German has many French loan words or Gallicisms. Since an estimated 45% of English comes from French or Latin language sources, if you can learn to recognize words in your native English as having a French origin, there is a fair chance that these words are used in German.
In a previous lesson, we took a look at some more French-derived words in German that have the same or similar words in English. This week, let's discuss some German words that originated from the French but have different meanings than their similar English equivalents.
Die Frau bekommt ein Kind und ihr Chef weiß das.
The woman is going to have a child and her boss knows it.
Caption 9, Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Einbürgerungstest - Part 4
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In this case, the German der Chef and French chef can be a bit of a false friend of the English word "chef," since in English it means "the head cook" and not the more general term "the boss."
Bald waren sie bei einer Fabrik, bei einer Farbenfabrik.
Soon they were at a factory, at a paint factory.
Caption 6, Piggeldy und Frederick - Malen
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The German die Fabrik comes from the French fabrique, the -que ending having been Germanized to -ik. The pronunciation is nearly the same in both languages, with the emphasis on the second syllable.
Ich denke, er ist einfach eine komplexe Figur.
I think he is simply a complex character.
Caption 9, Dreharbeiten - zum Film „Playoff“
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The German die Figur comes from the French figure—like the English "figure"—and has similar meanings, but in most contexts the German is translated to "character" in English, making this a sort of false friend in most cases. Die Figur could, however, be translated to the English "figure" if you were discussing a geometric figure.
Bevor ihr einen Weihnachtsbaum aufstellt, geht am besten mal zum Friseur.
Before you set up a Christmas tree it's best that you go to the hairdresser.
Captions 17-18, Frohe Weihnachten - der Christbaum
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The German der Friseur / die Friseurin, from the French friseur, is rarely used in English anymore, and even the French tend to prefer to use the term coiffeur instead. The German also uses the term die Friseuse, but it is a pejorative. There is a secondary German spelling Frisör, but the German Duden dictionary recommends the -eur spelling!
Hast du die Gage?
Do you have the fee?
Caption 48, Verstehen Sie Spaß? - Sascha Grammel - Part 2
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The German die Gage and the French gage both pronounce the first G as a hard G and the second as a soft G. It might be incorrectly confused with the English "gauge."
Wenn du so viel Engagement in Mathematik aufbringst wie im Lösen von Kriminalfällen...
If you put as much effort into mathematics as into solving criminal cases...
Caption 36, Die Pfefferkörner - Gerüchteküche - Part 6
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Das Engagement, from the French engagement, has nothing to do with the English "engagement," which in German is usually translated as die Verlobung.
Further Learning
As a general rule, French words found in German are spelled the same, or nearly the same, as the French words found in English, but are pronounced in a German manner and written according to German grammatical rules—with nouns capitalized, for example. Take a look at this list of Gallicisms in German and go to Yabla German to find other real-world examples of the words used in videos.
... and the list goes on to include die Zeichnung and das Zeichnen, among others. Do you know which word is which?
Das Zeichen is a noun and can be translated as "the sign" or "the mark."
Das ist ein gutes Zeichen, denn es bedeutet,
That is a good sign, since it means
dass dem Arbeitgeber die Bewerbungsunterlagen gefallen haben...
that the employer liked the application documents...
Captions 39-40, Eva erklärt - Bewerbungen
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The verb zeichnen means "to draw." Das Zeichnen is the act/action of drawing, whereas die Zeichnung is "the drawing" as in a sketch or artwork on paper. The participle of the verb is gezeichnet, which also means "to plot" or "to mark."
Dreimal in der Woche kommt sie ins Atelier, um zu zeichnen.
Three times a week she comes to the atelier to draw.
Caption 29, Malerei - Atelier Goldstein
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Ich hab' sehr viel Sport gemacht, äh, habe sehr viel gezeichnet...
I did a lot of sports, uh, drew a whole lot...
Caption 58, rheinmain Szene - Unheilig - „Der Graf“
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Quite separate from these two words is the verb zeigen, or "to show," the participle of which is "gezeigt."
Hallo, mein Name ist Christiane
Hello, my name is Christiane
und ich werd' euch heute zeigen, wie man Spätzle macht.
and I am going to show you today, how you make spaetzle.
Caption 1, Bayrische Spätzle - mit Christiane
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Im kommenden Jahr soll der Film dann auf der Berlinale erstmals gezeigt werden.
Next year the movie will be shown for the first time at the Berlinale [Berlin Film Festival].
Caption 50, Dreharbeiten - zum Film „Playoff“
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Further Learning
There are more examples of these words in their various forms and conjugations to be found on Yabla German. For an overview, this page can help you with the conjugations for zeichnen, while this page fully conjugates the verb zeigen.
Auch im zweiten Drittel ließen die Löwen nicht locker.
Even in the second third of the game, the Löwen did not relax.
Caption 25, Eishockey - Löwen Frankfurt - EC Bad Nauheim
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You are likely used to auch meaning "also," but did you know that it can mean "even" as well? There are three words for the adverb "even" that are essentially interchangeable in German: auch, selbst, and sogar. They are often combined with wenn. Below we see that auch wenn means "even if" and sometimes "even though":
Auch wenn es mir mein Herz zerreißt
Even if it tears my heart up
Caption 5, Beatrice Egli - Irgendwann
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Doch auch wenn im Film viel Basketball gespielt wird:
But even though a lot of basketball is played in the movie,
Ein Sportfilm soll es dennoch nicht werden.
it is not intended to be a sports movie.
Captions 45-46, Dreharbeiten - zum Film „Playoff“
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In a previous lesson, we wrote about how the word selbst is used in the context of a person having made or done something themselves. However, in certain contexts, it is placed in front of the subject and means "even" as well:
Doch selbst bei Temperaturen wie im Kühlschrank...
But even at temperatures like in the refrigerator...
Caption 31, Alpenseen - Kühle Schönheiten
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Selbst ausgewachsen werden diese Tintenfische gerade mal zwanzig Zentimeter groß.
Even fully grown, these squid will only become twenty centimeters long.
Caption 28, Abenteuer Nordsee - Unter Riesenhaien und Tintenfischen
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The dual meaning of selbst means that it cannot be used in every sentence, because it would cause confusion. You have likely heard sogar more often:
In Berlin treten die besten von ihnen sogar in Wettkämpfen gegeneinander an.
In Berlin, the best of them even enter into competitions against one another.
Caption 34, Currywurst - Berlins schärfstes Stück
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Er kann sogar den Airbus A dreihundertachtzig drücken und ziehen.
It can even push and pull an Airbus A three hundred eighty.
Caption 18, Frankfurter Flughafen - Flugzeugschlepper
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Further Learning
For further examples, just do a simple search, as there are many on Yabla German!
See if you can also find examples of noch, which can also be translated as "even" when it augments an adjective.
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