The spooky holiday Halloween is celebrated in many countries, but has only begun to be celebrated in German-speaking countries in the last few decades. This is partially because these countries already have a similar holiday—in fact a whole season—called Carnival. This holiday period is called Fasching, or der Karneval.
Fasching season officially begins on November 11th at 11:11 p.m and ends on Ash Wednesday, which in 2023 is on Wednesday, February 22nd. The holiday is celebrated with large costume parades and costume parties. In parts of Europe where Fasching is celebrated—usually in traditionally Catholic regions—it is not unusual to see people in outlandish costumes in public. It's a bit like having Halloween for four months of the year! Let's take a look today at terms associated with Fasching in some Yabla videos about the event.
Helau! Hier aus Linkenheim an Fasching, Karneval.
Hurrah! We are here in Linkenheim for Fasching, carnival,
Caption 2, Fasching: mit Cettina
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Helau is a regional celebratory greeting used during Fasching celebrations. It could also be translated, depending upon the context, as "hey!" or "hello!," which it closely resembles in pronunciation. According to some sources, it might be a shortened version of "hallelujah," but meant in jest. Another possibility is that it derives from Hölle auf, and is thus a call to "raise hell." This is definitely true to the spirit of Fasching!
Da wir ja Fasching haben momentan, wollen wir uns auch ein bisschen verkleiden.
Since it's Carnival right now, we also want to dress up in costumes a bit.
Captions 18-19, Sallys Tortenwelt und Kochwelt: Bewerbungsvideo
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People like to dress up in all sorts of costumes, though they are typically less spooky than those we associate with Halloween. It's popular to put on outrageous, colorful costumes reminiscent of the 18th century, but with the addition of brightly colored wigs!
Fasching kann man auch Fasenacht oder Karneval nennen, also das kommt immer so auf den Ort drauf an.
You can also call Carnival Fasenacht or Karneval, it always depends on the location.
Captions 6-7, Fasching: mit Cettina
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So as you see, Fasching is a very regional event. When I lived in the Bavarian capital Munich, I'd often see people in crazy costumes on public transport at this time of year. Whereas in Prussian Berlin, it's pretty rare to see people in such outlandish get-ups.
Es gibt den Schmutzigen Donnerstag, der eigentlich auch für die Frauen ist.
There is Dirty Thursday, which is actually also for the women.
Caption 15, Fasching: mit Cettina
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Different holidays during Fasching are also called by different names, depending on the region. The "Dirty Thursday" above ("Fat Thursday" in English) is also called Weiberfastnacht or Weiberfasching ("women's Fasching"), hence Cettina's comment that this holiday is for women. In Cologne, it is called Wieverfastelovend, in Aachen Fettdonnerstag, and in Koblenz Schwerdonnerstag. And be forewarned if you're a male wearing a tie that day: It's best to wear one that you don't care much about, as women sometimes cut the the ties off of total strangers and compensate them with ein Bützchen—a little kiss!
In Köln machen die Geschäfte zu. Da ist ein paar Tage wirklich Ausnahmezustand.
In Cologne, the shops close. There is really a state of emergency for a couple of days.
Captions 13-14, Fasching mit Cettina
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The celebrations get so wild in some cities that shops are shut and the police have to take extra shifts for the sake of public safety.
Es ist alles super: die Kostüme super, die Guggenmusik ist am besten!
It's all great: the costumes are great, the Guggenmusik is the best!
Captions 19-21, Fasching: Rosenmontagszug in Mainz
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Never heard of Guggenmusik? Frankly, I hadn't either! It's the marching band music played during Fasching, and you can read all about it on Wikipedia and listen to some examples on YouTube.
Further Learning
Watch the videos in Cettina's Yabla series about Fasching. You can then go to Yabla German and search for some of the terms you learned and see them in context in other videos. Perhaps you and some fellow classmates can even organize your own Fasching party, complete with crazy costumes. Helau!
f you haven't already seen Eva's video about materials, it's a great way to improve your vocabulary for describing objects. Although she covers the topic extensively, we'll augment her video this week with some more specific words related to plastic, metal, and wood.
In German, plastic is either der Kunststoff or das Plastik, and rubber is der Gummi.
Diese können echt sein oder aus Holz oder Kunststoff.
These can be real or made of wood or plastic.
Caption 19, Ostern: mit Eva
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Es gibt natürlich auch Trinkbecher, die aus Plastik bestehen.
There are, of course, also drinking cups that are made out of plastic.
Caption 13, Eva zeigt uns: Materialien
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Ich nehme die Gummistiefel.
I'll take the rubber boots.
Caption 12, Felix und Franzi: Sonnenbrille oder Regenschirm?
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There are, of course, many types of metal, or das Metall.
Die Krone enthält ein anderes Metall, ein leichteres.
The crown contains a different metal, a lighter one.
Caption 81, Es war einmal: Entdecker und Erfinder Archimedes
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Die Kufen der Schlittschuhe sind aus Stahl und haben eine sehr glatte Auflagefläche.
Ice skate runners are made of steel and have a very smooth contact area.
Caption 22, Unterwegs mit Cettina: Schlittschuhlaufen
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Und ich möchte so wenig wie möglich Eisen verwenden.
And I want to use iron as little as possible.
Caption 30, Heidi: Dunkle Vergangenheit
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Diese Fünf-Cent-Münze ist aus Kupfer gemacht.
This five-cent coin is made out of copper.
Caption 7, Eva zeigt uns: Materialien
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Fun fact: Just like in English, the word das Blech ("tin") in German is also used to describe a baking tin (das Backblech). Additionally, it refers to a metal baking sheet or tray that you would slide into the oven.
Wie ihr seht, wird das Blech von der Tomatensauce nicht komplett bedeckt.
As you can see, the tray is not completely covered with the tomato sauce.
Caption 15, Cannelloni: mit Jenny
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As you saw in the very first example above, the word for "wood" is das Holz. But there are as many types of wood (die Hölzer) as there are types of trees. Here are just a few:
Denn die Kiefer ist einerseits ein Nadelbaum . . .
Because the pine is, on the one hand, a coniferous tree ...
Caption 17, Deutsch mit Eylin: Wörter mit 2 Bedeutungen
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Weinsberg war von Mauern umgeben, die waren so dick [sic] wie eine alte Eiche.
Weinsberg was surrounded by walls that were as thick as an old oak tree.
Captions 9-10, Märchen - Sagenhaft: Die Weiber von Weinsberg
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Der wird zwei Wochen lang geräuchert im Buchenholz.
It is smoked for two weeks in beech wood.
Caption 58, 48 h in Innsbruck: Sehenswürdigkeiten & Tipps
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You can additionally look up das Birkenholz, das Kirschholz, das Mahagoniholz, das Eschenholz, and many more. Based on the pattern you see, what is the name for the wood that comes from oak or pine trees?
Further Learning
Watch Eva's video on Yabla German and then look around the room you are in and try to describe what the furniture and objects are made of.
El gerundio en español es una forma verbal que indica una acción en curso: “María está comiendo pan”, o una acción que se repite en el tiempo: “el frío va aumentando”. El gerundio es no personal, esto quiere decir, que no se conjuga y que además carece de variaciones de género o número.
