When we are trying to make a specification, we rely on phrases like "sort of," "type of," and "variety of." You may think these words each correspond with the most similar word in the title above, but things are not that simple. This is German, after all!
Die Art can be most generically employed as a translation for "the type of" or "the sort of," and also "the way of."
Spätzle sind eine Art bayrische Nudeln.
Spaetzle are a type of Bavarian noodle.
Caption 2, Bayrische Spätzle - mit Christiane
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Es gibt verschiedene Arten von Wind:
There are various types of wind:
den säuselnden Hauch,
the murmuring breath,
die leichte, die frische und die steife Brise...
the light, the fresh and the stiff breeze...
Captions 10-12, Piggeldy und Frederick - Der Wind
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Die Art also can refer to someone's personality, as in their way of being or way of behaving, and it also can refer to a species of animal.
Es ist überhaupt nicht ihre Art, einfach so wegzulaufen.
It's not her nature to simply run away like that.
Caption 33, Großstadtrevier - Von Monstern und Mördern
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Einige Tierarten aber
Some animal species, however,
machten sich die gewaltige Umgestaltung der Küste zunutze.
have made use of the enormous transformation of the coast.
Caption 5, Abenteuer Nordsee - Unter Riesenhaien und Tintenfischen
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Die Sorte is quite similar to die Art, but will more likely be employed for things that are in some way man-made. For example, if you are talking about a variety or flavor of food, often one that is specified by a name, you generally will use die Sorte rather than die Art.
Die Sorte „Jamaika Blue Mountain“,
The variety "Jamaica Blue Mountain,"
quasi der Champagner unter den Kaffees,
quasi the champagne of coffees,
kostet sogar über zwanzigmal so viel
even costs over twenty times as much
wie ein Kaffee aus dem Supermarktregal.
as a coffee from the supermarket shelf.
Captions 14-17, Kaffee - Noch von Hand gemacht
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Die Eissorten werden jedes Jahr exotischer.
The ice-cream flavors get more exotic every year.
Caption 2, Eis - Eiskalte Leidenschaft
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Der Typ is a bit trickier, as it is not universally used to mean "type" like in English. In fact, it is most often used as a slang expression to simply mean "the guy." But it can also mean "type of guy." Like in English, you can say Er/Sie ist nicht mein Typ, which means that the person doesn't interest you romantically.
Ich bin ein sehr nachdenklicher Typ und Mensch.
I am a very thoughtful guy and human being.
Caption 16, Andreas Bourani - Startet durch
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Er war schon immer so ein Typ, dem alles so zufliegt.
He was always the kind of guy who always gets everything.
Captions 22-23, Joris - Er
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Further Learning
Keep an eye out for examples with these words used on Yabla German, and always look at the noun in the sentence. You will notice patterns which can help you choose the right option later on.
For this week, Yabla has released a video reporting on recent extreme winter weather conditions in Germany. You may have noticed that, like English, German has several words that describe different types of wind.
The easiest to remember is “der Wind," although the German word for "the breeze" is quite similar as well:
Der Wind muss nur ein wenig drehen,
The wind has to just turn a little [change directions],
dann steigt die Luft an den Bergen auf.
then the air rises up the mountains.
Caption 9, Alpenseen - Kühle Schönheiten
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Die leichte, die frische und die steife Brise...
The light, the fresh and the stiff breeze...
Caption 12, Piggeldy und Frederick - Der Wind
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Die Böen, the plural of die Bö, refers to stronger wind, and can be translated as "squalls" or "gusts."
Also lokal sind auch orkanartige Böen mit dabei.
Thus, in parts, hurricane-like gusts will also be present.
Caption 24, Wettervorhersage - Winterwetter
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The words Orkan and Hurrikan are both used to describe storms caused by traveling low pressure areas. Generally, Hurrikan will refer to tropical storms, while Orkan is a general term for a fierce storm.
Im März diesen [sic, dieses] Jahres [Unwetter-Experte beim GDV]
In March of this year [Storm expert at GDV]
ist der Orkan Niklas über Deutschland hinweggezogen.
Hurricane Niklas passed over Germany.
Captions 5-6, Gesamtverband der Deutschen Versicherungswirtschaft - Naturgefahrenreport
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However, extreme winds in Germany are relatively rare. If you ever live or study in Germany, you’re much more likely to hear this sentence:
Mach aber die Tür richtig zu, es zieht immer so! -Hm.
But close the door well, it's always so drafty! -Hm.
Caption 23, Monopoly - Geheime Tipps und Tricks
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The use of the verb ziehen ("to move") is related in this case to the word der Luftzug, or “draft of air.”
Further Learning
Watch the classic German cartoon Piggeldy und Frederick - Der Wind in its entirety, as it features many types of wind and some nice adjectives to describe them.
You can also go onto Yabla German and look up examples with any of the following verbs, which are used to describe how wind blows: peitschen, blasen, wehen, pusten, rauschen.
English speakers learning the word wenn for the first time often find the parallels to “when” helpful at first. But wenn can also mean "if." For example, a German child pleading for something and promising to be good in return can expect to hear:
Wenn das Wörtchen wenn nicht wär, wär mein Vater Millionär.
If the word "if" did not exist, my father would be a millionaire.
This is comparable to the English expression "If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride" and can be translated more idiomatically as "When pigs fly."
While the uses of wenn in German are varied, it is most commonly used in such simple cases as:
Ich habe kein Geld, wenn ich Dinge einkaufe.
I have no money if I buy things.
Caption 40, Deutschkurs in Tübingen - Die Konjunktion "wenn"
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The German use of wenn... dann is also parallel to the English “if... then.” We see this in the following example.
Aber auch wenn die Zeit noch 'n bisschen schwierig ist,
But even if time[s] are still a little bit difficult,
dann nimmt man sich gern zu Hause 'n bisschen Ablenkung davon...
then one gladly takes a little bit of distraction from it at home...
Captions 7-8, Auftrumpfen - Mit Kitsch und Protz
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Sometimes wenn really does mean "when":
Und der, wenn er wild wird, uns Sand in die Augen weht.
And the one that, when he becomes wild, blows sand into our eyes.
Caption 17, Piggeldy und Frederick - Der Wind
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So now you see that that Wenn das Wörtchen wenn nicht wäre, there would be quite a few things you'd have trouble expressing!
Learning Tip
When going through your videos, pay particular attention to a specific aspect of the language, such as a tense, a part of speech (such as the wenn above) or a tricky bit of vocabulary. And then reward yourself by watching one of the fun episodes to allow your mind to process.
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