The noun die Bilanz sounds similar to the English word "balance" and is often translated thus, in the sense of a "financial balance" or a "balance sheet," as opposed to getting dizzy and losing your balance, which is das Gleichgewicht. You might occasionally run into the phrase Bilanz ziehen, which sounds a bit odd if you were to translate it literally as "pull balance." Its real meaning becomes clearer when we see the phrase used in some different contexts:
Fehmarn kann eine erfreuliche Bilanz ziehen: Es kamen zweitausendneun zehn Prozent mehr Gäste.
Fehmarn strikes a happy balance: ten percent more guests came in two thousand nine.
Caption 3, Die Insel Fehmarn - Gästeboom
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Zeit, Bilanz zu ziehen.
It's time to strike a balance.
Caption 9, Fortuna Düsseldorf - Kreißsaal für Fußballfans
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Seit knapp neun Jahren gibt es die Berliner Band, da ist es an der Zeit, einmal Bilanz zu ziehen.
The Berlin band has existed for almost nine years, so it's about time to strike a balance.
Captions 3-4, Culcha Candela - zieht Bilanz
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Although I had long assumed—incorrectly—that "to strike a balance" had to do with physical balancing (die Gleichgewicht), in fact the Oxford English Dictionary defines the phrase as meaning "to determine the exact difference, if any, between the two sides of an account," thus using the same sense of "balance" as the German die Bilanz. As with the English phrase, the German phrase too is probably used more often in a metaphorical sense.
The noun die Bilanz without the verb ziehen is also commonly translated thus:
Neunzehnhundertachtzehn zeigt uns eine Bilanz.
Nineteen hundred eighteen shows us a result.
Caption 38, Majolika Karlsruhe - Der Bambi-Filmpreis
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Am Ende der Veranstaltung ist die Bilanz dann auch recht eindeutig.
At the end of the event, the result then is also quite clear.
Caption 64, Manga-und-Anime-Treffen - in Mainz-Kastell
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The least figurative translation of die Bilanz, however, is simply "the balance sheet."
Further Learning
Go to Yabla German to find other examples of how the noun die Bilanz is used in a real-world context.
I still sometimes find it difficult, despite speaking German for decades, to distinguish between the two nouns die Gelegenheit and die Angelegenheit. In all fairness, though, the fact that prefixes like an-, be-, ver-, ent-, etc. radically alter the meanings of German words is part of what makes German difficult for English speakers.
Let's start by stripping Gelegenheit of its -heit suffix, leaving us with the adverb/adjective gelegen:
...eine Kleinstadt für sich, gelegen entlang der schweiz-französischen Grenze.
...a small town on its own, located along the Swiss-French border.
Caption 2, Die Weltmaschine - Der LHC-Teilchenbeschleuniger
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Vor der abseits gelegenen Düne gelang ihm eine sensationelle Entdeckung:
In front of this remotely situated dune, he managed to make a sensational discovery:
Captions 22-23, Abenteuer Nordsee - Unter Riesenhaien und Tintenfischen
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Thus gelegen is usually translated as "located" or situated," though it also can mean "desired" (erwünscht) or "opportune" (günstig). When we add the suffix -heit and make it a noun, it becomes:
Die Gelegenheit lässt sich Florian nicht entgehen.
Florian doesn't let this opportunity slip by.
Caption 18, Abenteuer Nordsee - Unter Riesenhaien und Tintenfischen
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Dann lernst du ihn auch gleich kennen bei der Gelegenheit.
Then you'll also get to know him right away on this occasion.
Caption 28, Fine - sucht einen Hammer
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Die Gelegenheit is almost always translated as "opportunity," except when preceded with the preposition bei, when it's usually translated as "occasion." On a more humorous note, just as "the facilities" are used in English as a polite euphemism for the toilet, so too is die Gelegenheit an old-fashioned euphemism in German for das WC. A perhaps overly polite way to ask where the toilet is would be Wo ist hier die Gelegenheit, bitte?
Die Angelegenheit is, on the other hand, literally a different matter altogether:
Die Königin war fuchsteufelswild und beschloss, die Angelegenheit jetzt selbst in die Hand zu nehmen.
The Queen was "fox devil wild" [slang: angry] and decided to take the matter into her own hands now.
Captions 55-56, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Schneewittchen
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Musste zufällig jemand den Kaiser in kaiserlichen Angelegenheiten sprechen, gaben seine Diener stets dieselbe Antwort.
Should someone need to speak to the emperor about imperial affairs, his servants always gave the same answer.
Captions 20-21, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Des Kaisers neue Kleider
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I use this mnemonic device to remember the difference between Gelegenheit and Angelegenheit:
–An "opportunity" should be easy and is thus the shorter of the two words, Gelegenheit.
–A political affair or business matter tends to suggest difficult bureaucratic procedures and is thus the longer word Angelegenheit.
Further Learning
Go to Yabla German to find other examples of gelegen, Gelegenheit and Angelegenheit as used in real-world context.
