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Talking About Ghosts In German Posted by on Aug 18, 2021

ghosts

Guten Tag! Today’s post is a spooky one, as we’re talking all about ghosts! I’ll give you a variety of vocabulary on the subject throughout the post, and hopefully clear up some of the confusion about the two main words for ‘ghost’ in German. Geist oder Gespenst? When reading about this subject in German, there…

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The Petersglocke: Germany’s Massive Cathedral Bell Posted by on Apr 19, 2021

Petersglocke Cologne Kölner Dom Cathedral

The Petersglocke (f, St. Peter’s Bell) is one of the largest swinging bells in the world. It has its home in the Kölner Dom (m, Cologne Cathedral), a breath-taking cathedral with a long history and many records of its own. Known locally also as Dicker Pitter (Big Peter), the Glocke weighs about 24.000 kilograms (53.000 pounds) and measures 3.22 meters (10.5 feet) across…

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Why Germany’s Record-Breaking Cathedral Is So Impressive Posted by on Apr 16, 2021

Right next to the Hauptbahnhof (m, central station), the Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral) is one of the first things you’ll see when visiting the city in Nordrhein-Westfalen (North-Rhine Westphalia). It’s a cathedral with many world records in its name. What makes it so impressive? It’s been a long time coming The massive Kathedrale (f, cathedral) was only…

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Chalking The Doors: A German New Year’s Tradition Posted by on Dec 30, 2020

Guten Tag und FROHES NEUES JAHR (HAPPY NEW YEAR)! Today’s post is all about a German New Year’s tradition that takes place on January 6th. January 6th in Germany is known as das Dreikönigsfest (‘the three kings festival’), otherwise known as Epiphany, and is celebrated primarily in southern Germany, Austria, and parts of Switzerland. There…

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Barbarazweig: A German December Tradition Posted by on Dec 16, 2020

Guten Tag! Today’s post is about a lesser-known German December tradition known as der Barbarazweig. Have you ever seen a cherry blossom branch in a vase in a German home in December? If so, this post will tell you what that’s all about! Der Barbarazweig This word literally means ‘the Barbara branch’. We will come…

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Yiddish: Can You Understand It? Posted by on Apr 23, 2020

Perhaps you have seen the Serie (show) Unorthodox on Netflix. When the first words were spoken, I heard a strange familiarity, yet only recognized certain words. Yiddish is a mix of different languages, with unmistakable German roots. What’s the story of this interesting language? And how is it expressed in Unorthodox? Let’s find out! What is…

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Untranslatable Words: Die Hiobsbotschaft Posted by on Apr 17, 2020

If you get very bad news, how would you say that in English? Germans have a word for it, and it has quite the interesting origin story. It is the Hiobsbotschaft. Let’s have a look! What does Hiobsbotschaft mean? A Hiobsbotschaft, sometimes Hiobsnachricht and historically Hiobspost, is a Botschaft (message) with very bad news for the Empfänger (recipient). In other words, an Unglücksnachricht (message of…

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