What do you do when you don’t know how to pronounce a German word? It’s a simple question, right? But there are many answers! Today I’d like to share some resources that will help you find the right pronunciation of any German word out there within just a few seconds, no matter how offbeat or…
German
From “Sneeze Shame” to “Hygiene Knights”: 10 Strange New German Words Created By The Pandemic
After more than one year in the grip of a global pandemic, our daily lives have changed extensively. The way we work, travel, socialize and decompress have all undergone strange transformations. And these changes have begun to be reflected in the way we use language. The Leibniz Institute for the German Language, an organisation for documenting…
German
German Language as a Path to Understanding the Mind
Those seeking to gain knowledge about the human mind and spirituality, might think of learning an extra language like ancient Greek, or Sanskrit. Here we will present the view that they should also consider learning German. The German language can be a gateway to accessing the works of some really important thinkers. Sure these texts can…
German
The German Prefix “be-” Explained
Once you’ve started learning a few German verbs, you’ll notice that there are a number of awkwardly similar verbs which have a slightly similar yet sufficiently different meaning. I’m talking about those pesky German verb prefixes which sometimes are just two or three letters long but completely change the meaning of the verb. Let’s take…
Discover Dino lernt Deutsch: the German story series for beginners that will help you learn German in no time.
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“I Can’t Get No …”: N-Declension In German
Welcome back to another instalment of our German grammar series in which I answer some of the questions that have popped up on the newsletter. Today’s question is by Douglas: My question: why do some German nouns add a final ‘n’ in the acc. sing., e.g. ‘meinen Namen’ , einen Geldautomaten, which, of course has…
German
New: Dino lernt Deutsch Episode 11: “Lockdown in Liechtenstein”
The wait is finally over! Dino is back, and although his world has gotten a lot smaller, he still finds himself at the center of much mischief. Get volume 11 on: 📙Amazon 🍏Apple Books 🔽EPUB/PDF 📕Kobo 📘Barnes & Noble This book comes integrated with flashcards (Quizlet & Anki) across all platforms and retailers (check at…
German
Demonstrate This! – Demonstrative Pronouns in German – A Brief Overview
This is another instalment in my grammar series where I try to answer some of the questions posed by readers of my newsletter and (hopefully) shed some light on certain bewildering grammar topics, always with a practical focus on how people actually speak. Here’s today’s question, by Myron: “Would you explain all that which is “Demonstrative”…
Games
Boost Your German Vocab With This Quirky Web Game
While sorting through some old files recently (definitely not procrastination but research!) I stumbled over some old notes and re-discovered this quirky little language learning game which is just too good not to share. It’s called Ba Ba Dum, and it’s actually five little games that run directly in your browser, no downloads required. At…
exercises
3 Simple Rules of German Negation: How To Position “Nicht” in A Sentence
German syntax can be quite daunting. There are many moving parts. It can be helpful to split things up into smaller more manageable bits. Earlier today for example a question came up on the newsletter about the correct placement of the so-called Negationspartikel nicht in a sentence. So here are 3 very simple rules (and some exceptions)…
