Archive for 'Vocabulary'
Spell it Well: German s/sch in the middle of a word Posted by Sten on May 13, 2021
Last week in Spell it Well, we discussed the use of the s/sch at the beginning of a word. However, there is some weirdness going on with these letters in the middle of words, too! To find out what that’s all about, and how to spell words correctly that deal with this, keep reading! Click…
Spell it Well: German Words Starting with s/sch Posted by Sten on May 6, 2021
English spelling is a mess. I don’t think that anybody would argue with that. German spelling, on the other hand, is pretty straightforward! Simply pronounce every single letter, and you’re already halfway there. However, German is not free from some confusing spelling itself. Let’s take a look at some of that. For example, the s/sch. Why…
Curious German Words: Die K-Frage Posted by Sten on Apr 29, 2021
Like I wrote in a previous post, Germany is going through a Superwahljahr (n, “Super election year”, a year with many regional and national elections). A year like that comes with its own lingo, of course. Let’s look at a word that was pretty relevant this past week in this regard: Die K-Frage (f, the K-question). Mysterious, right? Laschet…
How was a German lockdown announced AND revoked within one day? Posted by Sten on Mar 25, 2021
It was a tough week for Bundeskanzlerin (f, Federal Chancellor) Angela Merkel. Due to the announced lockdown for Ostern (Easter), everyone went hart ins Gericht (“hard into court”) with her. With rising coronavirus cases, the planned Lockerungen (f, relaxations) of the COVID rules fielen ins Wasser (“fell in the water”). But what actually happened? A “knallharter Lockdown“ On Monday…
Why 2021 Is a “Super Year” for Germany (a Superwahljahr) Posted by Sten on Mar 18, 2021
Germany is in a Superwahljahr (n, super election year). There is a Bundestagswahl (f, Federal Parliament election), sure. But wouldn’t that just make it an election year? What’s super about it? Elections, elections, elections! Germany is a federation, like the United States. This means that each of the 16 German states, called Bundesländer (n, “federal countries”), has its…