We know you're learning German, but what other subjects have you studied? Even if you're not currently in school, it's always interesting to talk with people about what they studied, and which subjects are still relevant to their lives today.
First, we can start with the natural sciences and the applied sciences, respectively called die Naturwissenschaften and die angewandten Wissenschaften in German.
Jan hat heute seine Physikarbeit zurückbekommen.
Jan got his physics paper back today.
Caption 2, The Simple Physics: Schrödingers Katze
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Ja, das ist Mathematik oder Mathe.
Yes, this is mathematics or math.
Caption 8, Deutsch mit Eylin: Denk schnell!
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...das heißt wir gewinnen zusätzlich noch in dem Bereich Biologie auch eine gewisse Kapazität.
...which means we also gain a certain capacity in the field of biology.
Caption 40, Für Tierfreunde: Przewalski-Wildpferde
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Ich habe schnell gemerkt, dass mich Elektrotechnik sehr interessiert
I quickly noticed that electrical engineering really interests me.
Caption 10, Deutsche Welle: Lieber Ausbildung als Studium
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In these next captions, you will find some fields that relate to the social sciences, or die Sozialwissenschaften, and the world of business.
Ja? Das wäre so eine Geschichte, ähm, mit interdisziplinärem Input aus der Sportwissenschaft, der Sportmedizin, der Psychologie und der Soziologie.
Yes? That would be something, um, with interdisciplinary input from sport sciences, sports medicine, psychology, and sociology.
Captions 65-66, TEDx: Lebenslange Fitness
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Ich hab schon in Spanien zwei Semester Jura studiert.
I already studied law in Spain for two semesters.
Caption 7, Nicos Weg: Am Bankautomaten
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Ich studiere Wirtschaft und arbeite in einem Café.
I study economics and work in a café.
Caption 27, Magie: Die Zaubershow
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The humanities, or die Geisteswissenschaften, include history, languages, literature, philosophy, and often the arts as well. For more on the arts, you can refer to two recent lessons, one which covered the visual arts, and the other on the performing arts.
Kunstgeschichte wird ja von Kunsthistorikern gemacht. Da haben Sie recht, das waren immer Männer.
Art history is written by art historians. You are right about that, those were always men.
Caption 25, Malerei: Impressionistinnen
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Interessierst du dich für Literatur?
Are you interested in literature?
Caption 9, Nicos Weg: Das macht mir Spaß!
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Further Learning
Based on what you read above and have found on Yabla German, see if you can figure out the meanings of the following: die Politikwissenschaft, die Kulturwissenschaft, die Religionswissenschaft. Some disciplines, like die Philosophie, die Geografie, die Geologie, die Anthropologie, or die Medizin, have similar names to their English counterparts and may be easy to identify. And then, of course, some subjects have simply adopted the English term, such as das Marketing and das Management.
In English, we have a number of expressions that use the word "table," such as "to sweep something under table" (to hide something), "to take something off the table" (to make something unavailable), or "to bring something to the table" (to provide or offer a useful skill or attribute). The German language also has a wide variety of expressions relating to der Tisch. Let's take a look at some of them today!
Die Suppe aß er hübsch bei Tisch.
He ate the soup nicely at the table.
Caption 23, Kindergeschichten: Der Suppenkasper
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Of course, am Tisch is also "at the table." Depending upon the context, the expression bei Tisch could also be translated as "during the meal."
Das Thema ist endlich vom Tisch.
The issue has finally been resolved.
The German expression vom Tisch sein is kind of a false friend, because in German, it means that something is resolved or finished, which has a positive connotation. But if you say that something is "off the table" in English, it means that something (like an offer) has been withdrawn and is no longer available. A very different meaning indeed!
Ich kann den Tisch decken und Milch eingießen oder Brot holen.
I can set the table, and pour milk, or get bread.
Caption 38, Heidi: Heidis erster Tag beim Großvater
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You probably knew this one already, but it's also easy to misunderstand, since den Tisch decken translates literally as "to cover the table," which could be misinterpreted to mean to cover it with a tablecloth or something! Of course, it just means to set the table with silverware and such.
Lass die nicht im Stich, Eddie! Mach reinen Tisch.
Don't leave her in the lurch, Eddie! Make a fresh start.
Captions 34-35, Die Pfefferkörner: Endspurt
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The expression einen reinen Tisch machen is very close to the English expression "to start with a clean state," which means to start something over again despite old mistakes.