Not to be confused with the capital city of the United Arab Emirates—that's written "Dubai" in German too, by the way—the German adverb dabei means generally "to be present" at some event, but can have many possible translations in English, depending upon the context. Let's take a look at some of the more commonly seen possibilities.
Ich freue mich, dass ihr heute dabei seid.
I'm happy that you are here today.
Caption 2, Eva erklärt - Sprichwörter - Part 1
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In this context, the use of dabei rather than simply hier implies "here with us."
Ich hab' meine Lupe dabei, um die Schnecken zu sehen.
I have my magnifying glass with me to see the snails.
Caption 47, Abenteuer Nordsee - Unter Riesenhaien und Tintenfischen
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You could possibly say bei mir in this context, although bei mir also means "at my place" or "at my house."
Warst du gestern bei der Schlacht dabei?
Were you present at the battle yesterday?
Caption 20, Bretten - Das Peter-und-Paul-Fest - Part 3
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Der Louvre ist nicht mit dabei.
The Louvre [Museum in Paris] is not participating.
Caption 8, Kunst weltweit googeln - Galerienbesuch von zu Hause aus
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The above two examples translate dabei as "to be present" at or "to be participating" in an event.
Wichtig ist dabei, immer Geld zu verdienen.
It is important to always make money thereby.
Caption 51, Fluglinien - Niki Air
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The adverb dabei, when seen in its constituent parts da + bei, literally "there" + "by," forms the English adverb "thereby." Most people don't use the word "thereby" very often in everyday speech, however, and it's more common to use other equivalents.
Nun spring einfach hinab und flattere und schlackere dabei.
Now just jump down and flutter and flap as you do it.
Caption 26, Piggeldy und Frederick - Lernen fliegen
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Another close equivalent to "thereby," and perhaps the most common translation in this context, is "in doing so":
Dabei passieren sie die fünf Kilometer lange Zeeland-Brücke.
In doing so, they pass through the five kilometer long Zeeland Bridge.
Caption 10, Abenteuer Nordsee - Unter Riesenhaien und Tintenfischen
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The above could also have been translated: "They thereby pass through the five kilometer long Zeeland Bridge."
Further Learning
Go to Yabla German to find other examples of dabei used in a real-world context and see if you can find some other ways that it has been translated into English.
Thank you for reading this newsletter and keep up the good work! If you have any good ideas for lesson topics, please email them to us at newsletter@yabla.com, and you can tweet us @yabla.
Last week, we looked at the various verbs that mean "to listen" and "to hear." But there are also several words that contain hören and have nothing to do with its meaning. The most important of these for daily conversation are likely the verbs gehören and aufhören.
The verb gehören essentially means "to belong" and is used to express ownership. Note the use of the dative case in these two examples:
Die Uhr gehört der Lehrerin.
The watch belongs to the teacher.
Caption 60, Deutschkurs in Tübingen - Verben der 3. Kategorie
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Wem gehört jetzt dieses Kunstwerk?
Who owns this work of art now?
Caption 47, Das Urban-Art-Projekt - Polnischer Militärhubschrauber
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The related verb zugehören or dazugehören means "to be counted among” or “to be a component part of something," while the verb angehören can even be used more officially to talk about membership in a group.
Die Australierin gehört zu den Hauptdarstellerinnen in dem Thriller.
The Australian is among the leading female actors in the thriller.
Caption 18, Cate Blanchett - dreht auf Fehmarn
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You may already be thinking that gehört is indeed the past participle of the verb hören! This is true, so you will have to note the context and the prefixes and prepositions as well.
The verb aufhören is also not related to listening or hearing. It means "to cease," "to stop," or "to quit."
Kannst du bitte aufhören zu telefonieren?
Can you please stop phoning?
Caption 51, Magie - Die Zaubershow
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„Hör auf!“, schrie Frederick. „Du nervst mich!“
"Stop!" cried Frederick. "You are annoying me!"
Caption 11, Piggeldy und Frederick - Karton
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Further Learning
Because these verbs are so common, you will be able to find many examples on Yabla German. If you are interested in learning more verbs related to listening and hearing, take a look at this list.
Have you noticed that there is not only the verb hören in German, but also anhören and zuhören? Unfortunately, the difference between these three can’t exactly be equated with the difference between “to listen” and “to hear” in English. Let’s try to get to the bottom of how each one is used.
Hören without any prefixes can actually be translated as both “to hear” and “to listen,” depending on the context.
Hört ihr es? Mein Wasser fängt gerade an zu kochen.
Do you hear it? My water is just starting to boil.
Caption 35, Cannelloni - mit Jenny - Part 1
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Das haben wohl schon so einige Kinder von ihren Eltern zu hören bekommen.
Quite a few children have gotten to hear that from their parents.
Caption 2, Kochhaus Berlin - Kochen mit Kindern
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OK, ich höre. Wer beginnt?
OK, I am listening. Who will begin?
Caption 26, Deutschkurs in Blaubeuren - Der Relativsatz - Part 16
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Zuhören is used to describe listening intently or paying attention.
Du musst genau zuhören, was gesprochen wird,
You have to listen carefully to what is said,
Caption 39, German Intro - Cettina
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„Und nun hör zu:" "Der Sommer ist warm und kurz."