Por su parte, el alemán recurre a otras formas para que el hablante exprese ideas de continuidad, repetición o simultaneidad en el tiempo.
Esto quiere decir que en alemán no existe la forma verbal “gerundio”, como la aprendemos en español, pero existen palabras y estructuras equivalentes.
A continuación, algunas de las formas para expresar gerundio en alemán:
Gerade
La manera más conocida de formular una oración progresiva con gerundio en alemán es añadir directamente después del verbo principal el adverbio gerade, que significa "en este momento".
Und mir ist nicht egal, wo du grade [umgangssprachlich: gerade] pennst
Y no me da igual dónde estés durmiendo ahora mismo
Subtítulo 20, AnnenMayKantereit Pocahontas
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Was machst du gerade?
¿Qué estás haciendo?
Subtítulo 5, Cettina und Sabine Ostern
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Beim+ Sustantivo verbal
He aquí otra forma del gerundio alemán. Beim es la contracción de la preposición bei y del artículo dem. Beim + verbo escrito en infinitivo con mayúsculas (sustantivado) describe la simultaneidad de dos procesos, es decir, beim + infinitivo describe una acción que es interrumpida o acompañada por otra acción: Beim Schreiben… escribiendo.
Viel Spaß beim Nachkochen und beim Videoschauen.
Pasadlo bien copiando la receta y viendo vídeos.
Subtítulo 72-73, Bundesländer und ihre Rezepte Rheinland-Pfalz - Part 2
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Beim Malen bin ich vollkommen frei in dem, was ich tue.
Pintando, yo soy completamente libre en eso que estoy haciendo.
Subtítulo 28, Malerei Katharina Kuczinski - Part 1
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Indem
Indem es conjunción temporal que significa “mientras” o “en cuanto”pero que suele traducirse como gerundio.
Indem du meinem Vater das Gefühl gibst, dass ich mich wirklich anstrenge.
Dándole a mi padre la sensación de que realmente me estoy esforzando.
Subtítulo 54, Großstadtrevier Schatten der Vergangenheit - Part 2
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Indem wir in die Entwicklung eines neuartigen Prototypen [sic, Prototyps] investieren.
Invirtiendo en el desarrollo de un nuevo prototipo.
Subtítulo 47, Mama arbeitet wieder Kapitel 2: Kompromisse zu finden ist nicht einfach - Part 1
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Hasta una próxima lección.
Viel Spaß beim Lernen!
Aprendizaje adicional:
Anímate a buscar en los videos de Yabla alemán ejemplos que refuercen tu idea sobre el gerundio en alemán. Además de las formas descritas en esta lección, hay algunas otras que seguramente llamarán tu atención.
You too may be suffering from the post-Halloween blues. If you're a kid and went trick-or-treating, you've probably eaten about ten times your usual allowed amount of candy. If you're a grown-up like myself, you may have had half of a big bag of candy left over from the few trick-or-treaters brave enough to pass by the scary pumpkin on the doorstep. My problem is that I can't just leave candy lying around, I have to eat it. Either way, too much sugar can make you feel pretty down later on—your body's way of telling you that eating that much sugar just can't be very good for you.
By now, if you still have a carved pumpkin sitting outside, it's probably starting to sag and look even scarier than it did when it was fresh. You probably wouldn't want to eat it after it's been sitting out for a couple of days, but if you saved some of the inside bits (not the seeds and slimy stringy bits!), you can make some very tasty meals and desserts out of it. Let's talk today about pumpkins in German!
Kinder höhlen Kürbisse aus und feiern Halloween-Partys.
Children hollow out pumpkins and celebrate at Halloween parties.
Caption 15, Cettina erklärt: Halloween
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Weil Halloween ohne Kürbisse kein Halloween ist, oder?
Because Halloween isn't Halloween without pumpkins, right?
Caption 20, Nicos Weg: Feste und Feiertage
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Es entstand die Tradition, zum Totenfest Laternen aus Rüben zu schnitzen. Daraus hat sich nach und nach die Tradition entwickelt, Kürbisköpfe auszuhöhlen und sie in hässliche Fratzen zu verwandeln.
The tradition emerged of carving lanterns out of turnips for the festival of the dead. Out of that, the tradition gradually developed of hollowing out pumpkin heads and and transforming them into ugly faces.
Captions 28-30, Cettina erklärt: Halloween
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From der Kürbis, we get der Kürbiskopf. It's a good thing we don't still carve out hard turnips for Halloween, especially since we might have to eat something made of turnips later! Speaking of food:
Wir haben damals im Herbst immer ganz viele Gerichte aus Kürbissen gemacht, zum Beispiel Kürbissuppe, Kürbiskuchen, Kürbismarmelade, Kürbismuffins, Kürbisbrot...
We always used to make a ton of dishes from pumpkins in autumn — for example, pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie, pumpkin jam, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread...
Captions 22-24, Nicos Weg: Feste und Feiertage
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Die Kürbissuppe, der Kürbiskuchen, der Kürbismuffin and das Kürbisbrot all sound delicious, but die Kürbismarmelade? Sorry, but pumpkin marmalade just sounds weird!
Ich finde Kürbis total lecker.
I think pumpkin is totally delicious.
Caption 80, Sallys Tortenwelt und Kochwelt: Kürbissuppe
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Und deswegen gibt's heute eine leckere Kürbissuppe.
And that's why there's a delicious pumpkin soup today.
Caption 3, Sallys Tortenwelt und Kochwelt: Kürbissuppe
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Ich gebe immer gern noch ein bisschen von diesem Kürbiskernöl mit rein.
I always like to put a little bit of this pumpkin seed oil in with it.
Caption 67, Sallys Tortenwelt und Kochwelt: Kürbissuppe
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The Austrians are particularly proud of their fine pumpkin seed oil (das Kürbiskernöl), and for very good reason: A little drizzle over a salad or into a soup can work wonders. If you've never tried it, trust me: it's delicious, practically magical. Speaking of magic:
Aber mit einem Wink ihres Zauberstabs verwandelte die Fee den Kürbis in eine goldene Kutsche.
But with a wave of her magic wand the Fairy transformed the pumpkin into a golden carriage.
Captions 44-45, Märchen - Sagenhaft: Aschenputtel
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Of course, the pumpkin plays a major role in the tale of Cinderella too. This is the origin of the phrase "to turn into a pumpkin," which is something people say when it's getting late, and they are either getting tired or they're going to miss their curfew getting home on time.
Further Learning
Read the Yabla German lesson Halloween in Deutschland and watch some of the videos above in their entirety to get your head around pumpkins in German. Just be careful not to turn into one!
In today's lesson, we'll look at the many different meanings of the German verb ausmachen, which is a separable verb.
If we look at the parts of this verb, machen means "to do" or "to make" and aus means "out," "off," or "over." This will help us, but only to a certain extent. First, we have a very common translation of ausmachen, which is "to turn off":
Handys bitte ausmachen!
Please turn off your cell phones!
Caption 31, Verstehen Sie Spaß?: Sascha Grammel
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So, Annakind, jetzt wird aber Licht ausgemacht.
So, little Anna, now the light will be turned off.