Das Angebot liegt auf dem Tisch.
The offer is on the table.
The expression auf dem Tisch liegen is pretty easy, because it has the same meaning as the English idiom: to be presented, to be put forth, to be offered, or to be shown.
Und wenn da jemand die Frauen unter den Tisch fallen lassen wollte... dann verschwinden sie eben aus der Kunstgeschichte.
And if someone, didn't want to take the women into account... then they simply disappear from art history.
Captions 30-31, Malerei: Impressionistinnen
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In English, to be paid "under the table" means that somebody is getting paid off the record, but "to fall under the table" usually just means that something got dropped on the floor! And in German, to "let something fall under the table" means that something has been omitted, ignored, is no longer considered or mentioned, or is not taken into account.
Further Learning
Make up some new sentences using the expressions we just learned about and have your teacher or a fellow student check your work:
bei Tisch
vom Tisch sein
den Tisch decken
einen reinen Tisch machen
auf dem Tischen liegen
unter den Tisch fallen lassen
Afterwards go to Yabla German and watch the full videos above to see the context in which these expressions have been used.
In German, two verbs can be translated as "to live." Generally, students of German are taught that wohnen relates to more temporary living situations, and leben to more permanent living situations. This may seem highly subjective, and it is! Although there are sentences where only one option is correct, there are certainly sentences in which the speaker chooses a verb dependent on their perspective on the situation.
For example, if we look at the following two sentences from the video
Berlin: Judith und die „Brezel Bar“, we see that Judith uses both words to describe her living situation.
Ich selbst wohne auch in Kreuzberg, hier um die Ecke.
I myself also live in Kreuzberg, here around the corner.
Caption 12, Berlin - Judith und die „Brezel Bar“
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Mein eigentlicher Beruf ist Buchhändlerin, aber seit ich in Berlin lebe, arbeite ich als Kellnerin und Barista in Cafés.
My actual occupation is book dealer, but since I've lived in Berlin, I've worked as a waitress and barista in cafés.
Captions 15-16, Berlin - Judith und die „Brezel Bar“
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We notice here that Judith talks about her apartment being in Kreuzberg with the verb wohnen and her life in Berlin with the verb leben. Wohnen is often used to talk about domesticity, such as inhabiting an apartment or a house. German philosopher Martin Heidegger is well-known for his text Bauen, Wohnen, Denken, which is translated as "Building, dwelling, thinking" in English. Ikea in Germany has for many years had the slogan Wohnst du noch oder lebst du schon? which highlights that occupying or sleeping in a space does not necessarily mean that you are really at home there. In German, the phrase Hast du dich eingelebt? means "Have you settled in?" also reflecting that leben has a deeper sense of permanence than simply dwelling or residing.
In this sentence, Brigitta uses wohnen to express that she is staying with friends, which is obviously a temporary situation:
Vielen, vielen Dank, dass ich hier bei euch wohnen kann.
Many, many thanks for allowing me to stay here with you.
Caption 13, Die Wohngemeinschaft - Besuch - Part 2
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In this next sentence, it would be possible to say Ich wohne allein, but this would highlight the domestic aspect of living by oneself in an apartment or house, rather than describing a way of life. A person might also say Ich lebe gesund, for example.
Ich lebe allein, ich bin unabhängig und ich liebe meine Arbeit.
I live alone, I am independent and I love my work.
Caption 48, Malerei - Impressionistinnen
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And of course, not to be forgotten, leben is also the verb for "to be alive" itself!
Schneewittchen lebt, bei den sieben Zwergen im Wald.
Snow White is alive, with the seven dwarfs in the forest.
Caption 54, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Schneewittchen
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Further Learning
There are many examples of leben and wohnen on Yabla German. Think about your own life and which verb you would use to describe various places you have lived, or your current life and lifestyle.
You are probably very familiar with the noun die Zeit, usually translated as "time," but may not know that there is also a preposition with the same spelling: zeit. We covered this to some extent in a previous lesson, but it's time for an in-depth recap. There is some potential confusion with expressions that use the noun die Zeit with a genitive modifier that we should look at first:
Das wird die Zeit meines Lebens.
It will be the time of my life.
Caption 18, Glasperlenspiel - Geiles Leben
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This very straightforward expression, "having the time of your life," meaning that you are enjoying yourself very much, is common in English too.
