This week, we'll conclude our lessons on travel vocabulary. So, you've decided what kind of trip and mode of travel, and you've booked your accommodation. Now it's time to consider your itinerary and activities. The types of activities you plan on your trip will also depend on your destination, of course. Cities may offer the opportunity to visit museums or famous historical sites, go to markets, or go shopping:
...aber die kleine Stadttour würde ich gerne machen.
...but I would gladly do the small city tour.
Caption 47, Rollendes Vergnügen: Segway-Touren
Play Caption
Jedes Jahr kommen an die 5.000 Besucher ins Museum.
Every year nearly 5000 visitors come to the museum.
Caption 25, Flipperautomaten: Kunstwerke für flinke Kugeln
Play Caption
Das ist eine Sehenswürdigkeit in Köln: der Kölner Dom.
This is an attraction in Cologne: The Cologne Cathedral.
Caption 8, Nicos Weg: Ich war schon in Berlin
Play Caption
Hier findet der Markt nämlich täglich statt.
Because here, the market takes place every day.
Caption 16, Reisen: Ein Tag in Freiburg
Play Caption
Sie hat Bock auf Shopping, also in die Stadt.
She feels like shopping, so it's off to the city.
Caption 23, Cro: Bye Bye
Play Caption
Being in nature, whether on the coast or in the mountains, offers its own program of sports or relaxation. In a recent newsletter, we already had the noun das Sonnenbad, but some people like to be a bit more active.
Dieses Naturreservoir ist zu Fuß in nur gut zwei Stunden zu erreichen.
This nature reserve can be reached by foot in just over two hours.
Caption 6, Die letzten Paradiese Die Schönheit der Alpen
Play Caption
Ich soll wandern gehen, ich soll segeln oder surfen.
I should go hiking, I should go sailing or surfing.
Caption 15, Nicos Weg: Freizeitstress
Play Caption
Aber es ist perfekt, um ans Meer zu fahren und baden zu gehen.
But it's perfect for going to the sea and going for a swim.
Caption 39, Deutsch mit Eylin: Das Wetter
Play Caption
Beach-Volleyball hört sich an wie ein Freizeitvergnügen, ist aber seit 1996 olympisch und ein knallharter Profisport.
Beach volleyball sounds like an enjoyable free-time activity, however, since 1996, it's an Olympic and a tough professional sport.
Captions 3-4, Olympische Spiele: Beachvolleyball
Play Caption
So many options! Now all that's left is to pack. If you're flying, you will need to check whether it's possible to check a bag, or whether you'll have to make do with Handgepäck. The noun das Gepäck is a general word for luggage or baggage, or you can say der Koffer to refer to a suitcase.
Wir packen jetzt unseren Koffer.
Now we'll pack our suitcase.
Caption 9, Deutschkurs in Tübingen: Reisevorbereitung
Play Caption
And if you're flying, there's one more thing you'll need to do...
Um später Zeit zu sparen, checkt Olcay online ein.
To save time later, Olcay checks in online.
Caption 67, Galileo Zug vs. Flugzeug: Von München nach Berlin
Play Caption
Gute Reise!
Further Learning
Check out our travel videos on Yabla German. Do you have an upcoming trip or vacation? Consult all three lessons, and write down five sentences about how you will get to your destination, where you will stay, and what activities you would like to do.
Sometimes it's good to just set the record straight, and with that intention, let's take a look at zählen and zahlen. Short and sweet: zählen is "to count," and zahlen is "to pay."
Sie zählen die Stimmen nach dem Ende der Wahl.
They count the votes after the end of the election.
Caption 4, Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Einbürgerungstest - Part 6
Play Caption
Das macht zusammen vierzig Euro fünfzig. Zahlen Sie bar oder mit Karte?
All together that is forty euros and fifty cents. Will you be paying in cash or with a card?
Caption 7, Nicos Weg - Folge 16: Zahlen, bitte!