"And now listen up. "Summer is warm and short."
Captions 29-30, Piggeldy und Frederick - Sommer
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Sich etwas anhören describes listening to something specific that requires some time, for example, a song or an album. This is a bit confusing as hören is also used to talk about listening to music. If you understand the difference between sehen and sich etwas ansehen, this may help you with the distinction between hören and sich etwas anhören. Perhaps it is not unlike "to have a good look" or "to have a listen."
Wir möchten uns ein bisschen von seiner Lebensgeschichte anhören.
We would like to hear a bit about his life story.
Caption 4, Dieter Kränzlein - Bildhauer - Part 1
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Und was erwartet uns, wenn wir uns das Album anhören?
And what awaits us [can we expect] when we listen to the album?
Caption 13, Sons of Sounds - Open-Air in Karlsruhe
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At the same time, sich anhören is also used to talk about something (for example, an idea or suggestion) that “sounds good” or “sounds bad.” Take a look at the structures below:
OK, das hört sich gut an. Ich komme gerne mit.
OK, that sounds good. I'll gladly come along.
Caption 44, Diane erklärt - Fragewörter
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Im Präteritum würde sich das so anhören.
In the preterite [narrative past in German], it would sound like this.
Caption 31, Konjugation - Das Verb „mögen“
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Now for a false friend alert: The verb überhören does not mean "to overhear" in the English sense. It actually means to ignore or miss something one has heard.
Further Learning
Search Yabla German for more examples of these verbs to develop your understanding of how they are used. Next week, we’ll look at a few words that contain the word hören, but have little to do with listening or hearing.
Berlin is a wonderful city during the soccer world championship. Most Spätis (small convenience stores) just place large TVs on the sidewalk and every 50 meters or so there's a makeshift outdoor sports bar. When Germany gets a goal, you can hear cheering and fireworks across the city. But when Germany loses and is no longer playing, the city seems to suddenly go quiet.
The headline today of the Berlin tabloid newspaper BZ was Die Mannschafft sich ab, reflecting the fact that after having lost 0-2 to South Korea, the German soccer team, reigning world champions, are out of the World Cup after only three games. The accompanying photograph was of five players on the field at the end of the match with their hands on their heads, much like prisoners being led away under arrest. Very depressing indeed!
The phrase in the headlines is not strictly correct, grammatically speaking. It's a play on words of the noun die Mannschaft ("the team") and the verb abschaffen ("to abolish," "to do away with," "to eliminate"). The proper non-wordplay version would be Die Mannschaft schafft sich ab. An approximate translation could read "The team eliminates itself," as they have been eliminated from playing in the World Cup.
Let's take a look at some other contexts where the verb abschaffen can be used in the present tense:
Eine Partei im deutschen Bundestag will die Pressefreiheit abschaffen.
A party in the German Parliament wants to abolish the freedom of press.
Caption 9, Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Einbürgerungstest - Part 3
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Man will die Buslinie abschaffen, mit der Sie immer zur Arbeit fahren.
They want to get rid of the bus route that you always ride to work with.
Caption 25, Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Einbürgerungstest - Part 5
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By the way, it's not possible for a political party to "do away" with freedom of the press in Germany because it's a basic constitutional right, but if a bus line is being cut, you can start a citizen's initiative to save it. Unfortunately, no basic rights or citizen's initiatives will be able to bring the German team back into the World Cup!
Insgesamt zweiundzwanzig Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzungen wurden heute auf hessischen Autobahnen abgeschafft.
Twenty-two speed limits in total were scrapped today on Hessian autobahns.
Captions 7-8, Deutsche Autobahnen - Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzungen
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„Captain's Dinner“ [Englisch] und feste Tischzeiten wurden abgeschafft.
The "captain's dinner" and fixed meal times were done away with.
Caption 18, Kreuzfahrtschiff - An Bord der Europa 2
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Früher hatten sie solche Riesenmaschinen, aber die haben sie abgeschafft.
Long ago they had such giant machines, but they have abolished them.
Captions 40-41, Piggeldy und Frederick - Maschine
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It's interesting to note that by taking the verb schaffen ("to create") and adding the prefix ab-, you essentially create the opposite of "create" with abschaffen: "to abolish."
I was riding on the Berlin U-Bahn (subway) recently and noticed an advertisement from a very well-known auction website on the wall of the subway car that read Trödel mehr als der M41. This use of the verb trödeln had me puzzled, though I knew it was related to the noun der Trödelmarkt:
Also, hier gibt es auch viele Secondhand- und Trödelläden.
So, there are also many secondhand and junk shops here.
Caption 26, Jonathan Johnson - Kreuzberg, Berlin
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The noun der Trödelladen has a similar meaning to der Trödelmarkt, just as der Laden has a similar meaning to der Markt. I knew that trödeln means "to sell things at a junk shop or flea market," but what does this have to do with the Berlin M41 bus line? It turns out the slang and most common usage of trödeln is "to go slowly" or "to waste time," but also "to move slowly without a fixed destination," thus "to wander," "to amble," or "to meander." The auction website ad translates approximately to "Wander around (alternately: go shopping for secondhand goods) more than the M41 bus," so it's a play on words on the fact that the M41 is a long, meandering bus line and that you can use the auction site to shop for good deals.
