Not that there's any shortage of things to complain about the last few years, but even in better times, Berliners are especially fond of complaining. In winter, it's always too cold outside, and as soon as it gets warm, it's always too hot! And with a recent court decision, which for the first time in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany has rendered the results of last September's Berlin elections null and void, everyone has to go in February 2023 and vote on the identical ballot again. Not only is that something to complain about, but since I recently moved out of Berlin, I won't even be able to take part in the revision election because I no longer meet the residential qualifications to be allowed to vote. So I stood in line for two and half hours to vote last September—only to have my vote rendered null and void. Not that I am complaining or anything!
Let's take a look today at some of the standard and slang German verbs for "to complain."
70 Prozent der Lehrer beschweren sich darüber, dass die sanitären Einrichtungen nicht gut sind.
70 percent of teachers complain about the fact that the sanitary facilities are not good.
Captions 13-14, heute-show: Hazel Brugger will Lehrerin werden
Play Caption
Aber er wagte es nicht, sich über die harte, langweilige Arbeit zu beschweren.
But he didn't dare complain about the hard, boring work.
Caption 8, Märchen - Sagenhaft: Der Zauberlehrling
Play Caption
As you see above, one of the most common German proper verbs that means "to complain" is the reflexive verb sich beschweren.
Ja, und die jammern nicht, die klagen nicht...
Yes, and they don't whine, they don't complain...
Caption 23, Umwelt und Natur: Wo sind all die Bienen hin?
Play Caption
Lerne warten, ohne zu klagen.
Learn to wait without complaining.
Caption 26, Piggeldy und Frederick: Der Esel
Play Caption
The slang verb jammern is also often translated as "to complain." Be careful with the verb klagen, however, as it can also mean "to sue" or "to file a lawsuit."
Vielleicht reklamiert sie was.
Maybe she's issuing a complaint.
Caption 12, Großstadtrevier: Nicht mit mir
Play Caption
The verb reklamieren is an official kind of complaint, and means more than just complaining verbally. It can also mean to return a product you have purchased: Ich habe den Fernseher reklamiert means "I returned the television."
Ich beklagte mich beim Kellner über das kalte Essen.
I complained to the waiter about the cold food.
And yet another reflexive verb, sich beklagen, is often translated as "to complain." Let's move on now to some more slang words for "to complain," not forgetting the verb jammern mentioned above.
Von uns Westberlinern wird gesagt, dass wir nur meckern.
People say about us West Berliners that all we do is complain.
Caption 51, heute-show: 30 Jahre Mauerfall
Play Caption
Und daran gibt es nichts zu meckern.
And there's nothing to complain about there.
Caption 25, Die letzten Paradiese: Die Schönheit der Alpen
Play Caption
The slang verb meckern can also, depending upon the context, be translated as "to grumble," "to whine," and occasionally "to scold."
Sie gruben und schaufelten, buddelten und hievten, knurrten und murrten, ächzten und stöhnten, aber den Topf voller Geld, den fanden sie nicht.
They dug and shoveled, burrowed and heaved, growled and grumbled, moaned and groaned, but the pot full of money—they didn't find it.
Captions 49-51, Märchen - Sagenhaft: Die drei Brüder
Play Caption
The verb knurren, often translated as "to growl," and the verb murren, often translated as "to grumble" or "to mumble," are also sometimes translated as "to complain." Only the verb knurren is considered to be slang, however.
Further Learning
Look up the verbs you learned today on Yabla German and see how they are variously translated in different contexts:
(sich) beklagen
(sich) beschweren
jammern
klagen
knurren
meckern
murren
reklamieren
Remember that the word search will sometimes work better if you just search for the verb's root and an asterisk (murr* for murren) because then you can find videos with different tenses.
In German, the nouns die Lage and die Stelle each have a few different meanings. First of all, die Lage can quite literally mean "the location," and die Stelle can be translated as "the position":
Sehr ruhige Lage, Bauernhöfe in der Nähe...
Very quiet location, farms nearby...
Caption 13, Nicos Weg: Auf Wohnungssuche
Play Caption
Durch die Lage ist es häufig warm, und Weinreben können gut gedeihen, besonders am Kaiserstuhl.
Due to the location it is often warm and vines can thrive, especially in the Kaiserstuhl.
Caption 24, Bundesländer und ihre Rezepte: Baden-Württemberg
Play Caption
Als er sich umsah, merkte er allerdings, dass er an einer völlig unerwarteten Stelle gelandet war.
When he looked around, however, he noticed that he had landed in a completely unexpected place.
Captions 30-31, Die Raumsonde: Rosetta Kometenlandung
Play Caption
Die Lage can also mean "the situation," or "how things stand."
Die Lage wird langsam hoffnungslos.
The situation is slowly becoming hopeless.
Caption 39, Es war einmal... der Mensch: Der Neandertaler
Play Caption
Ich bin Alina und heute berichte ich über die Corona-Lage in Frankreich.
