Listado de la etiqueta: berlino schule

50 steps to become the perfect Berliner

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Today we would like to talk about a very special book, How to be German (in 50 easy steps). It is an unpretentious manual whose intention is to transform the reader in a perfect teutonic mutant, with all the merits, tribulations and idiosyncrasies that derive from it. Supported by ironic illustrations for each step it is written in German and English.

The approach is utterly ironic and amusing, and the 50 steps to follow span from the Apfelsaftschorle to German bureaucracy, to the much-hated GEMA to living bio, the fines on public transport, all the way to the beloved Kartoffelsalat. It also talks about the sacredness of Tatort on Sunday evenings and the importance of greeting cards for any special occasion. A spiritual compilation that has cheered my first U-Bahn trips and most often ripped me off in laughter in the religious silence that reigns on wagons, stirring up the discreet curiosity of my taciturn traveling companions who, after having looked at the title in cover, understood the reason of so much hilarity and would often exchange a smile.

The author, Adam Fletcher, is a Cambridge blogger and marketing expert who has been in Berlin for some years now; on his official page he describes himself as «a writer, an amateur chocolate eater and a professional napper,» as well as author of three enjoyable volumes such as “A Picnic for Perverts” (2012), “The Hipster Guide” (2013) and “Denglish for Better Knowers” (2014). After the tragicomic closing of Neukölln’s Hipstery store, Adam continues to write his satirical pieces and sell his line of gadgets through e-commerce, narrowing the target and type of products that he and his partner smuggle under a single, exhaustive label: «things that make us laugh.» The kit of the perfect Berliner hipster is one of the most genius and hilarious finds I have ever found. Take a look at yourself, if you do not believe it.

15. «MAHLZEIT!»

German has the reputation of being a pragmatic and literal language. Both nouns – like the nipple, for example, that was renamed with the romantic Brustwarze («wart on the chest»), and the too explicit Antibabypille – and some of its expressions, which sometimes seem to describe not a mood or a state of mind, but the mysterious mechanics of an invisible car: «Es mennuft» («works»), «Es geht» («goes»), «Es passt» («its fits good, it adapts») , «Alles in Ordnung» («all in place»).

This can serve as an appetizer, intrepid Ausländers, but to become real Germans you must learn to use the most pragmatic and disconcerting greeting of all – «Mahlzeit!», Translated with «have a good meal!» or more literally with «meal time». I had just arrived in Germany and while I was sitting in the canteen for lunch, my colleagues walked by the door and said to me, «Mahlzeit! ». Mahlzeit? Mahlzeit? Lunch time? Well, no doubt! That I’m eating is obvious. Right now I am clearly and loudly swirling a potato salad. I’m chewing, don’t you see? I know it’s a bit early for lunch, but I admit I missed breakfast. Do not judge me, have pity, please!

Only then do you understand that it is not a question. It’s a redundant, clumsy disguised statement, like a kid playing and stealing clothes from its parents, a form of greeting. So, for the sake of integration, over time you will start using it too. At first, it will sound a little bit weird, but I assure you that after a while you will find it rather fun, especially since in many regions of Germany you can use it at any time of the day. You can call someone at 4 am when you know for sure that they are still sleeping and wish them «Mahlzeit!» Brilliant. Perhaps you are wondering why you can’t add the -zeit suffix to other activities to create new and original greetings. But German literacy begins and ends just when you start to grasp its meaning. Glove is Handschuh («hand shoe»), but do not dream of calling the Kopfschuh hat («head shoe»). Do you see someone drinking? You can not wish him «Trinkzeit!». You neighbours are having sex and don’t even bother covering up the moans? It is not admissible to ring the bell and wish them a warm ‘Fickzeit!’

Only «Mahlzeit», understood?

(Adam Fletcher and Ingo Herze, How to be a German/ Wie man Deutscher wird, Verlag C.H.Beck oHG, München 2013, pp.23-24)

Want to learn German in a vibrant environment? Look no further and check out the German courses that Berlino Schule organizes by clicking here!

 

Bud Spencer, Di Caprio, Michael Fassbender: 15 celebrities that unexpectedly speak German 

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It’s true, actresses, actors and singers have a talent when it comes to the recognition and reproduction of sound.

German however remains a language that few people, at least in the past generations, decided to learn unless it was for work reasons. What follows is a list (partly inspired from the one made by Smosh) of American, but not only, celebrities that can modestly speak German, as the videos demonstrate.

