Tag: german vocabulary

10 German Phrases most used in office

The following phrases will help you get on well in a German working environment.

1.Freut mich, Sie kennen zu lernen, Herr Ruland.

Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Ruland.

2.Können Sie mir bitte eine Mail schreiben?

Can you write me a E-mail?

3.Erklären Sie mir das bitte mal!

Please explain that to me!

4.Da haben wir noch Potenzial.

We can still work with that

5.Ich setze das mal auf meine To-Do Liste.

I will put that on my to-do list.

6.Da warte ich noch auf Feedback.

I am still waiting for Feedback.

7.Schönen Feierabend!

Have a nice evening!

8.Ich bin ein Teamplayer!

I am a teamplayer!

9.Ich kann dir das mal forwarden.

I can forward that to you.

10.Wir freuen uns auf die Zusammenarbeit mit Ihnen.

We look forward to work with you.

8 Weird German Words you will be amazed of!

German has its own strange and weird words and phrases. Let’s see some of those interesting weird german words.

1.Ohrwurm – ear worm

This word describes the fact of being stuck with a song on our head.

Ohrwurm – catchy song.

2.Fernweh – distance pain

This describes a situation where you want to be in a distance place than you are right now.

Fernweh – wanderlust

3.Kopfkino – head cinema

Describes a situation where you are literally playing out a scene in your mind.

Kopfkino – imagination

Ein guter Schriftsteller regt das Kopfkino seines Lesers an.

4.Zungenbrecher – tongue breaker

Describes sequence of words or phrases very hard to pronounce for native speakers.

Zungenbrecher – tongue twister.

5.Weichei – soft egg

Describes someone who is coward or weak- minded. It is also called as Würstchen.

Weichei – coward or weak-minded person

6. Fremdschämen – Exterior shame.

Describes a situation when you feel uncomfortable or awkward, because another person has created an embrassing situation.

Fremdschämen -cringe

7.Lebensmüde – life tierd

Situation where someone does something stupid and life threatening.

lebensmüde – suicide

8.Kuddlemuddle -???

Describes an unstructured mess or chaos.

Kuddlemuddle -messy.

6 False friends in German language

False friends or falsche freunde are usually words which lead to misunderstanding of its meaning which they use to be in english and you are more familiar with it. Have you come across any such tricky words while learning the language? Let’s see some now!

1. der Chef / die Chefin – boss

the chef – der Koch / die Kochin

2. spenden – donate

to spend – ausgeben

3. die Rente – pension

the rent – die Miete

4. das Gift – poison

the gift – das Geschenk

5. die Fabrik – factory

the fabric – der Stoff

6. bekommen – to receive

to become – werden

If you know any other false friends in German language, leave your comments in comment section.

What is the difference? – reden vs sprechen vs erzählen vs sagen

  1. reden – to talk

Ich muss mit meinem Lehrer reden, ich habe eine Frage.

I need to talk with my teacher, I have a question.

2. sprechen – to speak

Ich spreche Französisch und Englisch.

I speak French and English

3. erzählen – to narrate / to tell

Meine Mutter erzählte mir immer eine Gutenacht geschichte.

My mother always narrated me bedtime stories.

4. sagen – to say.

Ich sagte auf wiedersehen und verließ das Geschäft.

I said goodbye and left the shop.

Most Frequently used German Words with Two meanings

  1. die Taube vs der Taube

Here the only difference is with the article used. First one die Taube refers to the pigeon and the second one der Taube refers to a deaf person.

2.die Beeren vs die Bären

Here the articles are same but only spelling changes slightly. The pronunciation remains the same. The first one die Beeren is the plural form of die Beere which means berries and the second one die Bären is an animal bear.

3. das Pony vs der Pony

Here also the articles differ. The first one refers to baby horse and the second one refers to fringe hair style.

4. das Tor vs der Tor

Here the articles differ and the first one refers to a goal or a gate. For example ein Tor schießen – to score a goal and the second one der Tor refers to fool.

5. arm vs der Arm

The first one is an adjective and it refers to poor. The second one is a noun and it refers to a part in our body arm.

6. die Leiter vs der Leiter

This one differs in article and the first one refers to a ladder. Second one refers to leader or head.

7. bis vs der Biss

First one is a preposition which means until / upto / till. The second one is a noun which means bite. If you are a fan of twilight series in german version probably you can remember the caption biss zum Morgengrauen which means until dawn or bite at the break of dawn.

8. hast vs hasst.

The first one is second person singular present tense. Its infinitive verb is haben – to have. Second one is 2nd or 3rd person singular and its infinitive verb is hassen – to hate.

9. ist vs isst.

The first one is 3rd person singular and its infinitive verb is sein – to be. Second one is 2nd or 3rd person singular and its infinitive verb is essen – to eat.

10. die Seite vs die Saite.

The first one refers to page or side and the second one refers to string. Both words have the same pronunciation.