Archive for 'Language'
Heiligabend – Christmas Eve in Germany Posted by Sten on Dec 25, 2017
It is Christmas morning! Frohe Weihnachten (Merry Christmas)! Today is the day that Jesus Christ was born. And it means waking up to presents, because Santa was there, too! But not so in Germany. Kids and adults wake up on December 25 without presents to unwrap. Do they not receive and give presents during Christmas? Oh…
Top 10 German Posts of 2017 Posted by Constanze on Dec 22, 2017
Guten Tag! As 2017 draws to a close, many of you will be reflecting on your past year. Here on the German blog, we like to do the same! Thank you very much for all of your views, likes and comments over this past year. We hope you’ve enjoyed our posts as much as we’ve…
6 German Language Christmas Songs Posted by Constanze on Dec 13, 2017
Guten Tag! It’s 13. Dezember and almost time to say Frohe Weihnachten. To get into the spirit, today I wanted to share some German Weihnachtslieder (Christmas songs) with you. Not only is it fun for language learners to learn songs in other languages, but songs are actually a brilliant way to improve language proficiency; because…
What’s up with those e’s? The Dehnungs-e Posted by Sten on Dec 12, 2017
Last Friday, we discussed the Dehnungs-h and how it was quite a curious, unnecessary concept in German. Today, we look at the Dehnungs-e, a concept that does pretty much the same thing, but is much less widespread. Other than after an i, it feels strange to many Germans as well. One famous example of such strange application of…
What’s up with those h’s? The Dehnungs-h Posted by Sten on Dec 8, 2017
If you studied German, you have probably come across irregularities that really make you wonder why they exist. As a German growing up with the language, I never really questioned it… Until I saw the dehnungs-e. For example, you write Soest, but you say Soost, so you elongate the o and mute the e. Odd! Though when looking into it, I…
German Nap Time Posted by Constanze on Dec 6, 2017
Guten Tag! Der Schlaf (sleep) is not only one of life’s greatest joys, but it is extremely important, too. So let’s have a look at all things ‘sleep’ in German! Many thanks to the French blog for providing the inspiration for this post. Firstly, the word for sleep (noun) in German is der Schlaf. The…
German Comparatives And Superlatives Posted by Constanze on Nov 29, 2017
Guten Tag! Today I’m going to show you some comparatives and superlatives in German. What are these? For example, instead of saying “He is fast” you might want to know how to say “He is faster” (the comparative) or “He is the fastest” (the superlative), and then also know how to do the same with…