The verb kennenlernen ("to get to know," "to make the acquaintance of," "to meet") is without a doubt an important one, but it's a bit tricky. For our beginners and anyone who needs a review, let's look at various conjugations of this separable verb as we look at some sentences from Yabla German. 

First of all, here it is again in the infinitive. Note that kennenlernen is one word:

Der Vermieter möchte uns kennenlernen.

The landlord would like to meet us.

Caption 42, Mein Weg nach DeutschlandL Auf Wohnungssuche

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In this next example, kennenlernen is used in the present tense, and more specifically in the third person singular. You'll note that lernen gets conjugated, whereas kennen remains in the infinitive but moves to the end of the sentence:

Man lernt mehr Leute kennen.

One gets to know more people.

Caption 37, Anna Am Strand: in Mexiko

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The same thing, which is normal for separable verbs, happens in the simple past tense:

Und so lernte die Prinzessin ihren Ehemann kennen.

And this is how the Princess met her husband.

Caption 35, Märchen - Sagenhaft: König Drosselbart

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In the following phrases, which you will most certainly need to know, kennenlernen is integrated into a subordinate clause with zu:

Schön, dich kennenzulernen. -Schön, dich kennenzulernen.

Nice to meet you. -Nice to meet you.

Caption 10, Paula & Heide: aus Berlin

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Freut mich, dich kennenzulernen. -Hallo.

Pleased to meet you. -Hello.

Caption 16, Nicos Weg: Feste und Feiertage

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Nun, ich freue mich, Sie dann kennenzulernen.

So, I am looking forward to meeting you then.

Caption 49, Berufsleben: das Vorstellungsgespräch

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In the present perfect, which is often used to talk about the past in German, we see the participle of the verb: 

Ich habe diesen netten Kerl kennengelernt.

I met this nice guy.

Caption 35, Die Wohngemeinschaft: Die Verabredung

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And this example also refers to what has already happened: 

Aber ich find's nett, Sie kennengelernt zu haben.

But I think it's nice to have met you.

Caption 36, Die Pfefferkörner: Alles auf Anfang

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Further Learning
There's no shortage of examples on Yabla German, so have a look and practice telling people it was nice to meet them, or talking about when you first met various people you know. 

As you have likely learned, German verbs often use prefixes that change their meaning compared to their original root words. Usually, the prefixed verbs have a related meaning, however. For example, sagen ("to say") is related to besagen ("to state") by the fact that both words are related to speaking.

But in some cases, the relation of a prefixed verb to its root word is not so clear. For instance, untersagen means "to forbid," which in most usages refers to a law or rule rather than a verbal order. Its adverb strays even further from the root word: Es ist untersagt, den Raum zu betreten ("It is forbidden to enter the room").

Many such prefixed verbs are centuries old and stem from Middle German. They may have started off with a strong relation to their root words, but as time went on, the meanings of the words may have changed. Perhaps untersagen came from the days when a Saxon chieftain ruled the tribe by verbal command rather than by written laws?

Wir freuen uns immer, wenn Ausländer Deutsch sprechen.

We're always glad when foreigners speak German.

Caption 32, Anna: Am Strand in Mexiko

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Und auch die Tierstudien widersprechen sich.

And even the animal studies contradict each other.

Caption 17, Terra X: Anti-Aging durch Fasten?

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Sie müssen einen Kunstkörper herstellen für Präparate, die dem Original entsprechen.

They must make a plastic body for mountings that correspond to the original.

Captions 25-26, Wettlauf gegen den Verfall: Beruf Präparator

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The verb sprechen is the root word of many prefixed verbs that have at least a tentative relation to speaking: absprechen ("to agree"), durchsprechen ("to talk over"), or weitersprechen ("to continue speaking"), for example. But while people can contradict each other verbally, you see above that widersprechen can also be used in contexts far beyond those containing speech. And the verb entsprechen goes even further away from its root word sprechen.

Er läuft Runden im Park, bis die Beine versagen.

He runs laps in the park until his legs fail.

Caption 21, Maxim: Meine Soldaten

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The primary meaning of the verb versagen is "to fail," and is pretty far removed from its root word sagen. However, the secondary meaning is "to deny (something)," which has stronger correlations to the root word: Es war uns versagt, den Raum zu betreten. ("We were denied access to the room.")

Die Hochzeit würde also stattfinden.

The wedding would indeed take place.

