Maybe you live in the Southern Hemisphere, where it's currently winter, but in Northern Germany spring has arrived. We're finally starting to get more sunshine! Der Sonnenschein is a noun you probably know already, along with some other standards like die Sonnenbrille ("sunglasses," singular in German, by the way!) and die Sonnenblume ("sunflower"). Let's take a look today at some less familiar compound nouns that use Sonnen- as the root word.
The sun comes up with der Sonnenaufgang:
Wir sind nie vor Sonnenaufgang nach Hause gegangen.
We never went home before sunrise.
Caption 9, Nicos Weg: So feiern wir!
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Hopefully it will be another sunny day (der Sonnentag)! Not be confused with the day of the week (Sonntag), as there are plenty of those with bad weather!
Steh gerade, kerzengerade, lache in den Sonnentag.
Stand up straight, straight as a candle, laughing on the sunny day.
Caption 19, DDR-Fernsehen: Die letzten Sendeminuten des DFF
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But with sunny days comes the danger of sunburn and long-term cancer risks from the rays of the sun: (der Sonnenstrahl, plural die Sonnenstrahlen):
...als die ersten Sonnenstrahlen durch die Wolken blitzten.
...as the first rays of sunshine flashed through the clouds.
Caption 48, Märchen,Sagenhaft: Der standhafte Zinnsoldat
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It's best to protect your skin with die Sonnencreme and der Sonnenschutz and keep under der Sonnenschirm in order to avoid die Sonnenstrahlung:
Aber bitte... benutzen Sie Sonnencreme.
But please... use sun screen.
Caption 52, Unser Universum: Die Sonne
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Auf ausreichenden Sonnenschutz achten, denn durch das Wasser ist die Sonneneinstrahlung nochmal stärker als an Land.
Make sure to wear sufficient sun protection, because the water makes the solar radiation even stronger than it is on land.
Captions 78-79, Stand Up Paddling: 5 typische Anfängerfehler
Hier habe ich einen Sonnenschirm
Here I have a parasol.
Caption 21, Deutschkurs in Tübingen Präpositionen und Artikel
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And then you can go sunbathing—usually expressed in German as ein Sonnenbad nehmen, but here they are "enjoying" sunbathing:
Eine Kolonie kalifornischer Seelöwen hat sich auf ihrem Felsen versammelt, um ein entspanntes Sonnenbad zu genießen.
A colony of California sea lions has gathered on their rock to enjoy a relaxing sunbath.
Captions 18-19, Evolution: Die Küsten
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And at long last, after a nice day enjoying the sunshine, comes der Sonnenuntergang:
Bei mir muss der Held am Schluss in den Sonnenuntergang reiten.
For me, the hero has to ride off into the sunset at the end.
Caption 57, Rheinmain Szene Unheilig: „Der Graf“
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Further Learning
Go to Yabla German and search for other words using Sonnen- as the root word. You can also go to the DWDS Dictionary and find a long list of words starting with Sonnen-. See if you can guess their meanings before you look them up!
This past week, temperatures in Germany rose to 102° F / 39° C, even in Berlin and the northern Bundesländer. For a place where air conditioning is the exception rather than the norm, this is extreme!
In German, the noun for "heat" or "hot temperatures" is die Hitze.
Ich mag zwar Wärme, aber keine Hitze.
I like the warmth indeed, but not the heat.
Caption 38, Jenny - Reiseziele
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Die Hitze war so groß,
The heat was so great
dass schon bald die Farben seiner Soldatenuniform verblassten.
that the colors of his soldier's uniform soon faded.
Captions 79-80, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Der standhafte Zinnsoldat
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Die Mischung aus Staub und Sonnenstrahlen
The mixture of dust and sunbeams
ließ das gleißende Licht entstehen,
gave rise to the glistening light,
das die tödliche Hitze im Film so glaubhaft macht.
that makes the deadly heat in the film so believable.
Captions 28-30, Hell - Science-Fiction-Kinotipp
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Just as we say "heat wave" in English, Germany combines die Hitze and die Welle into a compound noun:
Eine Hitzewelle rollt an.
A heatwave is coming through.
Caption 6, Unterwegs mit Cettina - Sommer am Baggersee
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Sometimes when a heat wave is too intense and no air conditioning is available (which is the case in many offices and classrooms), cancellations may even occur. There is a special phrase in German for getting the day off due to a heat wave: hitzefrei haben.
Die Müllmänner ham [haben] hitzefrei
The garbage men have time off due to the heat
Caption 4, Culcha Candela - Sommer im Kiez
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Further Learning
Search for more examples of the word die Hitze on Yabla German and see our past newsletter on summer living. You can also read a short text in German about the Berlin government's stance on school cancellations here.
Most nouns that are masculine and end in -e in their nominative singular form are called weak nouns, or schwache Substantive. They are often nouns that refer to nationalities, animals, or professions, such as der Schwede, der Löwe or der Psychologe. Since most German nouns ending in -e are feminine, these exceptions are easy to recognize. What sets them apart from other nouns is the fact that in all cases except for nominative, they end in -en. It is obvious that nouns ending in -e will end in -en in plural cases, but this applies to the singular case too!
Here's examples of the weak noun der Junge with the -en ending in different singular cases, starting with dative:
Der Zauberer sah zu dem zitternden Jungen hinab.
The Sorcerer looked down at the trembling Boy.
Caption 80, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Der Zauberlehrling
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And again in the singular accusative case:
"Schiffsverkehr"... für einen Jungen aus dem Pott klingt das nur bedingt naheliegend.
"Ship traffic"... for a boy from the "Pit" [Ruhr region] that sounds only conditionally obvious.
Caption 9, Herbert Grönemeyer - stellt sein neues Album vor
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And finally in the singular genitive case:
Der Fisch wurde von der Mutter des kleinen Jungen gekauft.
The fish was bought by the mother of the little boy.
Caption 65, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Der standhafte Zinnsoldat
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There are also some weak nouns that end in letters other than -e, but more about them later!
Further Learning
Go to this page to practice your weak noun endings, and visit Yabla German to find more examples of weak masculine nouns in practice.
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