I'm Alina, and today I'm going to report on the coronavirus situation in France.
Caption 3, Langsam gesprochene Nachrichten: Corona im Nachbarland Frankreich
Play Caption
The common construction in der Lage sein means to be in a position where something is possible, or simply "to be able to"/"can."
Angenommen, unser Budget lässt es zu, sollten wir am Ende der Woche in der Lage sein, Ihnen die unterzeichneten Verträge zukommen zu lassen.
Assuming that our budget allows it, we should be in the position by the end of the week to send you the signed contracts.
Captions 56-58, Berufsleben: Probleme mit Mitarbeitern
Play Caption
Seelöwen sind nämlich in der Lage, im Wasser zu schlafen.
Because sea lions are able to sleep in the water.
Captions 70-71, Evolution: Die Küsten
Play Caption
The noun die Stelle also has the very common meaning of "the position," as in "the job."
Eine Frau, die ein zweijähriges Kind hat, bewirbt sich in Deutschland um eine Stelle.
A woman who has a two-year-old child applies for a job in Germany.
Caption 37, Bundesrepublik Deutschland: Einbürgerungstest
Play Caption
With die Stelle, there are two common phrases to know. While an dieser Stelle is quite easily translated as "at this point," an deiner/Ihrer/ihrer/seiner Stelle is used to reflect on someone else's position and subsequent actions. It is perhaps not so different from "If I were you..." in English.
Und das hätte ich an deiner Stelle auch gesagt.
And I would've said that too in your position.
Caption 33, AnnenMayKantereit: Es geht mir gut
Play Caption
And finally, when something occurs auf der Stelle, this means that it happens "immediately" or "then and there."
Auf der Stelle fielen die Besenstiele zu Boden und die Teppiche gehorchten.
Immediately, the broomsticks fell to the floor and the rugs obeyed.
Caption 76, Märchen: Sagenhaft Der Zauberlehrling
Play Caption
Further Learning
There are many examples of die Lage and die Stelle in use on Yabla German, just do a quick search!
In this week's edition, we'll examine these easily confused words: The verbs kündigen, ankündigen, erkunden, and sich erkundigen.
The verb kündigen refers to terminating an agreement or contract. When it comes to employment, it can describe action taken by either the employer or employee to end a professional relationship. Kündigen is also used when cancelling an account or contract (for example, a cell phone contract, a magazine subscription, or a fitness studio membership). Therefore, it can be translated as "to cancel," "to terminate," "to give notice," "to quit," "to resign," "to fire," or "to dismiss," depending on who is carrying out the action and for what purpose.
Ich träume davon, meinen Job im Büro zu kündigen.
I dream of giving notice on my job in the office.
Caption 44, Konjugation - Das Verb „brauchen“
Play Caption
Schöller hat uns beiden gekündigt.
Schöller has fired both of us.
Caption 45, Marga Engel schlägt zurück - Hochmut kommt vor dem Fall
Play Caption
Sie haben ihm hoffentlich nicht erzählt, dass Sie Ihre Lebensversicherung gekündigt haben.
I hope you didn't tell him you cancelled your life insurance.
Caption 53, Oskar - Gehen, wenn es am schönsten ist - Der Panther
Play Caption
The verb ankündigen has the essentially unrelated meaning of "to announce." You will notice below that it is a separable verb.
Eines Tages kündigte der Zauberer an, dass er ausgehen würde.
One day, the Sorcerer announced that he would be going out.
Caption 21, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Der Zauberlehrling
Play Caption
Ja, Ihr Anruf wurde bereits angekündigt.
Yes, your call has already been announced.
Caption 29, Marga Engel schlägt zurück - Auf der Suche nach Beweisen
Play Caption
The verb sich erkundigen means "to inquire," "to find out," or "to look into." Note that this is a reflexive verb, and there is no umlaut!
Ich würde gerne aus privaten Gründen meine Stunden reduzieren
I would like to reduce my hours, for personal reasons,
und wollte mich erkundigen, ob das möglich wäre.
and wanted to find out whether that would be possible.
Captions 10-11, Berufsleben - Probleme mit Mitarbeitern
Play Caption
Ich habe mich erkundigt. Sie darf nicht in unseren Taschen kramen.
I looked into it. She's not allowed to dig around in our bags.
Caption 14, Die Pfefferkörner - Gerüchteküche
Play Caption
The verb erkunden can be translated as "to discover" or "to explore."
Man kann also einfach reinspringen und die Höhlen beim Tauchen erkunden.
You can, therefore, simply jump in and explore the caves while diving.
Caption 46, Der Blautopf - Ein sagenumwobener See
Play Caption
Dann lass uns gemeinsam die Yabla-Spiele erkunden.
Then let's discover the Yabla games together.
Caption 36, German Intro - Cettina
Play Caption
Further Learning
Write out sentences using these verbs in both the present and past tense. If you need guidance, search for them on Yabla German.
