f you haven't already seen Eva's video about materials, it's a great way to improve your vocabulary for describing objects. Although she covers the topic extensively, we'll augment her video this week with some more specific words related to plastic, metal, and wood.
In German, plastic is either der Kunststoff or das Plastik, and rubber is der Gummi.
Diese können echt sein oder aus Holz oder Kunststoff.
These can be real or made of wood or plastic.
Caption 19, Ostern: mit Eva
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Es gibt natürlich auch Trinkbecher, die aus Plastik bestehen.
There are, of course, also drinking cups that are made out of plastic.
Caption 13, Eva zeigt uns: Materialien
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Ich nehme die Gummistiefel.
I'll take the rubber boots.
Caption 12, Felix und Franzi: Sonnenbrille oder Regenschirm?
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There are, of course, many types of metal, or das Metall.
Die Krone enthält ein anderes Metall, ein leichteres.
The crown contains a different metal, a lighter one.
Caption 81, Es war einmal: Entdecker und Erfinder Archimedes
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Die Kufen der Schlittschuhe sind aus Stahl und haben eine sehr glatte Auflagefläche.
Ice skate runners are made of steel and have a very smooth contact area.
Caption 22, Unterwegs mit Cettina: Schlittschuhlaufen
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Und ich möchte so wenig wie möglich Eisen verwenden.
And I want to use iron as little as possible.
Caption 30, Heidi: Dunkle Vergangenheit
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Diese Fünf-Cent-Münze ist aus Kupfer gemacht.
This five-cent coin is made out of copper.
Caption 7, Eva zeigt uns: Materialien
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Fun fact: Just like in English, the word das Blech ("tin") in German is also used to describe a baking tin (das Backblech). Additionally, it refers to a metal baking sheet or tray that you would slide into the oven.
Wie ihr seht, wird das Blech von der Tomatensauce nicht komplett bedeckt.
As you can see, the tray is not completely covered with the tomato sauce.
Caption 15, Cannelloni: mit Jenny
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As you saw in the very first example above, the word for "wood" is das Holz. But there are as many types of wood (die Hölzer) as there are types of trees. Here are just a few:
Denn die Kiefer ist einerseits ein Nadelbaum . . .
Because the pine is, on the one hand, a coniferous tree ...
Caption 17, Deutsch mit Eylin: Wörter mit 2 Bedeutungen
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Weinsberg war von Mauern umgeben, die waren so dick [sic] wie eine alte Eiche.
Weinsberg was surrounded by walls that were as thick as an old oak tree.
Captions 9-10, Märchen - Sagenhaft: Die Weiber von Weinsberg
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Der wird zwei Wochen lang geräuchert im Buchenholz.
It is smoked for two weeks in beech wood.
Caption 58, 48 h in Innsbruck: Sehenswürdigkeiten & Tipps
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You can additionally look up das Birkenholz, das Kirschholz, das Mahagoniholz, das Eschenholz, and many more. Based on the pattern you see, what is the name for the wood that comes from oak or pine trees?
Further Learning
Watch Eva's video on Yabla German and then look around the room you are in and try to describe what the furniture and objects are made of.
This week, we'll augment our series of lessons about animal names with some basic vocabulary related to plants. Yabla has many videos about the natural world, so it's not so hard to get a good overview. It is also most fitting to the season, with everything currently in full bloom in Germany.
Diese setzt sich aus Gras, Früchten, Wurzeln, Zweigen und Rinde zusammen.
This consists of grass, fruits, roots, branches, and bark.
Caption 30, Evolution: An Land
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Der perfekt getarnte Hühnervogel ernährt sich von Knospen, Samen, Beeren und Wurzeln.
The perfectly camouflaged landfowl feeds on buds, seeds, berries, and roots.
Captions 13-14, Die letzten Paradiese Schätze der Natur: Südtirol
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„Es heißt“, sagte Piggeldy, „Blume, Kopf und Stängel“.
"They are called," said Piggeldy, "flower, head, and stem."