Caption 45, Märchen - Sagenhaft: Hans mein Igel

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It's difficult to reconcile stattfinden ("to take place") with finden ("to find"). The noun die Statt is an old-fashioned word meaning "place," but it's unclear how "to find" is related to the meaning.

Es gibt keinerlei Hinweise dafür, dass Flüchtlinge öfter Straftaten begehen als andere Menschen.

There is no proof whatsoever that refugees commit crimes more often than other people.

Captions 42-43, Flüchtlingskrise: 10 Vorurteile, die nicht stimmen

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Eine Straftat begehen means "to commit a crime," and einen Fehler begehen means "to make a mistake." On the surface, there is little correlation with gehen ("to go").

The Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache (DWDS for short) has a good section on the etymology or historical origin of German words, but in most cases, they too have difficulties making tentative connections with a lot of the words above.

Further Learning
Read this blog about how German prefixes alter the meanings of words. You can also search the Lessons on Yabla German for various conjugations of the verbs listed above to see them used in different contexts.

It is estimated that about half of Germany households have pets. The word for a house pet in Germany is das Haustier  or das Heimtier, while someone who owns a pet is der/die Tierhalter/-in or der/die Tierbesitzer/-in. 

Lisa sagt ehrlich, dass Dingos nicht für jeden als Haustiere geeignet sind.

Lisa honestly says that dingoes are not suitable for everyone as pets.

Caption 53, Die Top Ten: Die unglaublichsten Tiererlebnisse

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Experten appellieren an Tierbesitzer, für ihre Lieblinge vorzusorgen.

Experts appeal to pet owners to make provisions for their pets.

Captions 23-24, Für Tierfreunde: Wohin mit Tieren wenn Besitzer sterben

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The most common house pets in Germany are cats and dogs: 

Wir wohnen auf einem Dorf und haben zwei Katzen daheim und einen Hund.

We live in a village and we have two cats at home and a dog.

Caption 21, Anna: Am Strand in Mexiko

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Während Hunde und Katzen gute Chancen haben, weitervermittelt zu werden, sieht das bei Reptilien etwas anders aus.

While dogs and cats have a good chance of being rehomed, the situation is quite different with reptiles.

Captions 4-5, Für Tierfreunde: Wohin mit Tieren wenn Besitzer sterben

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However, there are also other typical favorites, particularly among small children: 

Die meisten Familien haben Fische, Katzen, Kaninchen, Schildkröten und Hunde. Also, ich selbst habe einen Hund.

Most families have fish, cats, rabbits, turtles, and dogs. Well, I myself have a dog.

Captions 5-6, Haustiere mit Duk Hee

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So, das ist ein Hamster. Hier ist er, der Hase von neulich. Ich setz ihn in den Käfig.

So, this is a hamster. Here he is: the rabbit from the other day. I'll put him in the cage.

Captions 6-7, Weihnachtsmann gesucht: Engel kann man nicht besitzen

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And some people also have exotic birds, such as parrots or parakeets:

Wie heißt denn der Wellensittich? -Willi, wie Lilly.

What's the parakeet's name? -Willi, like Lilly.

Caption 40, Lilly unter den Linden: Eine schwierige Wahl

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Wir haben auch einen kleinen Vogel, einen Papagei.

We even have a little bird, a parrot.

Caption 5, Nicos Weg: Meine Heimat

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For people who live in rural environments, certain farm animals may also be seen as pets:

Im Sommer kann man auch Pony reiten, Kühe sehen, Schweine, Ziegen, Gänse und manchmal auch einen Esel.

In the summer one can also ride ponies, see the cows, pigs, goats, geese, and sometimes even a donkey.

Captions 21-22, Berlin: Domäne Dahlem

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Jede Ziege hat zwei Hörner und vier Beine.

Each goat has two horns and four legs.

Caption 13, Heidi: Der Schultest

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Dann trafen sie die gelbe Ente und den Hasen.

Then they met the yellow duck and the hare.

Caption 51, Janoschs Traumstunde: Ich mach‘ Dich gesund, sagte der Bär

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Further Learning
In addition to watching videos about wild and domestic animals on Yabla German, look up the following common (and less common!) house pets in a dictionary: das Meerschweinchen, der Igel, die Wüsternmaus, die Schlange, and der Leguan.

While studying German, you have probably confronted both sitzen and setzen. Generally, the verb sitzen is quite straightforward in simply meaning "to sit," or more specifically "to be sitting." The reflexive verb sich setzen is also translated as "to sit" but refers to the action of sitting down (there is also the verb sich hinsetzen which can be more or less a synonym). 

