{"id":10163,"date":"2019-07-11T13:11:49","date_gmt":"2019-07-11T13:11:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=10163"},"modified":"2019-07-11T13:11:49","modified_gmt":"2019-07-11T13:11:49","slug":"untranslatable-german-words-08-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/untranslatable-german-words-08-15\/","title":{"rendered":"Untranslatable German Words: 08\/15"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Untranslatable words can also be a simple array of 4 numbers &#8211;\u00a0<em>08\/15\u00a0<\/em>is a term that has entrenched itself in everyday German. Pun intended.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What does\u00a0<em>08\/15 <\/em>mean?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_10862\" style=\"width: 522px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"https:\/\/de.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/MG_08#\/media\/Datei:Engraving_on_MG08.jpg\" aria-label=\"MG 08 15 Weapon German Untranslatable Transparent 512x1024\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10862\" class=\"size-large wp-image-10862\"  alt=\"\" width=\"512\" height=\"1024\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/07\/MG-08-15-Weapon-German-Untranslatable-Transparent-512x1024.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/07\/MG-08-15-Weapon-German-Untranslatable-Transparent-512x1024.jpg 512w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/07\/MG-08-15-Weapon-German-Untranslatable-Transparent-175x350.jpg 175w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/07\/MG-08-15-Weapon-German-Untranslatable-Transparent-768x1536.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/07\/MG-08-15-Weapon-German-Untranslatable-Transparent.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-10862\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Gravur<\/em> (engraving) on the MG 08\/15. It was also called known as the <em>Spandau<\/em>, because it was built in the city of Spandau. This particular model appears to be from 1918. (Image by Medvedev at Commons.wikimedia.org under license CC BY SA 3.0)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/der-duden-the-cornerstone-of-german-spelling\/\">Duden<\/a>, 08\/15 means &#8220;<em>bar jeglicher Originalit\u00e4t, pers\u00f6nlichen Note; auf ein allt\u00e4glich gewordenes Muster festgelegt und deshalb Langeweile oder \u00dcberdruss erzeugend<\/em>&#8221; (bare of any originality, personal character; set to a pattern that became an everyday thing and therefore creating boredom or weariness). So basically, calling an activity\u00a0<em>08\/15 <\/em>is calling it nothing new, free of originality, perhaps even boring. Something just average &#8211; that&#8217;s\u00a0<em>08\/15<\/em>. You say\u00a0<em>nullacht\u00a0<\/em>so\u00a0<em>zero eight\u00a0<\/em>and then simply\u00a0<em>f\u00fcnfzehn\u00a0<\/em>&#8211; fifteen:\u00a0<em>nullachtf\u00fcnfzehn.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>And it all goes back to the World War I <em>Maschinengewehr <\/em><em>08\/15 <\/em>(Machine Gun 08\/15), or the MG 08\/15 for short. How did this weapon lead to this term?<\/p>\n<p>Well, you see&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"German WW1 MG 08\/15 Machine Gun -  How does it work?\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uwgGok9cYcw?start=49&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The MG 08\/15 required extensive training to be used properly. <em>Soldaten <\/em>(soldiers) trained with this weapon every single day. You can imagine, with its repetitive, deafening and maddening sound, that it quickly became a drag for the\u00a0<em>soldaten\u00a0<\/em>to deal with this heavy and cumbersome MG \u00a0every single day. And so, they started referring to other run-of-the-mill things as <em>08\/15<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>However, there is another theory &#8211; also based on the weapon, of course. The MG 08\/15 was produced by different manufacturers, and in order to make sure that parts were interchangeable, uniform rules had to be put in place. The\u00a0<em>Deutsches Institut f\u00fcr Normung\u00a0<\/em>(DIN) (German Institute for standardisation), which was founded in 1918, made the\u00a0<em>Kegelstift\u00a0<\/em>(taper pin) their first standardized norm &#8211; DIN 1. This\u00a0<em>Kegelstift\u00a0<\/em>was in each and every MG 08\/15. And that&#8217;s where the association with mass-production and sameness comes from with the term\u00a0<em>08\/1<\/em><em>5<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>This notion of\u00a0<em>08\/15\u00a0<\/em>being run-of-the-mill and negative was strengthened with the best seller by Hans Hellmut Kirst in 1954 with the same name,\u00a0<em>08\/15<\/em>. The book is about a soldier who is going through the soldier training of the\u00a0<em>08\/15<\/em>, and it&#8217;s really no fun.<\/p>\n<p>By the way: The name of the gun comes from when it was released. The MG 08\/15 was based on the MG 08 from &#8211; you guessed it &#8211; 1908. In 1915, the MG 08 was developed further, culminating into the MG 08\/15 &#8211; released for the first time in 1915. It was used mostly in World War I. It was used sometimes in World War II as well but there it was mostly replaced by the MG34 and MG42 (you know now in what year those came into circulation for the first time too!).<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What would be a literal translation of\u00a0<em>08\/15<\/em>?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_10863\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/07\/0815-nullachtf\u00fcnfzehn-text-transparent-german.png\" aria-label=\"0815 Nullachtf\u00fcnfzehn Text Transparent German 1024x576\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10863\" class=\"size-large wp-image-10863\"  alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/07\/0815-nullachtf\u00fcnfzehn-text-transparent-german-1024x576.