Bud Spencer

The actor from Naples was a real star in Germany, as so was his colleague Terrence Hill. His autobiography reached the vectors of sale a few years ago. All his movies were distributed in cinemas and in the ’70s it was common to find him on German TV to promote his movies. He studied German in school in Italy and never failed to demonstrate it, as this video shows.

 

Sandra Bullock

The Oscar winning actress with The Blind Side, and for a few years the most paid actress in the world, is the daughter of a German singing teacher, herself the daughter of a missile scientist that lived in Nuremberg. It was in Baveria that her father, the American John Bullock, at the time serving the American army, met her mother and began a love story lived through the States and Germany. Although she was born in Arlington, Sandra Bullock lived in Nuremberg until the age of 12.

Chris Pratt

The Guardians of the Galaxy start learned (well) German in school. The father, American, has German origins, but not only: as he himself admits in the past he nurtured a true passion for Goethe’s language.

Leonardo Di Caprio

On the one hand, as his surname discloses, he has Italian origins. On the other hand, from his mother’s side, German grandparents. It was his grandmother, from a small town close to Düsseldorf, that taught the Oscar winning actor that he uses at times to make his German audience smile.

Mark Strong

One of the greatest «supporting actors» of this century, the excellent Mark Strong has an Austrian mother, but not only. He studied law in Munich’s university for one year prior to dedicating himself completely to acting, his passion since youth.

Kirsten Dunst

The American actress holds to this day her German citizenship. The father was in fact a doctor from Hamburg that moved to the States and her mother (that has Swedish origins) worked for Lufthansa. German is thus a family affair for the Dunst family

Paul McCartney

McCartney learned German in school as a child. It became useful when the band, unknown at the time, made Hamburg its continental base, performing there any time they had the chance. The first time was in 1960 when, as reported here «Allan Williams, owner of a music cafè in Liverpool had to organize a tour in Germany for «Derry and the Seniors», a Liverpool-based rock band. But things went wrong and Williams was forced to find a substitute band in a short amount of time. He asked The Beatles, whom no one at the time heard of, that immediately accepted». Bild also talks about it here

Terrence Hill

Unlike Bud Spencer, Terrence Hill (aka Mario Girotti) speaks German both because he studied it and because his mother came from Dresden. It was there that, along with a chemist father working for the Schering, he moved when he was 4 in 1943, in the midst of the second world war. He lived there until 1945 with his grandparents in the close Lommatzsch, prior to returning to Venice, his father’s city.

Gene Simmons (Kiss)

The singer of the band Kiss was born in Israel (his real name is Chaim Witz). His mother, a Hungarian jew, lived through the time of concentration camps. He spoke German and taught it, and his son today speaks Hebrew, Hungarian, German and English

Vladimir Putin

From the man of KGB to Dresda, eastern Germany, both before and after the fall of the Wall, Putin could have not not known German….

Michael Fassbender

He was born in Germany, in Heidelberg to be precise, even though he always kept his Irish citizenship. In Bastards without Glory that language learned due to the origins of the father (a known German chef) allowed him to convince Tarantino to give him the role that served him as a trampoline for his career.

Kim Cattrall

The Sex and the City star, although having a well-established career in English speaking countries, in the 80s as she was married to Andre J.Lyson (they then divorced in 1989) lived in Frankfurt.

Karl Urban

The Lord of the Rings star (do you remember Éomer?) and of Star Trek, was born and raised in New Zeland, but his father is German and always spoke to him in his language.

Sarah Chalke

Anyone who watched Scrubs knows this very well: Sarah Chalke speaks very good German. It is the series that mostly insisted on her quality, building up different funny scenarios. Her grandparents from her mother’s side live in Peez, close to Rostock.

Donna Summer

The american singer that passed away in 2012 lived for long in Germany throughout the 70s as she became the protagonist of the theatre version of Hair. There she met Austrian Helmut Sommer with whom she had a child with. This is where here surname comes from (she was born Donna Gaines).

 

© PROGage Skidmore CC BY SA 2.0

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Do you wish to make it one day on this list? Then take a look at the German courses that Berlino Schule organizes in Belrin here!

«The dative is the death of the genitive», the book where Germans make fun of their own language

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Is it possible to combine studying and careful attention to the proper use of the language whilst having fun?

