Tag Archives: Curious Words
Curious German Words: Der Föhn Posted by Constanze on Feb 19, 2020
Guten Tag! Today we’re looking at a very interesting German word. This word is related to the weather, and is also the subject of Alpine folklore. It has made its way into the English language, and is also the German word for ‘hairdryer’. Today we’re looking at the word Föhn. Föhn, Fön, Foehn/foehn? Throughout this…
Austrian and Swiss-German Words of the Year 2019 Posted by Constanze on Jan 27, 2020
Guten Tag! We have previously looked at Germany’s Wort des Jahres (Word of the Year) and its Unwort des Jahres (Non-word of the Year) 2019 in this post, this one (runners up) and this one. But what about other, German-speaking countries? Do they also have ‘words of the year’ in Austria and German-speaking Switzerland? The…
The Curiosity of the German Word “Orange” – Part 2 Posted by Sten on Dec 5, 2019
Last week, I talked about the curiosity of the German word “Orange”, since the pronunciation of the word differs when you refer to the color or the fruit. See the post for that. But there is something else curious about this word, or well, a related one (thanks Allan for the comment!). This little addendum…
The Curiosity of the German Word “Orange” Posted by Sten on Nov 28, 2019
German has some quirky words, and that’s what we explore in this series. Today, we’ll have a look at the word Orange. Nothing curious, it seems, right? Wait until you hear how it is pronounced… Click here for previous entries in the series on curious words in German Orange or Orange? Listen to the clips above…
The Austrians on The Germans Posted by Constanze on Oct 30, 2019
Guten Tag! Recently we talked about the word Kraut which, as well as being the German word for ‘herb’, is an offensive term for a German person. In this mini-series, we will look at some words the Swiss, Germans, Bavarian-Germans, and Austrians use to describe one another. Some are meant in a derogatory way, whilst…
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…