Let’s Count Insects! – Insektensommer 2018 Posted by Sten on Aug 9, 2018
It is a hot Sommer (summer), an besonderer (exceptional) one. But there is also something not that besonders about this Sommer: In general, more and more Germans say: Es gibt immer weniger Insekten (There are fewer and fewer insects). Some claim that they had to start the Scheibenwischer (windshield wiper) to remove all the Insekten from their Frontscheibe a few years ago. Now, they may have just a single Fleck (spot). Aber…
Tricky German Pronunciation Part 1 (With Audio) Posted by Constanze on Aug 8, 2018
Guten Tag! This is part 1 of a requested post. Following my posts ‘German Words You Don’t Want To Mix Up’ parts 1 and 2, a lot of people were interested in a post with audio clips of words and sounds that look similar, but are very different. Sometimes in German, when we mispronounce a…
7 Ways To Say Sorry In German Posted by Constanze on Aug 1, 2018
Entschuldiging, Verzeihung, Es tut mir Leid, Mein Beileid….. Have you ever noticed how many different ways there are to say ‘sorry’ in German? It might leave you wondering whether there’s any difference between them, and if it’s better to say one over the other. In this post I’m going to explain the different German words…
How To Make German Iced Coffee Posted by Constanze on Jul 27, 2018
Guten Tag! It’s mid-summer and the UK has been sweltering lately, so my usual hot coffee has been replaced with iced coffee. The other day my mum mentioned Eiskaffee, the traditional German ‘iced coffee’, and I felt inspired to share this, quite frankly, amazing beverage with you all so you, too, can make your very…
Sayings + Expressions 17: The Senf and the Salat Posted by Sten on Jul 26, 2018
In our series on sayings and expressions, we have gone through many different themes. Today, we will have a look at two food items, that don’t really go together, but work quite complementary in the realm of sayings and expressions. Let’s dive in, and as always, start with the saying! Da haben wir den Salat! Literally…
Big German Travel Phrases Resource Posted by Constanze on Jul 25, 2018
Guten Tag! It’s holiday season and, having just come back from holiday myself, I started thinking about all of the phrases I used to communicate to the locals in different situations. There are many excellent posts in the blog archives on specific areas of holidays, like booking a hotel room in German, or how to…
Untranslatable German Words: Der Saftladen Posted by Sten on Jul 24, 2018
In our series on untranslatable words, we look at words in German that have no direct English equivalent. Today, we look at the curious, but enjoyable Saftladen. What does Saftladen mean? According to the Duden, a Saftladen is a: “schlecht geführter Betrieb; schlecht geführter, schlecht sortierter Laden” (badly managed establishment; badly managed, badly assorted establishment) So basically, a Saftladen Nichtskönner is a place…