The noun der Trödel, which is also short for der Trödelmarkt, has taken on the slang meaning of "useless, worthless things, especially clothing, furniture and household articles," just as you expect to see in a junk shop or flea market, the latter of which translates directly to German as der Flohmarkt, by the way.
Junk shops and flea markets are numerous in Berlin and range from places filled literally to the ceiling with useless, broken junk to something much closer to fine antique shops. Those people who are too poor to shop anywhere but at Trödelläden and Flohmärkte can take comfort in the wise words of Piggeldy and Frederick:
„Schätze kann man nicht essen, bloß verkaufen.
"You can't eat treasures, [you can] only sell [them].
Caption 13, Piggeldy und Frederick - Arm
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„Reich ist, wer was verkaufen kann."
"Rich are those who have something to sell."
Caption 16, Piggeldy und Frederick - Arm
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Further Learning
Go to the German Duden dictionary and see the various meanings of der Trödelmarkt, der Trödel, and trödeln, and then see if you can guess the meanings of this list of words relating related to trödeln. Then you can go to Yabla German to find other real-world examples of the words related to shopping in German.
German has many French loan words or Gallicisms. Since an estimated 45% of English comes from French or Latin language sources, if you can learn to recognize words in your native English as having a French origin, there is a fair chance that these words are used in German.
In a previous lesson, we took a look at some more French-derived words in German that have the same or similar words in English. This week, let's discuss some German words that originated from the French but have different meanings than their similar English equivalents.
Die Frau bekommt ein Kind und ihr Chef weiß das.
The woman is going to have a child and her boss knows it.
Caption 9, Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Einbürgerungstest - Part 4
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In this case, the German der Chef and French chef can be a bit of a false friend of the English word "chef," since in English it means "the head cook" and not the more general term "the boss."
Bald waren sie bei einer Fabrik, bei einer Farbenfabrik.
Soon they were at a factory, at a paint factory.
Caption 6, Piggeldy und Frederick - Malen
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The German die Fabrik comes from the French fabrique, the -que ending having been Germanized to -ik. The pronunciation is nearly the same in both languages, with the emphasis on the second syllable.
Ich denke, er ist einfach eine komplexe Figur.
I think he is simply a complex character.
Caption 9, Dreharbeiten - zum Film „Playoff“
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The German die Figur comes from the French figure—like the English "figure"—and has similar meanings, but in most contexts the German is translated to "character" in English, making this a sort of false friend in most cases. Die Figur could, however, be translated to the English "figure" if you were discussing a geometric figure.
Bevor ihr einen Weihnachtsbaum aufstellt, geht am besten mal zum Friseur.
Before you set up a Christmas tree it's best that you go to the hairdresser.
Captions 17-18, Frohe Weihnachten - der Christbaum
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The German der Friseur / die Friseurin, from the French friseur, is rarely used in English anymore, and even the French tend to prefer to use the term coiffeur instead. The German also uses the term die Friseuse, but it is a pejorative. There is a secondary German spelling Frisör, but the German Duden dictionary recommends the -eur spelling!
Hast du die Gage?
Do you have the fee?
Caption 48, Verstehen Sie Spaß? - Sascha Grammel - Part 2
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The German die Gage and the French gage both pronounce the first G as a hard G and the second as a soft G. It might be incorrectly confused with the English "gauge."
Wenn du so viel Engagement in Mathematik aufbringst wie im Lösen von Kriminalfällen...
If you put as much effort into mathematics as into solving criminal cases...
Caption 36, Die Pfefferkörner - Gerüchteküche - Part 6
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Das Engagement, from the French engagement, has nothing to do with the English "engagement," which in German is usually translated as die Verlobung.
Further Learning
As a general rule, French words found in German are spelled the same, or nearly the same, as the French words found in English, but are pronounced in a German manner and written according to German grammatical rules—with nouns capitalized, for example. Take a look at this list of Gallicisms in German and go to Yabla German to find other real-world examples of the words used in videos.
We should all know the meaning of the noun die Zeit by now, considering it is also the title of one of the most well-known newspapers in Germany. But how many of you are familiar with the preposition zeit, written in lower-case? German, more so than English, tends to have many words and expressions that appear in print but are rarely spoken, and zeit is one of these. Let's start with the one we already know:
Ich wünschte, die Zeit würde stillstehen.
I wish that time could stand still.
Caption 40, Die Klasse - Berlin '61 - Part 8
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Für die Verschwörer wird die Zeit immer knapper.
For the conspirators, time gets scarcer and scarcer.
Caption 30, Die Stunde der Offiziere - Dokudrama über den 20. Juli 1944
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Das wird die Zeit meines Lebens
It will be the time of my life
Caption 18, Glasperlenspiel - Geiles Leben
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Note that in most cases, the German uses the definite article die (the) when referring to time, whereas English, in most cases, drops the article altogether. The last example above is interesting in that "the time of my life" is a standard expression, as is Die glücklichste Zeit meines Lebens ("The happiest time of my life"). This construction, as you will note, is very similar to the most standard use of the preposition zeit and it could be easy to confuse the two:
Ich bin Architekt von Beruf und habe zeit meines Lebens als Architekt gearbeitet.
