In Part I of "Expressions using Tisch," we explored a number of German idioms that use the noun der Tisch. Let's take a look at some more of them today!

Wo ist denn der Herr Schöller? -Zu Tisch mit Herrn Fischer.

Where is Mr. Schöller? -Eating with Mr. Fischer.

Captions 26-27, Marga Engel schlägt zurück: Hochmut kommt vor dem Fall

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In the above example, the speaker dropped the verb, but the full sentence would read Herr Schöller ist zu Tisch mit Herrn Fischer.  The phrase zu Tisch sein could also be translated more literally as "at the table," but in German it is, perhaps even more so than in English, suggesting that they are eating a meal.

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Dann ist das gleich vom Tisch.

Then it'll be resolved soon.

Caption 20, Lerchenberg: Sascha hautnah

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The phrase vom Tisch sein means "to resolve" something, whereas the English expression "off the table" means that something, such as an offer, is no longer valid or being considered. Beware of false friends!

Zwei Jahre hat der Bau gedauert und 1,4 Milliarden Euro hat Betreiber EnBW dafür auf den Tisch gelegt.

The construction lasted two years, and 1.4 billion euros is what the operator EnBW invested.

Captions 14-15, Windenergie Ostsee-Windpark: Baltic 2 speist Strom ins Netz ein

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If you were talking about business and said that an investor "laid 1.4 billion euros on the table," it would probably be understood, but for clarity it's best to translate auf den Tisch legen as "to invest."

Also würdest du mich jetzt hier ruhig unter den Tisch saufen können?

So, could you easily drink me under the table here now?

Caption 13, Schauspielerin: Jessica Schwarz

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This one is a double whammy since saufen (literally "to soak") is also slang. The slightly more polite version is unter den Tisch trinken, but that is easy, as the expression is identical in English!

Dann: „Jemanden über den Tisch ziehen“.

Then, "To take advantage of someone."

Caption 4, Nicos Weg: Bei uns oder bei euch?

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"To pull someone over the table" doesn't make much sense in English, though it doesn't sound like a very nice thing to do! As you see, jemanden über den Tisch ziehen means "to take advantage of someone."

Further Learning
Make up some new sentences using the expressions we just learned about and have your teacher or a fellow student check your work:

zu Tisch sein

vom Tisch sein

auf den Tisch legen

unter den Tisch trinken

über den Tisch ziehen

Afterwards go to Yabla German and watch the full videos above to see the context in which these expressions have been used.

This week, let's look at some verbs related to computers and technology! Many of these phrases are intuitive for anyone who speaks English, for example eine Mail öffnen or ein Fenster schließen, or ein Programm neu starten. 

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Below, you can see that the verb anhängen ("to attach") also works for email attachments:

Es sieht so aus, als hätte ich die PDF-Datei an die E-Mail angehängt.

It looks as though I attached the PDF file in an email.

Caption 36, Berufsleben - Probleme mit Mitarbeitern - Part 1

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However, it is often necessary to learn some new vocabulary. For example, to unlock a computer or cell phone, we use the verb entsperren or freischalten, and not aufschließen or entriegeln as you would for a door. And then, of course, there are the words that are relatively new to both languages. 

Den Mac-Nutzern empfehlen die Spezialisten, ein von Apple bereitgestelltes Sicherheitsupdate herunterzuladen und zu installieren.

The specialists recommend Mac users download and install a security update that has been provided by Apple.

Captions 15-16, Apple-Trojaner - Wie man ihn beseitigt

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Mein Management hat mir eine E-Mail weitergeleitet.

My management forwarded me an e-mail.

Caption 23, Schauspielerin - Jessica Schwarz - Part 1

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Ich habe auch ein E-Mail-Konto für Sie eingerichtet, welches Sie überprüfen können, sobald Sie eingeloggt sind.

I have set up an email account for you as well, which you can check as soon as you are logged in.

Captions 34-35, Berufsleben das Vorstellungsgespräch - Part 4

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The infinitive forms of the verbs and participles from the examples above are anhängen ("to attach"), herunterladen ("to download"), installieren ("to install"), weiterleiten ("to forward"), and sich einloggen ("to log in").

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Further Learning
For a list of words (including nouns and adjectives) related to computers and technology, you can look at this extensive list. Missing from this list are many "Denglisch" verbs related to technology (downloaden, updaten...), but these should not be used in your German class anyway! They are often used in office settings, but are still essentially slang and used mostly among younger co-workers. It is best to know the real German words.

This poor pun on the first line from Shakespeare's tragedy Richard III was inspired by one of the most commonly mispronounced words of all: the word "mispronunciation." It's ironic that the word "mispronunciation" — with the single "u" between the two letters N in the spelling — should so often be mispronounced as "mispronounciation" (sic). The "ou" in the the verb "mispronounce" is often falsely carried over into the nominalization of the word. The same applies to "pronounce" and "pronunciation," with the latter often being mispronounced "pronounciation" (sic). 

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The German words for "comedy" and "tragedy," die Komödie and die Tragödie, are also commonly mispronounced by non-native German speakers. You may find these two types of dramas referred to fairly often on Yabla German:

Til Schweiger und Nora Tschirner in der schönsten

Til Schweiger and Nora Tschirner in the most beautiful

romantischen Komödie des Jahres.

romantic comedy of the year.

Caption 32, Filmtrailer - Keinohrhasen

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Und das nächste wird dann wieder eine Komödie.

And the next [one] will then be a comedy again.

Caption 75, Schauspielerin - Jessica Schwarz

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Diese Mischung aus Action und Drama-Komödie…

This mixture of action and dramatic comedy…

Caption 91, rheinmain Szene - Selig

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But how do you pronounce Komödie? If you pronounced it according to standard German rules of pronunciation, it would have three syllables and end, like the English "comedy", with the sound "ee". You would, however, in that case be mispronouncing the word. Both Komödie and "comedy" are based upon the original Latin word comœdia, and the German pronunciation rather unexpectedly follows the Latin "ia" ending, so rather than pronouncing the German "ie" as "ee" phonetically, it is pronounced closer to the Latin "ia" as "ee-yeh" phonetically, giving the word four syllables: Ko - mö - di - e. And the same with "tragedy": Tra - gö - di - e. Note too that the accent falls on the second syllable of both words: Komödie and Tragödie.

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Weißt du, es ist eine Tragödie!

You know, it's a tragedy!

Caption 49, Mama arbeitet wieder - Kapitel 1: Alle haben sich lieb

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While mispronouncing Komödie or Tragödie may not exactly be a tragedy, if you get it right you can at least avoid being the star of your own unintentional comedy!

Further Learning
Hear the proper pronunciation of the word by listening to the recorded playback of Komödie and Tragödie and practice it a few times out loud on your own. Then go to Yabla German and find different examples of the words being used by native German speakers in a real-world context.