Tag Archives: work
Untranslatable German: Feierabend Posted by Sten on Oct 30, 2020
Es ist 17:00. Endlich! Feierabend. (It’s 5 pm. Finally! End of the work day.) Time to go home, or go by the Kneipe (bar) and get a Bier (beer) to relax and wind down. A typical, almost stereotypical German Brauch (tradition). And Feierabend is the untranslatable word here. Let’s look at what it means and what perhaps could be an English…
How UFO’s Streik Affects Thousands of Germans Posted by Sten on Nov 7, 2019
Since a few hours, hundreds of thousands of Passagiere (passengers) are waiting at Flughäfen (airports) for their flights – Lufthansa cancelled a lot of them today and tomorrow. Because of a Streik (strike) of UFO. Who’s UFO and why are they doing this? Let’s find out. What’s going on? The Unabhängige Flugbegleiter Organisation (UFO) e.V. (independent steward organisation…
The German Word ‘Sitzfleisch’ Posted by Constanze on Oct 31, 2018
Guten Tag! Today I’d like to talk about another ‘untranslatable’ German word, namely: Sitzfleisch. This is a word that has been adopted by the English language, too, and which some think explains the German people’s efficient and productive nature. But before we get into that, let’s look at the word in more detail. Das Sitzfleisch…
The German Kur Posted by Constanze on Sep 19, 2018
When you need to take a period of sick leave from work, you generally stay at home during that time, right? In Germany, when you`re ill, as part of the Krankenkasse (German health insurance), you can request to be sent on a Kur – a type of spa break. Die Kur – literally ‘the cure’…
20 Motivational Sayings In German Posted by Constanze on Jul 31, 2017
Guten Tag! Ich hoffe, es geht euch gut! 🙂 Sometimes we lack in motivation, be it for our work, chores – and even our language learning. At times it can feel like we’ve hit a wall, like we aren’t good enough, or like our efforts over the months aren’t paying off. But that’s not true…
Office German 1: Addresses and Shipping Posted by Constanze on Jul 7, 2016
Last year I worked as a German language assistant in an office here in the UK. The company I worked for had just started selling their products in Germany and had no one in their office who could speak German. In this series of ‘Office German’ posts I will share the help and advice I…
Why ‘Germans Are Rude’ Part 2 Posted by Constanze on Nov 18, 2015
I recently wrote a post called Why ‘Germans Are Rude’, which was inspired by an article on how different cultures give criticism. Firstly, I want to thank everybody who commented on it. It seems that this is a topic everybody has something to say about, which is great! The Germans are arguably one of the…