German nouns ending in -schaft are generally words for qualities, conditions, or collective groups. These nouns are always feminine and can be derived from nouns, adjectives, or verbs.

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One English suffix that is similar is "-ship," like in the words "friendship," "championship," and "membership."

Hat es eure Freundschaft verändert?

Has it changed your friendship?

Caption 10, Die Wohngemeinschaft: Probleme

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Also, wir waren letztes Wochenende auch auf der deutschen Meisterschaft.

Well, we were at the German championships last weekend.

Caption 40, Geoökologie: Cettina interviewt Sarah

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... hat Großbritannien formal den Europäischen Rat darüber zu unterrichten, dass es seine Mitgliedschaft beenden möchte.

...Great Britain must formally inform the European Council that it would like to end its membership.

Captions 2-3, Brexit-Votum: Merkel warnt vor Spaltung Europas

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However, German words for nouns as diverse as "the message" and "the landscape" also end with -schaft (see "Further Learning" below!), so mainly it's a matter of learning them individually rather than expecting a pattern. At the same time, there are a few clusters of words for related concepts:

Die internationale Gemeinschaft bemüht sich um Friedensverhandlungen.

The international community is trying to negotiate peace.

Caption 67, Langsam gesprochene Nachrichten: Künstliche Intelligenz und Nahostkonflikt

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Da das Wasser in meiner Nachbarschaft ziemlich hart ist, gebe ich noch etwas Weichspüler in die Waschmaschine.

Since the water in my neighborhood is quite hard, I additionally put some fabric softener in the washing machine.

Captions 14-15, Wäsche waschen: mit Eva

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Sie ist wichtig für ein gutes Miteinander in der Gesellschaft.

It is important for good coexistence in society.

Caption 32, Bundesregierung: Wie geht Raumordnung?

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And to conclude, here are two examples of nouns ending in -schaft that are derived from adjectives: 

Wir erwarten von Ihnen außerdem Bereitschaft zu umfänglicher Reisetätigkeit.

We additionally expect you to be open to extensive travel activity.

Caption 13, Bundestagswahl – Stellenanzeige: Bundeskanzler gesucht

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Und eine Schwangerschaft ist übrigens kein Grund, nicht mitzuhelfen.

And pregnancy is no reason not to help.

Caption 18, Nicos Weg: Partnerschaft

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Further Learning
There are many more nouns ending with -schaft that you can look for on Yabla German, including die Botschaft, die Eigenschaft, die Landschaft, die Mannschaft, die Wirtschaft, and die Wissenschaft. 

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for our next lesson, and send your topic suggestions to [email protected].

In addition to adverbs of indefinite frequency, such as oft or häufig, and adverbs of definite frequency, such as täglich or morgens, there are also expressions for talking about how often something occurs. In English, we often say that something happens "once a month" or "every other week." How do we express this in German? 

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You likely know the phrase jeden Tag, or "every day." But do you know how to say "every other day"?

Dazu gehört auch, dass den Jungvögeln jeden zweiten Tag ein Tisch mit Knochen gedeckt wird.

This also means that every other day, a table is set with bones for the young birds.

Caption 29, Die letzten Paradiese - Die Schönheit der Alpen 1

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You can say jede zweite Woche for "every other week," but generally something happening at particular intervals will be expressed with alle and not jede zweite. Take a look:

Die Bergbahn fährt alle zwanzig Minuten hoch zum Königstuhl

The mountain railway goes up to the Königstuhl every twenty minutes

und alle zehn Minuten zurück runter in die Innenstadt.

and back down to the city center every ten minutes.

Captions 12-13, Jenny zeigt uns - Das Heidelberger Schloss

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Bei warmen Temperaturen gebären sie

In warm temperatures, they give birth to

alle acht bis zehn Tage dreißig bis vierzig Jungtiere.

thirty to forty young every eight to ten days.

Caption 14, Abenteuer Nordsee - Unter Riesenhaien und Tintenfischen

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Wir finden hier alle vier Wochen eine Schildkröte.

We find a turtle here every four weeks.

