Christmas is, as in most countries where Christianity is a major religion, a major holiday in Germany. Of course, other religious holidays such as the Muslim Ramadan and the Jewish Hanukkah are also celebrated in Germany at this time of year. Although the German word for Christmas (das Weihnachten) is a neuter noun, it's rare that you use a definite article with the name of a holiday—in the same way that you rarely hear "the Christmas." Let's take a look today at some typical Christmas terms you'll hear in Germany during this holiday season.
Manchmal wird der Adventskalender auch einfach Weihnachtskalender genannt.
Sometimes, the Advent calendar is also called simply the Christmas calendar.
Caption 9, Eva erklärt: den Adventskalender
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Wir haben jedes Jahr im Advent Stollen gegessen und die Kerzen am Adventskranz angezündet.
We ate stollen every year during Advent and lit the candles on the Advent wreath.
Captions 24-25, Nicos Weg: Lieblingsfeste
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Advent (der Advent) is the period prior to Christmas preparing for its celebration. Connected with Advent, you have the Advent calendar (der Adventskalender) and the Advent wreath (der Adventskranz). Although the word "stollen" is also an English word, not everybody knows that it means the German style of Christmas cake: der Stollen or der Weihnachtsstollen.
Und die Bescherung, ist die vor dem Essen oder nach dem Essen bei Ihnen?
And the gift exchange, is it before dinner or after dinner for you?
Caption 41, Weihnachtsinterviews: Cettina in Linkenheim
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Die Bescherung may also be translated as "the gift-giving" or "giving out the presents" etc. If you're wondering why kids in Germany have to wait until just before or after dinnertime to open the presents, they are in fact opening them early: Die Bescherung takes place on December 24th on Christmas Eve (der Heiligabend). Parents in Germany probably discovered that if the kids get to open their presents on Christmas Eve, it's possible to sleep in later on Christmas day!
Die Geschenke liegen meistens unter einem geschmückten Tannenbaum.
The presents are usually under a decorated Christmas tree.
Caption 33, Weihnachten in Deutschland: Weihnachtstraditionen
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You probably know the song "O Tannenbaum" already. Sometimes the Christmas tree is also called der Christbaum.
Also das Schönste an Weihnachten für mich ist eigentlich der Glühwein.
The nicest thing about Christmas for me is actually the mulled wine.
Caption 23, KIT: Was ist für dich das Schönste an Weihnachten?
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So while Americans of legal age are reaching for their eggnog at Christmas, Germans will be imbibing Glühwein.
Heute wollen wir mit euch Plätzchen backen.
Today we want to bake Christmas cookies with you.
Caption 3, Weihnachtsplätzchen backen: mit Diane und vielen kleinen Helfern
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Felicia hat ein gutes Plätzchen für das Tipi gefunden.
Felicia has found a nice little place for the tipi.
Caption 67, Abenteuer Nordsee: Unter Riesenhaien und Tintenfischen
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In the first caption, the singular of Christmas cookies is das Plätzchen, which literally means "little place." Note that in the second caption, Plätzchen is used more literally and is not about setting up a tipi on some Christmas cookies!
Der Nikolaus bringt den Kindern Süßigkeiten.
Saint Nicholas brings the children candy.
Caption 16, Deutsch mit Eylin: Pronomen
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Nikolaus–more formally der Sankt Nikolaus–is the German equivalent of Santa Claus. In fact, Nikolaus is the historical basis for Santa Claus, who first widely appeared under this moniker in 19th-century America.
Further Learning
Watch some of the videos above on Yabla German, and happy holiday wishes from all of us here at Yabla!
This week, we'll look at professional fields and how they are described in German. Of course, there are too many jobs to cover all of them, but we can look at some common ones and resources on Yabla and elsewhere.
One important field is healthcare and social services, which in German is die Gesundheitsfürsorge, or der Sozialdienst. This includes so many jobs, such as der Arzt / die Ärztin (the doctor), der Chirurg / die Chirurgin (the surgeon), der Anästhesiologe / die Anästhesiologin (the anesthesiologist), der Sozialarbeiter / die Sozialarbeiterin (the social worker), and der Pfleger / die Pflegerin (the caregiver).
Wenn ich weniger Schokolade essen würde, wäre mein Zahnarzt bestimmt zufriedener mit mir.
If I ate less chocolate, my dentist would certainly be happier with me.
