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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 145 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
Special Topics
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Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
German
taking pleasure in others' pain.
An umlaut (the two dots over an a, o, or u) can also be formed by placing what after an a, o, or u? | German 101
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Which pair of words contains an incorrect translation? | German 101
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guten Geschmack haben. guten Geschmack haben means 'to have good taste.' einen Dachschaden haben: to have roof damage (in the head, in other words). verrueckt: crazy. ein Vogel haben: to have a bird (in one's head).
In which country is German not the most common language? | German 101
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Onkel. This is NOT a trick question!
In English, someone who has all of life's comforts is said to 'live like a king'? In German, how is such a person said to live? | German Idioms and Sayings
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'like God in France'. 'wie Gott in Frankreich'.
a keg without a bottom. 'ein Fass ohne Boden'
Talking is silver, silence is golden.. 'Reden ist Silber, Schweigen ist Gold'
In English if something is very difficult to understand, someone might say 'That's all Greek to me'. Translated, what is the German equivalent of this saying? | German Idioms and Sayings
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'I only understand railway station'. 'ich verstehe nur Bahnhof' (der Bahnhof - sing.)
to bet on the wrong horse. 'aufs falsche Pferd setzen' (das Pferd - die Pferde)
April. 'April, April, er macht was er will'
'the upper ten thousand'. 'die oberen Zehntausend'
saw off the branch you are sitting on. 'man soll den Ast nicht absägen, auf dem man sitzt'
The morning hour has gold in its mouth. "Morgenstund' hat Gold im Mund'"
As mentioned above, 'don't count your chickens before they hatch' wouldn't mean much directly translated. What is the German version of this idiom? | German Idioms and Sayings
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'one shouldn't praise the day before the night'. 'man soll den Tag nicht vor dem Abend loben'
Tage. Note also the essential greeting 'Guten Tag!'
Wagen. In some South German dialects the plural 'Wägen' is also used (in speech). 'Der Wagen' should not to be confused with 'die Waage', plural 'Waagen' - scales.
Kunden. 'Der Kunde' (customer) is a standard 'weak' noun, and so in all cases in the singular *except* the nominative it ends in -n. It is declined in the singular thus: der Kunde, den Kunden, des Kunden, dem Kunden. Please never confuse 'der Kunde' with 'die Kunde', which means 'news (item)'.
Damen. If a feminine noun can form the plural by adding -n it usually does so. But please note the key exceptions: 'die Mutter', pl. 'Mütter' and 'die Tochter', pl. 'die Töchter'. These have the same pattern as 'der Vater', pl. 'Väter'.
Zeitungen. All nouns ending in '-ung' form the plural by adding '-en'.
Frauen. If a feminine noun can form the plural by adding '-en' it usually does so, but there are exceptions, as in Question 7.
Städte. Please never confuse 'die Stadt' ('town') with 'der Staat' (pl. 'die Staaten') which means 'state'.
Männer. Note also: der Herr - pl. die Herren. This is a weak noun which is declined in the singular without an -e- in the ending, so the acc.. gen. and dat. all have the form 'Herrn'.
Bücher. Means 'book'. Compare with 'das Haus' (pl. 'Häuser') - 'house'.
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