2020 has been a weird year. Jahresrückblicke (end-of-year reviews) don’t feel satisfying with the continuing pandemic and just before Christmas many European countries are back in a hard lockdown. What to do with the extra time sitting at home? Perhaps this post will give you plenty to entertain yourself for a while – let’s have our own Jahresrückblick. Here are the 18 most popular posts of 2020 here on the Transparent Language German blog!

January

How Germans Turned Into Almans

What is an alman? In this post, we explored the phenomenon of the Alman and how there is one in every single German…

German ‘Non-Word’ of 2019

At the beginning of January, there is still some reviewing to do – one example is the Unwort des Jahres (“Non-Word of the Year”). What was this word in 2019?

February

Curious German Words: Der Föhn

We start off the second month of 2020 with an interesting post about the curious German word der Föhn. How are hair dryers related to illness and the Alps? Find out!

March

Nouns with MULTIPLE Articles?!

If you thought German was already annoying and difficult enough with its different articles, brace for impact. There are some nouns that can be used with more than one article! I guess that does make it easier, but also more confusing… Anyway, check out this post to find out all about it!

The Corona Chronicles in Germany

In March, we made an overview of the Coronavirus situation in Germany. Spread over three posts, the Corona Chronicles are a reminder of how things were back in spring.

April

Baby Naming Laws In Germany

We’re in Germany, so of course we have laws for everything. And baby names won’t get a pass. Curious what you need to consider when naming your baby in Germany? Head over to this post from April.

German Sayings + Expressions 28: Things with Water

With water being a prominent companion of all of us this year especially, we looked at idioms in the 28th edition of the Sayings + Expressions series that are related to water. Things “falling in water” and hands washing each other certainly happened disproportionately much this year.

May

Berlin: One-Time Holiday for VE-Day

May is the month to remember World War 2 in Europe, as the European theatre came to a close in May, 1945. With 2020 marking the 75th anniversary of these events, there were several special occasions, including in Berlin, where VE-Day was marked as a one-time holiday. Learn about it in this post.

The 7 Best Communities to Meet Germans

Learning German with language learning apps is one thing, but actually interacting with Germans is quite another. A great way to do so is by checking out (online) communities! We compiled 7 of the best online communities to get in touch with Germans and fellow German language learners.

June

 The German Memorial In Viscardigasse

In June, we looked at the memorial in the Viscardigasse in Munich, a powerful yet subtle memorial in honor of brave people that defied the Nazis.

A Delicious German Tradition: Kaffee und Kuchen!

A very common afternoon habit for many Germans is the Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake). All you need to know about this delicious tradition is here!

The World’s Narrowest Street – In Germany!

Also in June, we learnt about the narrowest street in the world that happens to be in Germany in Reutlingen. How narrow is it? And what is is like to walk it?

July

A Nifty German Idea: Drehkippfenster

In the heat of the summer, we all wish for a nice breeze. Open the window, and enjoy the fresh air! In Germany, it is very likely that the window you’re opening is a Drehkippfenster. Behind this scary word is a nifty German invention that has fascinated people from around the world. Don’t believe me? Just read the post!

August

The German Language And Coronavirus

By August, we had all lived with the Coronavirus for a good number of months. Inevitably, this leads to new words, and this is the post where we present some German COVID vocab.

September

The German Wackeldackel

A quirky rear window dressing for your car, the Wackeldackel is an iconic German item. How dogs with bobbing heads found their way into the backs of German cars you can read in this post.

Find The Fehler! German Proofreading

In an exciting new format, this post tests how finely tuned your knowledge of the German language is. Will you find the mistakes in the text?

October

Untranslatable German: der Flickenteppich!

In our long-standing series of untranslatable German words, we looked at the Flickenteppich in October and connected it to the policy situation around the coronavirus in Germany. If you are keen to find out how rag rugs and German Bundesländer are related, be sure to read this one!

November

The German Word Fisimatenten

Fisima-what? A strange German word (one that I, a German, had personally never heard before reading this post!) that is used in everyday circumstances. Such a complicated word, “what nonsense!” one might exclaim – yet that seems to be the point, precisely.

December

German Word of the Year 2020

While December does not tally into our most read posts anymore, I think it’s fitting to use this empty month as an opportunity to highlight a recent post about the German Word of the Year 2020. I think we pretty much all know what it is by now, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth a read!

And with that, the year ends. While 2020 certainly wasn’t our favorite year, we can, I carefully presume, look forward to a better 2021. What was your favorite post of the year? Let me know in the comments below!