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Tag Archives: untranslatable german

3 Lazy German Words Posted by on Aug 30, 2017

Guten Tag! Today I’d like to bring you not one, not two, but three ‘untranslatable German words’ for your amusement. These are words that do not have a direct translation in English, and are often rather interesting and/or quirky. It’s rainy and dull here today, and I’m sure many people just want to be at…

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Untranslatable German Words: Klangwunder Posted by on Jul 28, 2017

In the series of untranslatable German words, we tackle those words that just don’t have a direct English translation that makes sense. This week, we have a wonderful word, that encapsulates a lot: Klangwunder. What is a Klangwunder? A Klangwunder is a place or device that has miraculous acoustics. It puts you in awe and wonder how such…

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Untranslatable German: Das Backpfeifengesicht Posted by on Jul 26, 2017

Guten Tag and welcome to another ‘untranslatable words’ post, where I bring you the quirkiest words the German language has to offer. Today’s word is a popular one that was requested by a reader: das Backpfeifengesicht.   What is the meaning of das Backpfeifengesicht? A Backpfeifengesicht is the word for a face you don’t like…

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Untranslatable German Words: Tante-Emma-Laden Posted by on May 18, 2017

We all have this Großmutter (grandmother), Onkel (uncle) or Tante (aunt) that complains that all the big Supermarktketten (supermarket chains) are taking over, and there is no space left on the market for the small shops, wie es früher mal war (like it once was back in the day). So as a sign of resistance, Tante Emma opened her own little grocery store. That is a Tante-Emma-Laden…

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10 Cute German Words About Pregnancy Posted by on May 15, 2017

I had intended this post to be a straight-forward post on handy German vocabulary related to pregnancies. What I did not anticipate was how many pregnancy-related words are incredibly cute, or incredibly interesting in German. We’ll start with some basic vocabulary before moving onto the fun stuff! Basic German pregnancy vocabulary:   die Schwangerschaft –…

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Untranslatable German Words: das Anstandsstück Posted by on Apr 26, 2017

Hello and welcome to another edition of untranslatable German words, where I bring you the quirkiest, funniest, most unusual words the German language has to offer – and ones that are difficult to find a direct translation for! Today’s word is das Anstandsstück.    What does das Anstandsstück mean? Das Anstandsstück refers to the last…

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Six German Words That’ll Change Your Life Posted by on Mar 22, 2017

Guten Tag! Ich hoffe, es geht euch gut. Today I’m bringing you six German words that are all somehow related to feelings you get before, during or after a period of change: The excitement and nervousness of new beginnings, the fear of having run out of time to change your life,  the exhilarating feeling of…

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