Captions 30-31, Konjugation: Das Verb „essen“
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Die gelernte Krankenschwester Anita Ackermann hat das Kitz in den ersten Tagen mit der Milchflasche gepäppelt.
The trained nurse Anita Ackermann pampered the fawn with the milk bottle during the first days.
Captions 12-13, Ein etwas anderes Haustier: Reh Mia hält sich für einen Hund
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Jetzt bin ich Psychotherapeutin.
Now I'm a psychotherapist.
Caption 42, TUDYKA: Interview mit Uschi
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Let's look at a few more professional fields. Another area is what we call STEM in English (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), and MINT in German (Mathematik, Informatik, Naturwissenschaften und Technik). This would involve jobs like lab technician (der Laborant / die Laborantin) or electrician (der Elektriker / die Elektrikerin) and mechanic (der Mechaniker / die Mechanikerin), of which there are many types.
Die Programmierer haben sich ihre Ziele für die Zukunft hoch gesteckt.
The programmers have set their goals for the future very high.
Caption 45, Roboter: Fußball-Robocup
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Mein Vater ist Anwalt und meine Mutter Ingenieurin.
My father is a lawyer and my mother is an engineer.
Caption 14, Nicos Weg: Meine Eltern
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As a final category for today, let's look at jobs in the fields of law (das Recht), administration (die Verwaltung), and public safety. In the example above, Nico mentions that his mother is a lawyer, and though law firms or accounting firms are often private, many of the jobs in this category are government jobs. In this case, the person is a public official (der Beamte / die Beamterin). Der Sachbearbeiter / die Sachbearbeiterin and der / die Fachangestellte are two titles that are most often paired with a job description. Essentially, the person is a clerk or administrator in a specific area.
Ich wollte eigentlich ja auch nur fragen, ob du schon einen neuen Steuerberater hast.
I actually just wanted to ask if you had a new accountant yet.
Captions 8-9, Weihnachtsmann gesucht: Ich weiß genau, wie Sie sich fühlen
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Der Polizist zeigt der Frau den Weg.
The policeman shows the woman the way.
Caption 54, Deutsch mit Eylin: Pronomen
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Further Learning
We'll look at more categories of professions soon, but for now, you can look at this website, which has an exhaustive list of jobs, and watch this video on Yabla German, in which Nico and his friends discuss different professions.
Although both of the words above are most often translated as "together," and there are instances in which either one can be used, there are also some nuances to be aware of.
The word gemeinsam will often be used when there is a mutuality, an act of cooperating or working together, or an idea of having a common goal. Another translation could be "collectively" or "conjointly." With gemeinsam, there is an indication that a group exists or has been formed.
Heute wollen wir mal wieder gemeinsam kochen.
Today we want to cook together again.
Caption 2, Bundesländer und ihre Rezepte - Hessen
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Der Lehrer bespricht die Aufgaben gemeinsam mit den Schülern.
The teacher discusses the assignments with the students.
Caption 50, Deutsch mit Eylin - Pronomen
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Heute machen wir gemeinsam einen Einbürgerungstest.
Today we'll do a citizenship test together.
Caption 2, Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Einbürgerungstest
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The word zusammen refers to the state of being together with another person, but both people might still act independently or have different goals.
Wie verbringt ihr Silvester?
How do you spend New Year's Eve?
-Mit meiner Familie und wir essen schön zusammen.
-With my family and we have a nice supper together.
Caption 59, Silvester Vorsätze für das neue Jahr - Karlsruhe
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Aber ihr seid doch erst seit ein paar Wochen zusammen.
But you've only been together a few weeks.
Caption 18, Nicos Weg - A2 Folge 15: Kinder
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Wir haben zum Beispiel Karten zusammen gespielt.
We played cards together, for example.
Caption 32, Angelique Kerber - Ihre tennisfreie Zeit
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This distinction is easy to remember if you can remember that there is also the phrase etwas gemeinsam haben, which means "to have something in common."
Wir haben ja vieles gemeinsam.
We have a lot in common.
Caption 12, Weihnachtsmann gesucht - Der Engel
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Further Learning
When you watch videos on Yabla German, note when the word gemeinsam is used rather than zusammen. You can also write some sentences about what you and your friends have in common.
Don't be afraid of the difficult-looking words above! It's really quite simple: Homophones are words that sound the same, but have different meanings. Heterographs are homophones that also have different spellings. This can be quite confusing in spoken language, because the only way to tell homophones and heterographs apart is by the context in which they are used. The word "homophone" literally means "sounds the same," whereas the word "heterograph" means "written differently." In German, both nouns are neuter: das Homofon (or das Homophon) and das Heterofon (or das Heterophon).