But above all: is it possible to do so with the German language, generally considered one of the most difficult to learn due to its lexicon and rigid grammar that recalls the  Latin one? The innovative German grammar booklet «Der Dativ ist dem Genitiv Sein Tod» (translated «The Dative is the death of the Genitive»), made up of 6 volumes published by Kiepenheuer & Witsch between 2004 to 2014, seems to have been able to do that perfectly, given that for the first time ever a language manual has managed to become an international bestseller with over 3 million copies sold.

Sebastian Sick, The dative is the death of the genitive

The author of this achievement is Bastian Sick, curator of the linguistic column Zwiebelfisch on Spiegel Online: the German term Zwiebelfish indicates those letter of a text that by mistake are reported in a different character compared to the others; Sick chose the term Zwiebelfisch as a title for his column as a metaphor of the German phenomenon of using words and expressions that would formally be incorrect. Journalist, entertainer, but especially a humanist specialized in history and romance philosophy, Sick began his career as a translator and interpreter: his passion for German language and grammar has allowed him to achieve a fine awareness of the language that is hard to find amongst professionals of the academic world and schooling staff. The title of Sick’s work “The dative is the death of the genitive” alludes to the grammatically incorrect replacing of the genitive with the dative in a lot of current German expressions. The same expression “Der Dativ ist dem Genitiv sein Tod” is grammatically incorrect, yet spread widely following the publication of the work. The 6 volume collection is a compilation of the articles published in Sick’s coloumn Zwiebelfisch.

 

The method

The case studies selected by Sebastian Sick aren’t tailored expressions, literary texts or lists of rules to learn by heart, but sentences that derive directly from conversations amongst native speakers, road signs, advertisements or newspapers. Sick deals with great humor certain grammatical, spelling and pronunciation cases that are common in modern day spoken and written German. Everyday life becomes the occasion through which even those whose first language is German have a chance to reflect and talk about  it with friends and acquaintances without having to resort to dusty toms stored in the library. At the same time Sick’s approach is also good for those who are new to the German language, but wish to know the nuances they often miss during frontal lessons. Sick’s work is one that aims to convey not only the rules for a good use of the language, but also the pragmatic, whose traditional study is often difficult to understand even within an academic environment. At a time where we are all coming to the terms with having the best results in the shortest amount of time, mistakes are demonized to the point of making us forget the universal truth that lies within the saying “one learns through mistakes”. Highlighting mistakes and analyzing them with the right lightness and irony, without falling into strict academic rigorousness, silencing the shame and fear of making another mistake, allowing you to better accommodate the corrections and learn the language effectively.

The opinion of the readers

Precisely due to its innovative features, “Der Dativ ist dem Genitiv sein Tod” hasn’t been welcomed warmly by everyone. Some appreciated Sick’s style and humor to the point of having integrated his manuals within the bibliography to prepare for German exams, others have instead condemned him for his method of analysis. Others have even spoken against it becoming an school text, as deemed not to be fit for students. As for any language manual there will never be a universally positive judgment, however one must recognize certain unique aspects of Sick’s work. In the first place he has a real talent in getting the reader’s attention on the topic, considering that it is not of the most approachable. In the second place is his focus on the modern day use of the language, which is ever more important to foreigners arriving to Germany right now. There will always be the fans of the “purist” language, that spend their time correcting the common use of new grammatically incorrect expressions, however given that every spoken language has a life of its own maybe it is time one accepts Sick’s lightness and irony: debating about mistakes, neologisms, of the most uncommon expressions can contribute in helping speakers to become more aware and conscious of the language’s mobility and variations.

In the meantime, if you wish to test your knowledge of the language, you can try to answer the following quiz available on Sebastian Sick’s private page!

Are you new to the language or have studied a bit of it and wish to perfect it? Take a look at the German courses that Berlino Schule organizes in Berlin!

10 really long German words that are impossible to pronounce without making mistakes

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German is (in)famous for its long words.

Speaking properly in German gives a lot of satisfaction, but it is undoubtedly a hard language to learn for foreigners. This time we propose a list of ten of the hardest German words to pronounce without making mistakes. There aren’t many phonetic rules in German, but the fact that:

  1. the words can be very, very long (adjectives, nouns and conjugations at times are put together in the same word)
  2. there are several consonants at times following one another without even integrating vocals on which one can ‘rest’ upon

making the pronunciation of certain words almost impossible.

