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In a recent lesson, we looked at the verbs ansprechen, aussprechen, vorsprechen, nachsprechen, besprechen, and versprechen. However, there are many verbs related to speaking that do not contain the verb sprechen.
The verb sich unterhalten refers in particular to the art of conversation. Here it stands alone, but you will often see the construction sich mit jemanden unterhalten.
So kannst du auf natürliche Weise lernen, dich auf Deutsch zu unterhalten.
This is how you can naturally learn to converse in German.
Captions 10-11, Deutsch mit Eylin: Fragewörter
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The verb reden is interesting because it can be used for both serious and less serious conversations. In terms of prepositions, you'll often see über etwas reden ("to discuss something") or mit jemandem reden ("to talk with someone"), and if someone tells you Wir müssen reden ("We need to talk"), it could be very serious indeed.
Als Nächstes möchte ich über die Geschichte Berlins reden.
Next, I'd like to talk about the history of Berlin.
Caption 16, Bundesländer und ihre Rezepte: Bundesland Berlin
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Hast du nicht gesehen, wie sie die ganze Nacht mit dem Typen geredet hat?
Did you not see how she was talking to that guy all night?
Caption 22, Die Wohngemeinschaft: Die Verabredung
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The verb diskutieren is less ambiguous. Beware: it is stronger than "to discuss" in English and can even be translated as "to debate," "to dispute," or "to argue."
Am siebenundzwanzigsten Juli wollen sie das Thema im Gemeinderat diskutieren.
On the twenty-seventh of July they want to discuss the topic in the city council.
Caption 38, Online-Flashmob: "Bud-Spencer-Tunnel" in Gmünd
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The verb quatschen is quite informal, and refers to chatting or conversation that isn't restrained by time or formalities. You might remember that the noun der Quatsch means nonsense, but the use of quatschen doesn't necessarily mean that the topic is nonsense, just maybe not so serious or important. The verb plaudern has a similarly informal meaning, while the verb labern does indicate a lack of sense or importance.
Ich dachte, wir quatschen mal eine Runde.
I thought we could chat for a bit.
Caption 2, Großstadtrevier: Nicht mit mir
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Was quatschen die da hinten?
What are they chattering about back there?
Caption 19, Nena: Besser geht's nicht
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Und auch ein bisschen, äh, die Spieler noch mal zu treffen, mit denen so ein bisschen zu plaudern...
And also to meet the players a little bit again, to chat with them a little bit...
Captions 44-45, Mercedes Benz: Michael Schumacher und Nico Rosberg bei der Nationalmannschaft
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Der laberte irgendwas von Blüten.
He was babbling something about blossoms.
Caption 62, Die Pfefferkörner: Endspurt
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Further Learning
You'll find many examples with these verbs on Yabla German. Make sure you review their conjugations as well.
One of the very first verbs you'll learn when studying German is sprechen ("to speak"). While watching videos on Yabla, however, you may have noticed that there are many verbs that consist of sprechen and a prefix.
Some separable verbs include the words for "to say out loud" and "to repeat out loud":
Ich spreche vor und du kannst sie nachsprechen.
I'll say them out loud, and you can repeat them.
Caption 35, Deutsch mit Eylin: Umlaute
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The verb aussprechen can mean "to express" or "to pronounce" depending on the context.
Und lassen Sie mich auch hier Dank aussprechen an Menschen, denen zu selten gedankt wird.
And let me at this point also express gratitude to people who are too rarely thanked.
Captions 1-2, Coronavirus: Fernsehansprache von Angela Merkel
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Das deutsche „Z“ wird immer so ausgesprochen.
The German "Z" is always pronounced like this.
Caption 21, Deutsch mit Eylin: S und Z
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The verb ansprechen means "to address." Like in English, you can address a person or address a topic:
Ich war mir nicht sicher, wie ich es ansprechen sollte.
I was not sure how to address it.
Caption 11, Die Wohngemeinschaft: Probleme
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Sie ist sofort abgehauen, als Frau Lenz die Sache angesprochen hat.
She immediately took off when Ms. Lenz raised the matter.
Caption 65, Die Pfefferkörner: Endspurt
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There are also some inseparable verbs that you have likely already encountered. For a topic that's being discussed, you can use sprechen über or the verb besprechen.
Um die Einzelheiten zu besprechen.
To talk about the specific details.
Caption 11, Berufsleben: Probleme mit Mitarbeitern
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Dieses Thema haben wir schon in einem anderen Video besprochen.
We already spoke about this theme in another video.
Caption 3, Eva erklärt: die Steigerung von Adjektiven und Adverbien
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And though it's a bit different, let's include the verb versprechen ("to promise") as well:
Na gut, aber ihr müsst versprechen, dass ihr wach bleibt. -Versprochen.
All right, but you have to promise that you will stay awake. -Promised.
Caption 25, Peppa Wutz: Sterne - Zahnfee - Übernachtungsparty
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Further Learning
You can find many examples of these verbs conjugated on Yabla German. Stay tuned for a follow-up lesson in a few weeks!
Summer is the time to go swimming. Let's talk today about words related to swimming and swimming safety.
Man kann hier natürlich noch andere Sachen tun als nur schwimmen.
You can, of course, do other things here besides just swimming.
Caption 6, Berlin: Wannsee
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OK, und dann halt lieber hier in der freien Natur baden.
OK, and then just better to swim here in open nature.
Caption 77, Unterwegs mit Cettina: Sommer am Baggersee
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The verbs schwimmen and baden both mean "to swim," but baden can also mean "to play in the water" or even "to take a bath." I've often had Europeans ask if we should "go bathing" (or even "have a bath"), by which they mean "go swimming," of course!
Kommt Kinder, wir gehen zur Abkühlung erst mal eine Runde schwimmen!
Come on kids, let's go for a swim to cool off first!
Caption 72, Umwelt und Natur: Wo sind all die Bienen hin?
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Aber es ist perfekt, um ans Meer zu fahren und baden zu gehen.
But it's perfect for going to the sea and going for a swim.
Caption 39, Deutsch mit Eylin: Das Wetter
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To say "to go swimming," you combine the verbs gehen and schwimmen, or gehen and baden. Note that the phrases consist of two verbs and are not single separable verbs!
Den größten Teil meiner Freizeit verbringe ich in Tel Aviv und am Strand.
I spend the largest portion of my free time in Tel Aviv and at the beach.
Caption 11, Grete: eine Freiwillige in Israel
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Also, in Tübingen gibt's ein Schwimmbad.
Well, in Tübingen there is a swimming pool.
Caption 21, Deutschkurs in Tübingen: Über jemanden sprechen
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Two obvious places to go swimming are the beach (der Strand) or a swimming pool (das Schwimmbad), and you'll hopefully be able to find those someplace closer to home than Tel Aviv or Tübingen!
Mein Handtuch brauche ich nicht.
I don't need my towel.