Caption 17, Filmtrailer: Als Hitler das rosa Kaninchen stahl
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Next, it can also mean "to put out" when it comes to fire, and is used instead of the verb löschen ("to extinguish"):
Mit wenigen hundert Litern können wir einen Wohnungsbrand ausmachen.
With a few hundred liters we can put out an apartment fire.
Caption 87, Feuerwehr Heidelberg: Löschfahrzeug
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Willst du nicht mal die Zigarette ausmachen?
Don't you want to put out the cigarette?
Caption 1, Lerchenberg: Viva La Television!
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The verb ausmachen can be used if you've made an agreement with someone or arranged something:
Wir hatten doch ausgemacht, dass wir uns duzen!
But we had agreed that we'd address one another informally!
Caption 3, Konjugation: Das Verb „können“
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Und da haben wir auch, direkt auch einen Songwriting-Termin ausgemacht.
And then we also arranged a songwriting session right away.
Caption 31, LOTTE & Max Giesinger: Interview
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You can use ausmachen to state that something matters or has an effect:
...wie unheimlich viel das ausmacht, wenn jemand einfach so 'nen Laden gut im Griff hat.
...how incredibly much it matters when someone simply has a good grip on the shop.
Captions 24-25, Live-Entertainment-Award: Glamouröse Preisverleihung
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And in a related usage, it's very common to use the following construction to inquire about a potential negative effect, bother, or inconvenience:
Würde es Ihnen denn was ausmachen, wenn wir ...
Would it be a problem for you then if we...
Caption 40, Weihnachtsfilm: Ein Sack voll Geld
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Yet another translation is "to form," "to constitute," or "to comprise":
Du hast einen Zauber, der dich ausmacht.
You have a magic that forms you.
Caption 14, Cris Cosmo: Herzschlag
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Wien besitzt viele unterschiedliche Parkanlagen und ist weltweit eine der Städte mit dem höchsten Grünflächenanteil, der die Hälfte des Stadtgebiets ausmacht.
Vienna has many different parks and is one of the cities worldwide with the largest percentage of green areas, which comprise half of the city's space.
Captions 19-21, Reisebericht: Wien
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Be careful, as "to make out" in English has meanings that ausmachen does not. We might say, "I could make out the shape of her house in the distance" or "I couldn't make out what he wrote" in English, but other German verbs (such as erkennen or entziffern) are generally used in these contexts. The common slang usage of "to make out" in English that involves kissing has its own verb in German, which is knutschen, and ausmachen also isn't used for the idea of "making out well" in a deal or situation.
Further Learning
Create a sentence using each definition of ausmachen and etwas ausmachen listed above. You will find many more examples on Yabla German if you do a quick search.
In parts I and II of this lesson, we talked about office supplies that are not specifically related to the ever-present digital devices in the workplace and at school. Let's take a look today, in the final installment of this topic, at some more German names for office items that may be new to you.
Das ist ein Umschlag und das ist die Briefmarke.
This is an envelope and this is the stamp.
Caption 22, Nicos Weg: Das hört sich gut an!
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You probably knew der Umschlag (or der Briefumschlag) and die Briefmarke already, although these days we use them far less frequently than in the stone age of the pre-digital era.
Die häng ich immer an so eine Pinnwand und dafür brauch ich eine Pinnnadel.
I always hang them on a pinboard like this one, and for that I need a push-pin.
Captions 57-58, Deutsch mit Eylin Dinge auf meinem Schreibtisch - Part 2
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Die Pinnnadel is one of those German words with three consonant letters in a row, although in this case, the spelling Pinn-Nadel is also grammatically acceptable. Eine Pinnnadel usually has a round or oblong plastic head, as opposed to its flat-headed cousin der Reißnagel (or die Reißzwecke), which is a thumbtack. The advantage of push-pins is that they are much easier to pull out of harder surfaces like wood than thumbtacks are.
O nein, das ist Lisas Mappe. Bringt Lisa die Mappe.
Oh no, that's Lisa's folder. Bring the folder to Lisa.
Captions 22-23, Nicos Weg: Mein Beruf
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Eine Mappe is usually a simple folder that can hold loose papers.
Auf Ihrem Arbeitsplatz werden Sie einen Ordner namens „Deutsche Werbung“ finden.
On your desktop, you'll find a folder with the name "German Advertising."
Caption 39, Berufsleben: das Vorstellungsgespräch
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So while both die Mappe and der Ordner are usually translated as "folder," eine Mappe usually means a large ring binder that most Germans use to store important paperwork such as tax documents. In Berlin, I've often noticed that non-Europeans tend to prefer filing cabinets or pouches, but somewhere in most German homes you will find a wall of bookshelves filled with Ordner. I'm doing my best to avoid an unfortunate pun on the unfortunate German cliché Ordnung muss sein. It's just not true, at least if you're creatively inclined.
Du siehst, ich liebe Büromaterial, und ich liebe es auch, Ordnung zu halten auf meinem Schreibtisch.
You see, I love office supplies, and I also love keeping order on my desk.
Captions 68-69, Deutsch mit Eylin: Dinge auf meinem Schreibtisch
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At least some people are capable of keeping their desk clean! The term der Schreibtisch is outdated for many of us, as we barely even write anymore, at least in the sense of taking a pen or pencil in hand. Another common German word for "office supplies" is der Bürobedarf, which is usually also what shops are called that sell them.
Further Learning
Review our other two newsletters about office supplies and test your knowledge of the German words for the vast array of articles that are commonly used in office situations. Then go to the videos above on Yabla German and see these words in the context in which they are used.
Today we will look at a unique, but somewhat confusing German word: the conjunctive adverb zwar. Mainly confusing because it doesn’t have a single equivalent in English, it’s a word that can be used to create more expressive German sentences — a great word to know!
First of all, zwar can be used when making a clarification. Where we would use "namely," "that is," or "indeed" in English, in German you often see the phrase und zwar.
Zu seinem einhundertfünfundneunzigsten Geburtstag hat der Philosoph seine Geburtsstadt Trier erobert, und zwar gleich in fünfhundertfacher Ausführung.
For his one hundred ninety-fifth birthday, the philosopher has conquered his birth city of Trier, namely, in the form of five hundred duplicate copies.
Captions 3-5, „Mini-Marxe“: In Trier
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Wir beobachten aber auch, dass sich die Welt verändert, und zwar in rasantem Tempo.
We also observe, however, that the world is changing, and indeed at a rapid pace.
Caption 17, Angela Merkel: Gemeinsame Pressekonferenz mit Barack Obama
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Heute kochen wir ein niedersächsisches Gericht, und zwar eine Hochzeitssuppe.
Today we are cooking a Lower Saxon dish: namely, a wedding soup.
Captions 2-3, Bundesländer und ihre Rezepte: Niedersachsen
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Secondly, zwar can be used to express limitations or contradictions. In these sentences, zwar is in the limiting first statement, which is then followed by a contradictory statement beginning with an adverb like aber, allerdings, or doch. Let's have a look:
Die Raumordnung kann zwar nicht alle Konflikte lösen, aber sie kann als eine neutrale, übergeordnete Größe vieles steuern und anstoßen.
Spatial planning may not be able to resolve all conflicts, but as a neutral, superordinate variable, it can control and initiate many things.