The following list of 10 words includes everyday expressions and also old-fashioned terms, which are however present in dictionaries. The meaning of some of these contributes to the understanding of the attention that Germans pose on the accuracy of the meaning of the words.

Anyways, the game is another: are you capable of pronouncing out loud all ten words without making mistakes?

10. Freundschaftsbeziehungen

Friendly relations

9. Kraftfahrzeughaftpflichtversicherung

Motor vehicle liability insurance

8. Bezirksschornsteinfegermeister

Regional chief of the chimney sweepers

7. Betäubungsmittelverschreibungsverordnung

Regulation for the prescription of an anesthetic

6. Rechtsschutzversicherungsgesellschaften

Insurance companies that offer legal protection

5. Streichholzschächtelchen

Small box of matches

4. Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftkapitän

Chief of the vapour expedition company on the Danube

3. Wachstumsbeschleunigungsgesetz

Growth acceleration action

2. Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz

Beef labeling monitoring delegation Act

1. Sonntagnachmittagsfernsehlutschbonbon

Lollipop for a sunday afternoon spent in front of the TV

 

Cover photo: geralt / 14498 immagini, © CC0.

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Wish to perfect you German in a vibrant environment? Or is German starting to intrigue you? Then take a look at the German courses that Berlino Schule organizes in the heart of Berlin!

8 German compound words that have a surprising meaning whether you speak German or not

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Compound words? They are a classic of the German language. These however have a very unpredictable meaning

When learning German, one of the most common obstacles encountered by students lies in the difficulty of memorizing a very large lexicon of which one often struggles to remember the meaning, especially due to the difficulty in recognizing the root of the word. One advantage of German is, however, the tendency to make extensive use of compound nouns and verbs. Learning the meaning of suffixes and prefixes is therefore very useful to construct the meaning of a compound verb of which we know the primary meaning. During this meticulous process of destruction and composition of the language (evidenced by the German correspondent Wortzusammensetzung), which is becoming more and more pleasing to those who wish to know German and master it better, it is also possible that German will make us smile, giving us words that have an unusual meaning longing to a remote past.

Here are just a few German words that have an unexpected meaning.

Klobrille

When you first arrive in Germany and hear speaking of “toilette glasses” it might be quite disorientating. After asking to repeat the question we discover that, yet, klobrille is actually a word, and it is simply the toilet seat!

Brustwarze

This word is composed by two terms, wart and breast, that blended together might create a not so pleasant image. In reality it does not refer to strange anatomical blemishes, but to a part of the body that Germans, perhaps for the analogy of the form, call warts: nipples! When you will find yourself talking about nipples in German, be sure that this part of the body will have lost all of its charm.

There is no need to change zone then to find out that the most intriguing female garment, the bra, in German has a name similar to that of a posture corrector tutor, Büstenhalter, «breast-sustainer».

Eselsbrücke

If you think that this term, which literally means «donkey bridge» is a German invention to further confuse non-native speakers, you are mistaken. Nowadays the term is used in German to indicate a method, a word or phrase that allows you to remember something better. The question is: what do donkeys have to do with this?

The answer is sought in the past and in the latin location of pons asinorum, used in philosophy to indicate figures that allow less experienced subjects to understand a more complex concept, and in mathematics it is used in reference to the difficulty of understanding the fifth Euclide theorem on the isosceles triangle. It has thus an ambivalent meaning, on the one hand, of a device that facilitates understanding for the less learned, on the other, it indicates a «dormant» donkey backbone difficult to overcome.

Durchfall

Even if this term might seem hard to grasp, the English correspondent diarrhoea presents a morfology deriving from the Greek δια+ρρέω (dia+rrheo) “to scroll through”. If you unpack the German word, the Greek influence becomes apparent.

Donnerstag

Thursday in German is the day of thunder. Translated in English, the German correspondent Donners-tag would be Thunder-day, an analogy that shows the link amid these two languages. After all also in Italian (Giovedì), French (Jeudi) and Spanish (Jueves), the reference to Jupiter becomes clear. The fourth day of the week is thus dedicated to more than one nation to the god of thunder!

