Using the verb kennenlernen

The verb kennenlernen ("to get to know," "to make the acquaintance of," "to meet") is without a doubt an important one, but it's a bit tricky. For our beginners and anyone who needs a review, let's look at various conjugations of this separable verb as we look at some sentences from Yabla German

 

First of all, here it is again in the infinitive. Note that kennenlernen is one word:

 

Der Vermieter möchte uns kennenlernen.

The landlord would like to meet us.

Caption 42, Mein Weg nach DeutschlandL Auf Wohnungssuche

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In this next example, kennenlernen is used in the present tense, and more specifically in the third person singular. You'll note that lernen gets conjugated, whereas kennen remains in the infinitive but moves to the end of the sentence:

 

Man lernt mehr Leute kennen.

One gets to know more people.

Caption 37, Anna Am Strand: in Mexiko

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The same thing, which is normal for separable verbs, happens in the simple past tense:

 

Und so lernte die Prinzessin ihren Ehemann kennen.

And this is how the Princess met her husband.

Caption 35, Märchen - Sagenhaft: König Drosselbart

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In the following phrases, which you will most certainly need to know, kennenlernen is integrated into a subordinate clause with zu:

 

Schön, dich kennenzulernen. -Schön, dich kennenzulernen.

Nice to meet you. -Nice to meet you.

Caption 10, Paula & Heide: aus Berlin

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Freut mich, dich kennenzulernen. -Hallo.

Pleased to meet you. -Hello.

Caption 16, Nicos Weg: Feste und Feiertage

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Nun, ich freue mich, Sie dann kennenzulernen.

So, I am looking forward to meeting you then.

Caption 49, Berufsleben: das Vorstellungsgespräch

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In the present perfect, which is often used to talk about the past in German, we see the participle of the verb: 

 

Ich habe diesen netten Kerl kennengelernt.

I met this nice guy.

Caption 35, Die Wohngemeinschaft: Die Verabredung

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And this example also refers to what has already happened: 

 

Aber ich find's nett, Sie kennengelernt zu haben.

But I think it's nice to have met you.

Caption 36, Die Pfefferkörner: Alles auf Anfang

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Further Learning
There's no shortage of examples on Yabla German, so have a look and practice telling people it was nice to meet them, or talking about when you first met various people you know. 

All About Kürbisse

You too may be suffering from the post-Halloween blues. If you're a kid and went trick-or-treating, you've probably eaten about ten times your usual allowed amount of candy. If you're a grown-up like myself, you may have had half of a big bag of candy left over from the few trick-or-treaters brave enough to pass by the scary pumpkin on the doorstep. My problem is that I can't just leave candy lying around, I have to eat it. Either way, too much sugar can make you feel pretty down later on—your body's way of telling you that eating that much sugar just can't be very good for you.

 

By now, if you still have a carved pumpkin sitting outside, it's probably starting to sag and look even scarier than it did when it was fresh. You probably wouldn't want to eat it after it's been sitting out for a couple of days, but if you saved some of the inside bits (not the seeds and slimy stringy bits!), you can make some very tasty meals and desserts out of it. Let's talk today about pumpkins in German!

 

Kinder höhlen Kürbisse aus und feiern Halloween-Partys.

Children hollow out pumpkins and celebrate at Halloween parties.

Caption 15, Cettina erklärt: Halloween

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Weil Halloween ohne Kürbisse kein Halloween ist, oder?

Because Halloween isn't Halloween without pumpkins, right?

Caption 20, Nicos Weg: Feste und Feiertage

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Es entstand die Tradition, zum Totenfest Laternen aus Rüben zu schnitzen. Daraus hat sich nach und nach die Tradition entwickelt, Kürbisköpfe auszuhöhlen und sie in hässliche Fratzen zu verwandeln.

The tradition emerged of carving lanterns out of turnips for the festival of the dead. Out of that, the tradition gradually developed of hollowing out pumpkin heads and and transforming them into ugly faces.

Captions 28-30, Cettina erklärt: Halloween

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From der Kürbis, we get der Kürbiskopf. It's a good thing we don't still carve out hard turnips for Halloween, especially since we might have to eat something made of turnips later! Speaking of food:

 

Wir haben damals im Herbst immer ganz viele Gerichte aus Kürbissen gemacht, zum Beispiel Kürbissuppe, Kürbiskuchen, Kürbismarmelade, Kürbismuffins, Kürbisbrot...

We always used to make a ton of dishes from pumpkins in autumn — for example, pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie, pumpkin jam, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread...