Caption 12, Piggeldy und Frederick: Blume
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Like in English, some vocabulary is more specific to trees:
Jetzt bin ich hinter dem Baumstamm.
Now I'm behind the tree trunk.
Caption 12, Diane erklärt: Präpositionen
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Doch der Mäusebussard auf dem Ast hat die scheue Katze nur aufgeschreckt.
But the common buzzard on the branch just startled the shy cat.
Caption 22, Alpenseen: Kühle Schönheiten
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A leaf, whether it's the leaf of a tree, a plant, or even a leaf of paper, is das Blatt in German. The plural is die Blätter.
Im Oktober fallen die ersten Blätter und der Herbst beginnt.
In October, the first leaves fall and autumn begins.
Caption 30, Deutsch mit Eylin: Wochentage, Monate und Jahreszeiten
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Dazu zupfe ich von meinem Basilikumtopf ein paar Blätter ab
For this, I pluck off a few leaves from my basil pot
Caption 30, Cannelloni: mit Jenny
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Es macht halt Spaß, und halt nicht vor ein einem Blatt Papier zu stehen, und jede Aufgabe zehn mal abzuschreiben.
It's just fun, and just to not be standing in front of a sheet of paper and copying each task ten times.
Captions 92-93, Nena: Das 1x1 mit den Hits von NENA
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Further Learning
If you have plants in your home or nearby, see if you can describe them with the vocabulary above from Yabla German. You can also read our lesson on gardening vocabulary.
In English, you'd say "a bottle of cola" or "a teaspoon of sugar," but in German, you don't generally use the preposition von ("of") when describing units of something. Nor do you use von when describing containers of something, such as a bottle, a case, a stack, or a package. It may be grammatically correct to say eine Flasche von Cola, but a native speaker would say eine Flasche Cola—and you should too!
Here are some examples of nouns modifying die Flasche. Note that the English translation always uses the preposition "of," whereas in German, the nouns modify each other directly, with no preposition:
Ich könnte natürlich auch eine Flasche Wasser trinken.
I could, of course, drink a bottle of water instead.
Caption 16, Jenny beim Frühstück - Teil 2
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Das ist schlecht, deshalb brauchen wir eine zweite Flasche Tomatensauce.
This is bad, that's why we need a second bottle of tomato sauce.
Caption 16, Cannelloni - mit Jenny
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And here with der Kasten and die Kiste, the most common German terms for a case or box used for carrying bottles. Note that eine Kiste is also a German idiom for a shabby car, just as "crate" is used in American slang.
Als Preis ibt es einen Kasten Bier!
For a prize there is a case of beer!
Caption 57, Frisbee - Karlsruher Weihnachtsturnier - Part 1
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Also, wir haben einen Kasten Sekt bekommen,
Well, we got a box of sparkling wine,
eine Kiste Sekt das letzte Mal.
the last time a case of sparkling wine.
Caption 56, Frisbee - Karlsruher Weihnachtsturnier - Part 2
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And for a stack (der Packen) of cash:
Er hat Arne einen dicken Packen Geldscheine gegeben.
He gave Arne a thick stack of bills.
Caption 53, Die Pfefferkörner - Eigentor
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And here a small packet (das Päckchen), along with some quantities from a recipe:
Wir brauchen 75 Gramm Zucker,
We need 75 grams of sugar,
ein Päckchen Vanillezucker,
a small packet of vanilla sugar,
einen Teelöffel Backpulver,
one teaspoon of baking powder,
75 Gramm Butter...
75 grams of butter...
Captions 5-8, Weihnachtsplätzchen backen - mit Diane und vielen kleinen Helfern
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Further Learning
Take a look at some cooking recipes on Yabla German and try to find the noun modifiers that don't require a preposition in German.
We have "to see," "to watch," and "to look" in English, but there are even more verbs in German, and the meanings are often prefix-dependent. In German, the three verbs/verb roots are sehen, schauen, and gucken / kucken. Gucken or (more commonplace) kucken is slang and is more popular in northern Germany, whereas schauen is slang in southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. To gain an understanding of how these verbs are used, it's best to look at various examples and see how added prefixes affect the meaning.