Mutterkuchen

When they talk about “mom’s cake” Germans don’t refer to a dessert to have for breakfast but to something very different. Mutterkuchen means placenta, but also this compound word doesn’t come out of nothing. The term placenta derives from Greek πλακοῦς (plakous), an adjective that indicates something with “crushed form”. The adjective then passed through latin with the meaning of flatbread. Why call flatbread this vascular organ? Because the placenta has a crushed form and through it the fetus can be fed, just like a flatbread.

Fernseher

To understand why in German television is referred to with a term that literally means «distant observer», it is enough to trace the etymology of the word. The prefix comes from Greek and means «far away», so it indicates a vision from afar, just like that of images projected from the screen of a TV. In German, the correspondent of ‘tele’ is fern.

Flusspferd

Even for this last example, before we put our hands between the hair of despair and blaming Germans for being incomprehensible, we should think of the origin of the corresponding term in English. Flusspferd, literally «river horse», in English means hippopotamus. This term from a somewhat funny sound comes from Greek where hippos means horse and potamos river, so the German language copied the same structure of the word, using the terms of its own idiom.  

In conclusion, to have some explanation about some creative composite words, we should ask the direct people concerned, that is, our ancestors who created them!

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Is German stating to intrigue you? Then take a look at the German courses that Berlino Schule organizes!

8 curiosities about German which reveal its peculiar beauty

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Almost all those who approached the study of the German language questioned at a certain point whether it was the right choice.
Not because learning German is useless, quite the opposite, but because the effort that this language requires to be truly assimilated by those who study it is remarkable. The complications that arise when reaching an intermediate level might question the importance that German learning has for us. At this point only a great passion or the need for study and work reasons could help address the superhuman effort required to conduct a conversation or to comprehend a complex text in German. Still, it is undeniable that German has a certain concealed beauty, a romantic soul that makes it awesome and wonderful at the same time. We put together a list of curiosities about German that might seem incomprehensible at first, and that actually reveal its peculiar beauty.

1. The multiple meanings of bitte

Whereas in English, in particular in Britain but not only, there are countless ways to thank someone and to tell them that they are welcome (to mention a few, “Don’t mention it!”, “No worries!” or “My pleasure”), in German the choice is narrowed. By employing bitte we can in fact say all of the above! Moreover the expression ja bitte! means “tell me!”. And if we haven’t understood something we could ask for clarifications by asking wie bitte?

2. The declination of the articles

For those who have studied Latin or Greek, or speak Slavic languages like Russian, cases and declinations aren’t too much of a suffering. For those coming from languages like English and Italian, it is a different matter. In German the cases are nominative, accusative, dative and genitive. It is crucial to be able to recognize the ends of the articles in different cases because they allow you to reconstruct the sense of the sentence. It is worth taking a small effort initially so to better address subsequent language challenges.

3. The sound of German

At first German might sound a bit hostile due to the sounds that are so different from other European languages as French, Italian or English. However the sound of German varies a lot concurring to the tone in which the words are pronounced. In this video, for example, you can notice how the German can be surprisingly harmonious!

4. Also the most common verbs are difficult

Let’s take an example of a frequent verb such as “to put”. In English we wouldn’t notice the construction of the sentence, but German requires to be more precise: the verbal voice to «put something horizontal» is not the same as «putting something upright». In this case, German has two different verbs: they are called verbs of position and the most used are stehen / stellen (stand upright / put upright), liegen / legen (lying in horizontal position / put in horizontal position) , sitzen / setzen (sitting / setting) and hängen, that means both «hanging» if static, and «hang» if in movement. It is true that all these differentiations can represent for many reasons discomfort, but the logic of German is certainly an advantage to raise awareness of the idiom itself.

5. Gender is a delicate matter

Unlike our universal ‘the’, German has a peculiar assignation of gender. In this language, which includes also the ‘neutral’ gender, learning the rules that allow us to identify the most common desinance of the three genders might be useful to clear some doubts, but in reality the only way to truly learn the gender is by learning the words by heart. The mnemonic study is a method that today many despise and disagree with, in particular young people, because the learning abilities are limited. On the other hand, returning more than a hundred times to the dictionary to control the gender of a noun can be really frustrating and undermine the understanding of the text. To remedy this problem, there is no other cure to exercise this muscle, as Umberto Eco advised: German can therefore be an excuse to train the ability to remember and ward off the ability to become google-dependent.

