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.
A number of German verbs have legen as a root. Let's go alphabetically and explore some of the most common words.
The verbs auflegen and einlegen each have a number of different translations. The verb auflegen describes putting something on top of something else and, by extension, can mean "to hang up the phone" or "to play music as a DJ." It is also used to refer to publishing an edition. The verb einlegen literally means "to put something into something," which can be physical in the case of fermenting or pickling vegetables (eingelegtes Gemüse) or immaterial in the case of raising an objection (Einspruch einlegen) or taking a break (eine Pause einlegen).
Max? -Henri, ich muss jetzt leider auflegen.
Max? -Henri, I have to hang up now, unfortunately.
Caption 28, Die Pfefferkörner: Endspurt
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Erschöpft legen Franz Obermeier, seine Söhne und Helfer eine Pause ein.
Exhausted, Franz Obermeier, his sons and helpers take a break.
Caption 8, Die letzten Paradiese Schätze der Natur: Südtirol
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The verb festlegen is more straightforward, as it is always related to determining, defining, or ascertaining something.
Figuren und Reitstil sind seit Jahrhunderten genau festgelegt.
The figures and riding style have been precisely defined for centuries.
Caption 46, Die Alpen von oben - S1 E2: Von Graz ins Ausseerland
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And sich hinlegen simply means "to lie down."
Es legte sich hin und schlief sofort ein.
She laid herself down and immediately fell asleep.
Caption 43, Märchen - Sagenhaft: Goldlöckchen und die drei Bären
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You'll hear the verb loslegen quite often at the beginning of Yabla videos:
Ja, ja, das geht dann auch schneller. -Na, dann lass uns loslegen!
Yes, yes, then it will also go faster. -Well, then let's get started!
Caption 44, Abenteuer Nordsee: Unter Riesenhaien und Tintenfischen
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The verb offenlegen means "to reveal."
Das Null-zu-null beim leidenschaftlich kämpfenden Hamburger SV legte das Problem des Rekordmeisters offen.
The zero to zero outcome against a Hamburg squad, [ho fought passionately, revealed the master record champion's main problem.
Captions 19-20, Fußball pur Paderborn: im Rausch
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The first non-separable verb of our list is überlegen, "to consider."
Schön... Lass mich mal überlegen.
Nice... Let me think about it.
Caption 28, Deutsch mit Eylin: Anruf bei einer neuen Bekannten
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The verb verlegen means "to misplace" or "to lose," but it is also an adjective that means "embarrassed."
„Ach so, hm“, meinte Frederick verlegen. „Dann können wir ja weitergehen.“
"Ah, so, hm," said Frederick sheepishly. "Then, indeed, we can keep walking."
Caption 34, Piggeldy und Frederick: Das Lachen
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The verb zurücklegen means "to put back," but also "to cover" in the context below:
Elftausend Kilometer haben Sie mit dem Fahrrad zurückgelegt.
You have traveled eleven thousand kilometers [nearly seven thousand miles] with the bicycle.
Caption 8, Mountainbiken: Auf dem Anden-Trail
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Further Learning
You'll find many videos with these verbs used in context on Yabla German. You can also do a search for many other verbs with the root legen, such as ablegen, anlegen, beilegen, freilegen, and more.