Summer is the time to go swimming. Let's talk today about words related to swimming and swimming safety.

Man kann hier natürlich noch andere Sachen tun als nur schwimmen.

You can, of course, do other things here besides just swimming.

Caption 6, Berlin: Wannsee

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OK, und dann halt lieber hier in der freien Natur baden.

OK, and then just better to swim here in open nature.

Caption 77, Unterwegs mit Cettina: Sommer am Baggersee

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The verbs schwimmen and baden both mean "to swim," but baden can also mean "to play in the water" or even "to take a bath." I've often had Europeans ask if we should "go bathing" (or even "have a bath"), by which they mean "go swimming," of course!

Kommt Kinder, wir gehen zur Abkühlung erst mal eine Runde schwimmen!

Come on kids, let's go for a swim to cool off first!

Caption 72, Umwelt und Natur: Wo sind all die Bienen hin?

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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

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To say "to go swimming," you combine the verbs gehen and schwimmen, or gehen and baden. Note that the phrases consist of two verbs and are not single separable verbs!

Den größten Teil meiner Freizeit verbringe ich in Tel Aviv und am Strand.

I spend the largest portion of my free time in Tel Aviv and at the beach.

Caption 11, Grete: eine Freiwillige in Israel

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Also, in Tübingen gibt's ein Schwimmbad.

Well, in Tübingen there is a swimming pool.

Caption 21, Deutschkurs in Tübingen: Über jemanden sprechen

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Two obvious places to go swimming are the beach (der Strand) or a swimming pool (das Schwimmbad), and you'll hopefully be able to find those someplace closer to home than Tel Aviv or Tübingen!

Mein Handtuch brauche ich nicht.

I don't need my towel.

Caption 19, Peppa Wutz: Sport

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Actually, unless you're going to a gym that supplies a towel, you will probably want to have one when you go swimming. Das Handtuch is the general word for "towel," but you may want to bring a bigger one to lie down on, such as a a beach towel (das Strandtuch).
 

Vorsicht: Die Sonne ist auch sehr heiß. Deswegen brauchen wir einen Hut, eine Sonnenbrille, und ganz wichtig... Sonnencreme.

Beware: The sun is also very hot. Therefore we need a hat, sunglasses, and very important... sun lotion.

Captions 18-21, Jahreszeiten: Der Sommer

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Safety first! In addition to a hat (der Hut), sunglasses (die Sonnenbrille), and sun lotion (die Sonnencreme), it's important to bring lots of liquids to drink!

Further Learning
Watch the videos above on Yabla German and learn some other terms about summer fun. And then take a break and go swimming somewhere to cool off! And remember to be safe about swimming when you're out in the hot sun.

In German, there are a number of prepositions that can be translated as "to" to express movement from one place to another: nach, zu, in, an, and auf. Often it is difficult to know which one to use in what context and with what type of place, and you simply have to memorize certain patterns. This week, let's begin with the preposition nach. 

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We use nach when the destination is a city, and also for most countries. However, there are some exceptions to this in which in is used with countries, for example, with die Türkei, die Schweiz, and die Vereinigten Staaten (As you may remember, some countries have genders in German). And keep in mind that the preposition in is used when the destination is die Stadt ("the city" or "the town") or das Dorf ("the village"). 

Ihre Nachkommen wanderten auch nach Italien und Österreich aus.

Their offspring also migrated  to Italy and Austria.

Caption 26, Alpenseen - Kühle Schönheiten

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Er will in die Schweiz reisen. Schön, was noch?

He wants to travel to Switzerland. Nice, what else?

Caption 37, Deutschkurs in Tübingen - Über jemanden sprechen

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Hi, ich bin Marie. Ich bin gerade mit Julia nach Berlin gezogen.

Hi, I'm Marie. I just moved to Berlin with Julia.

Caption 3, Die Wohngemeinschaft - Besuch

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Eines Tages machte sich der Kaufmann auf den Weg in die Stadt, um Geld zu verdienen.

One day, the Merchant set out for town in order to earn some money.

Caption 9, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Die Schöne und das Biest

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Nach is also used for cardinal directions and with "left," "right," "up," and "down."

Es drehte sich nach links... -Und du? -und dann nach rechts.

He turned to the left... -And you? -and then to the right.

Caption 18, Meine Freundin Conni - Conni schläft im Kindergarten

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Der Russe dreht mit starken Kräften westlich der Düna nach Norden ein.

The Russians are turning west of the Daugava River towards the north with strong forces.

Caption 25, Die Stunde der Offiziere - Dokudrama über den 20. Juli 1944 

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Another rule: while we say "go/drive/come home" in English, the equivalent phrase in German has a preposition: nach Hause + verb.

Und als der Bär nach Hause kam, machten sie sich einen gemütlichen Abend.

And when the bear came home, they had a cozy evening.

Captions 37-38, Janoschs Traumstunde - Post für den Tiger

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Further Learning
We will cover the other prepositions used to express movement from one place to another in coming newsletters. Pay attention to how "to" is translated with various places and directions on Yabla German and stay tuned!