To conclude our series of lessons on jobs and professional fields, today we'll look at three additional job categories: education, business/sales, and crafts/trades.
While der Erzieher / die Erzieherin refers to educators working with any age level, it is der Lehrer / die Lehrerin that you will find in compound nouns like die Klavierlehrerin, der Yogalehrer, etc. The English word "trainer" is borrowed in German, and means both coach and trainer.
Hört auf das, was eure Lehrerinnen und Lehrer zum Coronavirus sagen.
Listen to what your teachers say about the coronavirus.
Caption 26, Bundesamt für Gesundheit: Coronavirus und Schulen
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Es gibt begleitende Aktionen rund um das Theaterstück sowie Unterrichtsmaterial und Workshops für Lehrer und Erzieher.
There are accompanying activities having to do with the play, as well as educational materials and workshops for teachers and educators.
Captions 28-29, Theaterstück über gesunde Ernährung: Henrietta in Fructonia
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Mit spezieller Ausrüstung, einer Begleitperson und einem ausgebildeten Trainer können sich die Rollifahrer à la Tarzan von Baum zu Baum schwingen.
With special equipment, a companion, and a skilled trainer, the wheelchair users can swing from tree to tree à la Tarzan.
Captions 4-5, Tarzan im Rollstuhl: Waldseilpark für Menschen mit Handicap
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In business and sales, there are many different jobs and titles, from employee (der Mitarbeiter / die Mitarbeiterin) to CEO (der Geschäftsführer / die Geschäftsführerin), consultant (der Unternehmensberater / die Unternehmensberaterin) to accountant (der Buchhalter / die Buchhalterin).
Und das ist der Makler.
And this is the real estate agent.
Caption 33, Mein Weg nach Deutschland: Auf Wohnungssuche
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Der Kaufmann hatte kein Glück in der Stadt
The Merchant had no luck in town
Caption 17, Märchen - Sagenhaft: Die Schöne und das Biest
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Ich sehe, Sie haben in Izmir als Verkäuferin gearbeitet.
I see you worked in Izmir as a saleswoman.
Caption 39, Mein Weg nach Deutschland Auf Arbeitssuche
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Ein Mann im Rollstuhl hat sich auf eine Stelle als Buchhalter beworben.
A man in a wheelchair has applied for a job as an accountant.
Caption 43, Bundesrepublik Deutschland: Einbürgerungstest
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An important remaining category is people who work in various crafts and trades.
Der dritte Bruder war ein geschickter Tischler.
The third brother was a skilled carpenter.
Caption 17, Märchen - Sagenhaft: Die drei Brüder
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Lackierer, Maurer, Klempner, Berufskraftfahrer.
Painters, bricklayers, plumbers, professional drivers.
Caption 19, Nicos Weg: Jobs und Gender
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Further Learning
In the video quoted above, Lisa and Sebastian talk about what jobs are more often done by men or women. Do you agree? Watch it on Yabla German.
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
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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
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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?
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Lerne warten, ohne zu klagen.
Learn to wait without complaining.
Caption 26, Piggeldy und Frederick: Der Esel
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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
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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
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Und daran gibt es nichts zu meckern.
And there's nothing to complain about there.
Caption 25, Die letzten Paradiese: Die Schönheit der Alpen
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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
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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.
Although many people like to spend their free time with music, TV, films, and video games, there's nothing like settling down with a good book. This week, let's talk about all there is to read!
In German, a work of non-fiction is called das Sachbuch, whereas fiction is die Belletristik. The noun "literature" is very similar in German: die Literatur. When it comes to novels, there are the names for the different genres to learn, such as der Liebesroman (the romance novel) or der historische Roman (historical fiction).
OK, interessierst du dich für Literatur?
OK, are you interested in literature?
Caption 9, Nicos Weg: Das macht mir Spaß!
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Und das wurde eben in diesem Science-Fiction-Roman beschrieben.
And just that was described in that science fiction novel.
Caption 73, Das 1. Newtonsche Gesetz: erklärt am Beispiel des Dodomobils
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Liest du gerne oder hast du viele Bücher, zum Beispiel Romane oder Krimis?
Do you like to read or do you have a lot of books, for example novels or crime stories?
Captions 11-12, Nicos Weg: Das macht mir Spaß!
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In German, a short story is die Kurzgeschichte.
Dieses wunderbare Buch mit Geschichten über die Berge und...
This wonderful book with stories about the mountains and...
Caption 41, Heidi: Der Schultest
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In addition to fiction and non-fiction books, some people enjoy reading biographies or magazine articles:
Hinter all der großen musikalischen Revolution menschelt es in seiner Biografie - zum Glück!