Caption 42, Ausgrabungen - Auf den Spuren der Dinosaurier

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Das Projekt „Lunch Beat“ besteht in Hamburg seit dem vergangenen Sommer

The project "Lunch Beat" has existed in Hamburg since last summer

und findet in unregelmäßigen Abständen alle zwei bis drei Monate statt.

and takes place at irregular intervals every two to three months.

Captions 9-10, Lunch Beat - Tanzen in der Mittagspause

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To more specifically state that something happens "once" in a particular time interval, we can use the word einmal in + dative.

Das tue ich für gewöhnlich einmal in der Woche.

I typically do it once a week.

Caption 2, Wäsche waschen - mit Eva

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Einmal in der Woche trainiert Astrid Bittner-Utsch Frauen und Männer,

Once a week, Astrid Bittner-Utsch trains women and men

die ihrem Traumberuf ein Stück näher kommen wollen.

who want to get a little bit closer to their dream profession.

Captions 9-10, Auf dem Laufsteg - Modelcollege in Wiesbaden

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Leon, wieso? -Einmal im Jahr gibt es diese Mathe-Olympiade.

Leon, why? -Once a year, the Math Olympics take place.

Caption 20, Die Pfefferkörner - Gerüchteküche

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Further Learning
Based on what you see above, how do you express "once a month"? What about "every five days" or "every five years"? Can you find another way to say "every other day"? For more practice, you can go to Yabla German to look for more examples, or translate some basic sentences about your current routine into German. 

Many of us are spending much more time at home than usual right now, and are therefore acutely aware of how much work it takes to keep a household running. For those of you who might be looking for a way to procrastinate, let's look at how to talk about household chores in German. 

Die Hausarbeit is the German word for "chore." You may know this word already, as it refers to a written work that students complete in order to get credits for a class (similar to a "term paper"). In this case, however, it is related to der Haushalt ("the household"), and is literally translated as "housework."

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Ich sauge nicht so oft, ich hasse Hausarbeit.

I don't vacuum very often, I hate housework.

Caption 14, Nicos Weg - A1 Folge 47: Haushaltsarbeit

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Two important verbs to know are putzen, which means "to clean," and aufräumen, which means "to tidy up" or "to pick up." The command "Clean up your room!" is expressed with aufräumen, not putzen.

Ich finde schon, dass du häufiger putzen könntest

I do think you could clean more often

oder zumindest deine eigenen Sachen aufräumen könntest.

or at least pick up your own things.

Captions 24-25, Die Wohngemeinschaft - Probleme

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There is always so much to do! Here's a long list of chores, courtesy of Yabla's own Eva:

Ich muss die Küche aufräumen, den Abwasch machen,

I have to tidy up the kitchen, do the dishes,

das Bad putzen, Staub saugen und Staub wischen.

clean the bathroom, vacuum and dust.

Captions 5-6, Hausputz - mit Eva

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Hallo, heute will ich meine Wäsche waschen. 

Hello, today I want to do my laundry. 

Caption 1, Wäsche waschen - mit Eva

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A big topic in any German household is die Mülltrennung, which literally translates as "the separation of garbage" and refers to recycling. 

In Heidelberg wird der Müll in verschiedene Gruppen getrennt.

In Heidelberg, the garbage is separated into different groups.

Caption 14, Mülltrennung - in Heidelberg

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Wischen, fegen, Müll wegbringen. Drei Monate lang.

Mop, sweep, take out the garbage. For three months.

Caption 5, Großstadtrevier - Schatten der Vergangenheit

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Not all household tasks feel like chores, however. After all, for those who appreciate it, cooking can also be a real joy!

Kochen Sie eigentlich auch zu Hause selbst?

Do you actually cook at home yourself?

Caption 22, Ball des Weines - Franz Beckenbauer

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Further Learning
Watch the videos Hausputz - mit Eva or Nicos Weg - A1 Folge 47: Haushaltsarbeit in their entirety on Yabla German to learn even more useful phrases. To get the latest news from Germany and also work on your listening comprehension, you can listen to the first minute and a half of today's report from Deutsche Welle's Langsam gesprochene Nachrichten.