All You Need to Know about the Elfter Elfter – Start of Karneval Posted by Sten on Nov 12, 2016
On the Elfter Elfter (eleventh of the eleventh), Carnival officially started around the world, including Germany. But what do Germans even call their Carnival? And what happens on Elfter Elfter? Find out here: 5 things to know! 1. Different names for the same Whether you call it Carnival or Mardi Gras – you mean the same thing…
Untranslatable German Words: Magdeburgisieren Posted by Sten on Nov 10, 2016
In our segment of untranslatable words in German, we discuss words that have no English equivalent. Today, I will have a look at a rather grim one, but that is definitely untranslatable. Today, I will discuss the verb magdeburgisieren. What does magdeburgisieren mean? During the Dreißigjährigen Krieg (Thirty Years’ War) from 1618-1648, an absolute low occurred in 1631. In…
Erntedankfest: German Thanksgiving Posted by Constanze on Nov 9, 2016
In a recent post I mentioned some events that take place in Germany in Autumn. Today I’d like to tell you a little more about one of them, namely Erntedankfest – the “German Thanksgiving”. First, the breakdown of the word. ‘Ernte’ means harvest, while ‘Dank’ comes from ‘Danke’, meaning thank you, and ‘Fest’ is German…
The Curiosity of the Plural of “das Wort” Posted by Sten on Nov 8, 2016
This post is about the German word “das Wort”. What’s the plural? No, not bird! The plural is Wörter. Sounds right. And Worte. Sounds right. Wait, what? Which one is correct? Is there another form? What’s going on here? Let’s find out! What does the Duden say? The Duden, a prestigious German Wörterbuch (dictionary) gives the following explanation about the plural…
German and its beloved Silbenwörter Posted by Sten on Nov 3, 2016
We all like abbreviating things. From texting shortcuts to internet abbreviations, from names to government departments. There are differences in how we abbreviate, though. We Germans have a pretty interesting take on it! Germans like abbreviating stuff. Understandable, as German words can become really long sometimes. Especially for words that are used a lot in…
Nagivating A German Airport: Part 2 Posted by Constanze on Nov 2, 2016
Hallo! Last time on the blog I gave you all the vocabulary you need to navigate a German airport. This time I’ll give you vocabulary for things on the aeroplane itself, and some common phrases you might use and hear on a plane. Vocabulary: On the plane Take-off – die Abfahrt Landing – die…
The Oldest Brezel Ever Found Posted by Sten on Oct 31, 2016
Who doesn’t know them? Brezel (pretzels) are known worldwide mostly as a Bavarian delicacy. The salty dough product is super popular throughout Germany. As it turns out now, not only its taste is superb, but also its best before date… How old is that oldest pretzel? Read on to find out! Where does the word Brezel even come from? The…