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Wir sitzen hier am Strand in der Nähe von Todos Santos und sind am Meer.

We are sitting here on the beach near Todos Santos and are by the sea.

Caption 3, Anna - Am Strand in Mexiko

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Wo setzen wir uns denn hin? -Setzen wir uns da drüben hin. -OK.

Where should we seat ourselves then? -Let's sit over there. -OK.

Caption 1, Fernsehmoderatorin - Sonya Kraus

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To remember the distinction, it is perhaps helpful to consider that setzen as a non-reflexive verbs means "to put," "to place," or "to set." 

Die helfen mir, noch leichter Ziele zu setzen.

They help me to set goals even more easily.

Caption 15, Gamification - Wie Spielen den Alltag interessanter macht - Part 2

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Setzen is also the root of a multitude of verbs. Take a look at the following examples with einsetzen ("to use," "to implement"), absetzen (which is used in many contexts, from "to deduct" something for your taxes to "to remove" a pair of glasses), and besetzen ("to occupy").

Früher hat man mehr als zwei-, dreitausend Liter eingesetzt für einen Wohnungsbrand.

In the past they used more than two or three thousand liters for an apartment fire.

Caption 88, Feuerwehr Heidelberg - Löschfahrzeug - Part 1

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Den Helm hatte er abgesetzt, weil's so heiß war.

He'd taken off the helmet because it was so hot.

Caption 53, Großstadtrevier - Von Monstern und Mördern - Part 9

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Man sollte keine Plätze besetzen mit Taschen oder mit Jacken, damit andere Gäste sich hinsetzen können.

You shouldn't occupy seats with bags or with jackets so that other guests can sit down.

Captions 33-34, Unterwegs mit Cettina - Bahn fahren

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Further Learning
Here is a list of verbs with setzen as their root for your perusal. Look for examples of some of these verbs, such as aufsetzen, durchsetzen, or umsetzen, on Yabla German. Try to searching for their participles as well!

For this week's lesson, we will look at the nouns das Erlebnis and die Erfahrung, and the related verbs erleben and erfahren. 

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Consider the three examples below:

Das ist einfach das beste Erlebnis, das man als Künstler haben kann.

That is simply the best experience that you can have as an artist.

Caption 17, Helge Schneider - Auf der Bühne geht's mir gut

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Also, das war eigentlich eine sehr tolle Erfahrung.

Well, that was actually a really great experience.

Caption 21, Eva Croissant - Interview

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Ich bin selbst Mutter von zwei wundervollen Kinder [sic, Kindern]

I myself am the mother of two wonderful children

und spreche aus eigener Erfahrung.

and speak from my own experience.

Captions 5-6, Cettina interviewt - Mütter

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In English, the word "experience" has a few definitions. In the first two sentences, the speaker is referring to a particular instance of encountering or undergoing something. In the third sentence, they are referring to the knowledge or practical wisdom gained from what they have observed, encountered, or undergone. In German, it is possible to use both das Erlebnis and die Erfahrung to describe this first kind of "experience." However, when we are talking about life experience, only die Erfahrung is appropriate in German. 

The verbs erleben and erfahren similarly can both indicate the process of experiencing something:

Ein Ort lebendiger Demokratie soll es werden,

It should become a place of living democracy,

ein Haus für jeden,

a building for everyone

der Politik hautnah erleben will.

who wants to experience politics next to their skin [idiom, up close].

Captions 16-17, Berlin - Hauptstadt des vereinten Deutschland

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Ich denk', jeder muss für sich selber wissen,

I think everyone has to know for himself

wo er hinfährt und wie er da ist

where he's heading and how he is there

und welche Länder und was er dort erfahren will.

and which countries and what he wants to experience there.

Captions 41-42, Anna - Am Strand in Mexiko

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However, erfahren is also often used to express learning of or finding out about something new:

Wir haben nichts gefilmt. -Niemand wird davon erfahren.

We didn't film anything. -Nobody will find out about it.

Caption 30, Die Pfefferkörner - Gerüchteküche

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Further Learning
Conjugate erfahren and erleben and search for the various conjugations (erfahre, erfährst, etc.) on Yabla German to find more examples of the verbs used in context. Try to guess what the words das Erlebnisbad, das Erlebnisgeschenk, der Erlebnispark, erlebnisreich, and die Erlebniswelt mean now that you have an understanding of the word Erlebnis.