Note too that in German, regional differences in pronunciation can sometimes make a set of words homophones in one region, but not in another. Let's take a look at some German heterographs today.
Monika aß sehr viel gekochtes Getreide.
Monika ate a lot of cooked grains.
Caption 4, Deutsch mit Eylin - Ernährungsformen
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Wenn die Nahrung knapp wird, begnügt er sich mit Aas.
When food becomes scarce, it makes do with carrion.
Caption 26, Die letzten Paradiese - Schätze der Natur: Südtirol
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It's ironic (and a bit disgusting) that the past tense of "to eat" (aß, from essen) sounds the same as the word for cadaver (das Aas). There's a certain logic, however, in the fact that most animal cadavers in the wild tend to get eaten by scavenger animals. When a homophone pair consists of a verb and a noun, you can construct funny-sounding sentences from them, such as: Er aß das Aas. By the way, only humans are referred to with the verb essen ("to eat"), whereas animals always take the verb fressen ("to devour"). And indeed, fressen also has a heterograph.
Das Pferd frisst gerne Äpfel.
The horse likes eating apples.
Caption 38, Deutsch mit Eylin - Pronomen
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Diese Frist kann verlängert werden,
This deadline can be extended
und zwar wieder nur durch einen einstimmigen Beschluss.
and only—indeed once again—through a unanimous ruling.
Caption 19, Brexit-Votum - Merkel warnt vor Spaltung Europas
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The third-person present tense of "to devour" (fressen) is frisst, and die Frist is a deadline or time limit. Der Pferd frisst Äpfel lieber ohne Frist. Nobody likes to be hurried to eat, right?
Er bot den Frauen ein Abkommen an.
He offered the women a deal.
Caption 55, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Die Weiber von Weinsberg
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Oje, das Boot von Opa Wutz hat kein Benzin mehr.
Uh oh, Grandpa Wutz's boat is out of gas.
Caption 16, Peppa Wutz - Sport
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Thus the past tense of "to offer" (bot, from bieten) is a heterograph of das Boot. Using both words in the same sentence, you can say something like: Das Boot bot uns viele Reisemöglichkeiten.
Wenn diese Temperatur so anhält,
If this temperature continues,
frieren die ganzen Seen in der Umgebung, wie ihr auch hinter mir sehen könnt, komplett zu.
all the lakes in the area will completely freeze over, as you can see behind me.
Captions 6-7, Unterwegs mit Cettina - Schlittschuhlaufen
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In this case, the plural of "lake" (der See) is Seen, and the verb "to see" is sehen. In the above example, both words of this heterograph pair are already in a single sentence.
Further Learning
Take a look at these examples of German homophones on Wikipedia and find some examples of the words used in a real-world context on Yabla German. Then see if you can create some German sentences using both homophones in the same sentence. You are allowed to make silly sentences, of course!
The verb holen itself most often means "to get" in the sense of "to retrieve" rather than "to receive." As you see below, there are also other uses:
Hast du die Butter für mich geholt?
Did you get the butter for me?
Caption 36, Deutsch mit Eylin - Pronomen
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An die Wasseroberfläche kommen sie nur, um Luft zu holen.
They only come to the water's surface to draw breath.
Caption 17, Evolution - Meeresbewohner
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However, holen is also the root of many other verbs, some of which are separable and some of which are inseparable. Let's take a look at those that are most commonly used:
Non-separable verbs: (sich) erholen ("to recover," "to rest"), überholen ("to overtake," "to pass"), wiederholen ("to repeat")
Heute haben sich die weltweiten Bestände der Buckelwale weitestgehend erholt.
Today, the global populations of humpback whales have largely recovered.
Caption 50, Evolution - Meeresbewohner
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Ihr seid erst gleich schnell gefahren, aber dann hat es dich überholt?
You first drove at the same speed, but then it passed you?
Captions 17-18, Konjugation - Das Verb „fahren“
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Kannst du das bitte noch einmal wiederholen?
Can you please repeat that once again?
Caption 19, Nicos Weg - A1 Folge 49: Mengen und Preise
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Separable verbs: abholen ("to pick up"), nachholen ("to make up"), einholen ("to catch up to")
Vielleicht ist es besser, wenn wir sie am Bahnhof abholen?
Maybe it's better if we pick her up at the train station?