Caption 19, Peppa Wutz: Sport
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Actually, unless you're going to a gym that supplies a towel, you will probably want to have one when you go swimming. Das Handtuch is the general word for "towel," but you may want to bring a bigger one to lie down on, such as a a beach towel (das Strandtuch).
Vorsicht: Die Sonne ist auch sehr heiß. Deswegen brauchen wir einen Hut, eine Sonnenbrille, und ganz wichtig... Sonnencreme.
Beware: The sun is also very hot. Therefore we need a hat, sunglasses, and very important... sun lotion.
Captions 18-21, Jahreszeiten: Der Sommer
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Safety first! In addition to a hat (der Hut), sunglasses (die Sonnenbrille), and sun lotion (die Sonnencreme), it's important to bring lots of liquids to drink!
Further Learning
Watch the videos above on Yabla German and learn some other terms about summer fun. And then take a break and go swimming somewhere to cool off! And remember to be safe about swimming when you're out in the hot sun.
My experiences with having roommates in the United States varied a lot. Sometimes the landlord just didn't care, or at most just asked to be informed. Sometimes they wanted to check the potential roommate's credit rating, or even go so far as adding them to the lease or rental contract.
Laws regarding renter's rights vary in different places in Germany, but in the city-state of Berlin, there are a number of peculiar aspects to what should be a fairly simple process: getting a roommate.
You are required by Berlin law to have the landlord's permission to sublet (untermieten) before your roommate, the subletter (der Untermieter, die Untermieterin), moves in.
Na ja, Sie sind doch der Vermieter hier.
Well, you're the landlord here.
Caption 8, Nicos Weg: Nachbarschaft
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Bis sie eine Erlaubnis bekommen...
Until they receive permission...
Caption 36, Flüchtlingskrise: 10 Vorurteile, die nicht stimmen
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Hast du Mitbewohner? Ja, ich habe eine Mitbewohnerin. Ihr Name ist Sarah.
Do you have roommates? Yes, I have a roommate. Her name is Sarah.
Captions 5-6, Drei Leute: beim Kofferpacken
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The genders of the above are der Vermieter or die Vermieterin; der Mitbewohner or die Mitbewohnerin; die Erlaubnis.
If you don't ask the landlord's permission first, and either the landlord or somebody from the property management (die Hausverwaltung) notices a new name on the doorbell or mailbox, you could have a serious problem. If the landlord can prove you are subletting without permission—which is actually quite difficult without your roommate openly admitting it—you and your roommate could be evicted (zwangsgeräumt) from your apartment.
On a more positive note, however, if you have valid reasons, such as not wanting to live alone and/or wanting to save money on your costs of living, the landlord is required by law to grant you permission. First, you write them a letter asking permission to have a subletter and giving the personal details about your roommate such as their full name (der Vollname), date of birth (das Geburtsdatum), place of birth (der Geburtsort), and their last residential address (die letzte Wohnanschrift), and give valid reasons for wanting a roommate. The only legal reasons they might have for refusing are if your roommate has a bad rental history record or if there is less than 12.5 square meters (about 135 square feet) per person in the flat.
If the landlord fails to answer you within the period you asked them to, usually two weeks, you can get a lawyer to file against them and have the court order the landlord to give you permission. There are a number of renter's rights organizations in Berlin that, for a yearly fee of around 100 euros, offer free legal help, from advice all the way to the courtroom. It's smart to belong to one of these organizations!
Ich will Jura studieren und Rechtsanwältin werden.
I want to study law and become a lawyer.
Caption 42, Küss mich, Frosch: Für immer Frosch?
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Ihrer Klage sehen wir gelassen entgegen.
We are calmly looking forward to your lawsuit.
Caption 21, Marga Engel schlägt zurück: Betrug
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The gender variants for "lawyer" are der Rechtsanwalt and die Rechtsanwältin.
Unless you are subletting your entire flat, the landlord is not allowed to stipulate any conditions in their permission to sublet, such as a limited time period or based upon a yearly verification of your income. Even if you agreed to such conditions originally, they can be invalidated in court because the landlord was not allowed to stipulate them in the first place.
Once you get permission for your roommate to live with you, you should have them sign a sublet contract (der Untermietvertrag) and then fill out—and this is a real mouthful–eine Wohnungsgeberbescheinigung, which can be translated as "a housing provider certificate." Your roommate needs one of these so that they can get a residential registration (die Meldebestätigung) at your address. Without a valid residential registration, they will have a lot problems with things such as getting a library card, a bank account, or a residence permit!
Thankfully, renters have a lot of rights in Berlin, but you may sometimes find yourself in the position of having to fight for those rights. Joining a renter's rights association is a good option and gives you full access to advice from experienced lawyers.
Further Learning
If you are in the mood to get into some advanced German, read this article about a decision of the Landgericht Berlin about subletting rights by the Berliner Mietergemeinschaft. You can also go to Yabla German and find other videos with some of the German vocabulary words mentioned above!
This week, we'll look at vocabulary for describing German apartment buildings, which is often no easy task. Even when a building is not particularly large in comparison to what you might find in other cities, there are some essential words for describing where you are located.
The architecture of many apartment buildings involves a central courtyard, der Hinterhof. The part of the building that is immediately on the street is called das Vorderhaus, while the apartments accessed by going through the courtyard are in what is generally called either das Hinterhaus, das Quergebäude, or das Gartenhaus. The part of the building that runs along the sides of the courtyard and connects these two parts is called der Seitenflügel and is often specified with links or rechts.
So, if you have a visitor and need to describe where your apartment is located, this may be what you specify first. Next, however, you will also need to describe what floor you are on. There are three nouns for this: die Etage, das Stockwerk (der Stock), and das Obergeschoss (sometimes abbreviated OG). Do keep in mind that the ground floor (das Erdgeschoss or das Hochparterre when it's elevated from street level) is not considered the first floor in German-speaking countries!
Unser Büro befindet sich im vierten Stock.
Our office is located on the fourth floor.
Caption 47, Berufsleben: das Vorstellungsgespräch:
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Das Zimmer ist in der vierten Etage.
The room is on the fourth floor.
Caption 13, Nicos Weg: Im Hotel
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Wir können damit ins erste OG [Obergeschoss] hoch.
We can hoist it onto our shoulders, we can go up to the first floor [US second floor] with it
Caption 43, Feuerwehr Heidelberg: Löschfahrzeug
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In order to reach these floors, a visitor will need to either take the stairs, or if they're lucky, find an elevator. There are also two different words used for "the elevator" in German.
Du, ich bin schon im Treppenhaus.
Hey, I'm already in the stairwell.
Caption 64, Die Pfefferkörner: Alles auf Anfang
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Den Aufzug finden Sie vorne rechts.
You'll find the elevator in the front on the right-hand side.
Caption 20, Nicos Weg: Im Hotel
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Ich hab grad gehört, der Fahrstuhl bleibt stecken.
I just heard that the elevator is stuck.
Caption 3, Die Pfefferkörner: Endspurt
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With any luck, they will then find the door of the apartment. Like the front door of a house, there is also a special word for this in German:
Ich stelle den vollen Müllbeutel deutlich sichtbar vor die Haustür.