Behind all the great musical revolution, there is humanity in his biography—fortunately!
Captions 30-31, Ludwig van Beethoven: 250. Geburtstag
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In einem von der Zeitschrift Bravo veranstalteten Konzert spielen sie in der Stadt, die sie entdeckte.
In a concert organized by the magazine "Bravo," they play in the city that discovered them.
Captions 21-22, Die Beatles: In Deutschland
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Hallo, Leon! Ich habe hier noch was für dich: einen Artikel über den Nemmers-Preis.
Hello, Leon! I have one more thing here for you: an article about the Nemmers Prize.
Caption 8, Die Pfefferkörner: Gerüchteküche
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The last category that should be mentioned is poetry, of course!
Der eine Bruder saß unter einem Baum und verfasste Gedichte.
The one brother sat under a tree and wrote poems.
Caption 12, Märchen: Sagenhaft Die drei Brüder
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Further Learning
Think about the last thing you read—how would you describe it? On Yabla German, you can watch the entirety of Nicos Weg: Das macht mir Spaß! to hear the vocabulary in context.
Adverbs give us information about time, manner, place, frequency, quantity, certainty, and degree. In English, we recognize many adverbs of manner, which tell us the way in which something happens, by the ending -ly. In German, it is often the case that adverbs are identical to their related adjectives, an example of which would be in the sentences Sie sind schnell and Sie essen schnell ("They are fast" / "They eat quickly").
There is one structure that is similar to the -ly you may know from English, which is the ending -erweise. You may remember that the noun die Weise means "the way" or "the manner." Because only certain adverbs have this ending, it is good to take note of them. For example, from the adjectives glücklich, üblich, möglich, nett, and überraschend, we get the following adverbs:
Glücklicherweise kam ein freundlicher Bauer vorbei.
Fortunately, a friendly farmer came by.
Caption 83, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Das hässliche Entlein
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Fremde Menschen werden üblicherweise gesiezt.
Strangers are commonly addressed formally with "Sie."
Caption 29, Cettina erklärt - Sitten und Bräuche
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In manchen Sprachen sind die Sprichwörter gleich oder ähnlich
In some languages, the sayings are the same or similar
und deshalb kommen euch möglicherweise die folgenden Beispiele schon etwas bekannt vor.
and therefore, the following examples may possibly already be somewhat known to you.
Captions 11-12, Eva erklärt - Sprichwörter
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...zusammen mit Herrn Krogmann, bei dem ich
...together with Mr. Krogmann, with whom I
netterweise im Moment wohne...
am kindly staying at the moment...
Captions 36-37, Die Pfefferkörner - Endspurt
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Überraschenderweise ärgerten sie sich aber nicht darüber.
But surprisingly, they were not angry about it.
Caption 86, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Die drei Brüder
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Further Learning
You can additionally look up dummerweise, erfreulicherweise, freundlicherweise, klugerweise, richtigerweise, normalerweise, vernünftigerweise and erstaunlicherweise, or look at this massive list of adverbs that have this structure, although not all of them may be commonly used. It's a better strategy to take note whenever you see one of these adverbs on either Yabla German or elsewhere, and start trying out sentences of your own. Remember that many adverbs will simply be identical to the adjective you already know!
In German, the verb verstehen is used in a wide variety of contexts, from hearing what someone says to understanding a fact or the nature of a particular situation or circumstances.
Habt ihr es verstanden? -Ja.
Have you understood it? -Yes.
Caption 26, Deutschkurs in Blaubeuren - Relativsätze mit Präpositionen
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Wenn du ein Wort im Untertitel nicht verstehst,
If you don't understand a word in the subtitle,
dann kannst du es anklicken.
then you can click on it.
Captions 27-28, German Intro - Jenny
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Trotzdem kann ich verstehen,
Nevertheless, I can understand
dass es nicht fair für sie ist, alles bezahlen zu müssen.
that it is not fair for her to have to pay for everything.
Caption 40, Die Wohngemeinschaft - Probleme
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Das kann ich gut verstehen, ich habe selbst zwei Kinder.
I can understand that well, I have two children myself.
Caption 25, Berufsleben - Probleme mit Mitarbeitern
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When you are expressing a deeper level of comprehension, for example being able to follow why something happened the way it did, reconstruct a line of thought, relate to something, or grasp connections, there are additional verbs you can use.
Zwar ist das Wort „Nachhaltigkeit“ in aller Munde,
Indeed, the word "sustainability" is in all mouths (on everyone's lips),
Kinder können das aber kaum nachvollziehen.
but children are hardly able to understand it.
Captions 4-5, Schüler lernen Nachhaltigkeit - Bildungsinitiative gestartet
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Und das müssen wir wirklich alle begreifen.