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/07\/0815-nullachtf\u00fcnfzehn-text-transparent-german-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/07\/0815-nullachtf\u00fcnfzehn-text-transparent-german-350x197.png 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/07\/0815-nullachtf\u00fcnfzehn-text-transparent-german-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/07\/0815-nullachtf\u00fcnfzehn-text-transparent-german.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-10863\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image by author<\/p><\/div>\n<p>This one is not hard. Just <em>nullachtf\u00fcnfzehn <\/em>&#8211; zero-eight-fifteen. That is the literal translation, and I really cannot make it more literal!<\/p>\n<h2><strong>How would you use <i>08\/15 <\/i>in a sentence?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>This is a bit more interesting. You can refer to something as being\u00a0<em>08\/15<\/em>, so basically use it as an adjective.<\/p>\n<p>Just be weary:\u00a0<em>08\/15\u00a0<\/em>is most definitely\u00a0<em>abwertend<\/em> (derogatory) and rather negative.<\/p>\n<p>Some examples:<\/p>\n<p><em>Ach, ich geh&#8217; nicht zu ihrer 08\/15-Geburtstagsfeier. Die wird doch super langweilig.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>(Oh, I&#8217;m not going to her vanilla birthday party. It&#8217;s just gonna be super boring.)<\/p>\n<p><em>Den 08\/15-Typen? Den heuern wir doch nicht an! Der inspiriert doch keinen.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>(That 08\/15 dude? We&#8217;re definitely not hiring him! He won&#8217;t inspire anybody.)<\/p>\n<p>By the way, you can also write\u00a0<em>nullachtf\u00fcnfzehn,\u00a0<\/em>so for example:<\/p>\n<p><em>Die ist ja nullachtf\u00fcnfzehn gekleidet. Mit der willst du dich sehen lassen?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>(Well, her clothing style is boring. And you want to be seen with her?)<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What is the nearest English equivalent of <em>08\/15<\/em>?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_10870\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"https:\/\/de.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/08\/15_(Roman)#\/media\/Datei:MG_08-15.JPG\" aria-label=\"Mg 08 15 Weapon Whole German Untranslatable Transparent 1024x526\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10870\" class=\" wp-image-10870\"  alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"411\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/07\/mg-08-15-weapon-whole-german-untranslatable-transparent-1024x526.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/07\/mg-08-15-weapon-whole-german-untranslatable-transparent-1024x526.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/07\/mg-08-15-weapon-whole-german-untranslatable-transparent-350x180.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/07\/mg-08-15-weapon-whole-german-untranslatable-transparent-768x395.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/07\/mg-08-15-weapon-whole-german-untranslatable-transparent.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-10870\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The MG 08\/15 (Image by Richard Huber at Commons.wikimedia.org under license CC BY SA 3.0)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>There is no number to just refer to something boring in English (as far as I know). The closest to it, as far as I know is:<\/p>\n<p><em>to be vanilla<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>run-of-the-mill<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Or simply\u00a0<em>boring<\/em>. Let me know if you have other suggestions!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you have such a term, just consisting of numbers, in your language? Let me know in the comments below!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<img width=\"350\" height=\"180\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/07\/mg-08-15-weapon-whole-german-untranslatable-transparent-350x180.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/07\/mg-08-15-weapon-whole-german-untranslatable-transparent-350x180.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/07\/mg-08-15-weapon-whole-german-untranslatable-transparent-768x395.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/07\/mg-08-15-weapon-whole-german-untranslatable-transparent-1024x526.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/07\/mg-08-15-weapon-whole-german-untranslatable-transparent.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p>Untranslatable words can also be a simple array of 4 numbers &#8211;\u00a008\/15\u00a0is a term that has entrenched itself in everyday German. Pun intended. What does\u00a008\/15 mean? According to the Duden, 08\/15 means &#8220;bar jeglicher Originalit\u00e4t, pers\u00f6nlichen Note; auf ein allt\u00e4glich gewordenes Muster festgelegt und deshalb Langeweile oder \u00dcberdruss erzeugend&#8221; (bare of any originality, personal character&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/untranslatable-german-words-08-15\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":10870,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,8],"tags":[445003,337679,257573,504039],"class_list":["post-10163","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-language","tag-untranslatable","tag-untranslatable-german","tag-untranslatable-words","tag-world-war"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/110"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10163"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10163\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10871,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10163\/revisions\/10871"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}