I place the full trash bag clearly visible in front of the front door.
Caption 37, Deutsch mit Eylin: Putzen
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Dieser Brettschneider hat doch gesagt, dass die Typen direkt vor seiner Wohnungstür gestanden haben.
This Brettschneider guy told us that the guys were standing right in front of his apartment door.
Captions 43-44, Großstadtrevier: Von Monstern und Mördern
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Further Learning
Practice describing where a friend or relative's apartment is in their building. You can also choose an office you've been to and describe which floor it's on. For more information about this topic, including common abbreviations, you can check out this Wikipedia page.
Several years ago, Yabla published a two-part lesson about the climate crisis (die Klimakrise). The situation since then has gotten even worse, so let's revisit the topic today.
The term "climate change" (der Klimawandel) is generally used to describe how mankind's activities are affecting our climate today in ways that have a serious impact on our environment, our economy, and our lives.
Und da sieht man ganz klar: Der Klimawandel ist „real“.
And you can see very clearly that climate change is real.
Caption 13, WWF Deutschland Klimawandel hautnah: Was sind die Auswirkungen?
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Beim Strom haben wir den Vorteil zu anderen erneuerbaren Energieträgern.
With electricity we have the advantage over other renewable energy carriers.
Caption 27, Agrarmesse: Grüne Woche in Berlin
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Other sources of electricity, such as dams and wind turbines, may have a negative effect on the landscape, but they are relatively green compared to energy sources such as fossil fuels (fossile Energieträger). Wikipedia describes a fossil fuel as a substance "such as coal, oil, and natural gas, formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals, that is extracted and burned as a fuel."
Die globale Klimaerwärmung hinterlässt Spuren.
Global warming is leaving its mark.
Caption 24, Die letzten Paradiese: Schätze der Natur: Südtirol
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The air pollution caused by fossil fuels causes global warming (die globale Erwärmung). Global warming is the largely human-caused increase of our planet's temperatures over the last decades.
Seit 1850 hat sich die Gletscherfläche bereits halbiert.
Since 1850, the glacial area has already been halved.
Caption 32, Alpenseen: Kühle Schönheiten
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As the glaciers (der Gletscher, plural die Gletscher) and the icebergs (der Eisberg, plural die Eisberge) melt due to fossil fuels causing global warming, rivers are overfilled with water, and the sea rises.
Das Eis am Nord- und Südpol schmilzt, der Meeresspiegel steigt, es kommt zu schlimmen Überschwemmungen und woanders zu schlimmen Dürren.
The ice at the North and South Pole is melting, the sea level is rising, terrible floods are occurring and elsewhere terrible droughts.
Captions 31-32, OroVerde - Regenwald schützen: CO2, Regenwald und Klimaschutz
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A drought (die Dürre) is the opposite of a flood (die Überschwemmung): instead of too much water, there isn't enough. Without enough water, farmers are unable to grow the kinds of food that they used to in the past. Property, crops, and even human lives are lost as a direct result of storms, floods, and droughts caused by global warming.
Hilf also mit, die Wälder zu schützen, rette den Regenwald!
So help protect the forests, save the rainforest!
Caption 46, OroVerde - Regenwald schützen: CO2, Regenwald und Klimaschutz
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By protecting the rainforest (der Regenwald), global warming is reduced, because trees absorb the heat from sunlight and turn carbon dioxide into oxygen—which we also need to breathe! King Charles of Great Britain has a rainforests project, and has stated that stopping the destruction of rainforests would help slow climate change. However, it's only going to change if wealthy people like King Charles and large profit-driven corporations are made to take financial and moral responsibility for the destruction they are causing.
Die Gewinne sind ja auch dementsprechend hoch.
The profits are accordingly high.
Caption 8, Ball des Weines: Tombola
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As long as the burning of fossil fuels continues to create windfall profits for the ultra wealthy and corporations, there is little chance of slowing global warming and climate change. A carbon tax (die CO2-Steuer or die Kohlenstoffsteuer), which would tax products that damage the environment according to the costs of repairing the damages they cause, could help solve the problem by forcing manufacturers to seek greener energy sources. But in many western democratic countries, this is seen as a danger to profits, and stands very little chance with politicians, whose campaigns are often heavily financed by some of the world's worst polluters.
As individuals, the best that most of us can manage (including voting!) is to continue to do our small part in reducing our consumption of products that directly lead to global warming!
Further Learning
Go to Yabla German and watch some of the videos above that deal with this topic. You can also search for some of the highlighted words to find more German videos related to climate change.
Although both of the words above are most often translated as "together," and there are instances in which either one can be used, there are also some nuances to be aware of.
The word gemeinsam will often be used when there is a mutuality, an act of cooperating or working together, or an idea of having a common goal. Another translation could be "collectively" or "conjointly." With gemeinsam, there is an indication that a group exists or has been formed.
Heute wollen wir mal wieder gemeinsam kochen.
Today we want to cook together again.
Caption 2, Bundesländer und ihre Rezepte - Hessen
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Der Lehrer bespricht die Aufgaben gemeinsam mit den Schülern.
The teacher discusses the assignments with the students.
Caption 50, Deutsch mit Eylin - Pronomen
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Heute machen wir gemeinsam einen Einbürgerungstest.
Today we'll do a citizenship test together.
Caption 2, Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Einbürgerungstest
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The word zusammen refers to the state of being together with another person, but both people might still act independently or have different goals.
Wie verbringt ihr Silvester?
How do you spend New Year's Eve?
-Mit meiner Familie und wir essen schön zusammen.
-With my family and we have a nice supper together.
Caption 59, Silvester Vorsätze für das neue Jahr - Karlsruhe
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Aber ihr seid doch erst seit ein paar Wochen zusammen.
But you've only been together a few weeks.
Caption 18, Nicos Weg - A2 Folge 15: Kinder
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Wir haben zum Beispiel Karten zusammen gespielt.
We played cards together, for example.
Caption 32, Angelique Kerber - Ihre tennisfreie Zeit
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This distinction is easy to remember if you can remember that there is also the phrase etwas gemeinsam haben, which means "to have something in common."
Wir haben ja vieles gemeinsam.
We have a lot in common.
Caption 12, Weihnachtsmann gesucht - Der Engel
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Further Learning
When you watch videos on Yabla German, note when the word gemeinsam is used rather than zusammen. You can also write some sentences about what you and your friends have in common.
Was war am 8. Mai 1945?
What happened on the 8th of May, 1945?
Caption 31, Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Einbürgerungstest - Part 10
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On the evening of May 8th, 1945, German forces surrendered unconditionally to Allied forces in Berlin, marking the end of the Second World War in Europe. This also meant the end of Nazi Germany, which had been committing crimes against humanity in Germany and in occupied countries for more than twelve years.
Wann waren die Nationalsozialisten
When were the National Socialists
mit Adolf Hitler in Deutschland an der Macht?
in power with Adolf Hitler in Germany?