Captions 53-54, Bundesregierung DE: Wie geht Raumordnung?
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Sie darf zwar nicht so lange draußen bleiben wie die Rentiere, aber dafür kann sie alles essen, was der Boden so hergibt.
Admittedly, she's not allowed to stay outside as long as the reindeer, but instead, she can eat everything the ground may happen to yield.
Captions 33-34, Im Zoo: Tiere im Winter
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Das Telefon klingelt zwar ab und zu, aber meistens höre ich nichts.
The phone does ring every now and then, but most of the time I don't hear anything.
Captions 32-33, Marius Müller-Westernhagen: Der Mann auf der Mauer
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Köln ist zwar die Stadt mit den meisten Einwohnern, aber die Landeshauptstadt ist Düsseldorf.
Although Cologne is the city with the most inhabitants, the state capital is Düsseldorf.
Captions 19-20, Bundesländer und ihre Rezepte: Nordrhein-Westfalen
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As you can see, there is not a single equivalent for this in English, but the meaning is essentially that of "although." Additionally, zwar adds emphasis to a statement.
Further Learning
Now that you have a sense of how zwar is used, try integrating it when you speak German. There are many more examples on Yabla German that you can look at as well.
En alemán se distingue claramente entre lugares y sentido de dirección. Para los lugares se utiliza el caso dativo (estado), para las direcciones el caso acusativo (movimiento).
Los denominados verbos posicionales añaden a la información simple sobre dónde está algo, la información sobre en qué posición está, en qué posición se ha sido colocado. Por lo tanto, dicen el resultado de una acción. A los hablantes nativos de alemán les encanta añadir esta información.
Es por ello que a un verbo es español como “poner” le corresponderían dos verbos en alemán: stellen y legen, pues los objetos se pueden colocar tanto en el eje vertical como horizontal.
Si un objeto es colocado en posición vertical (por ejemplo, en una estantería), se utilizará stellen:
Das Regal können wir hinten auf die Ladefläche stellen.
Podemos poner el estante en la parte trasera en la superficie de carga.
Subtítulo 6, Nicos Weg A2 Folge 43: Der Umzug
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Ich stelle den vollen Müllbeutel deutlich sichtbar vor die Haustür.
Yo coloco la bolsa de basura llena claramente visible frente a la puerta de la casa.
Subtítulo 37, Deutsch mit Eylin Putzen - Part 1
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Si un objeto es colocado en posición horizontal se utilizará legen:
wenn das Gemüse fertig is, auf das Gemüse legen.
cuando las verduras estén listas, colocarlo encima de las verduras.
Subtítulo 46, Bundesländer und ihre Rezepte Bundesland Hamburg - Part 2
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Man legt einen Sattel auf dieses Tier, um es zu reiten.
Se pone una silla de montar sobre este animal para montarlo.
Subtítulo14, Deutsch mit Eylin Denk schnell! - Part 3
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Para finalizar, es preciso decir que stellen y legen (movimiento-acción) son las formas en acusativo de los verbos en dativo stehen y liegen (posición-estado). Esto implica también un uso particular de las preposiciones que podremos aclarar más adelante
Hasta una próxima lección.
Viel Spaß beim Lernen!
Aprendizaje adicional:
Un llamativo Grenzfall [caso límite] es el referente a la computadora portátil (der Laptop/das Notebook) a la Tabletas (das Tablet) puesto que en ambos casos, según dicho objetos estén abiertos o cerrados, podrían aceptar el uso de de stellen o de legen. Algunos objetos también por su forma, se pueden colocar tanto en posición vertical como horizontal, co o en el caso de la estantería del primer ejemplo en esta lección.
The other day my partner, who like me is a non-native German speaker, asked me if eines der Gebiete ("one of the areas") is grammatically correct in German. Since I had to pause to consider it, it occurred to me that it would be a good time to brush up on the topic of indefinite pronoun genders when used in tandem with the dative and genitive cases. I had discussed the topic in a lesson several years ago, but thought it best (for myself and for Yabla newcomers!) to return to it in more depth.
Previously, I had discussed how when saying "one of..." in sentences such as "one of these days..." or "one of the problems" etc. in German, the pronoun gender has to agree with the gender of the noun. In these two examples, the nouns are "days" and "problems." It is a bit counterintuitive, as the nouns are plural but the pronouns reflect a singular version of the nouns.
Thus with einer von diesen Tagen (dative) or einer dieser Tage (genitive), the noun der Tag is masculine, so the pronoun ein must reflect the masculine gender of the noun: einer. It follows then that a neuter noun in these situation becomes eines and a feminine noun eine. Let's start with some examples of indefinite pronouns paired with feminine nouns.
Das war eine von den Ausnahmen, die ich vorhin erwähnt habe.
That was one of the exceptions I mentioned earlier.
Caption 41, Deutsch mit Eylin: Das Perfekt
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Das ist ja eine der beliebtesten Marken hier in Deutschland.
That is one of the most popular brands here in Germany.
Caption 41, Jenny und Alena: Autos und Motorräder
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Since die Ausnahme and die Marke are feminine nouns, the indefinite pronoun is eine.
Next comes indefinite pronouns paired with masculine nouns:
.
...weil das einer von den Arbeitsbereichen ist, wo noch sehr viele Menschen arbeiten.
...because that is one of the fields where a lot of people still work.
Captions 34-35, Gamification: Wie Spielen den Alltag interessanter macht
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Daniel Brühl gilt mittlerweile als einer der erfolgreichsten deutschen Schauspieler.
Daniel Brühl is now regarded as one of the most successful German actors.
Caption 9, Jahresrückblick: 2013 Deutsche Promis
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Again, der Schauspieler and der Arbeitsbereich are masculine, thus einer is used.
Lastly, the pronouns used with neuter nouns:
Matthias Henke bringt eines von schier unzähligen Beethovenbüchern auf den Markt.
Matthias Henke is bringing one of an almost countless number of Beethoven books onto the market.
Caption 29, Ludwig van Beethoven: 250. Geburtstag
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Das ist doch eines der ungelösten Rätsel.
That's one of the unsolved mysteries, after all.
Caption 78, Es war einmal: Archimedes
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Das Beethovenbuch — or easier, das Buch — and das Rätsel are neuter nouns, hence eines.
When one of the indefinite "one of" pronouns paired with a dative or genitive phrase is preceded by a preposition, however, it gets a bit tricky. The preposition also effects the pronoun:
Ich machte mich mit einer der Tassen vertraut.
I familiarized myself with one of the cups.
