In German, some emotions are captured in single words so precise that they have even been adopted into the English language:
Tja, Schadenfreude ist eben doch die schönste Freude.
Well, schadenfreude is still the best kind of enjoyment [German saying].
Caption 36, Umweltlernen Propellerpflanzen am Kräutertag
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Wer von uns hat nicht ab und zu mal Fernweh.
Who among us doesn't have wanderlust from time to time.
Caption 3, WissensWerte: Tourismus und Nachhaltigkeit
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The word das Fernweh above is similar to wanderlust (which is also a German word), the urge to travel and see the unknown. Its opposite is das Heimweh, or "homesickness."
Ja, Heimweh. Das ist wenn man traurig ist und nach Hause möchte.
Yes, homesick. That's when you're sad and want to go home.
Caption 13, Nicos Weg: Leben in Deutschland
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These feelings are generally not spoken about in the first person, but more as concepts that one relates to.
Wenn die Gedanken springen und das Kopfkino nicht mehr aufhört.
When my thoughts jump and the images in my head won't stop.
Caption 11, Lika Doss: Schlaflos
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Offenbar besteht aber bei vielen Menschen eine große Sehnsucht nach diesem alten Wissen.
Apparently, however, there is a great longing among many people for this ancient knowledge.
Captions 28-29, Deutsch mit Eylin: Die vier Elemente
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Dein Herzschlag und dein Atem geben mir Geborgenheit.
Your heartbeat and your breath give me comfort.
Caption 66, Singer-Songwriter: Sebastian Niklaus
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Zu Weihnachten wünsch ich mir Stunden voller Zweisamkeit.
For Christmas, I wish for hours of just the two of us together.
Caption 13, Allessa: Zu Weihnachten wünsch ich mir dich
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Also man kann sich „fremdschämen."
So, you can "be ashamed on someone else's behalf."
Caption 17, Rhein-Main-TV Was kann die deutsche Sprache?
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Further Learning
You'll find more examples with these words on Yabla German. For a deeper dive, an interesting article on this topic as a cultural phenomenon can be read on the Guardian.
Frohes neues Jahr from all of us at Yabla German!
If a German friend had asked you what your plans were for New Year's Eve, would you have said Ich gehe aus or Ich gehe raus? As you may already know, rausgehen means simply “to exit,” while ausgehen means “to go out” in the sense of going out on the town.
There are many verbs that contain the verb gehen in German, and only some of them involve the physical act of going somewhere. Let’s look at some examples.
The verb aufgehen has many possible meanings, from simply “to open,” to “to rise” or “to expand.”
Man muss viele Türen öfter probieren, bis sie aufgehen.
One has to try many doors more times till they open.
Caption 65, Singer-Songwriter - Sebastian Niklaus
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The verb eingehen can mean "to shrink," but auf etwas eingehen or auf jemanden eingehen means "to respond to" or "to agree to."
Ich hoffe, ich konnte Ihnen so ein bisschen zeigen, dass man auf unterschiedliche Zielgruppen unterschiedlich eingehen muss.
I hope I was able to show you a little bit that you have to respond differently to different target groups.
Caption 56, TEDx - Lebenslange Fitness - Part 3
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Umgehen means "to go around" in the sense of "to circumvent", but mit etwas/jemanden umgehen means "to deal with someone or a situation."
Wir wussten eigentlich nicht so richtig, wie wir damit umgehen sollten.
We actually didn't really know how we should deal with it.
Caption 14, 3nach9 - Ehrlich Brothers - Show-Magier - Part 1
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Further Learning
Look up the following related phrases and additional verbs: davon ausgehen, in Flammen aufgehen, das Risiko eingehen, fremdgehen. You can see a large list of verbs that include gehen here and search for them on Yabla German.
In last week's newsletter, we looked at the various ways of expressing the adverb "even" in German. We shouldn't forget that adverbs not only describe verbs, but adjectives as well. In this case, "even" is expressed with "noch":
Und mit ein bisschen Unterstützung der Teamkollegen klappt's vielleicht noch besser.
And with a little support from the team members it might work out even better.
Caption 11, Fußball - Torwandschießen
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In English we say something is "even better" or that it is getting "better and better." The latter exists in German as well and is often constructed with the verb werden, the word immer, and a comparative adjective.
Man wird ja immer besser durch die Übung.
One does get even [always] better through practice.
Caption 26, Singer-Songwriter - Sebastian Niklaus
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As you can see, this construction can be used with most adjectives:
Sie wird im Spiegel immer kleiner
It gets smaller and smaller in the mirror
Caption 85, Wincent Weiss & Benni Freibott - Musik sein
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Und deshalb wird es auch immer wichtiger werden,
And therefore it is going to become more and more important
dieses auch in Zukunft, äh, zu verstärken.
to, uh, also emphasize this in the future.
Captions 35-36, Angela Merkel - beim Nachhaltigkeitsrat
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Sie ist, äh, durch die Erweiterung des Flughafens
It has, uh, through the expansion of the airport,
natürlich immer komplexer geworden...
become more and more complex, of course...
Captions 35-36, Berlins regierender Bürgermeister - Pläne für 2014
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However, make sure to take context of the sentence and the presence or absence of werden into account. The sentence below shows that immer can be combined with an adjective and still just mean "always."
Wenn man gemeinsam reist, ist es immer besser.
It's always better if you travel together.
Caption 20, Traumberuf - Windsurfer
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Further Learning
Based on the tips above, how would you translate the phrase immer wieder? Do a search on Yabla German!