{"id":3690,"date":"2012-03-27T21:25:17","date_gmt":"2012-03-27T21:25:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=3690"},"modified":"2012-03-27T21:25:17","modified_gmt":"2012-03-27T21:25:17","slug":"german-counting-rhymes-abzahlreime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/german-counting-rhymes-abzahlreime\/","title":{"rendered":"German counting rhymes: Abz\u00e4hlreime"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have predominately applied myself to grammatical topics so far and completely \u2013 unintentionally \u2013 ignored children\u2019s topics. Therefore, I would like to dedicate this post to all children and ageless people by focusing on German Abz\u00e4hlreime<\/em><\/strong> (counting rhymes).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Before children can begin to play a game , e.g. Verstecke<\/em><\/strong> (hide and seek) or Fange<\/em><\/strong> (tag), they often need to agree which of them may start. In order to prevent any quarrels, counting is a fun way to determine the beginner. Below you can find a selection of German counting rhymes as well as the English translations. Mind that the English versions do not always sound so nice because I focused on the literal translation rather than on well-formed transcriptions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1. Ene, mene, miste<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ene, mene, miste <\/p>\n

Was rappelt in der Kiste?<\/p>\n

Ene, mene, meck<\/p>\n

Und Du bist weg.<\/td>\n

Eenie, meenie, fox <\/p>\n

What is rattling in the box?<\/p>\n

Eenie, meenie, won<\/p>\n

And you are gone.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

Note: German \u201cmiste\u201d and \u201cmeck\u201d are nonsense words. I only used \u201cfox\u201d and \u201cwon\u201d in the English translation to make it rhyme with \u201cbox\u201d and \u201cgone\u201d.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2. M\u00fcllers Kuh<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ich und Du, <\/p>\n

M\u00fcllers Kuh<\/p>\n

M\u00fcllers Esel das bist Du<\/p>\n

Das bist du noch lange nicht,<\/p>\n

Sag mir erst wie alt du bist,<\/p>\n

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, \u2026 (counting child\u2019s age)<\/p>\n

6 ist kein Wort<\/p>\n

und Du bist fort.<\/td>\n

I and you, <\/p>\n

Miller\u2019s cow<\/p>\n

Miller\u2019s donkey that are you<\/p>\n

That aren\u2019t you not by a long shot<\/p>\n

Tell me first how old are you<\/p>\n

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, \u2026 (counting child\u2019s age)<\/p>\n

6 is no word<\/p>\n

and you are off.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

3. Amerika<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 <\/p>\n

wo ist nur mein Freund geblieben?<\/p>\n

Ist nicht hier,<\/p>\n

Ist nicht da,<\/p>\n

Ist wohl in Amerika!<\/td>\n

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 <\/p>\n

where is my friend?<\/p>\n

Is not here,<\/p>\n

Is not there,<\/p>\n

Must be in America!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

4. Der Storch und der Hase<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eins, zwei, drei, vier, f\u00fcnf, <\/p>\n

Der Storch hat keine Str\u00fcmpf,<\/p>\n

Der Frosch hat kein Haus<\/p>\n

Und du musst raus!<\/td>\n

One, two, three, four, five <\/p>\n

The stork has no socks<\/p>\n

The frog has no house<\/p>\n

And you are off!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

5. Das Ei<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eins, zwei, drei, <\/p>\n

Auf der Treppe liegt ein Ei<\/p>\n

Wer darauf tritt,<\/p>\n

Spielt nicht mit.<\/td>\n

One, two, three <\/p>\n

On the stairs there is an egg<\/p>\n

Who steps on it<\/p>\n

Does not join in.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

6. Die Micky Maus<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eine kleine Micky Maus <\/p>\n

Zieht sich mal die Hose aus,<\/p>\n

Zieht sie wieder an<\/p>\n

Und du bist dran.<\/td>\n

A little, little Mickey Mouse, <\/p>\n

Is taking off his pants<\/p>\n

Is putting them on again<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s your turn.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

How often a counting rhyme has to be repeated depends, firstly, on the counting rhyme itself and, secondly, on how many children are involved. Rhymes 1, 2, 3, and 4 can be used to \u2018count down\u2019 which child may start. Rhyme 6 can be used when only two children are involved. And Rhyme 5 can be used when a game needs a kind of leader, so that the child who does not join in has to fulfill another part in a game.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What are common counting rhymes in your mother language?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have predominately applied myself to grammatical topics so far and completely \u2013 unintentionally \u2013 ignored children\u2019s topics. Therefore, I would like to dedicate this post to all children and ageless people by focusing on German Abz\u00e4hlreime (counting rhymes).   Before children can begin to play a game , e.g. Verstecke (hide and seek) or…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[95312],"class_list":["post-3690","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-culture","tag-counting-rhymes"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t