Caption 9, Abgedreht: Heinrich und der Tassendieb
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Thus eine der Tassen becomes mit einer der Tassen, because the dative preposition mit changes the feminine eine to einer. Using a preposition with a "one of..." phrase is a real double-whammy! Consider how the accusative preposition für changes the indefinite article for a masculine noun from ein to einen, but leaves the feminine article eine and the neuter article ein unchanged. So too with an accusative preposition and the three indefinite pronouns: the masculine changes from einer to einen, but the feminine eine and neuter eines remain unchanged:
für einen von den Männern or für einen der Männer
für eine von den Frauen or für eine der Frauen
für eines von den Kindern or für eines der Kinder
Further Learning
1. Pick ten or twenty favorite German nouns, being sure you write the genders correctly and you have a selection of feminine, masculine, and neuter nouns, as in the above example: der Mann, die Frau, and das Kind. 2. Now write all three as "one of..." phrases in dative and genitive: einer von den Männern / einer der Männer; eine von den Frauen / eine der Frauen; eines von den Kindern / eines der Kinder 3. Write them now together with a dative preposition: mit einem von den Männern / mit einem der Männer; mit einer von den Frauen / mit einer der Frauen; mit einem von den Kindern / mit einem der Kinder 4. Then try this with an accusative preposition such as für in the example above. Not so easy, is it? Lastly, as a well-deserved break, go to Yabla German and search for some "one of..." phrases like those above. Tip: if you put a phrase like "einer der" in quotation marks, you can narrow your searches to exact hits!
This week's lesson is all about exercise! When you think of "exercise" in the context of Yabla German, you might immediately think of language exercises, but we are now talking about die Übung in relation to der Sport or das Training. These are two common nouns for "the exercise" or "the workout," along with their related verbs:
Ja, mehr Sport machen, drei Kilo abnehmen und eine Tätowierung.
Yeah, exercise more, lose three kilos and a tattoo.
Caption 31, Silvester: Vorsätze für das neue Jahr - Karlsruhe
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Ganz gemütlich, wir trainieren hier jetzt die Oberschenkel.
Very comfortably, we are training the thighs now.
Caption 68, TEDx: Lebenslange Fitness
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When people go to the gym (ins Fitnessstudio gehen), they may use particular machines or equipment. But there are lots of exercises that can be done just with a mat, or no equipment at all:
Ja, also, ich muss sagen, ich trainiere wirklich sehr, sehr gerne im Fitnessstudio, also wirklich auch im Freihantelbereich.
Yeah, well, I have to say, I really, really like to work out at the gym, really in the free weights area too.
Captions 54-55, Anja Polzer: Interview
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Er reagiert genauso auf Training wie dein Bizeps auf Hanteltraining.
It responds to exercise the same way like your biceps to dumbbell training.
Captions 9-10, Deutsch mit Eylin: Kreatives Schreiben
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Liegestütze, Kniebeugen... und solche Sachen.
Pushups, squats... and things like that.
Caption 48, Deutsch mit Eylin: Sportarten
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So, die nächste Übung ist auch wieder für die Beine, wir machen einen ganz weiten Ausfallschritt nach vorne.
So, the next exercise is also for the legs again, we make a very big lunge forward.
Captions 19-20, Workout mit Erik: Übungen für Arme, Beine, Po, Rücken
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Ja, was man auch machen kann, ist zum Beispiel, Sit-ups, Bauchtraining.
Yes, what you can also do are, for example, sit-ups, abdominal training.
Caption 33, Finanzassistentin: Sarah interviewt Cettina
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Of course, some people do not like gyms and prefer to get exercise outside or through team sports:
Es ist dreimal effektiver auch als joggen, das heißt, du verbrennst hier dreimal mehr Kalorien als beim Joggen.
It's also three times more effective than jogging — that is, you burn three times as many calories here than when jogging.
Captions 53-54, Rhein-Main Ferien: 360 Jump in Dietzenbach
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Further Learning
On Yabla German, you can watch Erik's workout video in its entirety to get a sense of how a sequence of exercises would be directed in German, or watch Eylin's video on sports to learn the German words for all sorts of sports.
In Part I of this lesson, we talked about office supplies that are not specifically related to the ever-present digital devices in the workplace and at school. Let's take a look today at some more German names for office items that may be new to you.
Und ich habe auch noch jede Menge Filzstifte.
And I also have plenty of felt-tip pens.
Caption 63, Deutsch mit Eylin: Dinge auf meinem Schreibtisch
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So while you probably already knew der Kugelschreiber (ballpoint pen), hopefully der Filzstift is a new entry in your vocabulary!
Was ich auch sehr gern benutze, sind Leuchtstifte, um Textteile zu markieren.
What I also like to use are highlighters, to mark parts of text.
Captions 11-12, Deutsch mit Eylin: Dinge auf meinem Schreibtisch
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Der Leuchtstift makes sense for "highlighter," since the verb leuchten can mean "to give light," and the verb beleuchten means "to illuminate."
Aber wir sagen gerne Uhu, weil es der Kleber ist, den wir immer benutzt haben.
But we like to say "Uhu" because it's the glue that we've always used.
Captions 14-16, Deutsch mit Eylin: Dinge auf meinem Schreibtisch
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The brand name Uhu is so common in Germany that it is often used generically to mean many kinds of glue (der Kleber, also der Klebstoff). The literal translation of der Uhu is the Eurasian eagle owl, a species of owl (die Eule) that lives primarily in Eurasia. "Uhu" also sounds like the hooting sound an owl makes!
Was ich auch immer habe, ist ein Radiergummi.
What I also always have is an eraser.
Caption 31, Deutsch mit Eylin; Dinge auf meinem Schreibtisch
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Schoolchildren often use the slang word der Ratzefummel for der Radiergummi, which originates from the slang verb ratzen ("to snore in your sleep") and the informal verb fummeln (to fumble). This makes a certain sense too, as you must have been fumbling around in your sleep to make a mistake you have to erase. Best to pay more attention when you're writing!
Du siehst, ich liebe Büromaterial, und ich liebe es auch, Ordnung zu halten auf meinem Schreibtisch.
You see, I love office supplies, and I also love keeping order on my desk.
Captions 68-69, Deutsch mit Eylin; Dinge auf meinem Schreibtisch
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Office supplies, also commonly called der Bürobedarf, are indeed very nice. But looking at the chaos on my desk, I'd say that Eylin and I have differing opinions on that topic!
Further Learning
Make a list of the English office supply words mentioned above, then see if you can translate them correctly into German, paying close attention to the nouns' genders. Then go to Yabla German and watch Eylin's video above to get a better overview of the words you just learned!
In German, the nouns die Lage and die Stelle each have a few different meanings. First of all, die Lage can quite literally mean "the location," and die Stelle can be translated as "the position":
Sehr ruhige Lage, Bauernhöfe in der Nähe...
Very quiet location, farms nearby...
Caption 13, Nicos Weg: Auf Wohnungssuche
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Durch die Lage ist es häufig warm, und Weinreben können gut gedeihen, besonders am Kaiserstuhl.
Due to the location it is often warm and vines can thrive, especially in the Kaiserstuhl.
Caption 24, Bundesländer und ihre Rezepte: Baden-Württemberg
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Als er sich umsah, merkte er allerdings, dass er an einer völlig unerwarteten Stelle gelandet war.
When he looked around, however, he noticed that he had landed in a completely unexpected place.
Captions 30-31, Die Raumsonde: Rosetta Kometenlandung
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Die Lage can also mean "the situation," or "how things stand."
Die Lage wird langsam hoffnungslos.
The situation is slowly becoming hopeless.
Caption 39, Es war einmal... der Mensch: Der Neandertaler
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Ich bin Alina und heute berichte ich über die Corona-Lage in Frankreich.
I'm Alina, and today I'm going to report on the coronavirus situation in France.
