Umfahren or Umfahren? One Word With Two Meanings Posted by Larissa on Aug 31, 2021
The German language never fails to interest me as I learn new words and phrases, even after living here for 9 years. When learning how to drive in Germany, I discovered a very interesting German word that has two meanings. There are of course some words in other languages that also have more than one…
How to translate the untranslatable German word Gemeinheit Posted by Sten on Aug 30, 2021
Thanks to our reader Rob Prichard for pointing out that die Gemeinheit is a word that is rather untranslatable in our post on the word Multikulti. Never thought about that one as untranslatable! But let’s find out why, and what you might want to translate it as! What does Gemeinheit mean? A Gemeinheit is a mean thing somebody does to you…
How Did Germany Climb Out of Poverty In No Time? Posted by Sten on Aug 26, 2021
People are hungry and lost everything. They are perspektivlos (without prospects). But then, within 10 years, the GDP triples. There is Vollbeschäftigung (f, full employment). In fact, there are so many jobs, that people from other countries are urged to come to fill all the vacancies, the so-called Gastarbeiter (guest workers). Everybody can afford a car…
German Vocab For Menstruation & Contraception Posted by Constanze on Aug 25, 2021
Guten Tag! This post is going to give you some German vocabulary for the following subjects: menstruation; contraception; and trying for a baby. I hope this will be useful for anyone in Germany who needs the vocabulary to communicate with a doctor, pharmacist, shop assistant, partner/family member, or to navigate words in shops, online, or…
Talking About Ghosts In German Posted by Constanze on Aug 18, 2021
Guten Tag! Today’s post is a spooky one, as we’re talking all about ghosts! I’ll give you a variety of vocabulary on the subject throughout the post, and hopefully clear up some of the confusion about the two main words for ‘ghost’ in German. Geist oder Gespenst? When reading about this subject in German, there…
Talking About The ‘Sixth Sense’ In German Posted by Constanze on Aug 17, 2021
Guten Tag! Last week, I wrote about the five senses (die fünf Sinne) in German. If you haven’t read that post yet, you can catch up by clicking here. Today’s post will continue on the theme of the senses, but focus more on feeling-based senses, often referred to as the ‘sixth sense’ or ‘gut instinct’…
What is the German Deutsche Bahn? Posted by Sten on Aug 12, 2021
This week, Germany’s Öffentliche Verkehrsmittel (m, public transit) are defined by a Streik (m, strike) of Lokführer (m, train drivers) of the Gewerkschaft (f, labor union) GDL. Announced suddenly, the Streik put the Deutsche Bahn in a lot of trouble. But what is the Deutsche Bahn, and how does it work? And what’s with this Streik? What is the Deutsche Bahn? The Deutsche Bahn…