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Tag Archives: german etymology

The German Word ‘Muttermal’ Posted by on Sep 30, 2020

Guten Tag! Wie geht’s? Today we’re going to look at an interesting German word – das Muttermal. Das Muttermal Das Muttermal is the German word for a birthmark or mole – as in, the moles on your skin, not the mole the animal (this is called der Maulwurf in German!). The literal translation of Muttermal…

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The Curiosity of the German Word “Wehrmacht” Posted by on Sep 17, 2020

You may have heard of the German word die Wehrmacht (armed forces), which was what the German armed forces were called during the Second World War. When trying to pronounce the word, you may have gotten close to something that sounds like “Warmacht”, which may have lead you to conclude that Wehr must mean “war” in German. Not true!…

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German Companions of Saint Nicholas Posted by on Dec 5, 2018

Guten Tag! As you may know, tomorrow (December 6th) is Nikolaustag (Saint Nicholas Day) in Germany. This is a German Christmas celebration separate to that of December 24/25. If you are not yet familiar with Nikolaustag, I recommend reading this post and this post first, to get a good introduction to it. If you are…

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German Surnames & Their Meanings Posted by on May 16, 2018

If I were to ask you to think of a German surname, what would be the first one to come to mind? Schmidt, maybe? Stein? In this post I will show you some of the most popular German surnames, give you their meanings, and provide some general information about German surnames, too. Let’s get started…

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Days Of The Week In German Posted by on Mar 28, 2018

Guten Tag! One of the first things you will learn in your German lessons are the names of the days of the week. One thing people are sometimes quite interested in is the differences between the names – why do they all end in ‘Tag’ apart from Mittwoch, for example, and what does that mean?…

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Germany In Different Languages Posted by on Oct 30, 2017

Allemagne in French. Niemcy in Polish. Germany in English. Deutschland in German. Have you ever noticed how the word ‘Germany’ looks completely different in different languages? Have you ever wondered why that is? Germany has a very central position in Europe. Furthermore, before it became united it was home to many different tribes and states…

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Untranslatable German Words: der Kulturbeutel Posted by on Jul 31, 2015

Guten Tag! Welcome to another edition of German untranslatable words, dedicated to teaching you quirky German words, their meanings, and how to use them! Today the word is der Kulturbeutel. What does Kulturbeutel literally translate to? This German compound noun is made up of the words die Kultur (culture) + der Beutel (bag/pouch). Its literal…

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