Caption 3, Langsam gesprochene Nachrichten: Corona im Nachbarland Frankreich
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The common construction in der Lage sein means to be in a position where something is possible, or simply "to be able to"/"can."
Angenommen, unser Budget lässt es zu, sollten wir am Ende der Woche in der Lage sein, Ihnen die unterzeichneten Verträge zukommen zu lassen.
Assuming that our budget allows it, we should be in the position by the end of the week to send you the signed contracts.
Captions 56-58, Berufsleben: Probleme mit Mitarbeitern
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Seelöwen sind nämlich in der Lage, im Wasser zu schlafen.
Because sea lions are able to sleep in the water.
Captions 70-71, Evolution: Die Küsten
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The noun die Stelle also has the very common meaning of "the position," as in "the job."
Eine Frau, die ein zweijähriges Kind hat, bewirbt sich in Deutschland um eine Stelle.
A woman who has a two-year-old child applies for a job in Germany.
Caption 37, Bundesrepublik Deutschland: Einbürgerungstest
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With die Stelle, there are two common phrases to know. While an dieser Stelle is quite easily translated as "at this point," an deiner/Ihrer/ihrer/seiner Stelle is used to reflect on someone else's position and subsequent actions. It is perhaps not so different from "If I were you..." in English.
Und das hätte ich an deiner Stelle auch gesagt.
And I would've said that too in your position.
Caption 33, AnnenMayKantereit: Es geht mir gut
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And finally, when something occurs auf der Stelle, this means that it happens "immediately" or "then and there."
Auf der Stelle fielen die Besenstiele zu Boden und die Teppiche gehorchten.
Immediately, the broomsticks fell to the floor and the rugs obeyed.
Caption 76, Märchen: Sagenhaft Der Zauberlehrling
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Further Learning
There are many examples of die Lage and die Stelle in use on Yabla German, just do a quick search!
In light of the recent death of Elizabeth II, Queen of England, we'll take a look today at the German words for royal titles. Just two days before her death, the Queen was still fulfilling her royal duties, meeting with former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his successor Liz Truss at Balmoral Castle.
Aber die Königin starb bald darauf.
But the Queen died soon afterwards.
Caption 11, Märchen - Sagenhaft: Schneewittchen
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Some languages, like English, have completely different names for male and female monarchs. In German, however, most noble titles take the masculine nouns and make their feminine equivalents by giving them an -in feminine ending.
Bis 1806 trafen sich hier die Kurfürsten, um den deutschen König und Kaiser zu wählen.
Exactly. Until 1806, the electors met here to choose the German king and emperor.
Captions 68-69, Bundesländer und ihre Rezepte: Hessen
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Der König is easy enough, but what is the difference between der König and der Kaiser? The notorious Kaiser Wilhelm II, who was forced to abdicate after the surrender of Germany in the First World War, was both the King of Prussia and the Emperor of the German Empire. Prior to the end of the monarchy in Germany, which was a result of losing the First World War, the country was comprised of many kingdoms. Each of these kingdoms was ruled by a king or a queen, but the highest ruler of the land was der Kaiser, the Emperor. The title Kaiser derives from the Latin name Caesar.
Until the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, emperors were chosen by a council of nobles called die Kurfürsten. You can still see traces of this antiquated term in street names, such as the famous shopping street in western Berlin called Kurfürstendamm.
Der Prinz und die Prinzessin waren überglücklich und schnell war allen klar, dass sie sich ineinander verliebt hatten.
The Prince and the Princess were overjoyed and soon it was clear to everyone that they had fallen in love with one another.
Captions 85-86, Märchen - Sagenhaft: Dornröschen
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Der Prinz and die Prinzessin are quite easy for English speakers as the words are very close to their English equivalents.
Der bayerische Herzog Wilhelm IV war ein großer Freund des reinen Bieres.
The Bavarian Duke Wilhelm IV was a good friend of pure beer.
Caption 21, Deutsches Bier: 500 Jahre Reinheitsgebot
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The royal title ranking beneath der Prinz is der Herzog, or "duke." The feminine for "duchess" is die Herzogin.
Es gibt Schilderungen, da hatte eine Gräfin von Thun ihn angefleht, auf den Knien, dass er spielt.
There are descriptions where a Countess of Thun had begged him on her knees to play.
Captions 14-16, Ludwig van Beethoven: 250. Geburtstag
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Apparently Beethoven wasn't particularly fond of the aristocracy, since according to this anecdote, he refused to play for her based solely on her rank. The masculine equivalent of die Gräfin is der Graf: "the count."
Eine Lösung für dieses Mobilitätsproblem hatte Karl Freiherr von Drais.
A solution for this mobility problem was found by Baron Karl von Drais.
Caption 7, 200. Geburtstag: Die Geschichte des Fahrrads in 2 Minuten
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Der Freiherr is "baron" in English and feminine equivalent of "baroness" is die Freifrau. German also occasionally uses der Baron and die Baronin as well!
Further Learning
Extend your knowledge of German noble titles by reading the Wikipedia Adelstitel ("noble titles") page. Then you can go to Yabla German and search for some other videos using the words you learned for German titles of nobility.
Although many people like to spend their free time with music, TV, films, and video games, there's nothing like settling down with a good book. This week, let's talk about all there is to read!
In German, a work of non-fiction is called das Sachbuch, whereas fiction is die Belletristik. The noun "literature" is very similar in German: die Literatur. When it comes to novels, there are the names for the different genres to learn, such as der Liebesroman (the romance novel) or der historische Roman (historical fiction).
OK, interessierst du dich für Literatur?
OK, are you interested in literature?
Caption 9, Nicos Weg: Das macht mir Spaß!
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Und das wurde eben in diesem Science-Fiction-Roman beschrieben.
And just that was described in that science fiction novel.
Caption 73, Das 1. Newtonsche Gesetz: erklärt am Beispiel des Dodomobils
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Liest du gerne oder hast du viele Bücher, zum Beispiel Romane oder Krimis?
Do you like to read or do you have a lot of books, for example novels or crime stories?
Captions 11-12, Nicos Weg: Das macht mir Spaß!
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In German, a short story is die Kurzgeschichte.
Dieses wunderbare Buch mit Geschichten über die Berge und...
This wonderful book with stories about the mountains and...
Caption 41, Heidi: Der Schultest
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In addition to fiction and non-fiction books, some people enjoy reading biographies or magazine articles:
Hinter all der großen musikalischen Revolution menschelt es in seiner Biografie - zum Glück!
Behind all the great musical revolution, there is humanity in his biography—fortunately!
Captions 30-31, Ludwig van Beethoven: 250. Geburtstag
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In einem von der Zeitschrift Bravo veranstalteten Konzert spielen sie in der Stadt, die sie entdeckte.
In a concert organized by the magazine "Bravo," they play in the city that discovered them.
Captions 21-22, Die Beatles: In Deutschland
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Hallo, Leon! Ich habe hier noch was für dich: einen Artikel über den Nemmers-Preis.
Hello, Leon! I have one more thing here for you: an article about the Nemmers Prize.
Caption 8, Die Pfefferkörner: Gerüchteküche
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The last category that should be mentioned is poetry, of course!
Der eine Bruder saß unter einem Baum und verfasste Gedichte.
