{"id":7125,"date":"2016-03-28T11:01:07","date_gmt":"2016-03-28T11:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=7125"},"modified":"2016-03-28T11:01:07","modified_gmt":"2016-03-28T11:01:07","slug":"driving-in-germany-2-words-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/driving-in-germany-2-words-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Driving In Germany? 2 Words You Need To Know!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guten Tag!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s \u2018untranslatable words\u2019 theme is all about driving, and today I\u2019ve got two<\/strong> words for you instead of one!<\/p>\n

\"Autobahn<\/a>

die Autobahn – motorway. Photo by 99502933@N03 on flickr.com under a CC license (CC BY-ND 2.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Germany is famous for producing high quality Autos <\/strong>(cars)<\/em> and for its Autobahn <\/strong>(motorway)<\/em> \u2013 more specifically, for the lack of a speed limit on most German motorways.<\/p>\n

But if you\u2019re hitting the road in Germany, here are two terms you might not be familiar with yet! Both describe phenomena common to any country, but the Germans have specific words for them. Let\u2019s get started with der Schilderwald.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Schilderwald<\/a>

der Schilderwald – ‘forest of signs’. Photo by die_tine on flickr.com under a CC license (CC BY-ND 2.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

der Schilderwald<\/strong><\/p>\n

Made up of the words die Schilder<\/strong> (signs <\/em>\u2013 plural of das Schild<\/em>) and der Wald<\/strong> (forest\/wood<\/em>), this word literally means \u2018a sign forest\u2019<\/strong>. What does this refer to on the road, exactly? It refers to a cluster of road signs \u2013 those that are often so close together, it becomes a little difficult to see what you\u2019re looking at. You might say you are \u2018missing the wood for the trees\u2019<\/em>! The (regular) collective word for road signs is die Verkehrsschildern<\/strong> \u2013 literally \u2018traffic signs\u2019. Have you ever seen a Schilderwald while driving, either in Germany or elsewhere? Then I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll understand why this quirky word exists in German!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Closed<\/a>

der Rei\u00dfverschluss – zip. Photo by andrewgustar on flickr.com under a CC license (CC BY-ND 2.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

das Rei\u00dfverschlusssystem<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is a roundabout where I live that sits just outside a shopping complex. This roundabout can get so congested that the only way to keep traffic moving is to ignore the usual rights of way and to simply take it in turns to join lanes. This is what the Germans call a Rei\u00dfverschlusssystem \u2013 <\/strong>literally, \u2018zip system\u2019<\/strong>. Why? Because the way the cars interlock mimics the interlocking of a zip\u2019s teeth as you close it! The Rei\u00dfverschlusssystem <\/strong>is often used on German motorways when traffic is extremely bad. The word is made up of the words der<\/strong> Rei\u00dfverschluss <\/strong>(zip)<\/em> and das System<\/strong> (system).<\/em> Now I\u2019ll bet you won\u2019t be able to think of anything else the next time you\u2019re in a Rei\u00dfverschlusssystem <\/strong>situation!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Have you ever driven in Germany? How did you find it? As always, leave your comments below! I hope you\u2019ve enjoyed this post!<\/p>\n

Oh, and Frohe Ostern<\/strong> \u2013 Happy Easter!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"ostern<\/a>

Frohe Ostern! Photo by 42154456@N00 on flickr.com under a CC license (CC BY-SA 2.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Guten Tag! Today\u2019s \u2018untranslatable words\u2019 theme is all about driving, and today I\u2019ve got two words for you instead of one!   Germany is famous for producing high quality Autos (cars) and for its Autobahn (motorway) \u2013 more specifically, for the lack of a speed limit on most German motorways. But if you\u2019re hitting the…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":7433,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1992,2080,3167,95131,960,376023,95314,337679,257573,13],"class_list":["post-7125","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-language","tag-cars","tag-driving","tag-easter","tag-german-language","tag-german-vocab","tag-language","tag-ostern","tag-untranslatable-german","tag-untranslatable-words","tag-vocabulary"],"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