Captions 22-24, Nicos Weg: Feste und Feiertage

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Die Kürbissuppe, der Kürbiskuchen, der Kürbismuffin and das Kürbisbrot all sound delicious, but die Kürbismarmelade?  Sorry, but pumpkin marmalade just sounds weird!

 

Ich finde Kürbis total lecker.

I think pumpkin is totally delicious.

Caption 80, Sallys Tortenwelt und Kochwelt: Kürbissuppe

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Und deswegen gibt's heute eine leckere Kürbissuppe.

And that's why there's a delicious pumpkin soup today.

Caption 3, Sallys Tortenwelt und Kochwelt: Kürbissuppe

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Ich gebe immer gern noch ein bisschen von diesem Kürbiskernöl mit rein.

I always like to put a little bit of this pumpkin seed oil in with it.

Caption 67, Sallys Tortenwelt und Kochwelt: Kürbissuppe

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The Austrians are particularly proud of their fine pumpkin seed oil (das Kürbiskernöl), and for very good reason: A little drizzle over a salad or into a soup can work wonders. If you've never tried it, trust me: it's delicious, practically magical. Speaking of magic:

 

Aber mit einem Wink ihres Zauberstabs verwandelte die Fee den Kürbis in eine goldene Kutsche.

But with a wave of her magic wand the Fairy transformed the pumpkin into a golden carriage.

Captions 44-45, Märchen - Sagenhaft: Aschenputtel

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Of course, the pumpkin plays a major role in the tale of Cinderella too. This is the origin of the phrase "to turn into a pumpkin," which is something people say when it's getting late, and they are either getting tired or they're going to miss their curfew getting home on time.

 

Further Learning
Read the Yabla German lesson Halloween in Deutschland and watch some of the videos above in their entirety to get your head around pumpkins in German. Just be careful not to turn into one!

Alles Liebe zum Valentinstag!

Yabla published a lesson on Valentine's Day in Germany a few years ago, but we thought it would be timely to address the topic again as we have a lot of newer videos that mention the holiday. Valentine's Day in Germany is not as popular as it is in some countries, but it's getting celebrated more every year.

 

Heute ist Valentinstag, deswegen treffen sich heute bestimmt besonders viele Leute hier.

Today is Valentine's Day, so there are bound to be a lot of people here today.

Captions 7-8, Valentinstag: in Karlsruhe

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banner PLACEHOLDER

The first part is literally true, since this lesson was sent out on Valentine's Day!

 

Valentinstag find ich ganz gut. Mit wem willst du denn Valentinstag feiern?

I think Valentine's Day is pretty good. Who do you want to celebrate Valentine's Day with?

Captions 31-32, Nicos Weg: Feste und Feiertage

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This can, of course, be the question if you're single. Maybe it's a good time to be brave and give somebody you like a nice platonic-ish Valentine's card–but only if it's in the appropriate circumstances, like maybe not in the workplace.

 

Die Floristen wappnen sich für den Valentinstag.

The florists are gearing up for Valentine's Day.

Caption 3, Rhein-Main-TV: Vorbereitungen für Valentinstag laufen

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Your local florist, like many small businesses, has probably suffered a lot during the pandemic. This is a great time to give them some support if you can afford it–even if the flowers are for yourself!

 

Valentinstag ist ein Hochbetriebstag,  an dem]einfach ganz viele Menschen kommen, die für ihre Liebste oder ihren Liebsten Blumen kaufen.

Valentine's Day is a peak day when a lot of people simply come who are buying flowers for their sweethearts.

Captions 6-9, Rhein-Main-TV: Vorbereitungen für Valentinstag laufen

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Of course, you want to be very sure before you buy somebody flowers, but as we mentioned above, in the worst case scenario, buy some for yourself. And no, it's not "sad," it's self-affirming!

 

In Deutschland gilt der Valentinstag erst seit den 1950er Jahren als Tag der Freundschaft.

In Germany, Valentine's Day has been observed as a day of friendship only since the 1950s.

Caption 14, Valentinstag: in Karlsruhe

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But Valentine's Day is, in fact, becoming so popular in Germany that...

...laut einer Umfrage des Verbraucherforums Mydealz erwarten rund 60% der Deutschen auf jeden Fall ein Geschenk von ihrem Partner oder von ihrer Partnerin.

...according to a survey by the consumer forum Mydealz, around 60% of Germans definitely expect a gift from their partner.

Captions 40-42, Rhein-Main-TV: Vorbereitungen für Valentinstag laufen

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Further Learning
Go to Yabla German and watch the full videos above to see the context in which these expressions about Valentine's day have been used.

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