I am an architect by profession and have worked as an architect for all of my life.
Zeit seines Lebens war er nie in Rom
During his lifetime he has never been to Rome.
In a general sense, zeit can be translated as "during" or "for." The first example of zeit meines Lebens could have been translated as "during my lifetime" or simply "all my life." Note that zeit meines Lebens therefore has a very different meaning from Die Zeit meines Lebens. The former is referring to something you have done all of your life, enjoyable or not, and the latter to having one of the best times of your life.
Further Learning
In the unlikely event that you were to hear zeit spoken, you might easily think that it was the similar-sounding preposition seit. Remember, however, that seit is pronounced with an English sounding Z and takes the dative form, whereas zeit is pronounced with a Ts sound and takes the genitive form. See the full meaning of zeit on the German dictionary website Duden and see if you can find any other German expressions that use the preposition zeit.
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.
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.
Like English, 45% of which comes from French or Latin language sources, German has many French loan words or Gallicisms. If you can learn to recognize words in your native English as having a French origin, there is a fair chance that they are used in German.
In last week's lesson, we took a look at some of the more commonly used German words with a French origin. These have obvious French word endings such as -ment, -ion, or -age. This week, let's take a look at some more French-derived words in German that also have English counterparts.
Vor genau sechsundsechzig Jahren befreite die Rote Armee die Überlebenden des Nazi-Vernichtungslagers Auschwitz.
Exactly sixty-six years ago the Red Army liberated the survivors of the Nazi extermination camp Auschwitz.
Captions 1-2, Holocaust-Gedenktag - Gespräch mit jüdischen Schülern
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The German word for "army," die Armee, comes from the French word armée. Note that the German capitalizes the noun as per German grammar rules and has dropped the accented letter E.
„Die Süßigkeit“ ist etwas Süßes: Gummibär, Kaugummi, Bonbon.
"Candy" is something sweet: a gummy bear, a [piece of] chewing gum, a bonbon.
Caption 6, Deutschkurs in Tübingen - Verben der 3. Kategorie - Part 2
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The German Bonbon can be the masculine der but is most commonly the neuter das. The French bonbon is literally "good good," from what a child might say when they see some candy!
Aktualisieren Sie bitte das Budget.
Please update the budget.
Caption 47, Berufsleben - das Vorstellungsgespräch
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Das Budget is the same word "budget" in French and English as well, though the French and German both render the T silent.
Ein bisschen Weihnachtsdekoration, so Engel... -Dekoration, ja.
A little bit of Christmas decoration, such angels... -Decoration, yes.
Captions 22-23, Unterwegs mit Cettina - auf dem Bruchsaler Weihnachtsmarkt
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The word "decoration" in English is closer to the French décoration, but then most hard C sounds in German utilize the letter K!
Das ist tatsächlich ein Hotel in Berlin mit einem ganz verrückten Konzept.
This is, in fact, a hotel in Berlin with a completely crazy concept.
Caption 2, Berlin - Indoor-Camping im „Hüttenpalast“
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The French word hôtel is spelled with a circumflex accent on the O, and of course pronounced entirely differently.
Ich bin bei der Firma SAC Applikations-Ingenieur.
I am an applications engineer for the company SAC.
Caption 2, Bildverarbeitung - Sirius Advanced Cybernetics in Pforzheim
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The German der Ingenieur provides another fairly rare example of the soft G pronunciation in German. It's spelled nearly the same as the French ingénieur.
Further Learning
As a general rule, French words found in German are spelled the same, or nearly the same, as the French words found in English, but are pronounced in a German manner and written according to German grammatical rules—with nouns capitalized, for example. Take a look at this list of Gallicisms in German and go to Yabla German to find other real-world examples of the words used in videos.
German has many French loan words or Gallicisms. You may wonder why it is helpful to know that some German words originally came from the French—in fact, an estimated 45% of English comes from French or Latin language sources, and very often the French words found in German are the same or very similar to the words found in English that originated from France. If you learn to recognize words in your native English as having a French origin, there is even a fair chance that these words are used in German. All the better if you happen to speak some French already!
Let's take a look today at some of the more commonly used German words with a French origin that have obvious French word endings such as -ment, -ion, or -age.
Sie kann direkt hinüberblicken zum Parlament.
She can look directly across at the parliament.
Caption 33, Berlin - Hauptstadt des vereinten Deutschland
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Here das Parlament is spelled slightly differently from the French parlement and English "parliament."
Für mich hat's unheimlich viel mit der Emotion zu tun.
For me, it has an awful lot to do with the emotion.
Caption 8, Astrid North - Solo-Debüt
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The German die Emotion is capitalized as a noun, and except for the accent in the French émotion, is written otherwise the same in all three languages. Notice the noun das Debüt in the title of the above video? That too is based on the French début, which is, of course, "debut" in English.