The one brother sat under a tree and wrote poems.
Caption 12, Märchen: Sagenhaft Die drei Brüder
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Further Learning
Think about the last thing you read—how would you describe it? On Yabla German, you can watch the entirety of Nicos Weg: Das macht mir Spaß! to hear the vocabulary in context.
Let's talk about office supplies that are not specifically related to the ever-present digital devices in the workplace and at school. With the shift to digital over the last 30 years, we don't use nearly as many office supplies (like paper) as we used to, and perhaps this is good for the environment in some ways. But it's still important to know the words for some of these everyday objects if you ever plan to go to Germany to work or to study! Some words, like der Kugelschreiber (ballpoint pen), you probably know already, so let's take a look today at some items that may be new to your vocabulary.
Fangen wir mal an mit dem Tacker. Das ist ein kleiner Bürotacker, mit dem kann man Seiten zusammenheften.
Let's start with the stapler. This is a small office stapler, with which you can staple pages together.
Captions 9-11, Deutsch mit Eylin: Dinge auf meinem Schreibtisch
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The German word for "stapler" is der Tacker, and an office stapler is der Bürotacker. Der Tacker is what is called a false friend, because it sounds like an English word that has a different meaning: Although you use der Tacker to affix staples, the German word for "staple" is die Heftklammer. This can be especially confusing since the German word for "tack" is der Tack or die Reißzwecke, and a "thumbtack" is der Reißnagel. Note too, that the verb for the act of stapling something together is zusammenheften.
Und das hier ist Klebeband. Auf Deutsch sagen aber fast alle „Tesafilm“, obwohl Tesa eine Marke ist.
And this here is adhesive tape. In German, however, almost everyone says "Tesafilm," although Tesa is a brand.
Captions 68-70, Deutsch mit Eylin: Dinge auf meinem Schreibtisch
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The noun das Klebeband can mean any kind of adhesive tape, thus it's easier to distinguish the clear adhesive type by calling it by its brand name der Tesafilm. It's usually just called Tesa for short, and in this form the noun gender is neuter. In American English, we often use "Scotch tape" for clear tape, and the British often use the term "Sellotape"—both of which are brand names too!
Das sind nämlich Haftnotizen, aber jeder sagt „Post-its“, weil wir eben auch ganz oft englische Wörter verwenden,
Specifically, these are sticky notes, but everyone says "Post-its" because we also very often just use English words,
Captions 40-41, Deutsch mit Eylin: Dinge auf meinem Schreibtisch
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The German word for a sticky note is die Haftnotiz. It's also called der Klebezettel or der Haftzettel. But it's also nice to know that Germans often use the same word for the name brand Post-its that we often use for sticky notes. By the way, it's a neuter noun: das Post-it.
Schreibmaterialien wie zum Beispiel Briefpapier, Briefumschläge wie dieser oder Schreibblöcke sind aus Papier gemacht.
Writing materials such as, for example, stationary, envelopes like this one, or notepads are made of paper.
Captions 17-18, Eva zeigt uns: Materialien
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Gender-wise, these nouns are das Schreibmaterial, das Briefpapier, der Briefumschlag, der Schreibblock (also der Notizblock), and das Papier.
Und hier hab ich ganz viele Buntstifte: dicke Buntstifte, zum Malen oder etwas hervorheben.
And here I have a lot of colored pencils: thick colored pencils for drawing or highlighting something.
Captions 65-66, Deutsch mit Eylin: Dinge auf meinem Schreibtisch
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This one is easy to remember, as you probably already know the noun der Bleistift for "pencil." So it's logical that the adjective bunt, which means "colorful," is paired to make the word der Buntstift.
Hier ist eine Schere, brauch ich auch immer, um irgendwas zu schneiden.
Here's a pair of scissors, I always need these, too, to cut something.
Captions 63-64, Deutsch mit Eylin: Dinge auf meinem Schreibtisch
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It's taken me years to make myself use a German singular verb with die Schere, because in English, we always use the plural "The scissors are..." and not "The scissor is..." But in German, die Schere is a singular feminine noun, so you always say Die Schere ist... By the way, scissors are not just a topic in office supplies, you will find them playing an important role in many classic German fairy tales, such as Rapunzel and Schneeweißchen und Rosenrot.
Further Learning
Make a list of the English office supply words mentioned above, then see if you can translate them correctly into German, paying close attention to the nouns' genders. Then go to Yabla German and watch the videos above to get a better overview of the words you just learned!
When it comes to leisure, we may engage in sports or other hobbies and activities, but most people also enjoy listening to music or radio programs, watching films or TV, and/or reading in their free time. This week's lesson is devoted to vocabulary related to media and entertainment.
It used to be that music collections took up lots of space, but now this depends on how you listen. Many people still collect records (die Schallplatte, plural die Schallplatten), CDs (die CD, plural die CDs) or even cassettes (die Kassette, plural die Kassetten), but not all.
Also, der hat ein Lied „Fireflies“ und habe ich mir auch gleich das Album gekauft.
Well, he has a song called "Fireflies" and I bought the album right away too.
Caption 33, Eva Croissant: Interview
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Die Nashville-LP „Could Have Been Mine“ ist die dritte Platte der Band.
The Nashville LP "Could Have Been Mine" is the band's third disc.
Caption 43, Ann Doka & Band: New Country aus dem Rhein-Main-Gebiet
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Komm, dreh noch mal die Kassette.
Come on, play the cassette again.
Caption 28, Max Mutzke: Welt hinter Glas
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Den Platz im Regal für diese kunststoffreichen Staubfresser kann man sich sparen, indem man Musik und Filme online streamt oder herunterlädt.
You can save the shelf space taken up by these plastic-rich dust collectors by streaming or downloading music and movies online.
Captions 36-37, WWF Deutschland: Tipps zur Vermeidung von Plastikmüll
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Movies and TV series are also often accessed through streaming services, but some people have DVD collections with their favorite films. Others think nothing compares to the big screen:
Ich schenke ihr eine DVD.
I'm giving her a DVD.
Caption 18, Nicos Weg: Herzlichen Glückwunsch!
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Wohin gehst du heute noch? Ins Kino. Es läuft ein neuer Film.
Where else are you going to today? To the cinema. A new film is playing.
Captions 35-36, Diane erklärt: Fragewörter
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For TV series, there are two nouns to know: die Sendung and die Serie. A season of a TV show is called die Staffel, and an episode is die Folge.
Ja, ein Team dreht hier bald eine aktuelle Serie fürs Fernsehen.
Yes, a team is filming a current series for television here soon.
Caption 15, Nicos Weg: Ein Praktikum beim Film
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Die meisten kennen mich wahrscheinlich aus der Sendung „Der Bachelor“.
Most of you probably know me from the series "Der Bachelor."
Caption 11, Anja Polzer: Interview
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Nochmal zu deiner Karriere. Germany's Next Topmodel, zweite Staffel, Platz zwei.
Back to your career. Germany's Next Top Model, second season, second place.
Caption 24, Peyman Amin: Der Modelmacher
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It should be noted that die Sendung is also used for radio broadcasts and shows. You may hear der Rundfunk instead of das Radio, but the word "podcast" remains the same in German and in English:
Wir zeigen denen, wie man eine Radiosendung macht, richtig professionell.
