Loaded German Words: Kraut Posted by Constanze on Oct 25, 2019
Guten Tag! Recently there was an uproar here in the UK when the official party for the pro-Brexit campaign put out a poster showing a photo of Angela Merkel, accompanied by the words ‘We did not win two world wars to be pushed around by a Kraut’. This was in reference to a phone call…
The Curiosity of the German Word “Geist” Posted by Sten on Oct 25, 2019
In Spuktober (Spooktober – we don’t actually say that in Germany, but I guess I’ll go with it anyway), you hear all kinds of Halloween-related words. Also in Germany! Yet there is one specific word in Germany that is kind of curious – let’s have a closer look at the word Geist. Click here for previous entries in…
How and Why To Write The ß in All Caps In German Posted by Sten on Oct 10, 2019
If you’ve been learning German, you’ve probably come across the weird symbols in German. From the Umlauts ä, ö, ü to the Eszett (ß). When it comes to großschreiben (capitalizing) these special symbols, it’s pretty easy with the Umlauts: Ä, Ö, Ü. But the ß? There’s more of a story than you might think! Let’s dive in. First of all, what would…
Germany’s ‘Free Body Culture’ Posted by Constanze on Oct 9, 2019
Guten Tag! Today the topic is die Nacktheit (nudity) in German culture, which is otherwise known as die Freikörperkultur or FKK – ‘free body culture’. Germany has a fairly relaxed attitude towards nudity and therefore you will see people go nude on beaches and in parks and saunas. There are saunas, for instance, where as…
4 Ways German & English Are Similar Posted by Constanze on Oct 2, 2019
Guten Tag! Last time we looked at 4 ways German & English are different from one another. This time, I’m giving you four ways that German and English are similar to one another. Of course, there are many more things that could be said, so if you have any more ways that German and English…
Don’t Let It Confuse You! – Gift Posted by Sten on Sep 27, 2019
All the way back in February, we discussed how the word “Chef” means quite something else in German than in English! Our reader Michael suggested the word “gift”. Now, you may also wonder what gift means in German. A dangerous one to confuse… Let’s check it out! For previous posts in this series, click here…
4 Ways German Differs From English Posted by Constanze on Sep 25, 2019
Guten Tag! When learning a language, people often want to know how the target language differs from their own. Recognising these differences can be a very useful way to get to know and understand the characteristics of the language you are learning. So here are four ways that German differs from English! English has the…