1933 bis 1945.
From 1933 to 1945.
Captions 18-19, Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Einbürgerungstest - Part 11
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In the United States and Great Britain, the day is called Victory in Europe Day (often shortened to "VE Day"). A national holiday is celebrated on this date in a number of European countries. In Germany, the day is known as Tag der Befreiung, or "Liberation Day." Although not a national holiday in Germany, there are often events organized on this day to celebrate the country's liberation from the Nazis and to memorialize the millions of victims. For May 8th, 2020, the city-state of Berlin declared a regional holiday to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation.
It may seem strange to some that a country would celebrate its own surrender, but by doing so the Germans create a clear break between the authoritarian Nazi state and the democratic German Federal Republic which followed. It is simultaneously a way to remember the human destruction caused by the criminal Nazi Regime.
Die Städte fallen unter den alliierten Bombern in Schutt und Asche.
The cities are falling into debris and ashes under the Allied bombers.
Caption 26, Die Stunde der Offiziere - Dokudrama über den 20. Juli 1944
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Although the Allied bombing of civilians in the Second World War would be judged a war crime by modern standards, it was practiced by all sides in this conflict. Most Germans today recognize that it was the Nazi Regime that ultimately bears responsibility for the destruction inflicted upon Germany during the war by its enemies.
Welche Länder wurden nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg in Deutschland
Which countries were, in Germany after the Second World War,
als alliierte Besatzungsmächte bezeichnet?
named Allied occupying powers?
USA, die Sowjetunion, Großbritannien und Frankreich.
USA, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and France.
Captions 33-35, Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Einbürgerungstest - Part 10
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Although the Allied forces eventually withdrew most of their troops from Germany—the Soviets completely, after the dissolution of the GDR and the Soviet Union—there is still a continuing problem with right-wing extremists in Germany.
Wir ignorieren seit 1945,
Since 1945, we've been ignoring
dass es noch so viel Rechtsextremismus in Deutschland gibt.
that there is still so much right-wing extremism in Germany.
Captions 54-55, Böhmermann - Wie geht man als Satiriker mit Rechtspopulismus um?
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Und im Rahmen dieses besonderen Tages
And in the framework of this special day,
wurde auch die Gedenkstätte
the Memorial
für die ermordeten Wiesbadener Juden
for the Murdered Jews of Wiesbaden
ihrer Bestimmung übergeben.
was consigned to its set purpose.
Captions 8-10, Holocaust-Gedenktag - Gedenkstätte am Michelsberg
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It is through Holocaust memorials, such as those in Michelsberg and Wiesbaden, that Germany hopes to steer young people away from right-wing racist extremism. But the infiltration of the German police and military by right-wing extremists has only started to be investigated in recent years, and 2022's coup attempt to seize the military and overthrow the German government has hopefully awakened the German government to the need to take stronger measures.
Further Learning
Today, the 8th of May 2023, is the 78th anniversary of the surrender of Nazi Germany and the liberation of Europe. You can read on Wikipedia about the surrender of Nazi Germany on May 8th, 1945, and about the Allied holiday that celebrated the event. Go to Yabla German to watch some of the videos above about related topics.
Not too long ago, we sent out a lesson on homographs, which are words that are spelled the same and sound the same, but have different meanings. You could also say that it's when one word has various definitions. Anyway, the noun der Gang falls into this category.
One translation of der Gang is "the course," as in a course of events, or the way something happens.
Hier geht alles seinen ruhigen Gang.
Here, everything runs its quiet course.
Caption 21, Die letzten Paradiese - Die Schönheit der Alpen - Part 9
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Just as a course can also refer to part of a meal in English, Germans say der erste Gang for the first course (though probably more often die Vorspeise / "the appetizer") and der Hauptgang for the main course.
Und da kommt auch schon der nächste Gang.
And here comes the next course already.
Caption 18, Die letzten Paradiese - Die Schönheit der Alpen - Part 5
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Now it's time to shift into high gear, for which we can also use der Gang, as it is used to refer to a gear that you would shift into on a bicycle or in a car. Unlike in English, it does NOT refer to a gear in a wristwatch, which is das Zahnrad (die Zahnräder as a plural noun).
Dann legen wir den ersten Gang ein.
Then we shift into first gear.
Caption 17, Fahrschule - Wie man die Kupplung bedient
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Here you can see how der Gang is used to refer to someone's gait or the act of doing a walkthrough.
Es gibt ja viele Frauen, die...
There are many women that....
ja, ihren Gang auch ein bisschen verbessern können.
yes, can also improve their walk a little bit.
Caption 15, Auf dem Laufsteg - Modelcollege in Wiesbaden
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... deshalb schwingt bei einem Gang durch das Museum auch viel Nostalgie mit.
... therefore a tour through the museum also resonates with a lot of nostalgia.
Caption 23, Flipperautomaten - Kunstwerke für flinke Kugeln
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And then there's the very common translation of der Gang as a hallway or corridor:
Der rechte Gang und dann ganz hinten links.
The right hallway and then all the way in the back on the left.
Caption 18, Mein Weg nach Deutschland - Auf Arbeitssuche
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Further Learning
You'll find many instances of der Gang used on Yabla German, but why not also try to formulate your own sentences?
In a previous lesson, we discussed the difference between the German verbs zählen and zahlen. Although only an umlaut differentiates the two words—and their meanings can both relate to numbers or money—let's quickly recap the distinctions in meaning. The verb zählen means "to count," and the verb zahlen means "to pay." The first video below talks about counting money (zählen), and the second about paying money (zahlen):
Ja, manchmal muss ein Bankkaufmann auch Geld zählen.
Yes, sometimes a banker has to count money too.
Caption 9, Nicos Weg - A1 Folge 38: Mein Beruf
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Wer eine Bar, eine Disco oder ein Fitnessstudio weiterbetreibt,
Anyone who continues to run a bar, club, or gym
muss 5.000 Euro zahlen.
will have to pay 5,000 euros.
Captions 16-17, Die Corona-Krise - Null Toleranz & Strafen bei Verstößen in NRW
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But what about the verbs bezahlen and zahlen? In their infinitive forms, they are easy enough to differentiate, but in their Partizip Perfekt form, they look very similar (bezahlt / gezahlt) and even rhyme:
Du hast mir monatelang kein Gehalt bezahlt!
You have paid me no salary for months!
Caption 22, Mama arbeitet wieder - Kompromisse zu finden ist nicht einfach
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Süß. Aber du hast nur 50 gezahlt.
Cute. But you have only paid 50.
Caption 31, Die Pfefferkörner - Cybermobbing
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Whether to use bezahlen or zahlen is a complicated topic indeed, but there are a few general rules that make it easier.
1. When a person is being paid (in the case below, the models), you always use bezahlen:
Übrigens, wir haben nur zwei Models bezahlt.
By the way, we only paid two of the models.