However, if you were to use the genitive preposition zeit in an expression that appears to be very similar, it would in fact mean something entirely different:
Und trotzdem hatten Morisot und ihre drei Mitstreiterinnen zeit ihres Lebens mit ihrer Malerei Erfolg.
And Morisot and her three fellow campaigners were nevertheless successful all their lives with their painting.
Captions 73-74, Malerei - Impressionistinnen
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As you can see, the preposition zeit means, in a general way, "during the whole course of," so the literal translation "during the whole course of their lives" is more simply translated as "all their lives." The genitive form thus renders this standard expression in the following forms:
— zeit meines Lebens ("all of my life")
— zeit deines Lebens ("all of your life")
— zeit Ihres Lebens ("all of your life")
— zeit seines Lebens ("all of his life," or for neuter subjects like animals, "all of its life")
— zeit ihres Lebens ("all of her life" or "all of their lives")
— zeit unseres Lebens ("all of our lives")
— zeit eures Lebens ("all of your lives")
Luckily, the preposition zeit is not commonly spoken, and nearly always in the above context when used at all. Remember that if the definite article die is used, then it's referring to having a good time, whereas the lack of definite article will be a good indication of its use referring to the span of a lifetime.
There's another expression for "all of your life" that may also appear a bit odd to the non-native German speaker:
Da sammelte es sich die Taler hinein und war reich für seinen Lebtag.
Then she gathered up the thalers and was rich for the rest of her life.
Caption 35, Märchenstunde - Die Sterntaler
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You can remember the meaning of Lebtag more easily if you think of it as "the rest of the days of your life." If you are curious as to why es is translated here as "she" and seinen as "her," you should read the Yabla German lesson "Possessive Gender Benders."
Further Learning
Go to Yabla German to find other examples of how the noun die Zeit and the preposition zeit are used in real-world contexts, and read the full definition of the preposition zeit on Duden.
In German most countries are, as in English, just called by their names, such as Deutschland, Frankreich, and Belgien; but some country names require the definite article, just as in English: the United States or the Netherlands. The rules for whether a country name requires a definite article or not are not always the same as their English equivalents, however, and have a specific feminine or masculine gender too:
Für mich war es schon ein Erfolg damals mit in die Türkei ins Trainingslager zu kommen.
For me, it was already a success to come to training camp in Turkey at the time.
Caption 17, Fußball - Spielerportrait Lars Stindl
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To "come to training camp in the Turkey" would certainly convey a different meaning than intended, but in German, the country Turkey requires the feminine definite article: die Türkei. Some other countries with the feminine definite article are: die Mongolei, die Schweiz, die Slowakei, and die Ukraine. Furthermore:
Es gibt maskuline Länder, zum Beispiel „der Iran".
There are masculine countries, for example "the Iran."
Caption 64, Deutschkurs in Tübingen - Präpositionen
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Obviously "the" is used before "Iran" in the English translation only to emphasize the use of the definite article. Some other countries requiring the masculine definite article are: der Irak, der Jemen, der Kongo, der Libanon, der Sudan, and der Tschad. The only countries that require the neuter definite article are those that use the word "Kingdom" in their name such as das Vereinigte Königreich (the United Kingdom), but this is clear in the grammar, since das Königreich is a neuter noun.
Last but not least come the countries that require the plural definite article:
Frankreich war weitaus rückständiger als die Vereinigten Staaten.
France was much more backward than the United States.
Caption 45, Malerei - Impressionistinnen
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In most cases, the countries that use plural definite articles are the same as those that do so in English: die Bahamas, die Niederlande, die Philippinen, die Salomonen, and die Seychellen.
A quick word of warning regarding the use of definite articles and country names: If a country with a non-plural definite article is preceded by an adjective, then the definite article is referring to the neuter noun das Land (the country, the nation) and always requires the neuter definite article. Even countries that do not require the definite article in normal usage get the neuter article das if they are being described preceded by an adjective. This is actually easier in practice than theory: Das schöne Frankreich, das teure Norwegen, das warme Brasilien.
Further Learning:
Browse through Yabla videos and find some country names being used in context and in different cases like dative, accusative, and genitive. For an interesting in-depth article on the topic, see the ever-fascinating Zwiebelfisch-ABC series from Der Spiegel.
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