The name of a language in German is often almost identical to the adjective form of the associated country. The only difference is that—unlike in English—German demonymic adjectives are generally not capitalized. The vast majority of these words have an -isch ending. In these examples, you can note the difference between the language name and adjective in terms of capitalization:
Das ist Griechisch: „Chi Rho“.
That's Greek: "Chi Rho."
Caption 35, Archäologie: Der Fund der Frankfurter Silberinschrift
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Da gab es zum Beispiel den griechischen Philosophen und Naturforscher Empedokles.
For example, there was the Greek philosopher and naturalist Empedocles.
Captions 9-10, Deutsch mit Eylin: Die vier Elemente
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Und vor allem Menschen, die Ukrainisch und Russisch sprechen ...
And, above all, people who speak Ukrainian and Russian...
Caption 10, Private Hilfe auf dem Bahnsteig: Berliner helfen Ukrainern
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Ich spreche Thai, Chinesisch, Englisch, Deutsch, Französisch und Italienisch.
I speak Thai, Chinese, English, German, French, and Italian.
Caption 25, Nicos Weg: Andere Länder
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Zweieinhalb Jahre lang tobte ein unerbittlicher Kampf zwischen dem italienischen und dem österreichischen Heer.
For two and a half years, a relentless battle raged between the Italian and Austrian armies.
Captions 37-38, Die letzten Paradiese Schätze der Natur: Südtirol
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Some languages/adjectives that do not have this -isch ending are das Urdu, das Hindi, das Tamil, das Yoruba and das Paschtu. These have different adjective forms as well, such as hinduistisch or yorubaisch.
And let's not forget Schweizer for "swiss," which, of course, is not the name of a language except as part of das Schweizerdeutsch. Due to its -er ending, Schweizer is always written with a capital "S."
Er entspringt in einem Schweizer Gebirge und der Hauptarm mündet bei Rotterdam in die Nordsee.
It has its source in a Swiss mountain range, and the main branch flows into the North Sea near Rotterdam.
Captions 13-14, Deutsch mit Paula: Flüsse in Deutschland
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Language names in German are generally neuter and take the article das. Thus, to speak about origins of words, we need a dative construction with dem.
Das Wort "Asteroid" stammt aus dem Griechischen und bedeutet "sternenähnlich".
The word "asteroid" originates from the Greek and means "star-like."
Caption 6, Unser Universum Asteroiden: Gefahr aus dem All?
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Hier übersetzte Martin Luther die Bibel aus dem Griechischen und Lateinischen ins Deutsche.
This is where Martin Luther translated the Bible from Greek and Latin into German.
Captions 35-36, Bundesländer und ihre Rezepte: Thüringen
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Further Learning
You can look up the names for various languages in a dictionary or on Yabla German.
Today's lesson is about materials used for building and construction. Some of these are associated with modern construction, while others have been around for thousands of years!
Deine Schuhe waren wie aus Beton.
Your shoes were like they were made of concrete.
Caption 5, Emilio: Roter Sand
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Hätte es nicht einfacher Gips auch getan?
Wouldn't plaster of paris have done?
Caption 63, Tatortreiniger: Currywurst
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Hier laufen die enormen Mengen an Sand, Zement, Stahl und Kies ein.
Here is where the enormous quantities of sand, cement, steel, and gravel arrive.
Caption 10, Die Insel Fehmarn: So wird der Fehmarnbelt-Tunnel gebaut
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Im Jahre vierzehnhundertzweiundsiebzig haben die Menschen die Brücke aus Stein gebaut.
In fourteen seventy-two, the people built the bridge out of stone.
Captions 25-26, Bundesländer und ihre Rezepte: Thüringen
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Other nouns to know are der Backstein and der Mauerziegel ("the brick") and die Rigipsplatte ("the Sheetrock").
There are many kinds of wood that are used for different purposes. When we talk about lumber, we use the name of the tree followed by -holz, sometimes adding an "n" in between.
Eichenholz ist sehr fest und wertvoll. Es ist ein Holz zur Herstellung von Möbeln und Parkettböden.
Oak wood is very strong and valuable. It is a wood for making furniture and parquet floors.
Captions 47-48, Deutsch mit Eylin: Bäume
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Other examples are das Buchenholz ("the beech wood"), das Birkenholz ("the birch wood"), das Kiefernholz ("the pine wood"), and das Ahornholz ("the maplewood").
Further Learning
What is the building you are living in made of? Create a few sentences and search for more examples on German Yabla.