Caption 25, Bausa - Was du Liebe nennst
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2. The verb bezahlen generally suggests that something has been fully paid or "paid up," whereas zahlen means a payment has been made, but it may have been just a partial payment. A clever article entitled "Haben Sie schon gezahlt oder bezahlen Sie erst später?" illustrates this well. A literal translation could be: "Have you already partially paid or are you going to completely pay up later?"
A more literal translation of the following could be: "I don't have to pay for all of it, the German Film Academy is making payments for that."
Keine Ahnung, ich muss das nicht bezahlen,
No idea, I don't have to pay for it,
das zahlt die Deutsche Filmakademie.
the German Film Academy is paying for it.
Caption 38, Ball des Weines - Barbara Schöneberger
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3. The verb zahlen is usually used for more general purposes, such as "to pay any price":
Die kleine Meerjungfrau war bereit, jeden Preis zu zahlen,
The Little Mermaid was ready to pay any price
um bei dem Prinzen zu sein.
to be with the Prince.
Caption 50, Märchen - Sagenhaft: Die kleine Meerjungfrau
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4. In many cases, either bezahlen or zahlen will work. It would be somewhat more correct to use gezahlt and zahlen in the second sentence, but it works either way:
Wurde der Computer schon bezahlt? –Nein, er hat vorerst nur 500 Euro bezahlt / gezahlt und wird den Rest nächsten Monat bezahlen / zahlen.
Has the computer already been paid for? –No, he has only paid 500 euros for now and will pay the rest next month.
To conclude: Always use bezahlen when paying a person—as a rule, use bezahlen for paying something completely and zahlen for a partial payment and just paying in general. However, it's not a serious grammatical mistake in most cases to use either one.
Further Learning
Go to Yabla German and search for variations of bezahlen and zahlen. Tip: add an asterisk in your search (bezahl*, zahl* and gezahl*) and you will get all of the cases in the search results. Be careful to note the different contexts in which the verbs appear. Then read the above-mentioned article "Haben Sie schon gezahlt oder bezahlen Sie erst später?" It's pretty funny, considering it's about grammar!
How do we emphasize the urgency of a situation or immediacy of an event? How can we reassure someone that something will be taken care of right away?
The adverb gleich is used a lot and has many possible translations in this context. You might be thinking about it as an adjective meaning "same" or "alike," and we also have a lesson on that topic. But here we are looking at how it is used to define something as happening "in just a minute," "immediately," or "momentarily."
Gut, vielen Dank. Ich mache mich gleich auf den Weg.
Good, many thanks. I'll be on my way immediately.
Caption 14, Berufsleben - Probleme mit Mitarbeitern
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Warum hab ich das nicht gleich erkannt?
Why didn't I realize that right away?
Caption 80, Die Pfefferkörner - Endspurt - Part 12
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Ja, Moment, ich habe es gleich.
Yes, one moment, I'll have it momentarily.
Caption 30, Der Merkelpilot - der kleine Mann, der es macht
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There is another way to say that something will happen "any minute now," and it's very similar to how it's said in English:
Aber der Reparaturdienst müsste jede Minute da sein.
But the repair service should be here any minute.
Caption 8, Die Pfefferkörner - Endspurt - Part 18
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Another adverb to know is sofort, which is even more urgent than gleich, and is pretty much always translated as "at once," "right away," or "immediately."
Kein Problem, Frau Schmidt. Ich werde es Ihnen sofort schicken.
No problem, Ms. Schmidt. I will send it to you immediately.
Caption 67, Berufsleben - das Vorstellungsgespräch
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Sie ist sofort abgehauen, als Frau Lenz die Sache angesprochen hat.
She immediately took off when Ms. Lenz raised the matter.
Caption 65, Die Pfefferkörner - Endspurt - Part 2
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In more formal contexts, you may hear unverzüglich ("without delay") and umgehend.
Er muss unverzüglich Waffenstillstandsverhandlungen mit Eisenhower und Montgomery aufnehmen.
He must immediately begin armistice negotiations with Eisenhower and Montgomery.
Caption 81, Die Stunde der Offiziere - Dokudrama über den 20. Juli 1944
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Oder noch besser, komm umgehend ins Kontor.
Or better yet, come to the office immediately.
Caption 65, Die Pfefferkörner - Alles auf Anfang
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Although unmittelbar is also translated as "immediate," it is often related to space rather than time:
Wir sind, äh, hab ich schon gesagt,
We are, uh — as I've already said —
in unmittelbarer Nähe, äh, von Saarbrücken.
in the immediate vicinity, uh, of Saarbrücken.
Captions 37-38, Nachbarn - Andrea aus Forbach
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Daher ordne ich an, dass Sie unmittelbar wieder die Ehe schließen.
Therefore I order you to remarry immediately.
Captions 34-35, Yabla Gerichtshof - Probleme des Zusammenlebens
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For urgency, there is the word dringend, which like many German words functions as both an adjective and an adverb depending on how it's integrated in the sentence:
Ich brauche dich hier dringend im Innendienst.
I need you urgently here in the office.
Caption 63, Großstadtrevier - Von Monstern und Mördern
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Further Learning
You will find many examples of these words used on Yabla German. In particular, keep an eye on how the translation of gleich changes depending on the context.
You're probably very familiar with the German adjective schön. It's one of the most commonly used words in the German language, as well as one of the first words you encounter when learning to speak German. The crowd-sourced online dictionary dict.cc lists up to 20 possible English translations for schön, although it is usually translated into English as "nice," "beautiful," or "pretty," depending upon the context.
Es gibt viele schöne Lindenalleen in Deutschland.
There are many beautiful linden avenues in Germany.
Caption 2, Deutsch mit Eylin - Bäume
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Es ist ein sehr schönes Land und die Hauptstadt heißt Bern.
It is a very beautiful country, and the capital is called Bern.
Captions 14-15, Deutsch mit Eylin - Denk schnell!
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You are probably also familiar with schön as an adverb directly modifying a verb. In the first case below, schön ("beautiful") modifies aussehen ("looks"), and in the second case, schön ("beautiful") modifies sich machen ("makes herself"):
Lavendel sieht schön aus und duftet natürlich sehr gut.
Lavender looks beautiful and, of course, smells very good.
Caption 25, Deutsch mit Eylin - Kräuter aus meinem Garten
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Wenn Lothar eine Party macht, macht Sabine sich extra schön.
When Lothar has a party, Sabine makes herself extra beautiful.
Captions 4-5, Deutsch mit Eylin - Machen vs. tun
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You may be a bit less familiar, however, with schön as an adverb modifying another adverb, as these are not usually translated literally into English:
Allerdings sind die oft ganz schön teuer.
However, they are often pretty expensive.
Caption 56, Deutsch mit Eylin - Erkältungszeit
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Puh, das war ganz schön streng, fand ich.
Phew, that was really pretty strict, I thought.
