The new year always seems to get off to a slow start in Germany. The days are actually getting longer again, but it won't really be noticeable for another month or so. Particularly in the northern part of the country, there is very little sun at the moment, and the urge to hibernate can be intense!
The German verb for "to sleep" is schlafen, and it is accompanied by the following related verbs:
Also, ich kann überall relativ schnell einschlafen.
So, I can fall asleep relatively quickly anywhere.
Caption 6, Angelique Kerber - Generali fragt Angelique Kerber #5 | Was kann Angie?
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Und am Sonntag will ich ausschlafen.
And on Sunday, I want to sleep in.
Caption 16, Deutsch mit Eylin - Wochentage, Monate und Jahreszeiten
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Ach, jetzt weiß ich, warum wir verschlafen haben.
Oh, now I know why we overslept.
-Aha, warum denn?
-Uh-huh, why then?
Caption 55, Die Pfefferkörner - Cybermobbing
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There is also the phrase etwas überschlafen, which means to delay making a decision on something until the following day. This exists in English with a different preposition: "sleep on it."
Another verb that means "to sleep" is pennen, which is a slang word similar to when people use the verb "to crash" in English.
Sieben Nächte die Woche zu wenig gepennt.
Seven nights a week, slept too little.
Caption 7, Max Giesinger - 80 Millionen
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Although you will often hear der Mittagsschlaf used for the word "nap," there is also das Nickerchen. These are used with the verb machen.
Wenn sie ein Nickerchen machen wollen,
If they want to take a nap
dann muss dies zwischen zwei Atemzügen geschehen.
then this must be done between two breaths.
Captions 62-63, Die Top Ten - Die 12 freundlichsten Meerestiere der Welt
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And to conclude, here are some relevant adjectives:
Und ich putze auch nicht den Boden,
And I also won't clean the floor,
dafür bin ich nämlich viel zu müde!
I am namely much too tired for that!
Caption 19, JoNaLu - Prinz Dreckspatz
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Sonnenblumen, schläfrig am Zaun.
The sunflower, sleepy against the fence.
Caption 14, Sabine und Ivana - Gedichte im Bus
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Further Learning
You can find these words related to sleep used in context on Yabla German. Make sure to read our previous lesson about the verb verschlafen, which also has meanings that aren't related to sleep! You can also learn some variations on the adjective müde, such as hundemüde, lebensmüde, und todmüde.
In last week's lesson, we discussed how translating animal names directly may not be wise, and the same applies to flora as well. If you were to directly translate the German word for "dandelion" into English, for example, you would wind up with "lion's tooth" (der Löwenzahn). You may be relieved, however, to recall that, as poet Gertrude Stein once famously wrote: "A rose is a rose is a rose." Or as the case may be, eine Rose.
With spring hopefully just around the corner, let's take a look at some flower names as they appear in some Yabla German videos.
Eine Kornblume mit vielen Blütengeschwistern.
A cornflower with many sibling blossoms.
Caption 30, Piggeldy und Frederick - Unkraut
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Das Stoppelfeld, die Sonnenblume, schläfrig am Zaun...
The stubbled field, the sunflower, sleepy against the fence...
Caption 9, Sabine und Ivana - Gedichte im Bus
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Er hat sich die Tulpen überallher bringen lassen.
He had tulips brought in from all over the world.
Caption 52, Karlsruher Stadtgeburtstag - die Majolika-Manufaktur
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The above are quite easy examples, in that they are either coincidentally correct as direct English translations or, in the case of "tulips," are very similar words.
Further Learning
Take a look at this list of German flower names and see how many you can guess correctly without having to look them up. Meanwhile, keep your eyes open for the first flower of spring...
Arme haben Arme
Arme haben Beine
Beine haben keine Arme
Arme Beine!
There are two versions of Arme in the above saying, one meaning "poor people" and the other meaning "arms." Actually, German has many homonyms: words that are spelled and pronounced the same, but have different meanings. These are called homonyms. It is especially important to know the genders of German homonyms, since you may wind up saying or writing something entirely different than you intend, merely because you got the gender wrong!
Die Band ist eingespielt; die Models wissen, wie sie laufen müssen.
The band has warmed up; the models know how they must walk.
Caption 29, Mode - Backstage auf der Modenschau
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Allerdings ist es für die Fraport AG nicht das erste Band, das in diesem Jahr feierlich durchtrennt wurde.
However, this is not the first ribbon that was ceremoniously cut for the Fraport AG this year.
Caption 22, Rund um den Flughafen - Direktflug Frankfurt-Houston
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In addition to die Band (the band, or musical group) and das Band (the ribbon), there is also a third meaning: der Band (the volume of a book). Be careful with your genders so that you don't wind up reading a rock band, cutting the volume of a book, or listening to a ribbon!
Der damalige Leiter des Museums Wiesbaden tauscht Kunst.
The former director of the Wiesbaden Museum trades art.
Caption 9, Restituierung von Raubkunst - aus der Nazi-Zeit
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Der Herbst steht auf der Leiter [dative case of die Leiter] und malt die Blätter an.
Fall stands on the ladder and paints the leaves.
Caption 13, Sabine und Ivana - Gedichte im Bus
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Der Leiter is the leader, director, or head of an organization, and die Leiter is a ladder. Here too, with the wrong gender you may wind up following the ladder or climbing up a director!
Further Learning:
Browse through Yabla videos and find the correct genders of some German homonyms. Here are some examples of homonyms with different genders: Erbe (inheritance vs. inheritor), Gehalt (salary vs. content), Junge (boy vs. young one), Heide (moor vs. heathen), Hut (hat vs. protection), Kiefer (pine tree vs. jaw), Lama (llama vs. Tibetan religious leader), Marsch (march vs. marsh), Messer (knife vs. measuring device), Pony (hairstyle vs. pony), Schild (sign vs. shield), See (sea vs. lake), Steuer (tax vs. steering wheel), Stift (pencil vs. monastery), Tau (rope vs. dew), Taube (pigeon vs. deaf person), Titan (giant vs. titanium), Tor (goal vs. fool), Verdienst (income vs. merit), and Weise (manner vs. wise person). The next lesson will be about German homonyms with the same gender, so put your learning caps on!
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