Tag Archives: Language
Funny German Animal Names Posted by Constanze on Mar 14, 2018
Guten Tag! We have talked before on the blog about how ‘literal’ German words can be. Check out this blog post, and this one, for some examples. Today I’d like to continue on that theme with a post about animals. You are probably familiar with a few German animals, such as die Katze (cat), der…
A Unique German Way To Say It’s Snowing Posted by Constanze on Feb 7, 2018
Guten Tag! Is it snowing where you live? For me, there’s nothing better than that moment of seeing snow outside and exclaiming Es schneit! to whoever will listen. Today I’d like to give you a very different way of saying ‘It’s snowing’ in German. Frau Holle schüttelt ihre Betten aus A unique way of saying…
2 Words You Didn’t Know Were German Posted by Constanze on Jan 31, 2018
Guten Tag! When you think of English words that are German in origin, a few will spring to mind immediately: Angst, Poltergeist, and Doppelgänger, amongst others. Yet there are some English words that you need to look a little closer at to discover that they are, in fact, German! Today I’ve got two English words…
German Onomatopoeia Posted by Constanze on Jan 24, 2018
Today we’re going to look at onomatopoeia in the German language! The dictionary defines onomatopoeia as ‘the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g. cuckoo, sizzle ).’ You might already be familiar with some of these words in English: Splash, boom, and many animal noises including miaow. Just like…
Reflexive German Verbs Posted by Constanze on Jan 17, 2018
Guten Tag! Today we’re going to look at reflexive German verbs. If you’ve ever heard a German native say something like “I will shower me” in English instead of “I will take a shower”, for example, this post on reflexive verbs will hopefully explain why that is! What is a reflexive verb? A reflexive verb…
Reflecting & Setting Goals In German Posted by Constanze on Jan 10, 2018
Guten Tag, und gutes neues Jahr (hello, and happy new year!)! Are you the kind of person who likes looking back on the year just gone, and looking forward to the year ahead? I know I definitely am! On Silvester (New Year’s Eve) I sat and wrote in my Tagebuch (diary) about what I’ve felt…
German Comparatives And Superlatives Posted by Constanze on Nov 29, 2017
Guten Tag! Today I’m going to show you some comparatives and superlatives in German. What are these? For example, instead of saying “He is fast” you might want to know how to say “He is faster” (the comparative) or “He is the fastest” (the superlative), and then also know how to do the same with…