Caption 9, Deutsch mit Eylin - Ernährungsformen
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The above construction, ganz schön... followed by an adverb, is common in German. If you translated it literally word for word, you would wind up with something clumsy like "very prettily strict," which doesn't really work. Since the adjective schön is sometimes translated as as "pretty," in the sense of "beautiful," it is convenient to translate the adverb schön as "pretty" too. But while "pretty" and "beautiful" are largely interchangeable when using them as adjectives, the adverb "pretty" has different connotations than the adverb "beautifully." And there is another potential problem with translating the phrase ganz schön as "pretty": In German, the adverbial phrase ganz schön is a strengthening modifier, meaning it makes whatever it is modifying stronger, the equivalent of "quite" or "really quite." Note that the second example above emphasizes ganz schön as a strengthening modifier by translating it as "really pretty."
As a colleague of mine aptly pointed out, ganz schön also "often reflects that there's a bit of surprise or unexpectedness (on someone's behalf, not necessarily the speaker) regarding the extent something is the way it is."
In English, the adverb "pretty" is either a strengthening or a weakening modifier, depending upon the context and the way in which it is spoken. If spoken with confidence and the emphasis on the main adverb, it strengthens the main adverb. If spoken with doubt, with the emphasis on "pretty," it weakens the main adverb:
How was your tennis match today?
Pretty good. ("Very good")
How was your tennis match today?
Pretty good. ("fairly good," "okay")
If the text above were printed without the emphasis shown in bold print, with no other context to tell if the person was pleased or not so pleased with the tennis match, you would not be able to say with certainty whether they thought the match went really well or was slightly disappointing. The adverb "pretty" is pretty—no, very—ambiguous. The German adverb ziemlich is similar to the English adverb "pretty," in that it can be either a strengthening or weakening modifier, depending upon the context.
If you are ever translating the adverbial phrase ganz schön to English, it may be generally better to use an English adverb that is unequivocally a strengthening modifier, such as "really," or "quite." There is a certain beauty in the parallel of translating ganz schön into the English adverb "pretty," but you should be certain in that case that it is very clear to potential readers that "pretty" is meant as a strengthening modifier. If the context is ambiguous, using "pretty" can lead to an ambiguous translation!
The same applies vice-versa, should you ever be translating English to German: if the English text is "pretty sure" (in the sense of "somewhat unsure"), then you do not want to translate that to ganz schön sicher, because this translates back to "very sure."
Further Learning
How would you translate Sie ist ganz schön schön—as "She is pretty pretty"? Translating can sometimes be a tricky process: equivalent words in different languages often have subtly different cultural contexts and meanings. Go to Yabla German and search for the adverbial phrase ganz schön to learn different ways that it can be translated according to the different contexts, including into the English adverb "pretty."
In these lessons, we've looked at the climate crisis as well as vocabulary for different types of wind and rain in German. This week, let's look at words and phrases for talking about extreme weather.
While many places in the world deal with hurricanes, a bad storm with high winds and terrible rain that occurs in Europe is generally called der Orkan and not der Hurrikan in German:
Im März dieses Jahres
In March of this year,
ist der Orkan Niklas über Deutschland hinweggezogen.
Hurricane Niklas passed over Germany.
Captions 5-6, Gesamtverband der Deutschen Versicherungswirtschaft - Naturgefahrenreport
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In the winter, of course, it would be a snowstorm or hailstorm:
Auf dem Nachhauseweg verirrte er sich in einem
On the way home, he lost his way in a
furchtbaren Schneesturm.
terrible snowstorm.
Caption 19, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Die Schöne und das Biest
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Sturm, Hagel und Starkregen.
Storms, hail, and torrential rain.
Caption 1, Gesamtverband der Deutschen Versicherungswirtschaft - Naturgefahrenreport
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Though Germany rarely has natural disasters such as earthquakes or tornados, the weather has become increasingly unstable. In particular, flooding has been a problem in recent years:
Überschwemmungen wie in der Region Ahr und Erft im Juli 2021 ...
Floods, such as in the Ahr and Erft region in July 2021...
Caption 23, Klimaschutz - Es geht um das Überleben der Menschheit
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Im März wurde Japan von einem gewaltigen Erdbeben,
In March Japan was ravaged by a powerful earthquake,
einer furchtbaren Flutwelle und, in der Folge,
a horrendous flood and, subsequently,
einer verheerenden Reaktorkatastrophe heimgesucht.
a devastating nuclear reactor catastrophe.
Captions 5-6, Angela Merkel - Neujahrsansprache
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Hier zum Beispiel ihre Performance bei der
Here, for example, her performance at the
Hamburger Sturmflut 1962.
Hamburg storm flood 1962.
Caption 14, heute-show - Die männliche Merkel hat Erinnerungslücken
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Around the world and in Germany, a lack of rain and high temperatures in certain months has dire circumstances as well:
Wo Dürre ist, herrscht auch geistige Dürre.
Where there is drought, there is also intellectual drought.
Caption 45, heute-show Wasserknappheit - Verkauft eure Aktien und investiert in Wasser!
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Kleines Beispiel: Stell dir einen großen Waldbrand vor.
Small example: Imagine a big forest fire.
Caption 63, heute-show - Wer ist schuld an der Klimakrise?
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Further Learning
In addition to reading the lessons linked above, you can look at the linked videos on Yabla German to learn more about extreme weather and the environment.
I've had native German-speaking colleagues tell me that I speak German with a very good accent. So it came as a shock to me a couple of years ago when a British friend (who had studied at a German university and whose accent is excellent) said to me: "You just said danke schon back there. It's danke schön!" I realized that I'd somehow slid from the uniquely German sound of the umlaut Ö into a standard O. I spent the next couple of months working to consciously improve my umlaut pronunciation awareness.
When you are first learning a foreign language, you will likely encounter letters and letter combinations that are unlike anything in your native language. We all know that it takes a while to learn to pronounce them, getting your mouth's muscle memory used to making completely new movements to get that sound to come out right.
But what we may be a bit less conscious of is the fact that it is also difficult to hear the sounds of some letters and letter combinations in a new non-native language. A native English speaker may, hearing German for the first time, try to mimic danke schön as "donkey shown." This is not only due to its difficult pronunciation. To some extent, a beginner may even hear it the way they mispronounced it.
You'll likely be familiar with the adjective schön, which is usually translated as "nice," "beautiful," or "pretty."
Die beiden sind doch ein richtig schönes Paar.
The two of them make a really nice couple.
Caption 83, Die Pfefferkörner - Endspurt
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Es war einmal eine schöne, junge Frau namens Jorinde.
There was once a beautiful young woman named Jorinde.
Caption 5, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Jorinde und Joringel
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The adverb schön, however, is rarely translated the same as the adjective. In the case of danke schön, it is usually translated as "thank you" or "thank you very much." The "very much" addresses the adverb schön, since with only danke then "thank you" or "thanks" is enough. The key to the adverb schön, however, is that it strengthens whatever it is modifying.
Hast es dir schön gemütlich gemacht hier.
You've made yourself nice and comfortable here.
Caption 30, Lerchenberg - Viva La Television!
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Ich liebe die Atmosphäre bei mir zu Hause,
I love the atmosphere in my home,
besonders, wenn alles schön sauber gemacht worden ist.
especially when everything has been made nice and clean.