Es war Ihre Verantwortung, diese Information zu versenden.
It was your responsibility to send this information.
Caption 40, Berufsleben - Probleme mit Mitarbeitern - Part 1
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Die Information is the same in all three languages, but is capitalized as a German noun.
Genau, ähm, das war so eine Illusion.
Exactly, that was such an illusion.
Caption 74, Ehrlich Brothers - Show-Magier - Part 1
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Die Illusion is also the same in all three languages but capitalized in German.
Mein Rücken, der braucht erst mal eine ordentliche Massage.
My back, first of all, it needs a thorough massage.
Caption 60, Selbst versucht - Gepäckabfertigung bei Fraport
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Die Massage is the same noun in all three languages, though in German the verb is massieren.
Further Learning
As a general rule, French words found in German are spelled the same, or nearly the same, as the French words found in English, but are pronounced in a German manner and written according to German grammatical rules—with nouns capitalized, for example. Take a look at this list of Gallicisms in German and go to Yabla German to find other real-world examples of the words used in videos. Next week we will discuss some more German words that originated from the French and have similar English equivalents.
Today we'll look at a topic that is neither particularly difficult nor completely easy. This is because either you memorize it immediately or you constantly forget the necessary order.
To create the "either... or..." construction in German, the words entweder and oder are employed, always in that particular order:
Daniel Müller ist entweder nicht im Büro oder nicht erreichbar.
Daniel Müller is either not in the office or not available.
Caption 20, Berufsleben - Probleme mit Mitarbeitern - Part 1
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Das kann man entweder persönlich tun in einer Filiale oder online.
You can do that either in person at a branch or online.
Caption 14, Eva erklärt - Bankkonten
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Used to reject more than one possibility or eliminate two different parties, weder... noch... is the German equivalent of "neither... nor...":
Es war weder Mensch noch Tier.
It was neither man nor animal.
Caption 33, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Die Schöne und das Biest
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Keiner rechnet damit, dass ein Radfahrer auf dem Gehweg fährt, weder Fußgänger noch Autofahrer.
No one takes into account that a cyclist will be riding on the sidewalk, neither pedestrians nor auto drivers.
Captions 12-13, Einsatz für Christophorus - Gehwegradler
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Another construction which you might have seen and is worth mentioning here is sowohl als auch. This is a fancy way of saying "both... and..." or "as well as...", therefore serving the opposite function.
Sowohl Malerei als auch Bildhauerei.
Both paintings as well as sculptures.
Caption 15, Lokalhelden - Art House - Part 1
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Sowohl in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland als auch in der DDR wehen schwarz-rot-goldene Fahnen.
Black, red, and gold flags wave in the Federal Republic of Germany as well as in the GDR.
Caption 61, Terra X - Woher kommen die Farben Schwarz-Rot-Gold?
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Further Learning
Look for more examples of the entweder... oder... and weder... noch... constructions on Yabla German to solidify your understanding. Also take a look at the different ways in which sowohl als auch can be translated.
As we saw a few weeks ago in the newsletter about the verb kaufen and its related verbs, prefixes are very important and can drastically change the meaning of the verb to which they are attached. You likely know the verb sprechen ("to speak"), but there are several verbs you can learn along with it that will expand your vocabulary greatly.
Besprechen means "to talk about" or "to discuss," whereas versprechen means "to promise." Widersprechen means "to contradict" or "to argue." These are all non-separable verbs.
Ich glaub, das müsste man dann auch eher mit dem Management besprechen.
I think we would have to talk to the management about that.
Caption 56, Cassandra Steen Interview - Part 3
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Die Zutatenliste haben wir nun besprochen.
We have now discussed the list of ingredients.
Caption 16, Cannelloni - mit Jenny - Part 1
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Versprechen Sie mir bitte, diesen Fehler nicht noch einmal zu begehen.
Please promise me not to make this mistake again.
Caption 56, Berufsleben - Probleme mit Mitarbeitern - Part 1
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Zu verwirrt, um zu widersprechen, tat der junge Mann, was man ihm sagte.
Too confused to argue, the young man did as he was told.
Caption 50, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Der gestiefelte Kater
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Ansprechen means "to address" (or more colloquially "to bring up a matter" or "to appeal to a person") and is a separable verb. Take a look at the examples below:
Bevor ich die Sitzung unterbreche, muss ich noch folgenden Sachverhalt ansprechen.
Before I suspend this session, I have to address the following matter.
Captions 43-44, Bundesregierung Vereidigung der Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel
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Ganz hinten auch gern, Leute, ihr seid auch angesprochen.
Also in the very back, people, you are also being addressed.
Caption 2, Wincent Weiss - Feuerwerk
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Welche Leute sprecht ihr an, wer kommt hierher zum Lernen und was können die Menschen hier beigebracht bekommen?
Which people are you addressing, who comes here to learn and what can people be taught here?
Captions 23-24, Lokalhelden - Art House - Part 2
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Further Learning
Here you can find a list of verbs that involve sprechen and information about whether they are separable or inseparable. See if you can find these on Yabla German to get an English translation.
