This past week in Berlin, the sidewalks became so icy and slippery at one point that the city had to use Tausalz, or salt for de-icing. This is generally avoided for environmental reasons, but something had to be done about the high number of injuries from falls.
Today's lesson, for beginners and advanced learners alike, is about the nouns for various parts of our musculoskeletal system. For sports, and also in case of injury, it's important to be able to refer to these.
Beginners should know that das Bein and "the bone" are false friends. Das Bein means "the leg," while der Knochen is the general word for "the bone."
Je größer die Temperaturschwankungen sind, desto stärker spüre ich meine Knochen.
The greater the temperature fluctuations are, the more I feel it in my bones.
Captions 16-17, Nicos Weg: Wieder so ein Wetter
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Confusingly, this is contradicted by names for certain individual bones, such as das Schienbein ("the shin bone"), das Schlüsselbein ("the collar bone"), and das Steißbein ("the tail bone").
Außerdem an Schienbein und Achillessehne.
Also their shinbones and Achilles tendons.
Caption 26, Gesundheit: Warum Barfußlaufen vor Verletzungen schützen könnte
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In the case of muscles, the German word is quite similar. The word for "the tendon" is die Sehne.
Unsere Hengste, sie bekommen gute Muskeln. Die Sehnen werden gestärkt.
Our stallions— they develop good muscles. Their tendons are strengthened.
Captions 31-33, Die Alpen von oben: S1 E2 Von Graz ins Ausseerland
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And here are a few more essential nouns for our more advanced learners:
Dann haben wir noch 'ne spezielle Faszien-Release-Massage, wo 's dann mehr um die Faszien, um die Muskelhäute geht.
Then we have a special fascia release massage, where it's more about the fascia, the muscle sheaths.
Captions 21-22, Deutsch mit Paula In der Physiotherapie-Praxis - Part 1
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Abrollen schont die Gelenke.
Rolling over protects the joints.
Caption 50, Gesundheit: Warum Barfußlaufen vor Verletzungen schützen könnte
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Für das warme Wasser in der Badeanstalt sorgen die Steine aus dem Feuer, die gegen Rheuma, Gicht oder Gelenkbeschwerden helfen.
The warm water in the bathhouse is provided by the stones from the fire, which help against rheumatism, gout, or joint problems.
Captions 55-57, Die Alpen von oben: S1 E1 Von den Karawanken nach Graz
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Lediglich mit der Gefahr, sich beim Absprung von der Wand den Fuß zu verstauchen oder sich einen Bänderriss zuzuziehen, muss man leben.
When jumping from a wall, it's only the danger of spraining a foot or incurring a torn ligament... you'll have to live with this.
Captions 20-21, Trendsport “Bouldern”: Abhängen auf vier Metern
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Further Learning
There are many videos about sports and exercise that contain related vocabulary on Yabla German.
We've previously written about weather, including wind and rain specifically, but today we'll look at temperatures in particular.
In Germany, temperatures are measured in Celsius rather than Fahrenheit. Here are a few conversions for your reference:
50°F = 10°C
68°F = 20°C
86°F = 30°C
To state a temperature, using betragen is more formal than simply saying haben or liegen. As we wrote in a previous lesson, we use das Grad rather than der Grad with temperature:
In den Tiefen des Schmalen Luzin hat das Wasser noch eine Temperatur von vier Grad Celsius.
In the depths of the Schmaler Luzin lake, the water still has a temperature of four degrees Celsius.
Captions 22-23, Expeditionen ins Tierreich: Die Feldberger Seen
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Dort beträgt die Temperatur konstant vier Grad Celsius.
The temperature there is a constant four degrees Celsius.
Caption 28, Expeditionen ins Tierreich: Die Feldberger Seen
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Die Temperaturen liegen um die fünf Grad.
The temperatures will be at around five degrees.
Caption 12, WetterOnline: Schnee und Sonne zum ersten Advent
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Here are a few phrases for talking about temperatures rising and falling:
Je größer die Temperaturschwankungen sind, desto stärker spüre ich meine Knochen.
The greater the temperature fluctuations are, the more I feel it in my bones.
Captions 16-17, Nicos Weg: Wieder so ein Wetter
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Die Temperatur darf nie über vierzehn Grad steigen.
The temperature must never rise above fourteen degrees [Celsius].
Caption 18, Expeditionen ins Tierreich: Die Feldberger Seen
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Nur wer sich an schnelle Wetterstürze und langanhaltende Winter anpassen kann, überlebt.
Only those who can adapt to rapid drops in temperature and long-lasting winters survive.
Captions 33-34, Die letzten Paradiese: Schätze der Natur - Südtirol
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The compound nouns die Höchsttemperatur and die Durchschnittstemperatur can also be useful for talking about weather trends.
Übrigens liegt hier die jährliche Durchschnittstemperatur über dem deutschen Durchschnitt.
By the way, the annual average temperature here is above the German average.
Captions 24-25, Yabla reist durch Europa: Mainz
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Am fünfzehnten Siebten misst Bayern mit achtunddreißig Komma acht Grad, die bislang höchste Temperatur in diesem Jahr.
On the fifteenth of July, Bavaria measured thirty-eight point eight degrees [Celsius], the highest temperature so far this year.
Captions 55-56, Langsam gesprochene Nachrichten: Die ZDF Sommerinterviews
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Further Learning
Practice talking about the current temperature, average temperature for a given month, and record high temperature where you live. You can also refer to additional examples on Yabla German.