Captions 1-2, Deutsch mit Eylin - Putzen
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In the two captions above, schön was translated as "nice" with the additional conjunction "and" so that it correlates with the standard English construction "nice and..." The above could have been translated, albeit it less gracefully, as "nicely comfortable" or "nicely clean." The above two captions are also perfect examples where somebody starting to learn German may misinterpret schön as schon, which would have a different meaning:
Du hast es dir schon gemütlich gemacht hier.
You've already made yourself comfortable here.
Ich liebe die Atmosphäre bei mir zu Hause, besonders, wenn alles schon sauber gemacht worden ist.
I love the atmosphere at my house, especially when everything has already been made clean.
Note that some of the German above is not quite grammatically correct, but it's written as a misheard statement. In the first one, the person who misheard might reply "Yes, of course I'm already comfortable, should I not be?" In the second, someone might reply "Oh, do you have a housekeeper who cleans for you in advance?" Mild misunderstandings to be sure, but misunderstandings nonetheless. Just imagine the confusion when this poor soul hears the following:
So, jetzt weißt du schon ganz schön viel
So now you already know quite a lot
über mich und meine Familie.
about me and my family.
Captions 51-52, Deutsch mit Eylin - Die Familie
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Or better yet:
Ist schon schön, ne?
It is nice, isn't it?
Caption 44, Angelique Kerber - Ihre tennisfreie Zeit
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Say that twenty times fast as a tongue-twister, or as the case may be, an umlaut twister! Note that schon isn't translated. That is because although it is technically an adverb, it's really more of a "filler word" or modal particle.
Further Learning
Go to Yabla German and search for schön being used as an adverb, which is any use of schön that does not appear before a noun. See all of the different ways that it can be translated according to the different contexts, including into the English adverb "pretty." But more about the strange relationship of schön and "pretty" in an upcoming lesson!
So many German verbs are constructed with the verb machen, but only a few are constructed with tun. The verbs machen and tun may have overlapping meanings, but the verbs we will look at here use tun exclusively.
One phrase you learned early on was Es tut mir leid ("I'm sorry"). The verb leidtun can literally be translated as "to be sorry (for someone)."
Es tut mir leid, ich wusste das nicht!
I'm sorry, I didn't know that!
Caption 30, Nicos Weg - A2 - Folge 71: Meiner Meinung nach
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Frederick tat das leid, dass Piggeldy so schlottern musste.
Frederick was sorry that Piggeldy shivered in such a way.
Caption 19, Piggeldy und Frederick - Die Treppe
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The verbs guttun and wehtun can be seen as opposites, though wehtun is also used to refer to physical pain.
Was tut gut, was tut weh?
What does good, what causes pain?
Caption 6, Clueso - Neuanfang
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Oh, meine Hand tut weh!
Oh, my hand hurts!
Caption 21, Felix und Franzi - Das Training
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Der Bauch tut mir weh, der Kopf tut mir weh.
My stomach hurts, my head hurts.
Caption 45, Deutschkurs in Tübingen - Verben der 3. Kategorie
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The phrase tun als ob means to act like or to pretend.
Schorsch tut so, als wäre er ein Dinosaurier.
Schorsch is pretending to be a dinosaur.
Caption 49, Peppa Wutz - Einkaufen und mehr
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Und ich tue, als täte nichts weh.
And I act as though nothing hurts.
Caption 12, Andreas Bourani - Eisberg
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Und Sie tun hier so, als hätten Sie einen Doktortitel?
And you are pretending to have a doctorate here?
Caption 20, Das Lügenbüro - Die Bewerbung
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Further Learning
In addition to doing a search on Yabla German, write your own sentences to practice using these verbs and phrases in the present and past tense.
Neunzehnhundertdreiunddreißig: This many letters in one single word looks pretty difficult, but the year it's expressing, 1933, is more difficult yet. It's now 90 years since the Nazis came into power in Germany, and many German states and communities are organizing events in remembrance of the lives that were lost as a result. There will also be lot of stories in the German media about the first terrible actions taken by the Nazis after they came into power.
Es gibt keine guten Nachrichten mehr,
There is no good news anymore,
jedenfalls nicht mehr seit Januar 1933.
at least not since January 1933.
Captions 77-78, Die Stunde der Offiziere - Dokudrama über den 20. Juli 1944
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Adolf Hitler came into power in Germany on January 30th, 1933. This is sometimes referred to as die Machtergreifung ("seizure of power"), but this term is often perceived as incorrectly suggesting that the German populace was passively, rather than actively, participating in and approving the event. Hence, when it appears in German media, it is usually seen with quotation marks as die sogenannte „Machtergreifung“ (the so-called "seizure of power"). A better and more neutral term is die Machtübergabe ("the transfer of power").
Den Anfang macht das Reichstagsgebäude.
The parliament building started it.
Caption 11, Berlin - Hauptstadt des vereinten Deutschland
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The caption above is in an entirely different context, but one of the first actions the Nazis took, on February 1st, 1933, was to dissolve der Reichstag, or parliament. This marked the end of democracy in Germany until the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 in the west, and the re-unification of the former German Democratic Republic in 1990 in the east. In today's context, only the building is referred to as der Reichstag. The modern name for the German parliament that meets in the Reichstag building is der Bundestag.
1933, als der Reichstag brennt,
In 1933, when the Reichstag burned,
beginnt eine Zeit, die man Drittes Reich nennt.
a period called the Third Reich began.
Captions 34-35, Rapucation - Lernen durch Rapmusik
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The decree that robbed German citizens of any protection under the constitution was put into effect on February 28th, 1933, the day after the Reichstag fire. Regardless of who set the Reichstag ablaze, the Nazis exploited the fire to issue an "emergency decree," which suspended all civil liberties for German citizens and paved the way for the Nazi dictatorship.
Die Konzentrationslager sind beschleunigt zu besetzen ...
The concentration camps are to be occupied immediately ...
Caption 52, Die Stunde der Offiziere - Dokudrama über den 20. Juli 1944
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As soon as the Nazis were in power, they began arresting and murdering their first victims, who were mostly political opponents, including members of parliament, city mayors, and other members of opposition parties such as the SPD and KPD. They were taken to so-called wilde Konzentrationslager ("spontaneous concentration camps") such as KZ Columbia-Haus, a building near Tempelhof Airport in Berlin that was later torn down. Dachau Concentration Camp was already constructed and taking in prisoners by March 22nd, 1933. Unfortunately, it was the first of many hundreds of such facilities designed to exploit prisoners by working them to death—Vernichtung durch Arbeit, "extermination through work"—or outright murdering them.
Germany has accomplished a lot in memorializing the terrible events that resulted from the Nazi Regime coming to power in 1933. A large part of the German government's hesitation in getting involved in armed conflicts probably comes from historical experience of the potential cost to human life and infrastructure. So although other wars and genocides have occurred after the Second World War, let us hope, especially in view of the current conflict in Ukraine, that rational humanitarian thinking and peace can prevail.