7. Endless words

With its 79 letters Donaudampfschiffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft is the longest word recorded in the German vocabulary and indicates the association of subordinate officers of the Danube steam company’s electrical services department. It is not an isolated case because there are other very long words, formed by the association of different terms, which might be absolutely terrifying at first but at a second glance actually reveal their inner logic. Recognizing the terms that make up the composite words and singing them separately allows us to better understand what we are saying and not lose our breath by uttering meaningless sounds!

8. English and German

English, as so has French, have strongly influenced the language and to this day English speakers hold an advantage towards the language. Finger for instance means finger also in German as so does stinken mean to stink. Not to assume however that all English words can be translated in German! There are several ambiguous words which however will surely remain stuck in your mind.

 

Cover photo: screenshot from Youtube

5 tips to improve your German

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Whether for work, for study reasons or because you are planning on moving to Germany, learning German is a life experience on its own. Few courageous people pursue the learning of the language for mere delight. Although seemingly impossible at first, these 5 advices can be of great help (if coupled with good will and determination).

1.Don’t expect to be perfect

The first encounters with compound words, not to mention the peculiar gender allocation, can be absolutely demoralizing. But more than deciding to learn all of the new vocabularies by heart, and shyly wait for years of courses before attempting to mumble a few sentences, the advice is to throw yourself with no shame nor fear. True for every language, this is particularly pertinent to German.

2. Read your favorite books in German

To read a text, whether a book, short story, poem or what not in German can be of great help to learn new expressions that we wouldn’t have otherwise been able to learn. For beginners even children’s’ books can help to find confidence with the language. Even more, a bilingual edition of the text could be more helpful for others. If instead you want to throw yourself in a fully German translation, don’t get discouraged if having to run to the dictionary often.

3. Listen to songs and watch movies in German

If you still don’t know German bands or singers, the time has come to route around Youtube. The lyrics of a song as we all know are easier to learn and allow us to expand our vocabulary. Regarding movies, as for books it would be advised to start by watching those that we already familiar with. We already talked about 5 useful TV series that can help to enhance our knowledge of the language. If the sounds might sound incomprehensible at first, don’t give up, with a good dose of determination you will start to understand bits and pieces and trust us, it will be a great satisfaction.

4. Watch tutorials on Youtube

On Youtube there are several video-courses on pronunciation and grammar tips. Even following videos on topics that interest us can help us develop a specific lexicon and enhance our interest. It doesn’t matter whether they are ‘serious’ videos or not, the important thing is to be motivated by curiosity and not only be a sense of duty.

5. Get out of your shell and make friends!

Although it might be hard at first, it is very important to seek for German people with whom you can converse, overcoming the initial obstacle of embarrassment and the lack of appropriate terms for the occasion. Alcohol in these contexts is known to help dissolve and lose many inhibitions, but everything must start with the willpower and the desire to open up their own horizons, to confront and integrate into the new environment in which you want to live.l

Another option out of the list that we feel is advising you, fundamental to learning the basics of grammar and to melting in the conversation, is attending a German course. If your choice falls on this option (obviously in addition to the others), you can write to info@berlinoschule.com, Berlin’s Berlin Magazine German School. You will be provided with all the information to enroll yourself in a course with qualified teachers and an international environment to start practicing this beautiful language directly on the field!

 

Photo: CC BY SA 2.0  Pexels

10 German words for a night out in Berlin

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Berlin’s alternative and anarchic nightlife can be suitable for almost everyone. If you are visiting for a weekend, or having been living here for some time, you want to be well-prepared to know how to address in German your party mood or you after day hangover state. Deutsche Welle listed ten curious points to be aware of before going out for a night in Berlin.

FEIERABEND

Feel like going out tonight? First thing, you have to break free from working commitments and the stress. Germans have a word to describe exactly that moment: ‘Feierabend’, which literally means, to finish work or to knock off (work).

AUFBREZELN

After work, a quick pit-stop back home to freshen up is definitely something worth considering before a nice night out. After all, you never know how the night is going to evolve. Aufbrezeln means exactly this; to pamper up, whether with a fresh t shirt for boys and a line of lipstick for girls (or the other way round..).

VORGLÜHEN

Although it wouldn’t be proper to incite readers to drink, not to drink German beers would be like missing out on a pillar of the country’s cultural heritage. Vorglühen, in English to pre-heat / pre-drink, is exactly that: the drinking of one, two or, who are we kidding, three or more drinks prior to commencing the night out, to relax and zone out of the working mind and get into the partying one.

