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Expressions with drauf

The preposition auf can be translated as "on," but it takes on numerous other meanings in combination with various verbs. Today we are going to look at drauf, which appears in many commonly used phrases and is basically synonymous with daraufDa- is a prefix that appears in front of a number of prepositions and is used to refer to an object that has already been identified. 

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You likely know the phrases Lust auf etwas haben and Bock auf etwas haben. In both of the sentences below, the object is missing from the sentence, as it has already been mentioned. You can note that in English, it's just referred to as "it." 

 

Ich habe so Lust drauf!

I'm really in the mood for it!

Caption 53, Reisen: Ein Tag in Freiburg

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Da habe ich einfach keinen Bock mehr drauf.

I just don't feel like doing it anymore.

Caption 10, heute-show: Hazel Brugger will Lehrerin werden

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The phrase Bock haben can be considered slang, and many phrases with drauf are colloquial...

 

Aber ich will jetzt nicht drauf eingehen.

But I don't want to go into it now.

Caption 69, Frida Gold: Interview

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Es kommt immer drauf an.

It always depends.

Caption 41, Bundesländer und ihre Rezepte: Baden-Württemberg

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Es war ein schöner Tag und beide waren richtig gut drauf.

It was a nice day and both were in a really good mood.

Caption 7, Piggeldy und Frederick: Der Brief

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(You can also say schlecht drauf, which would be the opposite!)

... or even idioms:

 

Die Büchse da hat viel drauf!

That tin can has a lot on it [idiom, is very capable]!

Caption 10, Es war einmal... der Weltraum: Die Saurier

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Further Learning

Most of these phrases are quite common, so you'll find many examples on Yabla German.

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Writing Letters and Emails in German

In German, there are many different salutations and closings for letters and emails. Which one you choose will depend on your relationship with the person you are writing and whether they identify as male or female. 

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Friends who write each other emails may simply write Hallo Gitta, or Hallo Micha, or Hallo zusammen, (if addressing a group). For this salutation, the comma comes after the name and not after Hallo as it would in longer sentences.

 

However, unless you are on very casual terms with someone, you will need to use the other salutations and make sure you use the appropriate declension. If you have never met a person and know that the circumstances are formal, you will want to use Sehr geehrter or Sehr geehrte which literally translates as "Very honored..." If you don't know exactly who will receive your letter, Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, is the German version of "Dear sir or madam."

 

Gut. Also... „Sehr geehrte Frau Larsen, vielen Dank für Ihre Rückmeldung“.

Good. So... "Dear Ms. Larsen, Many thanks for your response."

Captions 17-18, Das Lügenbüro - Die Bewerbung - Part 1

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Sehr geehrter Herr Frederick“, sagte er, „lassen Sie das sofort nach, sonst hau ich Ihnen eins auf die empfindliche Nase“.

"Very honorable Mister Frederick," he said, "stop that immediately, otherwise, I'll sock you one on [your] sensitive nose."

Captions 32-33, Piggeldy und Frederick - Der Brief

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Lieber or Liebe which translates simply as "Dear" is more flexible. It may be followed by a first name (Lieber Hans,) or a formal term of address (Liebe Frau Hoffmann,), and is used for different types of friends and acquaintances.

 

Lieber Tiger, teile dir mit, dass es mir gut geht“.

"Dear Tiger, I'll share with you that I'm doing well."

Caption 17, Janoschs Traumstunde - Post für den Tiger

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One important thing to remember is that the first word after the comma is usually not capitalized like it would be in English. 

 

When concluding your letter or email, there are a number of options. The typical closing for formal letters is Mit freundlichen Grüßen, which the Schlager star Heino recently used as an album title when he covered other musicians' songs. 
 

Er covert auf seinem Album „Mit freundlichen Grüßen“ Rock- und Popsongs.

He is covering rock and pop songs on his album "With Friendly Greetings."

Captions 5-6, Heino - Neue Volkslieder

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Other closings for formal acquaintances include Herzliche Grüße, ("Heartfelt greetings") and Viele Grüße, ("Many greetings"). Between friends or informal acquaintances, Liebe Grüße, or simply Lieben Gruß, or Grüße, are more common options. 

 

Liebe Grüße, Elisabeth“. -Elisabeth?

"Kind Regards, Elisabeth." -Elisabeth?

Caption 46, Die Pfefferkörner - Gerüchteküche - Part 3

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Further Learning
For more vocabulary related to letter-writing, go to Yabla German and watch the full episode of Piggeldy and Frederick in which the brothers tackle the topic. More salutations and closings can be seen on this informative website. For a more detailed account of how to use punctuation with the word Hallo, you can look at this Duden article