This week, we'll look at German nouns related to meetings, appointments, and gatherings, and their particular nuances. 

Ja, entschuldige noch mal, dass es gestern mit dem Treffen nicht geklappt hat.

Yes, sorry again that it didn't work out with the meeting yesterday.

Caption 14, Das Lügenbüro: Die Bewerbung

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The noun das Treffen may be the most commonly used word for a meeting or a gathering. However, there are circumstances in which die Besprechung (which can also mean "the talk" or "the discussion") or die Sitzung (which is more like "the session") might be more accurate. The noun die Versammlung generally refers to a larger assembly or gathering. 

Mein Mann ist noch in einer Besprechung. -Ah ja.

My husband is still in a meeting. -Ah, yes.

Caption 8, Mein Weg nach Deutschland: Auf Wohnungssuche

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Die Sitzung ist hiermit geschlossen.

The session is now closed.

Caption 72, Yabla Gerichtshof: Das verzogene Hündchen

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Diese Versammlung der Kardinäle beginnt normalerweise fünfzehn bis zwanzig Tage nach dem Tod

This assembly of cardinals normally begins fifteen to twenty days after the death,

Captions 6-7, Papst Benedikt Suche nach einem neuen Kirchoberhaupt

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banner PLACEHOLDER

The noun der Termin generally is translated as "the appointment," but can also refer to a deadline (der Abgabetermin). It generally emphasizes a specific date and time. When it comes to a doctor's appointment (also der Arzttermin), you always use der Termin, and not das Treffen.

Und dann könnten wir gleich einen Termin für ein Vorstellungsgespräch machen.

And then we can make an appointment for an interview right away.

Caption 28, Berufsleben: das Vorstellungsgespräch

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Nina hat morgen um acht einen Termin beim Arzt.

Nina has a doctor's appointment tomorrow at eight.

Caption 15, Nicos Weg: Emmas Tag

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The noun die Verabredung is a bit tricky in German, and doesn't have a precise translation in English — you might find it translated as "date," "appointment," "engagement," or "agreement." It is essentially an agreed-upon meeting between individuals (often just two people), and it can even be a date, but not necessarily. 

Es kann zum Beispiel bedeuten, dass jemand eine Verabredung nicht eingehalten hat.

It can mean, for example, that someone has not kept an appointment.

Caption 47, Eva erklärt: Sprichwörter

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It is perhaps because of this ambiguity that some Germans will even use the English word and say das Date to specify that there's romance involved. As you can see, it is capitalized in German. 

Wir warten. Du hast noch ein Date.

We'll wait. You still have a date.

Caption 56, Die Pfefferkörner: Endspurt

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Further Learning
You can find all of these words in many examples on Yabla German, which will help you get a sense of which contexts they are each used in. For der Termin and das Treffen, make sure that you memorize the gender of each word!

In the English language, I can't think of any way of calling somebody a pig (das Schwein) without it sounding pretty insulting. It's also usually the case in German that labeling someone a Schwein is meant to express disdain or to be purposefully offensive:

Du bist so ein Schwein geworden. Und wir waren mal Freunde?

You have become such a pig. And we were once friends?

Caption 17, Die Pfefferkörner - Eigentor

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BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Und damit kann das Ziel

And with this, the objective

des Attentats doch noch erreicht werden.

of the assassination attempt can still be reached.

Wenn das Schwein wenigstens tot wäre.

If the swine was at least dead.

Captions 27-28, Die Stunde der Offiziere - Dokudrama über den 20. Juli 1944 

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Du Schwein! Raus hier, du Lügner!

You pig! Out of here, you liar!

Caption 31, Filmwettbewerb "filmreif" - Mama mach die Augen auf

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Unser Chef ist ein mieses Schwein.

Our boss is a mean pig.

Caption 41, Weihnachtsfilm - Ein Sack voll Geld

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In German, however there is at least one slang context where Schwein is used together with the adjective arm ("poor") to express sympathy for somebody's situation:

Der Mann ist obdachlos.

The man is homeless.