Play Caption
Although you might be able to come up with a mnemonic device that you find helpful, simply remembering that Ich möchte zahlen means "I would like to pay" may be enough to help you sort it out. At the same time, you might still find that you get flustered mid-sentence trying to remember which verb is correct. It doesn't help that the noun die Zahlen means the "the numbers." It is the plural version of the noun die Zahl:
Der Adventskalender hat vierundzwanzig Türen, und auf jeder steht eine Zahl.
The Advent calendar has twenty-four doors, and each one has a number on it.
Caption 11, Eva erklärt - den Adventskalender
Play Caption
In English, "to count" can also mean "to matter." Zählen is also used to mean "to count," "to count as" or "to number among." Take a look at these examples:
Beim Blocken zählt jede Sekunde.
When blocking, every second counts.
Caption 37, Olympische Spiele - Beachvolleyball
Play Caption
Sie zählt mit zu Deutschlands erfolgreichsten Sängerinnen.
She is counted among Germany's most successful singers.
Caption 2, Cassandra Steen - Geheimnis für positive Energie
Play Caption
And one final note: you probably have wondered what the difference is between zahlen and bezahlen. The truth is that they are often interchangeable, but there are some instances where zahlen is wrong. For example, when you speak about paying a person for a service, you would generally use bezahlen and not zahlen.
Further Learning
Look up the meanings of the related verbs anzahlen, zurückzahlen, and auszahlen, and search Yabla German to find them used in a real-world context. Some words related to zählen are die Volkszählung ("census") and der Stromzähler ("the electricity meter").
Last week, we discussed how the ending of a noun may indicate whether it's masculine, feminine, or neuter, and looked at some endings like -er and -ig that typically require the definite masculine article der. As we did last week, we must offer the disclaimer that this is not a 100% reliable way to learn the genders of nouns, due to many exceptions. We encourage you as much as possible to simply learn the appropriate definite article (der, die, or das) along with each individual word so that you'll always know the gender of the noun in the future.
However, if you ever get stuck, it might help to know that -anz, -ei, -heit, -ik, -ion,
-keit, -schaft, -tät, and -ung are endings that often indicate a feminine noun. Let's look at some examples.
Es besteht die Möglichkeit, jedes Board vorher zu testen.
The possibility exists, to test every board beforehand.
Caption 41, Longboarding - mit Lassrollen
Play Caption
Die Region zwischen Amrum und Sylt
The region between Amrum and Sylt
wurde wegen der Meeressäuger unter Schutz gestellt.
was placed under protection because of the marine mammals.
Caption 2, Abenteuer Nordsee - Unter Riesenhaien und Tintenfischen
Play Caption
Beim Volleyball im Sand besteht
With volleyball in the sand,
die Mannschaft nämlich nur aus zwei Spielern.
the team consists, namely, of just two players.
Caption 10, Olympische Spiele - Beachvolleyball
Play Caption
As mentioned last week, there are exceptions particularly for one-syllable words, which will most often not follow the rules. For example, die Einladung ("the invitation") is feminine, but der Sprung ("the jump") is masculine.
Die Einladung kommt noch.
The invitation is still on its way.
Caption 77, Free Birds - Interview mit Nora Tschirner & Rick Kavanian
Play Caption
Und der Sprung an sich geht vielleicht nur drei Sekunden,
And the jump itself lasts perhaps only three seconds
aber es kommt einem ewig vor.
but it seems eternal.
Caption 44, Lucas' Hobbys - Achterbahn und Bungee
Play Caption
Further Learning
Next week, we will conclude this small series with endings that are usually associated with neuter nouns. In the meantime, you can look for the words used in context on Yabla German. If you use flashcards, make sure you're in the habit of always including "the" on the English side (for example, "the possibility" or "the team"), so that you will be sure to include the correct definite article in the translation on the other side of the card.
Spanish
French
Italian
Chinese
English
English 
Español
Français
Italiano
Português
Deutsch
