
Guten Tag! Today I’d like to share some German Redewendungen – sayings/expressions – with you. The German language has many expressions that contain the word der Teufel – devil. Some of these are the same in English, while others are completely different. Some are very straight-forward, while others are more imaginative! The prominence of this word…
Check out this delicious German treat! Posted by Sten on Mar 28, 2017
I bet you have not heard of this German treat! It is delicious, sweet shortbread filled with marzipan, but it was not always like that… So, before 1876, the Leipziger Lerche was a popular specialty enjoyed all over the world – from Spanien (Spain) to Russland (Russia). It was a Lerche (lark), which was filled with all kinds of Gewürze (spices) and Kräuter (herbs). These were roasted…
The Curiosity of the German Word “Cousin” Posted by Sten on Mar 23, 2017
Hi everybody! Welcome to another post that looks at the curiosity of a certain word. Today, we will have a look at the German word cousin. Check out the video below that explains the post, if you prefer watching instead of reading! French? Cousin looks very un-German. Because it is. It was adapted to German…