-Das arme Schwein! Vielleicht sollten wir ihm eine Spende geben.

-The poor swine! Maybe we should give him a donation.
 

In English, this is the equivalent of saying "poor bastard," or the rather old-fashioned "poor devil." It's still common in British English to hear the similarly inclined "poor sod." None of these words are very nice, but they're used nevertheless to express sympathy!

Schwein haben is also used as an expression for having had good luck: 

Und permanent stand ich mit einem Bein

And I stood permanently on one leg

im Knast, doch meistens hatt ich großes Schwein.

in jail, but mostly I was very lucky.

Captions 23-24, Frank Zander - Tu doch meine Asche in die Eieruhr

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If you didn't know this expression, you might wonder about him having had "a large pig" in prison!

Another nice idiomatic use of Schwein is when you don't know anybody at a place or event: 

Hier kenne ich kein Schwein.

I don't know anyone here.

In this context, kein Schwein essentially means "no one" or "nobody":

Kein Schwein war da.

Nobody was there.

Wenn man sagt: „Kein Schwein war da“,

When you say, "No pig was there,"

dann möchte man ausdrücken,

then you would like to express

dass man zu einer bestimmten Zeit an einem bestimmten Ort war

that you were at a certain time at a certain place

und dort überraschenderweise niemanden angetroffen hat.

and, surprisingly, met no one there.

Captions 42-46, Eva erklärt - Sprichwörter

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Further Learning
Go to Yabla German and see some other uses of das Schwein in a real-world context.

Let's take a look this week at some German idioms as outlined in the Yabla video series Eva erklärt Sprichwörter. 

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Wenn du so dreinschaust, ist nicht gut Kirschen essen mit dir.

When you look like that, it's not good to eat cherries with you.

Caption 41, Marga Engel schlägt zurück - Betrug - Part 1

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The above saying has little to do with the pleasant pastime of eating cherries, but as Eva explains: 

Wenn mit jemandem nicht gut Kirschen essen ist, dann meinen wir damit eine unfreundliche Person.

If it's not good to eat cherries with someone, then we mean by that an unfriendly person.

Captions 10-11, Eva erklärt - Sprichwörter - Part 2

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From eating cherries, we move up to the nose:

Früher habe ich Fußball gemocht, aber seit dem gestrigen Halbfinale hab ich die Nase voll!

I used to like soccer, but since yesterday's semi-finals, I have the nose full!

Captions 22-23, Konjugation - Das Verb „mögen“

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The person above is not literally suffering from nasal congestion, but rather:

Wenn man die Nase voll hat, dann bedeutet das, dass man auf eine bestimmte Situation keine Lust mehr hat, verärgert ist oder einer Sache überdrüssig wird.

If you have your nose full, then it means that you have no more patience for a certain situation, are annoyed, or have become weary of a matter.

Captions 34-36, Eva erklärt - Sprichwörter - Part 2

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And lastly we go from nasal situations to an apparent lack of pigs:

„Das“, sagte Frederick, „tja... das weiß kein Schwein.“

"That," said Frederick, "well... no pig knows that."

Captions 39-40, Piggeldy und Frederick - Das Fernweh

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„So lange Vorderfüße hat doch kein Schwein und damit basta!“

"But no pig has such long front feet, and that's the end of it!"

Caption 38, Piggeldy und Frederick - Unendlichkeit

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Vom Schwein spricht man übrigens auch, wenn man Desinteresse ausdrücken möchte. Dann sagt man: „Das interessiert doch kein Schwein.“

By the way, you also speak about pigs when you want to express disinterest. Then you say: "But no pig is interested in that."

Captions 55-56, Eva erklärt - Sprichwörter - Part 2

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The simplest straightforward translation of the idiom kein Schwein is thus "no-one."

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Further Learning
Kein Schwein should be misunderstanding German idioms: Go to Yabla German and watch the Eva erklärt - Sprichwörter series and find other examples of these expressions in different contexts. Later in the month we will be bringing you some more examples of idioms from this Yabla series!