Archive for 'Language'
Aus vs. Von Posted by Sten on Jul 20, 2014
In German, the issue between von and aus is not a very prevalent one. But it can be confusing when learning German from English, since von and aus are both used for its English equivalent “from.” So, here is a clarification where von is used, and where aus is used in cases where they can…
Sayings + Expressions 2 – The Square and the Concept Posted by Sten on Jul 14, 2014
In this second post, we have another two! Let’s start off again with the saying. Das Runde muss ins Eckige the round (thing) must go into the square (thing) Very much football-related, and not very translatable to English, this saying has quite some background meaning. Of course, it talks about the football entering the goal, which it has to…
The German wimp: A broad definition Posted by Constanze on Jul 13, 2014
Guten Tag, and wilkommen to another post on untranslatable German words. This week I want to talk about a word that I didn’t know until last week, when a customer at work told me about “this German word that means you park in the shade”. He thought it was hilarious, but he couldn’t remember exactly…
The German culture of cleanliness: Putzfimmel and Kehrwoche Posted by Constanze on Jul 6, 2014
Everyone I know who’s been to Germany has commented on what a clean country it is. Germany is stereotyped as being clean, anyway – although how much of this is a stereotype, and how much of it is the simple truth? There are two words in the German language that suggest Germany has a culture…
How to Watch Football Like a German Posted by Constanze on Jun 30, 2014
Tonight we’ll see the tense football match between Germany and Algeria. It’ll be the first time these teams have played one another since the controversy of the 1982 World Cup, which was claimed to have been “fixed” so that Germany and Austria would go through to the next round at Algeria’s expense (Click here to…
Untranslatable German Words: Gemütlichkeit Posted by Constanze on Jun 26, 2014
Guten Tag, and wilkommen to week 3 of my series of posts on ‘untranslatable’ German words! In this series of posts I talk about one or more German words that there is no direct translation for in English. In my first post on this topic, I suggested that the reason for this was to do…
Sayings + Expressions 1 – the Will and the Thread Posted by Sten on Jun 23, 2014
Hi there! This is the first of some posts about great sayings and expressions in German. One of each every week. Many sound very wise in German. The language just helps you convey that wise, mysterious tone you want such sayings and expressions to have sometimes. Let’s start off with the saying! Wo ein Wille…