Since they are nouns, the German word for every animal is either masculine, feminine, or neuter. In this example, you can see that der Bussard is masculine, while die Katze is feminine:

Doch der Mäusebussard auf dem Ast hat die scheue Katze nur aufgeschreckt.

But the common buzzard on the branch has only startled the shy cat.

Caption 22, Alpenseen: Kühle Schönheiten

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In English, only pets and anthropomorphized characters are referred to as "he" or "she," whereas wild animals are generally referred to as "it." This is not the case in German, where the gender is always maintained. You can see this in the following examples, which involve weighing a wild bat (die Fledermaus), the plight of the beaver (der Biber), the nests of the white-throated dipper (die Wasseramsel), and a pet catfish named Ottl. 

Jetzt werden wir sie noch wiegen.

Now we're going to weigh it.

Caption 48, Die Alpen von oben: S1 E1 Von den Karawanken nach Graz

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Früher wurde er sehr viel gejagt, denn sein Fell war sehr begehrt.

It used to be hunted a lot because its fur was very much in demand.

Captions 16-17, Für Tierfreunde: Wildtiere in Deutschland

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Ihre Kugelnester baut sie gern auf halber Höhe über dem Wasser.

It likes to build its spherical nests halfway up above the water.

Caption 36, Die letzten Paradiese: Die Schönheit der Alpen 1

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Auch wenn der Ottl gleich alt ist wie sein Besitzer, in der Länge hat er ihn mit zwei Meter elf längst überholt.

Even though Ottl is the same age as his owner, he has long since overtaken him with a length of two meters eleven centimeters.

Captions 29-30, Die Alpen von oben: S1 E1 Von den Karawanken nach Graz

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Generally, the third person plural is consistent in both languages: 

Sie wehren sich mit ihren starken Zähnen und Krallen.

They defend themselves with their strong teeth and claws.

Caption 46, Deutsch mit Eylin: Unsere 5 Katzen

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The next example is rather unusual. Because the animal in question is das Schweinchen ("the piglet"), the pronoun is es. But because it's a character—one of the three little pigs—"he" is used in English for the purpose of personification. 

Es hörte seine Pfoten auf dem Dach und durchschaute den Wolf sofort.

He heard his paws on the roof and saw through the [plans of the] Wolf immediately.

Caption 70, Märchen: Sagenhaft Die drei kleinen Schweinchen

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Further Learning
You'll find many videos about animals on Yabla German, including the new video about Lipizzaner horses featured above. 

The German verb bauen means "to build" or "to contruct" and is generally used for physical structures, though not exclusively. 

Ihre Kugelnester baut sie gern auf halber Höhe über dem Wasser.

It likes to build its spherical nests halfway up above the water.

Caption 36, Die letzten Paradiese: Die Schönheit der Alpen 1

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Verbs that consist of bauen and a prefix follow a similar pattern. The verb aufbauen, for example, can refer to setting something up, but also restructuring something. Note the phrase neu aufbauen as well, as this means "to restructure" or "to reestablish."

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Alles hängt zusammen und muss verbessert oder gar ganz neu aufgebaut werden.

Everything is connected and must be improved or even completely rebuilt.

Caption 15, 30 Jahre: Menschen für Menschen

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Emma würde sehr gerne mit ihren Freunden nächste Woche auf dem Kirchenbasar einen Flohmarktstand aufbauen.

Emma would very much like to set up a flea market stand with her friends at the church bazaar next week.

Captions 41-42, Die Pfefferkörner: Endspurt

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When a building is renovated or something is physically converted or modified, the verb umbauen is often used: 

Damit der A dreihundertachtzig überhaupt in Frankfurt landen kann, musste die Fraport AG so einiges umbauen.

In order for the A three hundred and eighty to even be able to land in Frankfurt, Fraport AG had to rebuild quite a few things.

Captions 38-39, Rund um den Flughafen: Der neue Airbus A-380

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The verb einbauen is generally translated as "to install":

Ne, wenn man hier Magnete einbauen würde, so dass das Dodomobil leicht über dem Boden schwebt, dann wäre da keine Reibung.

Right, if you were to install magnets here, so that the Dodomobile gently floats above the ground, then there would be no friction.

Captions 69-71, Das 1. Newtonsche Gesetz: erklärt am Beispiel des Dodomobils

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The verb nachbauen has the connotation of copying something:

Das sind Menschen, die einfach das Original im Kleinen nachbauen möchten.

These are people who simply would like to reconstruct the original on a small scale.

Caption 5, Modelleisenbahner: Mehr als nur ein Hobby

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The verb anbauen refers to agriculture and the act of planting, growing, or cultivating. 

Außerdem sollen Lebensmittel ökologisch angebaut werden.

In addition, food should be organically grown.

Caption 25, Erklärvideos: Nachhaltigkeit einfach erklärt

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And finally, the verb abbauen means to dismantle, dissolved, or reduce. When something is biologisch abbaubar, it means it's biodegradable. 

Das ist auch hundert Prozent ökologisch abbaubar.

That's also one hundred percent biodegradable.

Caption 26, Lerchenberg: Du bist, was du isst

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Further Learning
Try to create your own sentences with these verbs, or look for additional examples on Yabla German.

Not too long ago, we sent out a lesson on homographs, which are words that are spelled the same and sound the same, but have different meanings. You could also say that it's when one word has various definitions. Anyway, the noun der Gang falls into this category.

One translation of der Gang is "the course," as in a course of events, or the way something happens.

Hier geht alles seinen ruhigen Gang.

Here, everything runs its quiet course.

Caption 21, Die letzten Paradiese - Die Schönheit der Alpen - Part 9

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Just as a course can also refer to part of a meal in English, Germans say der erste Gang for the first course (though probably more often die Vorspeise / "the appetizer") and der Hauptgang for the main course.

Und da kommt auch schon der nächste Gang.

And here comes the next course already.

Caption 18, Die letzten Paradiese - Die Schönheit der Alpen - Part 5

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Now it's time to shift into high gear, for which we can also use der Gang, as it is used to refer to a gear that you would shift into on a bicycle or in a car. Unlike in English, it does NOT refer to a gear in a wristwatch, which is das Zahnrad (die Zahnräder as a plural noun).

Dann legen wir den ersten Gang ein.

Then we shift into first gear.

Caption 17, Fahrschule - Wie man die Kupplung bedient

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Here you can see how der Gang is used to refer to someone's gait or the act of doing a walkthrough.

Es gibt ja viele Frauen, die...

There are many women that....

ja, ihren Gang auch ein bisschen verbessern können.

yes, can also improve their walk a little bit.

Caption 15, Auf dem Laufsteg - Modelcollege in Wiesbaden

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... deshalb schwingt bei einem Gang durch das Museum auch viel Nostalgie mit.

... therefore a tour through the museum also resonates with a lot of nostalgia.

Caption 23, Flipperautomaten - Kunstwerke für flinke Kugeln

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And then there's the very common translation of der Gang as a hallway or corridor:

Der rechte Gang und dann ganz hinten links.

The right hallway and then all the way in the back on the left.

Caption 18, Mein Weg nach Deutschland - Auf Arbeitssuche

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Further Learning
You'll find many instances of der Gang used on Yabla German, but why not also try to formulate your own sentences?