Below, you can see examples of these three verbs without any prefixes.
Die anderen Tiere sind im Winter leider nicht draußen zu sehen.
The other animals are unfortunately not to be seen outside in the winter.
Caption 20, Berlin - Domäne Dahlem
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Wo sehen Sie sich selbst in zehn Jahren?
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
Caption 55, Berufsleben - das Vorstellungsgespräch
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Hast du schon im Schrank geschaut? -Ja.
Have you already looked in the closet? -Yes.
Caption 4, Nicos Weg - Vorm Fahrradladen
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Ich bin runter und habe geguckt, war aber nichts.
I went down and looked, but there was nothing.
Caption 28, Rheinmain im Blick - Erdbeben in Südhessen
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Based on these examples, you might come to the conclusion that sehen is always translated as "to see" and schauen and kucken are translated as "to look." However, this is simply not the case. It is instead the prefixes that reliably determine the translations. As you see below, sich etwas anschauen and sich etwas ansehen both mean "to (take/have a) look at something," as does sich etwas ankucken.
Und einen Brauch wollen wir uns heute ansehen.
And we want to take a look at one of these customs today.
Caption 6, Eva erklärt - den Adventskalender
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Zuerst schauen wir uns einige Farben an.
First, we will look at some colors.
Caption 6, Eva erklärt - Farben
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Der Arzt schaut sich den Fuß jetzt erst mal an.
First, the doctor will take a look at your foot.
Caption 5, Nicos Weg - Beim Arzt
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Kuckt euch diese alte Kamera an.
Look at this old camera.
Caption 21, Drei Leute - beim Kofferpacken
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The phrases mal sehen, mal schauen, and mal kucken are essentially synonyms and can mean either "let's have a look at" or "let's see," depending on the context.
Mal schauen, wie weit die Cannelloni sind.
Let's see how far along the cannelloni are.
Caption 41, Cannelloni - mit Jenny
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Mal kucken, was die anderen Jugendlichen hier im Jugendforum so treiben.
Let's see what the other young people here in the Youth Forum are up to.
Caption 10, Rheinman in Blick - Nachhaltigkeit
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Aussehen and ausschauen both refer to a person's appearance. Note: It is not possible to say auskucken in this context!
Du siehst gut aus.
You look good.
Caption 3, Weihnachtsmann gesucht - Bist du verliebt?
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Also, er hat mich gefragt: „Wie möchtest denn...
Well, he asked me: "How would you then like...
Herr Otto, wie möchtest denn ausschauen?“
Mr. Otto, how would you like to look then?"
Caption 9, Otto Waalkes - Friseur
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The verb "to watch" is most often translated as zusehen or zuschauen.
Auf den Besuchertribünen kann jeder den Abgeordneten bei der Arbeit zusehen.
On the visitors' stands, everyone can watch the representatives at work.
Caption 23, Berlin - Hauptstadt des vereinten Deutschland
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Vielen Dank fürs Zuschauen.
Thank you for watching.
Caption 27, Eva - zeigt uns Kleidungsstücke
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When it comes to watching television or a film, there are various expressions involving all three verbs.
Am Freitag sehe ich fern.
On Friday, I will watch television.
Caption 17, Nicos Weg - Am Sonntag koche ich
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Wir haben viel zusammen gekocht und Filme gekuckt.
We often cooked together and watched films.
Caption 32, Fine - sucht eine Wohnung
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Wenn du den Fernseher anmachst, was schaust du?
When you turn on the television, what do you watch?
Caption 36, Peyman Amin - Der Modelmacher
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Further Learning
There are many, many examples of these verbs (sehen, sich etwas ansehen, zusehen, aussehen, and the slang versions) used in context on Yabla German. When you notice an incongruity between the two languages or an exception, make sure to take note of it.
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