Among the first words you learn in German are langsam (slow) and schnell (fast). Let's take a look today at some more detailed terms related to driving tempos.

Boote müssen sich von den Meeressäugern fernhalten und sie müssen langsam fahren.

Boats must stay away from the marine mammals and they must drive slowly.

Captions 28-29, Langsam gesprochene Nachrichten: Schwangere Schwertwale im Pazifik

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Wenn die Straße frei ist, abends oder nachts, dann kann man sicherlich schon mal schnell fahren.

If the street is empty, evenings or at night, then you can certainly drive fast sometimes.

Captions 33-34, AutoMotoTV: Schnell fahren auf der Autobahn

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As you see above, langsam fahren is "to drive slowly," and schnell fahren is "to drive quickly." The adverbs langsam and schnell can also be expressed in comparative and superlative forms: langsamer fahren and schneller fahren ("to drive slower" and "to drive faster"), as well as am langsamsten fahren and am schnellsten fahren ("to drive slowest" and "to drive fastest").

The related noun for "slow driving" is das Langsamfahren, and for "fast driving" das Schnellfahren. A person who drives quickly is called der Schnellfahrer or die Schnellfahrerin. 

... fahren wir Schritttempo, wir dürfen uns dort überall bewegen,

... we drive at walking speed, we are allowed to go everywhere there,

Caption 72, Rollendes Vergnügen: Segway-Touren

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The term das Schritttempo means "walking speed" and Schritttempo fahren means "to drive very, very slowly." The street sign for this is usually used in areas with a lot of pedestrians or where children are at play. It's a white sign with a red circle, in which the words SCHRITT FAHREN appear in black capital letters.

Ich kann jetzt auch bremsen und anhalten.

I can now also brake and stop.

Caption 40, Fahrschule: Wie man die Kupplung bedient

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The verb bremsen means "to stop," and has the related noun die Bremse ("the brake"). Just like in English, this is more commonly seen in the plural form die Bremsen ("the brakes").

Im Falle einer Bedrohung können sie plötzlich schnell beschleunigen.

In the event of a threat, they can suddenly accelerate quickly.

Caption 72, Die Top Ten: Die 12 freundlichsten Meerestiere der Welt

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The verb beschleunigen is "to accelerate", and its direct antonym is entschleunigen—"to decelerate."

Cool, gib Gas, schnapp ihn dir!

Cool, step on the gas, get him!

Caption 74, Großstadtrevier: St. Pauli rettet HSV

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The phrase Gas geben is an expression that literally means "to give gas," but is similar to the English idiom "to step on the gas," which is how you make a motor vehicle accelerate.

Further Learning
Search for some other adjectives and adverbs for "slow" (such as träge and schleppend) and "fast" (such as zügig and rasant) on Yabla German. To learn some more driving terms, watch the videos Schnell fahren auf der Autobahn and Wie man die Kupplung bedient.

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for our next lesson and send your topic suggestions to newsletter@yabla.com.

This week, we'll conclude our lessons on travel vocabulary. So, you've decided what kind of trip and mode of travel, and you've booked your accommodation. Now it's time to consider your itinerary and activities. The types of activities you plan on your trip will also depend on your destination, of course. Cities may offer the opportunity to visit museums or famous historical sites, go to markets, or go shopping:

...aber die kleine Stadttour würde ich gerne machen.

...but I would gladly do the small city tour.

Caption 47, Rollendes Vergnügen: Segway-Touren

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Jedes Jahr kommen an die 5.000 Besucher ins Museum.

Every year nearly 5000 visitors come to the museum.

Caption 25, Flipperautomaten: Kunstwerke für flinke Kugeln

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Das ist eine Sehenswürdigkeit in Köln: der Kölner Dom.

This is an attraction in Cologne: The Cologne Cathedral.

Caption 8, Nicos Weg: Ich war schon in Berlin

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Hier findet der Markt nämlich täglich statt.

Because here, the market takes place every day.

Caption 16, Reisen: Ein Tag in Freiburg

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Sie hat Bock auf Shopping, also in die Stadt.

She feels like shopping, so it's off to the city.

Caption 23, Cro: Bye Bye

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Being in nature, whether on the coast or in the mountains, offers its own program of sports or relaxation. In a recent newsletter, we already had the noun das Sonnenbad, but some people like to be a bit more active.

Dieses Naturreservoir ist zu Fuß in nur gut zwei Stunden zu erreichen.

This nature reserve can be reached by foot in just over two hours.

Caption 6, Die letzten Paradiese Die Schönheit der Alpen

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Ich soll wandern gehen, ich soll segeln oder surfen.

I should go hiking, I should go sailing or surfing.

Caption 15, Nicos Weg: Freizeitstress

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Aber es ist perfekt, um ans Meer zu fahren und baden zu gehen.

But it's perfect for going to the sea and going for a swim.

Caption 39, Deutsch mit Eylin: Das Wetter

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Beach-Volleyball hört sich an wie ein Freizeitvergnügen, ist aber seit 1996 olympisch und ein knallharter Profisport.

Beach volleyball sounds like an enjoyable free-time activity, however, since 1996, it's an Olympic and a tough professional sport.

Captions 3-4, Olympische Spiele: Beachvolleyball

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So many options! Now all that's left is to pack. If you're flying, you will need to check whether it's possible to check a bag, or whether you'll have to make do with Handgepäck. The noun das Gepäck is a general word for luggage or baggage, or you can say der Koffer to refer to a suitcase.

Wir packen jetzt unseren Koffer.

Now we'll pack our suitcase.

Caption 9, Deutschkurs in Tübingen: Reisevorbereitung

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And if you're flying, there's one more thing you'll need to do...

Um später Zeit zu sparen, checkt Olcay online ein.

To save time later, Olcay checks in online.

Caption 67, Galileo Zug vs. Flugzeug: Von München nach Berlin

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Gute Reise!

Further Learning

Check out our travel videos on Yabla German. Do you have an upcoming trip or vacation? Consult all three lessons, and write down five sentences about how you will get to your destination, where you will stay, and what activities you would like to do.