Caption 49, Die Wohngemeinschaft - Besuch
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Ein Mann möchte mit dreißig Jahren in Deutschland sein Abitur nachholen.
A man wants to make up his high school diploma in Germany at the age of thirty.
Caption 34, Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Einbürgerungstest
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Ich hab gedacht, ich hab sie abgehängt Aber sie holt mich immer wieder ein.
I thought I'd left it behind But it keeps catching up with me.
Captions 1-2, AnnenMayKantereit - Ozean
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Further Learning
Look up the additional verbs aufholen, ausholen, rausholen, zurückholen, and dazuholen using a dictionary, then search for examples on Yabla German.
The German word for "word" is das Wort, as you surely already know. But had you noticed that there are two different plurals for it: die Worte and die Wörter? It's hard to know which is correct without understanding the distinction in meaning between the two possibilities. Let's take a look at some examples, starting with die Worte:
Worte sind jetzt fehl am Platz...
Words now are out of place...
Caption 26, Florian Bronk: Du und ich
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Und Worte können das nicht ändern, nein.
And words cannot change that, no.
Caption 22, Luxuslärm: Einmal im Leben
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So, liebe Anja, vielen, vielen Dank für deine netten Worte.
So, dear Anja, thanks very, very much for your kind words.
Caption 62, Anja Polzer; Interview
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Flüchtlinge können bei ihrer Ankunft oft nur wenige Worte oder gar kein Deutsch.
Refugees can, upon their arrival, often speak only a few words of German or none at all.
Caption 3, Flüchtlingskrise: Deutschkurse für Flüchtlinge
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And moving on to die Wörter:
Kennt ihr diese kleinen Wörter?
Do you know these little words?
Caption 4, Deutsch mit Eylin: Pronomen
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Nun kennt ihr also die Wörter für die wichtigsten Farben.
So now you know the words for the most important colors.
Caption 40, Eva erklärt: Farben
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Hierfür werden dir einige Wörter vorgeschlagen.
For this, several words will be suggested to you.
Caption 40, German Intro: Cettina
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Hier, ein Notizbuch für alle neuen Wörter auf Deutsch.
Here, a notebook for all of the new German words.
Caption 14, Nicos Weg: Wo ist der Bahnhof?
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As you may have noticed above, die Wörter is usually used in a context of learning German and relating to a specific word—to the words themselves as such: Fremdwörter, Lieblingswörter, Modewörter, Passwörter, and Reimwörter are some compound word examples.
Die Worte, on the other hand, is talking about the context of words in terms of quotations, ways of speaking, or entire topics: Bibleworte, Ehrenworte, Grußworte, Nachworte, and Zauberworte, for instance.
A few words even allow for both types of plurals. For instance, if you are making a list of keywords for a website, you'd use Stichwörter. But if you are talking generally about keywords in the more abstract sense of concepts or guiding principles, you'd use Stichworte.
Further Learning
Try and guess the meaning of the compound words listed above that use das Wort as their root, and then check your dictionary to see if you got it right. You can then go to German Yabla and find other examples of the words discussed above to see them used in a real world context.
If you're feeling extra brave, you can read the (as always) brilliant article by Der Spiegel author Bastian Sick about Worte vs. Wörter. As he so cleverly puts it: Wörter bestehen aus Buchstaben, Worte aus Gedanken.
Let's discuss two German verbs today: fallen and gefallen.
The verb fallen can be variously translated as "to fall," "to drop," "to decline," "to decrease" or "to sink" (as in prices decrease or sink), "to slip" (as in standards slip), and even "to score" (as when a goal is scored in football).
Im Herbst sind die Blätter rot und orange.
In autumn, the leaves are red and orange.
Im Winter fallen sie herunter.
In winter, they fall down.
Captions 44-45, Deutsch mit Eylin - Pronomen
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OK, jetzt gebe ich euch andere Verben,
OK, now I'll give you other verbs
die in diese Kategorie fallen, ja?
that fall into this category, yes?
Caption 1, Deutschkurs in Tübingen - Verben der 2. Kategorie
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Doch wenn dann immer mehr Tore fallen...
Indeed, if then more and more goals are scored...
Caption 32, Frauenfußball-WM - Der Bundespräsident am Ball
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Bevor wir fallen, fallen wir lieber auf
Before we fall, we prefer to be noticed
Caption 23, Heino - Neue Volkslieder
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Note that the second instance of fallen in this last example is actually part of the separable verb auffallen, "to be noticed."