The German word während means "during" or "while." If you have learned this word, you likely also learned that it is a preposition used with the genitive case. In fact, this is not always the case. But there are two common structures for the implementation of this word, so let's look at some examples.
The genitive case is required when während is used with a noun that expresses a period of time.
Und wie ist das passiert? Während des Trainings?
And how did it happen? During the training?
Caption 33, Jenny und Alena - Handball
Play Caption
Während der vierzigtägigen Fastenzeit
During the forty day fasting period,
durften sie nur eingeschränkt essen.
hey were only allowed to eat limited amounts.
Caption 18, Deutsches Bier - 500 Jahre Reinheitsgebot
Play Caption
However, there are instances where it is correct to use the dative (See the link provided in "Further Learning"). Moreover, it is not uncommon to also hear the dative case used with während in colloquial spoken German. The dative case may be used with nominalized verbs, for example:
Und jetzt geb ich während dem [Umgangssprache] Rühren nach und nach die Eier mit dazu.
And now I'll gradually add the eggs while stirring.
Caption 14, Sallys Tortenwelt und Kochwelt - Apfelkuchen mit Marzipan und Mandelsplittern
Play Caption
Während is also implemented as a subordinating conjunction that connects a subordinate clause to a main clause. In this case, remember that the conjugated verb will be at the end of the subordinate clause.
„Während ich weg bin, musst du das Haus fegen,
"While I am away, you must sweep the house,
Feuerholz hacken und den Kessel mit Wasser füllen!“
cut firewood and fill the kettle with water!"
Captions 22-23, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Der Zauberlehrling
Play Caption
So, während ich die Tafel putze,
So while I clean the blackboard,
überlegt euch mal Verben mit Präpositionen.
think about verbs with prepositions.
Caption 5, Deutschkurs in Blaubeuren - Relativsätze mit Präpositionen
Play Caption
Danach sterben sie,
Afterwards they die,
während überall sonst endgültig der Bergfrühling einzieht.
while everywhere else the mountain spring finally moves in for good.
Caption 14, Alpenseen - Kühle Schönheiten
Play Caption
Further Learning
To learn about instances in which the dative is used rather than the genitive, refer to the "Usage Notes" at the bottom of this page. You can review the declensions for the genitive and dative cases here. Then write your own sentences with the word während, or search for more examples on Yabla German.
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
Play Caption
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
Play Caption
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
Play Caption
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.
If a German noun ends in an "e," it's usually feminine, but there are also masculine nouns that end with "e" that require special "n" or "-en" endings in all singular non-nominative cases. To complicate things further, there are also masculine nouns not ending in "e" that require the special endings too!
Basically, the n-declination only occurs with masculine nouns, never with feminine or neuter nouns, and only a small percentage of masculine nouns are weak. Besides the rule of masculine nouns ending with -e, there is no hard and fast rule to classify them — they just have to be learned! It's helpful to know that many are professions, animals, and nationalities. Here are a few examples of weak masculine nouns to remember that you will commonly encounter in everyday usage.
Der Junge is a weak masculine noun, which you know because of the masculine der and the -e ending. Note that the -e ending changes to -en:
Der Zauberer sah zu dem zitternden Jungen hinab.
The Sorcerer looked down at the trembling Boy.
Caption 80, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Der Zauberlehrling
Play Caption
However, der Nachbar is also a weak masculine noun, despite the -r ending. Note that the -r ending changes to -rn:
Du könntest einfach zum Nachbarn gehen.
You could simply go to the neighbor.
Caption 25, Fine - sucht einen Hammer
Play Caption
Der Student is a very common weak masculine noun that takes the -en ending in non-nominative singular
Ich hab' 'nen spanischen Studenten eingestellt.
I've hired a Spanish student.
Caption 22, Barbara Schöneberger - Bambi-Verleihung backstage
Play Caption
Der Herr is a weak masculine noun when it's translated as "lord"
Sofort rannte er zu seinem Herrn.
Immediately, he ran to his lord.
Caption 47, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Der gestiefelte Kater
Play Caption
and in its more common form as the honorific "Mr." or "Mister"
Das war eine Idee von Herrn Singer.
That was an idea of Mister Singer's.
Caption 35, Modedesignerin Nina Hollein - Floria Prinzessin von Hessen
Play Caption
Further Learning
Here are some examples of weak masculine nouns requiring the -n or -en endings in non-nominative singular (all of them have the masculine article der): Architekt, Astronaut, Bär, Bauer, Diplomat, Elefant, Emigrant, Held, Idiot, Kamerad, Kandidat, Kapitalist, Kommunist, Kunde, Löwe, Mensch, Neffe, Pilot, Präsident, Rabe, Russe, Schimpanse, Schwede, and Soziologe. See if you can find some examples of them in context with -n or -en endings on Yabla German. For more reading about this topic, check out the article Tricky Masculine Nouns in German.
Spanish
French
Italian
Chinese
English
English 
Español
Français
Italiano
Português
Deutsch
