When we speak about things that scare us, we can use Angst haben to articulate our fear. You can have a look at this lesson in which we discuss the prepositions used along with this verb to talk about being afraid.

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When it comes to describing something as scary or frightening, it's important to note that ängstlich is not the correct adjective, as this means "anxious" or "fearful":

Joringel war sehr ängstlich und warnte Jorinde, nicht näher zu gehen.

Joringel was very anxious and warned Jorinde not to go any closer.

Caption 15, Märchen - Sagenhaft: Jorinde und Joringel

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The adjective erschreckend can be applied in many contexts, and can mean both "alarming" and "frightening."

Erschreckend sind die Zahlen bei den Vierzehn- bis Siebzehnjährigen.

The figures for fourteen to seventeen year olds are alarming.

Caption 31, Langsam gesprochene Nachrichten: Die ZDF Sommerinterviews

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For something that is more than merely alarming—perhaps even terrifying—stronger adjectives exist:​

Gespensterkrebse mögen furchterregend aussehen, aber auch sie wählen andere Nahrung.

Skeleton shrimp may look terrifying, but they also prefer different sustenance.

Captions 4-5, Abenteuer Nordsee: Unter Riesenhaien und Tintenfischen

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Diese Tiere sind oft sehr angsteinflößend.

These animals are often very fear-inducing.

Caption 13, Ratespiel: Meerestiere

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If you've watched our recent Yabla German videos about Halloween, you might have noticed that Ivana and Paula use the word gruselig quite a lot. This means "spooky" or "creepy."

Halloween wäre nicht Halloween ohne gruselige Kostüme.

Halloween wouldn't be Halloween without spooky costumes.

Captions 24-25, Halloween: Grusel, Spaß und Kürbisse

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The adjective schaurig is even stronger, and can even be translated as "ghastly."

Heute tauchen wir ein in die schaurige Welt von Halloween.

Today, we're going to dive into the eerie world of Halloween.

Captions 3-4, Halloween Grusel, Spaß und Kürbisse

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Further Learning
If you haven't already, check out the Halloween videos that went up last week on Yabla German, and review the verb Angst haben if necessary.

A while back, we sent out a lesson about the difference between raten and beraten. Now it's time to expand this to a number of different verbs that contain raten as a root, including erraten, verraten, and geraten. 

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The verb erraten simply means "to guess."

Heute erraten wir Meerestiere.

Today we're going to be guessing sea creatures.

Caption 4, Ratespiel: Meerestiere

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Könnt ihr erraten, in welchen Land ich mich befinde?

Can you guess which country I'm in?

Caption 3, Yabla reist: durch Europa Genua und Portofino

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The verb geraten is a bit more complex. It is often used in phrases such as in Panik geraten, which you can see below. Depending on the phrase you might think of it as "to get into," but not in a physical sense. It's more like "to become" or "to end up" in a certain way. 

Die gute alte Kaffeemaschine ist dabei etwas aus der Mode geraten.

The good old coffee machine has to some extent gone out of style in the process.

Caption 12, Eva zeigt uns: wie man Kaffee kocht

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Wenn Menschen das Wort „Hai“ hören, geraten sie schnell in Panik.

When people hear the word "shark," they quickly panic.

Captions 10-11, Die Top Ten: Die 12 freundlichsten Meerestiere der Welt

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The verb verraten means "to reveal" or "to give away." The phrase jemanden verraten means "to betray someone."

Und sie verraten etwas über die Persönlichkeit eines Menschen.

And they reveal something about the personality of a human being.

Caption 42, Deutsch mit Eylin: Mehr Geheimnisse über Hände

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Warte, Matteo! Warte, warte, warte, nicht gleich alles verraten.

Wait, Matteo! Wait, wait, wait, don't reveal it all now.

Caption 3, Die Pfefferkörner: Endspurt

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Und wir dürfen den anderen niemals verraten, niemals!

And we must never betray the other, never!

Caption 20, Heidi Freunde: für immer

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Further Learning
On Yabla German, you'll find more phrases with geraten, such as in Schwierigkeiten geraten, außer Kontrolle geraten, and in Schulden geraten. Have a look!