The verb gefallen may be translated, according to context, as "to oblige," "to delight," "to be pleasing," "to appeal" (to someone), "to be to (someone's) liking," or "to meet with (someone's) approval."
Wir hoffen, euch hat dieses Video gefallen
We hope you enjoyed this video
und ihr hattet Spaß beim Zuschauen.
and had fun watching.
Gebt uns doch einen Daumen nach oben, wenn's euch gefallen hat.
Give us a thumbs up if you liked it.
Captions 75-76, Playmobil - Skispringen mit Familie Hauser
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Das gefällt mir richtig, richtig gut.
I really, really like it.
Caption 5, Auto-Bild-TV - Tops & Flops der IAA
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„Der Film gefällt dem Zuschauer“. -Super.
"The viewer likes the film." -Super.
Caption 6, Deutschkurs in Tübingen - Verben der 3. Kategorie
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Note that the subject of gefallen is dative: Mir gefällt der Film or Der Film gefällt mir. It would be an easy mistake to misunderstand the last one to mean "the film likes me!"
You also have to be careful not to mix up the verb gefallen — a past participle of fallen — with the noun der Gefallen ("a favor"). There is also the adjective gefallen, which is from the verb fallen and may be translated as "fell down" or in a military sense "to be killed in action," in the same euphemistic sense that a soldier "falls" in battle.
Further Learning
Go to Yabla German and read the related lessons Falling, dropping, and slipping and The verb gelingen. Then watch the Yabla video Deutschkurs in Tübingen, where the teacher and students go in-depth into the verb gefallen.
You may be familiar with the verb rutschen ("to slip" or "to slide") from our previous newsletters about the phrase Guten Rutsch, which is used on New Year's Eve.
Er ist durch den Kamin gerutscht?
He slid down the chimney?
Caption 79, Peppa Wutz - Weihnachten
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You may also hear the verb ausrutschen, which means to slip (and possibly fall), and the command rutsch rüber, which is how you tell someone to "slide over" or "move over" so that you can have a seat.
Ich bin mal ausgerutscht auf der Bühne.
I once slipped on stage.
Caption 39, Live-Entertainment-Award - Glamouröse Preisverleihung
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When we talk about falling, common verbs are herunterfallen or its shortened colloquial form runterfallen (which are similar to "to fall down"), hinfallen and umfallen (a bit more like "to fall over"), and stürzen and abstürzen (these are often used to indicate a bad fall).
Er ist da bestimmt nicht zufällig runtergefallen. Das war kein Unfall.
He certainly didn't fall off accidentally. That was no accident.
Caption 10, Großstadtrevier - Von Monstern und Mördern
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Im Herbst sind die Blätter rot und orange.
In autumn, the leaves are red and orange.
Im Winter fallen sie herunter.
In winter, they fall down.
Captions 44-45, Deutsch mit Eylin - Pronomen
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Ich bin ja auch schon zweimal hingefallen, aber ist bis jetzt...
I've also already fallen two times, but up till now...
nichts passiert.
nothing has happened.
Captions 15-16, Jenny und Alena - Autos und Motorräder
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Und dann ist er bei einer Bergtour abgestürzt.
And then he fell during a mountain hike.
Caption 12, Lilly unter den Linden - Kapitel 2: Lilly und Tante Lena
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Nach Elmau, da ist ein Skifahrer gestürzt und hat eine
Toward Elmau, a skier has fallen and has a
Rückenverletzung.
back injury.
Caption 7, Rettungsflieger - Im Einsatz
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The verbs fallen and fallen lassen are used when you drop something. Look at how the following sentences are constructed:
Oje, Linus hat seine Gießkanne ins Wasser fallen lassen.
Oh dear, Linus has dropped his watering can into the water.
Caption 28, Peppa Wutz - Sport
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Dennis ist kein Stift runtergefallen.
Dennis didn't drop a pencil.
Caption 109, Kurzfilme - Das Tagebuch
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You will also see fallen or its past participle gefallen used with the meaning of "to fall." As you know, gefallen is also a completely different verb that is used when we like something. However, structural and contextual differences between the phrase Es hat mir gefallen ("I liked it") and a sentence like Ich bin ins Wasser gefallen ("I fell into the water") don't allow for much ambiguity.
Further Learning
You will find many more examples of these phrases and verbs used in context on Yabla German. These will help you get a better grasp of which verb is appropriate in which context, and how they are implemented structurally.
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