Have you come across the phrase “strong verbs” or “weak verbs” in your studies and wondered what exactly is meant?
Strong verbs have a stem-vowel change in one or more tenses, for example in the simple past or present tense. In other words, they are irregular. The sign of a strong verb is that its participle will end with -en.
For example, with genießen ("to enjoy") the present tense conjugations do not have a vowel change, but the past tense does (genoss). The participle accordingly ends with
-en:
Genießt euren Kaffee, wie auch immer ihr den zubereitet.
Enjoy your coffee, regardless of how you make it.
Caption 39, Eva zeigt uns - wie man Kaffee kocht
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Und ich habe an einer sehr renommierten Universität ein sehr umfangreiches Marketingstudium genossen.
And I enjoyed a very comprehensive marketing program at a very renowned university.
Captions 26-27, Berufsleben - das Vorstellungsgespräch - Part 2
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In the case of the verb empfehlen (“to recommend”), the present and simple past tenses both have a different stem vowel change. Once again, the participle ends with -en:
Neben dem Stadtrad empfiehlt sich vor allem die Innsbruck Card für die Erkundung.
In addition to the city bike, above all, the Innsbruck card can be recommended for the exploration.
Captions 26-27, 48 h in Innsbruck - Sehenswürdigkeiten & Tipps
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Schafft das keine Linderung, wird empfohlen, die Höhe des Computerbildschirms zu überprüfen.
[If] that doesn't bring relief, it's recommended [that you] check the height of the computer screen.
Captions 19-20, Nackenverspannungen - Entspannungstipps für den Büroalltag
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Weak verbs are more “regular” in the sense that all tenses resemble the infinitive. The participle ends with -t. Let’s look at the verb reisen:
Wenn man gemeinsam reist, ist es immer besser.
It's always better if you travel together.
Caption 20, Traumberuf - Windsurfer
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Dafür reiste das Filmteam bis nach Korsika.
For this the film team traveled as far away as Corsica.
Caption 35, Hell - Science-Fiction-Kinotipp
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Für zwei Wochen bin ich durchs Land gereist.
For two weeks, I traveled across the country.
Caption 20, Grete - eine Freiwillige in Israel
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Now, of course, because German is never easy, there are exceptions in the form of irregular weak verbs. These have a participle with -t rather than -en, but also have a stem vowel change. Many common verbs, such as bringen and wissen, fall into this category.
Ein Benefiz-Fußballspiel brachte sie jedoch alle zusammen auf den Rasen.
A benefit football match nevertheless brought them all together on the turf.
Caption 2, Fußball - Prominente beim Benefizspiel
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Aschenputtel wurde in den Palast gebracht.
Cinderella was brought to the palace.
Caption 105, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Aschenputtel
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Further Learning
When you learn a new verb on Yabla German, always find out immediately whether it's strong or weak and memorize this as well as its definition. Here is an extensive list of strong and irregular verbs. Look up the participles of niesen versus genießen and of the verbs winken and stinken, which are particularly tricky.
You are likely already very familiar with the verb kaufen and its antonym verkaufen:
Die Leute gehen in den Supermarkt, kaufen etwas und wissen gar nicht, woher es kommt.
People go to the supermarket, buy something and don't even know where it comes from.
Captions 12-13, Bundesregierung - Der Tomatenfisch
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Wir verkaufen Brezeln mit Schokolade.
We sell pretzels with chocolate.
Caption 20, Berlin - Judith und die „Brezel Bar“
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You probably know the verb einkaufen as well:
Fritzle geht mit seiner Oma einkaufen.
Little Fritz goes shopping with his grandma.
Caption 2, Ivana erzählt Witze - Fritzle und die Oma
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You may, however, be less familiar with the separable verb ankaufen. It is very similar to kaufen ("to buy"), but has a very specific context related to a person or a company that offers to buy items on a regular basis:
Der Juwelier kauft Gold an.
The jeweler buys gold.
Der Autohändler kauft Gebrauchtwagen an.
The car dealer buys used cars.
The separable verb aufkaufen can be used to mean "to buy up" or to buy in large quantities:
Ursprünglich hat er alte Anzüge aufgekauft, so aus den Zwanzigern und so.
Originally, he bought up old suits from the twenties and such.
Caption 6, Jonathan Johnson - Herr von Eden
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The verb aufkaufen is also used when a company takes over or acquires another company:
Facebook und Amazon wurden von Google aufgekauft.
Facebook and Amazon were acquired by Google.
Please note that the above statement is purely hypothetical and is in no way intended to represent the intention of any companies, real or imagined!
Further Learning
Read this excellent article on the four verbs above, and see this list of words that use the root kaufen. You may then go to Yabla German and find examples of the words used in a real world context.
You are already familiar with adjectival possessive pronouns: instead of saying "the man's black hat" you may say "his black hat," etc. The main German singular possessive pronouns are ihr and sein, usually translated as "his" and "her."