WEGBIER

After a while in Berlin you’ll notice it: whether it be one girl or boy walking on her own in the sole company of a cold beer in their hand, or bigger groups of people holding two or more bottles of beers (coats have pockets after all), you’ll be able to spot them in any neighbourhood of the city at any time of the night. A Wegbier is the beer you take along with you for the walk.

n.b. although drinking in public is legal in Germany, it is well advised to contain your exuberant- drunk spirits and maintain a dignified behavior – a bit of style never harms.

TÜRSTEHER

Sven: if you haven’t met him you surely heard about him. Berghains’ bouncer, in German, would be the Türsteher, as so would be a doorman or a doorkeeper, for the literal meaning is “Him who stands at the door”. Assuming a more active role than this passive description conveys, they are notorious here in Berlin. Starting by knowing how to address them could be a first, small, step towards getting into a club.

AUF EX

“Auf ex!” If your friends demand you do to so, perhaps it’s best you prepare for what will happen next. The literal translation? Empty your glass in one sip.

DÄMMERUNG

It’s that moment between day and night, or night and day – the beginning and end of a day all melted into one word. Between dusk and dawn, it can be a truly magical moment in Berlin (according to the season), and you’ll most likely find yourself more often than not at Dämmerung wondering how it is possible that the night is already over!

NACHTSCHWÄRMER

Being a night crawler. Everyone has one of those friends in Berlin that only emerge out of their den once the sun has set. Or maybe, you’ve become one of these yourself. Another interesting translation from German is night owl; you know that they are hiding somewhere during the day, but you’ll only see them at night.

KATER

Kater would be a ‘tomcat’, a male cat. But being one of those wonderful German words that have a certain meaning but actually mean something else, Kater is more commonly used to explain the state of being of the day following a night to remember (or not). You know it? You know it…

Photo:  © Christoffer Boman CC BY SA 2.0

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Want to refine your German? Take a look at the German courses that Berlino Schule organizes.

From Guten Tag to Moin Moin: all the different greetings in German

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If you thought that you could salute everyone in Germany with a universal “Guten Tag”, think again…

Germany is wonderful also due to its regionalisms and we already talked about interesting regional differences here. Greetings are important in every language, they allow us to approach native speakers and (at least try) to embark in a conversation with them. Given however all the peculiar variations of the German language, even salutations differ according to the place and context you’ll find yourself in, so it’s best to get prepared and be aware of these before finding yourself without words to reply!

In standard German to say “Good day” we will rely on “Guten Tag”, commonly used in particular in the Thüringen region, or we will say “Guten Morgen” to say “Good morning!”. These, amongst with the general “Hallo”, are the most widespread expressions throughout all of the German-speaking territories. Yet Germans from different cities and regions not always refer to these to salute you; here is a brief list of different greetings used in German regions and German speaking territories.

Grüß Gott

This expression is used mainly in the Baden Württemberg region, other than in Austria. Originally, the full expression was “grüß[e] dich Gott”, “may God bless you”. Today “grüß Gott” is used mainly in formal contexts, and not being tied to any particular moment of the day, you can say it in the morning, afternoon and night. If you find yourself in an informal context it would be more adequate to say “Grüß dich”. In Bavaria it would become “Grias Di”.

Servus

“Hallo”? No, if you find yourself in Bayern, strictly in an informal context, you would say “Servus”. This is originally an Austrian expression and derives from the latin servus. Variations include “Servas” or “Seas”. Literally, it would mean something like “I am your slave” or “I’m at your service”. It might seem weird to say hello to your friends and family by proclaiming that you are a “slave” for them (unless you’re really into Britney), but even salutations from other languages share a similar original meaning. The Italian “Ciao” in fact comes from an ancient regional greeting that had a similar meaning (“s’ciavo”,  slave) and it has been Germanized into “Tschau”. In Berlin in particular it is very common for a native speaker to say “Tschau!” instead of “Tschuss!”

Juten Tach

This variation to “Guten Tag” is commonly used in Berlin in informal contexts. “Tach” is however used also in Nordrhein – Westfalen, and “Gunn Tach” is its correspondent in Rheinland – Pfalz and in Saarland. In Hessen, we could also hear “Guude”. In Sachsen, “Tagchen”, “Gudden Tach” or “Gun Dach”. Essentially, the real difference amongst these greetings resides in a different pronunciation, which can be grasped only once taken a test in history of the German language and phonetic differences between high and low German.
Lastly, Salü e Grüezi, are the salutations used in Switzerland.