And that's what we all really need to understand:
Im Moment ist nur Abstand Ausdruck von Fürsorge.
At the moment, distance is the only way to express care.
Captions 41-42, Coronavirus - Fernsehansprache von Angela Merkel
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Da begriffen die drei Brüder, dass alles nur ein Trick gewesen war.
Then the three brothers realized that it had all just been a trick.
Caption 85, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Die drei Brüder
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One verb that you may encounter is kapieren. In English, we use "to get" to mean "to understand" and this is a similar slang expression.
Und es wäre schön, wenn du es endlich mal kapieren würdest.
And it would be nice if you would finally understand that.
Caption 48, Oskar - Gehen, wenn es am schönsten ist - Der Panther
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Mann, du kapierst es einfach nicht. Ich war das nicht!
Man, you just don't get it. It wasn't me!
Caption 31, Die Pfefferkörner - Alles auf Anfang
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Further Learning
You can find many examples on Yabla German, but also consider the first four above. Which of these could be replaced with a verb other than verstehen?
There is no single standard form for making German nouns plural, but most nouns follow one of ten general patterns. You will instinctively recognize many of them, but others just have to be learned. One thing, at least, is easier: the definite article for German plurals is always die, regardless of the noun's gender.
(1) Add -e:
„Ich fahre nach Stuttgart, weil ich meine Freunde treffen will".
"I drive to Stuttgart because I want to meet my friends".
Caption 61, Deutschkurs in Tübingen - Warum, weil - Erklärungen
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Der Freund, plural die Freunde.
(2) Add -n or -en:
Und all diese Fragen…
And all these questions…
Wir sind ja schon immer als Studenten nach Frankfurt gepilgert.
We have indeed always, as students, gone to Frankfurt.
Caption 14, Museum - für Moderne Kunst
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Die Frage, plural die Fragen; der Student, plural die Studenten.
(3) Add -e and umlaut:
Wer würde ihren Haferbrei essen und ihre Stühle zerbrechen?
Who would eat their oat porridge and break their chairs?
Caption 55, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Goldlöckchen und die drei Bären
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Der Stuhl, plural die Stühle.
(4) Add -er, or umlaut and -er:
Allein unter seiner Herrschaft waren es weit über hundert...
Alone under his rule, it was far above a hundred...
Männer, Frauen, Kinder...
men, women, children...
Caption 22, Geschichte - Hexenverbrennung im Odenwald
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Das Kind, plural die Kinder; der Mann, plural die Männer.
(5) Change the main vowel to its umlaut equivalent, but make no change to the noun's ending:
Die drei Brüder waren entsetzt.
The three brothers were horrified.
Caption 32, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Die drei Brüder
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Der Bruder, plural die Brüder. This rule applies especially to family members such as der Vater, plural die Väter; die Mutter, plural die Mütter; die Tochter, plural die Töchter.
(6) Add -s:
Das sind wirklich die schlimmsten Autos, die jemals hergestellt wurden.
These are really the worst cars that were ever made.
Caption 36, Der Trabi - Das Kultauto aus dem Osten
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Das Auto, plural die Autos.
(7) Nouns ending in -in, which denote that the person in question is a woman, are always pluralized with -nen:
Emmi und Johanna sind Freundinnen.
Emmi and Johanna are friends.
Caption 3, Fußball und die Frauenwelt - Der Manndecker
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Die Freundin, plural die Freundinnen.
(8) Add -ien:
Man muss die Materialien kennen.
One must know the materials.
Caption 29, Trendberuf Restauratorin - Eine Lebensaufgabe
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Das Material, plural die Materialien.
(9) Nouns ending in -nis are pluralized by adding -se:
Die Ergebnisse des Tages sollen natürlich auch Früchte tragen.
The results of the day should, of course, also bear fruit.
Caption 26, Rheinmain im Blick - Nachhaltigkeit
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Das Ergebnis, plural die Erebnisse.
(10) No change at all: plurals are only distinguished by context or in the case of non-feminine nouns, the use of the definite article die:
Die Zimmer sind besondere Hinkucker [Hingucker, Umgangssprache].
The rooms are special eye-catchers [attractions].
Caption 5, Das Ostel - Über Nacht zurück in der DDR
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Das Zimmer, plural die Zimmer.
Last of all, there are the irregular plurals, which consist of nouns that each have their own unique rules for pluralization. These, of course, must be learned individually. A few examples are der Saal (plural die Säle), das Datum (plural die Daten), das Klima (plural die Klimate), der Bus (plural die Busse).
Further Learning
Read this article about German irregular plurals and look here for an in depth overview of German plurals. Find examples of plurals used in a real world scenario on Yabla German.
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