We show them how you do a radio broadcast, really professionally.
Caption 59, Sallys Tortenwelt und Kochwelt: Backen mit Kindern & Auftritt bei Radio Rumms
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Schon jetzt gibt es Enkel, die ihren Großeltern einen Podcast aufnehmen,
There are already grandchildren who are recording a podcast for their grandparents
Captions 61-62, Coronavirus: Fernsehansprache von Angela Merkel
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Further Learning
What do you like to do? Write down a few sentences about your habits related to music, radio, films, or TV. And don't forget that accessing these in German is a great way to learn the language. You can find a number of different fun series and interesting films, as well as great music to listen to on Yabla German.
The phrase above, often written colloquially as "Thar she blows," comes from the classic 19th century American novel Moby Dick, written by Herman Melville. It refers to an exclamation made by whalers at sea in the 19th century when they spotted a whale to hunt, a practice now fortunately outlawed by most countries in the world. When whales—or dolphins—surface, some species blow air and water condensation into the air in a visible stream.
In German, the verb "to blow" can be translated with a variety of words, depending upon the context. You're probably already familiar with sich die Nase putzen, which means "to blow one's nose," literally "to clean one's nose." Let's take a look today at some other German verbs that are often translated as "to blow."
Sie hören sogar einen Baum, der vor ihnen steht, weil der Wind, der um den Baum weht, ein Geräusch macht.
They can even hear a tree that is in front of them, because the wind that blows around the tree makes a noise.
Captions 47-48, Meine Freundin Conni: Conni schläft im Kindergarten
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The verb wehen is the usual term for the wind blowing.
Der Wind pustet ordentlich Sauerstoff in unsere verschmutzte Luft.
The wind blows lots of oxygen into our polluted air.
Caption 15, Piggeldy und Frederick: Aufräumen
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Here, the translator chose to translate the verb pusten as "to blow," but it could also have been translated as "to puff," a more common translation for this word.
Und weil in der mit 500 Metern über dem Meeresspiegel höchstgelegenen Stadt Hessens der Wind so kräftig bläst.
And since, at 500 meters above sea level, Hessen's city with the highest elevation, the wind blows so strongly.
Captions 5-6, Energiewende in Hessen: Windräder und Solarparks
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Here, the translator chose to translate the German verb blasen as "to blow," a verb related to the noun die Blase, which means "bubble." In fact, the blowhole of a whale is called das Blasloch, and the act of blowing out air and condensed moisture is called der Blas.
Zu spät, denn mitten in dem letzten Angriff pfeift Mr. Attwell ab und die Deutschen waren bedient.
Too late, because in the middle of the last attack, Mr. Attwell blows the final whistle.
Caption 27, Fußball: U21-Nationalmannschaft
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The verb pfeifen means to whistle, but it also means "to blow a whistle." If a referee blows a whistle for a foul, you'd say er pfeift ein Foul. The verb abpfeifen above means "to blow a whistle to stop the play," "to signal the halftime," or "to end the game."
Wie schön ist doch die Welt, alles löst sich in Wohlgefallen auf.
How beautiful the world is, everything blows over.
Captions 43-44, Großstadtrevier: Alle für einen
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The idiom sich in Wohlgefallen auflösen literally means "to dissolve in pleasure," but is often translated with the English idiom "to vanish into thin air" or "to go up in smoke." Here, the translator nicely chose to use the idiom "to blow over."
Wenn's nach mir ginge, würde ich ihn lieber heute als morgen in die Luft sprengen.
If it were up to me, I would rather blow him up today than tomorrow.
Captions 62-63, Die Stunde der Offiziere: Dokudrama über den 20. Juli 1944
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The verb sprengen (as well as in die Luft sprengen) means "to blow up" or to explode something. Although murder is an extreme means of regime change, killing the person in the case above could probably be seen as justifiable, given the millions of lives at stake.
Further Learning
Go to Yabla German and search for the verb "to blow" in a variety of conjugations, such "blow," "blows," and "blown." You can also expand your knowledge of how some of the other German verbs above can alternately be translated by looking up, in various conjugations, the verbs putzen, wehen, pusten, blasen, pfeifen, and sprengen.
Al igual que los artículos y los adjetivos, los pronombres en alemán varían según el género y el caso. En español, aunque no tenemos casos, esto es familiar, pues tenemos diferentes tipos de pronombres con diversas funciones gramaticales provenientes de la herencia latina.
De modo general, puede decirse que los pronombres personales sujetos y objetos en español, coinciden en lo referente a sintaxis (función) con los cuatro casos principales del alemán. Veamos los siguientes ejemplos:
El caso nominativo constituye lo que se conoce como pronombre sujeto: der Apfel ist rot (La manzana es roja) entonces con el pronombre, er is rot (es roja)
A propósito, no se preocupen, no es un error :-) En alemán “manzana” es de género másculino: der Apfel.
Para seguir, el caso acusativo denota el objeto directo de la frase: Ich sehe den (La veo -a la manzana-). A propósito, tanto acusativo como dativo se conocen en español también como pronombres complemento.
El caso dativo, por su parte, denota el objeto indirecto de la frase; El dativo generalmente significa que se da algo a otro, o se hace algo en su beneficio o en su contra: Ich gebe dem Kind einen Apfel (Le doy al niño una manzana).
Finalmente, el caso genitivo denota posesión: das ist der Apfel des Kindes (Esa es la manzana del niño). Esta forma gramatical es inexistente en español, pero abordaremos sus características en una lección centrada en ese tópico.
Entonces, con la siguiente tabla y algunos videos de ejemplo tomados de la biblioteca Yabla, será más fácil relacionarte con los pronombres sujeto y objeto en alemán:
Eylin del équipo de Yabla, te explica los pronombres en este video original de Yabla.
Dale un vistazo:
Otros videos de ejemplo:
Dich (te, a ti).
Ich lass dich nicht raus, ich lass dich nicht gehen. -Ah!
No te dejo salir, no te dejo marchar. -!Ah!
Subtítulo 15, Ab durch die Heimat 4 Comedians unterwegs im Südwesten
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Euch (les, las, los, os / a ustedes, a vosotras-os)
und wir wünschen euch noch viel Spaß beim Deutschlernen mit Yabla.
y les/os deseamos mucha diversión aprendiendo alemán con Yabla.
Subtítulo 58, Bundesländer und ihre Rezepte Bundesland Berlin - Part 1
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Mir (me, a mí)
Dann... das ist das Schlimmste, was mir passieren kann,
Entonces ... esto es lo peor que me puede pasar
Subtítulo 11, Angelique Kerber Generali fragt Angelique Kerber #2 | Ist Angie Frühaufsteherin?
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Ihnen: (les, las /a ellas-os)
Er gibt ihnen die Brötchen.
Nosotros les traemos un regalo.
Subtítulo 59, Deutsch mit Eylin Pronomen
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Aprendizaje adicional
En la tabla anterior, identifica cuáles son las formas de pronombres objeto en español correspondientes a los casos acusativo y dativo. Chequea también la biblioteca audiovisual de Yabla alemán en la que encontrarás diversos videos sobre el tema de los pronombres con mucha diversión y ejercicios originales.
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