Moin Moin

It is an expression common to the Niedersachsen, used in Hamburg and in other areas of north of Germany. The term “moin” derives from “moien”, which means “good”. The word is present also in Luxembourg, where they would say “Moïen” to salute you. The full expression should be “Moien Dag”: “Moin” and “Moin moin” are merely abbreviations. It is a very colloquial expression that may be used at any moment of the day, but surely not with strangers.

Photo: © Comfreak CC 0

If you are starting to get intrigued by the German language, take a look at the German courses that Berlino Schule organizes.

 

Why should I learn German? 15 typical situations in Germany that will make you understand why

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Several foreigners arrive in Germany without speaking a word of the language. To those thinking that they can live happily without any knowledge of German, you’ll soon think twice.

We put together a list of 15 situations  that exemplify why you need, and should want, to learn German when in Germany.

1. At the pharmacy

To avoid having to open your mouth and “aaaah” at the saleswoman/man’s face to explain that you desperately need a spray for your throat. The pharmacist will be grateful.

2. To register in Germany

For all of those that wish that their Schufa (the document that states that you have no debts) stays immaculate and without shame.

3. At the bar

Because ordering a cappuccino or a latte, with the exact amount of milk or sugar, in perfect German is priceless.

4. Amongst friends

You’re looking for a new job. Your friends are concerned for you, they can feel that you’re one step away from packing your bags and heading back home…till when you’ll find yourself making orders for a table of 20 hungry and demanding people. The glory is tangible.

5. The meanders of German bureaucracy

Knowing the language of who will accept your request for the Hartz IV is surely something.

6. At the counter

When you’ll meet that particular cashier on a personal fight against mankind, you’ll know it. For who already has, how many times have you wished to be able to face her/him and respond adequately?

7. With your landlord

It is indispensable to make him understand that with you, the shark games won’t work. You are no amateur and it is important to put things straight immediately. In German.

8. With the Brazilian wax-lady

It might be kind of easy in Spanish, but in Portuguese it’s a different matter. To be able to speak German as a glowing wax lady from Belo Horizonte is covering your bikini area with incandescent honey will definetly come in handy.

9. With your colleagues

In particular during the first days of your new job when you’ll all be heading to the Kneipe for a cold beer, you surely don’t want to find yourself without words whilst everybody else is happily chirping their order.

10. During a job interview

Not every company demands you to know German, in particular the young-hip start ups. Considering the salary that they will offer you, one would expect them to be very flexible. However, understanding what you’re signing up for, including but not only those tiny German ‘oh that doesn’t mean anything’ asterisks in your contract, will surely make a difference.

11. To surprise co-national tourists

Ever overheard an unpleasant comment on what you’re wearing or on your new hairstyle by part of a co-national tourist? That’s where the fun starts: express your disappointment in German, look at them severely, and conclude with a nice “I love my co-nationals!”.

12. To conclude important transactions

Your girlfriend can’t live with the hat she just saw at that stand in Alexanderplatz, yet the vendor won’t negotiate? Try in German. You’re not a tourist after all, and it’s guaranteed that you’ll walk away with a smile and a bargained hat.

13. To conquer that German boy or girl

You don’t necessarily have to be fluent. But everybody knows that there is nothing cuter than having a foreigner trying to get your attention with some, more or less correct, expressions in your own language.

14. To understand Berlin’s exotic menus

In Berlin to step out of the house and look for a restaurant or Imbiss that inspires you is like traveling the world in 80 steps. Yet, no matter how exciting this may be to all food lovers, be sure that when you’ll find yourself in front of that 101-dish menu written in a different language (whether it be Siam, Japanese or Lebanese-Arabic) you’ll be quite concerned. The explanation in German of the dishes however helps (and is particularly useful to avoid unpleasant surprises, such as finding out that your dish is covered in coriander).

15. To really integrate

To stop obsessing over those two Germans chatting in the ubahn, thinking that they are talking about you after a glance and a smile. Beyond the irony, to understand / kind-of-speak German in Germany (as much as for any other language in any different place) allows us to be aware, and not feel lost, in our surroundings. Is there really anything more important?

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