Further Learning
Make a list of some of the German terms above and read the linked Wikipedia articles. If you're feeling brave, you can find the German-language versions and give them a go. Then find the terms on Yabla German and see how they are used in different contexts.
This Wednesday, March 8th, is International Women's Day. In the federal states of Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Internationaler Frauentag has been an official holiday since 2019, meaning that offices, stores, and schools are all closed. However, the holiday has existed since the early 20th century as part of the women's rights movement.
The word for gender in German is das Geschlecht, so "gender equality" in German is die Gleichstellung der Geschlechter (note the genitive construction!).
Ein Zeichen dafür, dass Frauen in Deutschland
A sign that women in Germany,
trotz der rechtlichen Gleichstellung
despite legal equality,
noch immer in bestimmten Aspekten des Lebens benachteiligt werden.
are still disadvantaged in certain aspects of life.
Captions 26-28, Gleichberechtigung - Internationaler Frauentag am 8. März
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What does gender equality look like? Getting the right to vote, which women have had in Germany since 1919, was certainly a watershed moment.
Was regelt das Wahlrecht in Deutschland?
What does the right to vote control in Germany?
Caption 29, Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Einbürgerungstest
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However, today's work is focused on women around the world being free from violence, oppression, and discrimination. In Germany, there are also questions of political representation and equal pay.
Wir wollen eine Gleichberechtigung, keine Diskriminierung.
We want equality, not discrimination.
Caption 39, Integration von Nationalitäten - Hessen miteinander
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Here, there's still room for improvement in German politics and offices. However, there are some structures that support women in their work and family life. The noun die Elternzeit is used to describe time taken off by any parent of a new baby.
Da kannst du nur hoffen, dass dein Mann Elternzeit nimmt.
Then you can only hope that your husband takes parental leave.
Caption 48, Großstadtrevier - Nicht mit mir
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Of course, some older traditions still carry forward a slightly misogynistic viewpoint, as beautiful as the costumes may be:
Sind die Bollen rot, bedeutet das, dass die Frau unverheiratet ist.
If the balls are red, it means that the woman is unmarried.
Schwarze Kugeln sind das Zeichen für eine verheiratete Frau.
Black balls are the symbol for a married woman.
Captions 7-8, Cettina erklärt - Sitten und Bräuche
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Further Learning
Be sure to watch Cettina's video about Internationaler Frauentag on Yabla German!
In a previous Yabla German lesson, we discussed heterographs. Today, we'll be taking a look at homographs. These are homophonic words, which means they are words that sound the same and are spelled the same, but have different meanings. Homographs can be quite confusing in spoken language, because the only way to know the meanings of the words—since they sound the same—is by the context in which they are used. In German, the gender of the word can play a significant role. The word "homograph" comes from Ancient Greek and literally means "written the same."
Note too that in German, regional differences in pronunciation can sometimes make a set of words homophones in one region, but not in another. Keep in mind that because of the capitalization of nouns in German, in order for two words to be true homographs, they must both be the the same case, with the first letters either lower or upper case. So while the adjective arm ("poor") may be the same letters and sound the same as the noun der Arm ("arm"), they are homophones but not strictly homographs because of the difference in cases. Since all nouns are capitalized in German, this means that a noun can never be a homograph of a verb, adjective, or adverb in German. This makes for very few homographs in German compared to English and other languages! Here are a few examples.
Zu seiner Überraschung fielen alle sieben Fliegen auf den Tisch.
To his surprise, all seven flies fell onto the table.
Caption 12, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Das tapfere Schneiderlein
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Angst vor dem Fliegen hat sie jedenfalls nicht.
Fear of flying, in any case, she does not have.
Caption 4, Im Höhenflug - Ariadne (die Ex von Lothar Matthäus)
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The plural of the insect "fly" (die Fliege) is die Fliegen, and the noun das Fliegen comes from the verb fliegen ("to fly"). We can invent some funny sentences with these word combinations: Haben Fliegen Angst vor fliegen? ("Are flies afraid of flying?") What a silly question!
Im Sommer verschmäht er auch Insekten und Spinnen nicht.
In summer, it does not reject insects and spiders, either.
Caption 15, Die letzten Paradiese - Schätze der Natur: Südtirol
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Dieses Konzept ermöglicht das Spinnen von zwei verschiedenen Garnfeinheiten gleichzeitig.
This concept enables the spinning of two different yarn counts simultaneously.
The plural of the arachnid "spider" (die Spinne) is die Spinnen, and the noun das Spinnen is yet again a noun derived from the verb spinnen ("to spin"). Sind die Spinnen an all das Spinnen gewöhnt? ("Are the spiders used to all the spinning?") It's logical that the German words for "spinning" and for "spiders" are nearly the same. Spinning webs is what spiders do best, right?
Mit dem ersten Band kündigt die junge Autorin ihre literarischen
Ambitionen an.
With the first volume, the young author is announcing her literary ambitions.
Die Band ist eingespielt; die Models wissen, wie sie laufen müssen.
The band has warmed up; the models know how they must walk.
Caption 29, Mode - Backstage auf der Modenschau
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Daher umsäumt ein helles Band den Weißensee und gibt ihm seinen Namen.
From that, a bright band surrounds the Weissensee and gives it its name.
Caption 14, Alpenseen - Kühle Schönheiten
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In the three examples above, we see der Band, die Band and das Band, three words that are spelled and pronounced the same, but have different genders and meanings. Der Band means a volume in a set of books; die Band comes from the English word "band" as in a musical group; das Band has the most meanings, and can mean a band such as a silk band, or a belt, ribbon, strap, tie, tape or even the belt in a conveyor belt, depending upon the context. Note too that the three words have different plurals: Der Band = die Bände; die Band = die Bands; das Band = die Bänder (alternately: die Bande). The easiest one here to remember is that since die Band comes from English, its plural is from the English too with -s.
Let's go for all three in one sentence, shall we?
Welcher Band der Diskografie der Band wurde auf Band aufgenommen?
We can decrypt the above by gender: Welcher Band in the nominative case makes for der Band, thus "volume"; der Band is in the genitive case, thus in the nominative case is die Band, or "band" as in musical group; the last Band has no pronoun, but the verb aufgenommen (recorded) tells us it must be referring to magnetic recording tape, thus das Band.
Which volume of the band's discography was recorded on tape?
Or in plural:
Welche Bände der Diskografien der Bands wurden auf Bänder aufgenommen?
Which volumes of the bands' discographies were recorded on tapes?
Luckily, this is about as complicated as German gets! In most cases, people would use das Tonband (die Tonbänder) for "recording tape" too. Let's just take a deep breath now and know that even some native German speakers might have some problems with this one.
Further Learning
Take a look at these examples of German homophones on Wikipedia and find some examples of the words used in a real-world context on Yabla German. Then see if you can create some German sentences using both homophones in the same sentence. You are allowed to make up silly sentences if you want to, of course!
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