Bodies of Water

It has been a somewhat temperamental summer in Germany, but there have certainly already been a number of hot days. Germans flock to rivers, pools, and lakes to swim, not to mention the North Sea and the Baltic Sea! Let's look at the German words for various bodies of water.

Der See ist fast einhundertneunzig Meter tief.

The lake is almost one hundred ninety meters deep.

Caption 5, Alpenseen - Kühle Schönheiten - Part 6
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Achtung: Der See means "the lake," but die See means "the sea." Das Meer is also a common word for "the sea."

Fünf kleine Pinguine schwimmen durch das Meer.

Five little penguins are swimming through the sea.

Caption 22, Kinderlieder zum Mitsingen - Fünf Pinguine
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Like in English, an ocean differs from a sea:

Mein Goldfisch, der heißt Friedolin und wohnt im Ozean.

My goldfish, he's called Friedolin and lives in the ocean.

Caption 25, Pänke - Friedolin
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There are some rivers in Germany that are approved for swimming, but if not you can always go to a swimming pool. In the summer, outdoor pools (Freibäder) are particularly popular.

Der Neckar ist ein Fluss, der durch Tübingen fließt.

The Neckar is a river that flows through Tübingen.

Caption 16, Deutschkurs in Blaubeuren - Der Relativsatz
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Das ist quasi so ein offener Bereich mit einem Schwimmbad...

That is, so to speak, an open area with a swimming pool...

Caption 25, Reisen - Dalís Haus
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Ponds and streams are not as popular for swimming, but we'll include them for the sake of vocabulary expansion!

Es war der Teich und am Rand stand die violette Blume.

It was the pond and at the edge stood the violet flower.

Caption 51, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Jorinde und Joringel
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Bald ist der Bach überschwemmt mit Eiern.

Soon the stream is inundated with eggs.

Caption 25, Alpenseen - Kühle Schönheiten - Part 2
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Further Learning

Make sure you have memorized the gender of these vocabulary words. What do you think are the genders of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea? You can also start learning the German names for famous bodies of water. Can you guess what das Mittelmeer and das Rote Meer are? Look them up on Yabla German!