In German, der Mann is a grammatically masculine noun, but in any language, a man is naturally masculine too: he is the male of the species. The same rule applies to die Frau: grammatically feminine in German, but naturally female. Thus, the possessive pronoun for der Mann is sein (his) and the possessive pronoun for die Frau is ihr (her), and it follows that the grammatical genders and natural genders are matching in these cases:
Michael Jackson hielt im Übermut sein Baby aus einem Hotelfenster.
Michael Jackson held his baby boisterously out of a hotel window.
Captions 24-25, Berlin - Hotel Adlon feiert 15 Jahre Neueröffnung
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Astrid North hat ihr neues Album in Eigenregie produziert.
Astrid North has self-produced her new album.
Caption 28, Astrid North - Solo-Debüt
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The possessive pronoun of any grammatically masculine German noun is also masculine, just as any feminine noun takes a feminine pronoun. However, English does not translate the gender-specific sein and ihr respectively to "his" and "her" when referring to non-animate objects and many animals, but uses the gender-neutral "its" instead:
… anhand eines massiven Sterns, der sein Leben aushauchte.
… based on a massive star which exhaled its last breath.
Captions 23-24, Unser Universum - Sternengeburt - Das Leben nach dem stellaren Tod
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Die Nordsee. Sieben Länder teilen sich ihre Küsten.
The North Sea: Seven countries share its coastlines.
Caption 10, Abenteuer Nordsee - Unter Riesenhaien und Tintenfischen
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As you see above, non-animate nouns follow their gender equivalents in German, but in English both are translated as "its" rather than "his" or "her." But how does German deal with pronouns of neuter nouns?
Für jeden von uns bringt das neue Jahr seine ganz eigenen Herausforderungen mit sich.
For each one of us, the New Year brings its own very [unique] challenges with it.
Caption 2, Angela Merkel - Neujahrsansprache
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Im Wechsel der Gezeiten verändert das Watt ständig sein Gesicht.
With changing tides, the intertidal zone is continuously altering its appearance.
Caption 10, Abenteuer Nordsee - Unter Riesenhaien und Tintenfischen
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As you see in the examples above, German does not have a unique possessive pronoun for neuter nouns, but instead reverts to the masculine pronoun sein. This can lead to the rather odd situation of a grammatically neuter pronoun such as das Mädchen—which is naturally feminine in that "the girl" is a female of the species—taking the masculine pronoun sein:
Schnell nahm das Mädchen ein neues Streichholz in seine zitternden Hände.
The girl quickly took a new match in her trembling hands.
Caption 37, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Das kleine Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern
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As you see, seine was translated to "her"—not "his"—in this case, because only "her" is correct in English. Although it is formally correct to use sein for das Mädchen, it is very common to see feminine pronouns such as ihr used for grammatically neuter but naturally feminine figures. In fact, in the video quoted above, every single pronoun reference to das Mädchen actually used grammatically incorrect feminine pronouns! So while it is good to be conscious of this rule, it won't sound unnatural if the occasional Mädchen winds up as ihr in your German!
Further Learning
Look on Yabla German for the possessive pronouns sein and ihr being used in a real-world context, and take a look at this previous Yabla lesson about possessive pronouns.
Die Pflanzen blühen jetzt.
The plants are blooming now.
Caption 12, Jahreszeiten - Der Sommer
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After an extremely cold March, Germany experienced temperatures up to 73° F / 23° C this last week. It seems that temperatures below freezing will not return for a while, so it's time for many people to get outside and work in the garden.
Sein Leben sind die Pflanzen, die er liebevoll rund um sein Häuschen hegt, und das Saatgut, das er daraus gewinnt.
His life consists of the plants that he lovingly tends around his little house and the seeds that he gets from them.
Captions 5-6, Ökobauer - Allein im Wald
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Nitrat ist klassischer Pflanzendünger.
Nitrate is a traditional plant fertilizer.
Caption 26, Bundesregierung - Der Tomatenfisch
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Piggeldy wollte wissen, was Unkraut ist.
Piggeldy wanted to know what a weed is.
Caption 1, Piggeldy und Frederick - Unkraut
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People who live in the city can start planting flowers and herbs on their window sills and on their balconies.
Ich habe meine Balkonkästen mit dieser Erde gefüllt.
I filled my balcony planters with this soil.
Caption 30, Mülltrennung - in Heidelberg
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Of course, those in the agriculture business (die Landwirtschaft) have already been at work for a while, since their planting and harvesting are hardly limited to the warm months
Und hier sehen wir, wie auf der Domäne Dahlem Landwirtschaft betrieben wird.
And here we see how farming is done at the Domain Dahlem.
Caption 23, Berlin - Domäne Dahlem - Part 1
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Der kleine, freche Rabe Socke flitzt mit seinem Rennwagen durch den hessischen Wald, statt wie seine Freunde bei der Ernte zu helfen.
The little, impertinent raven Socke flies with his race car through the Hessian forest instead of helping with the harvest like his friends.
Captions 2-3, Filmtrailer - Der kleine Rabe Socke
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Further Learning
Search for more vocabulary on Yabla German, or refer to websites such as this one for basic gardening terms, or this thorough list of words related to agriculture.
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