{"id":10982,"date":"2019-09-27T11:00:51","date_gmt":"2019-09-27T11:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=10982"},"modified":"2020-02-06T20:55:25","modified_gmt":"2020-02-06T20:55:25","slug":"dont-let-it-confuse-you-gift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/dont-let-it-confuse-you-gift\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t Let It Confuse You! – Gift"},"content":{"rendered":"

All the way back in February, we discussed how the word “Chef” means quite something else in German than in English!<\/a> Our reader Michael suggested the word “gift”. Now, you may also wonder what gift means in German. A dangerous one to confuse… Let’s check it out!<\/p>\n

For previous posts in this series, click here.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Expectation: I’m nice for giving you some gift!<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"What<\/a>

A gift for your German friends! (Image by Ekaterina Shevchenko at Unsplash.com)<\/p><\/div>\n

When we think about a gift, we think about a Geburtstagsfeier\u00a0<\/em>(birthday party),\u00a0Weihnachten\u00a0<\/em>(Christmas) perhaps. Or maybe something bigger, like your Kinder\u00a0<\/em>(children) or\u00a0das Leben selbst\u00a0<\/em>(life itself)?<\/p>\n

Germans? Not so much.<\/p>\n

Reality: I’m evil for giving you some gift…<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>

A gift for your German friends? (Image by JJ Jordan at Unsplash.com)<\/p><\/div>\n

In his comment, Michael wrote the following: “One of the most dangerous to misuse might be \u201cGift,\u201d since I wouldn\u2019t want someone thinking I\u2019m giving them German \u201cGift<\/em>\u201d instead of an English \u201cgift.\u201d”<\/p>\n

Why is it so\u00a0gef\u00e4hrlich\u00a0<\/em>(dangerous)? Here’s why:\u00a0Gift\u00a0<\/em>in German means “poison”! The corresponding verb is\u00a0vergiften\u00a0<\/em>(to poison), and something poisoned is\u00a0vergiftet<\/em>. So you don’t wanna bring a\u00a0Gift\u00a0<\/em>to a\u00a0Geburtstagsfeier<\/em>…<\/p>\n

Instead of a gift, you give Germans a Geschenk<\/em>. The verb for that is\u00a0schenken<\/em>. That’s nice!<\/p>\n

But how come there are such differences?<\/p>\n

Actually,\u00a0Gift\u00a0<\/em>had the same meaning in German too, as late as the 18th century in fact. What happened?<\/p>\n

Throughout the ages,\u00a0the word\u00a0Gift<\/em> was influenced by the Greek-Late Latin word\u00a0dosis<\/em>, which meant both gift\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>a certain amount of medicine. The English word “dose” comes from that too (which is a confusing word as well!<\/a>). Dosis\u00a0<\/em>was related to the idea of\u00a0die dosis macht das Gift\u00a0<\/em>(the dose makes the poison). And so\u00a0Gift<\/em>, which\u00a0also\u00a0<\/em>meant\u00a0Geschenk\u00a0<\/em>at the time, was increasingly related to a “deadly dose” colloquially, and that’s how the meaning creeped in that we have today!<\/p>\n

Interestingly, the old meaning of\u00a0Gift\u00a0<\/em>as a\u00a0Geschenk\u00a0<\/em>still lives in the word\u00a0Mitgift\u00a0<\/em>(dowry).<\/p>\n

How to say it?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Listen to all of this below:<\/p>\n

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