Spanish has the same thing you mention Ed, with 'este, ese, aquel' being 'this, that, that over there' (plus other corresponding forms eg esta, esos, aquellas etc).
― brain (krakow), Tuesday, 19 June 2018 12:42 (six years ago) link
The Plain People of Ireland: Isn’t the German very like the Irish? Very guttural and so on?Myself: Yes.The Plain People of Ireland: People say that the German language and the Irish language is very guttural tongues.Myself: Yes.The Plain People of Ireland: The sounds is all guttural do you understand.Myself: Yes.The Plain People of Ireland: Very guttural languages the pair of them the Gaelic and the German.
― oder doch?, Tuesday, 26 June 2018 21:34 (six years ago) link
Frühlingstagundnachtgleiche
― Uncle Redd in the Zingtime (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 4 July 2018 16:16 (six years ago) link
I have been enjoying hearing newspeople talk about the SPD, because it sounds to me like "sbd", which Beavis & Butthead fans at least will appreciate
― droit au butt (Euler), Wednesday, 4 July 2018 16:43 (six years ago) link
So the word “leutselig” seems to be normally translated as “affable” but the usually reliable dict.cc has an added usage
leutselig sein gegen jdn.to condescend to sb.
Can’t seem to find this anywhere else. Can a native or fluent speaker comment?
― 3-Way Tie (For James Last) (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 1 August 2018 14:50 (six years ago) link
Ah, Langenscheidt says “condescending (in a friendly way)”
― 3-Way Tie (For James Last) (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 1 August 2018 14:54 (six years ago) link
I don't know that usage, and really hate Langenscheidt. I'll ask around.
― Three Word Username, Wednesday, 1 August 2018 15:24 (six years ago) link
I always thought "leutselig" means "affable"; if you add condescension, you're "gönnerhaft." According to Duden leutselig means "wohlwollend, von einer verbindlichen, Anteil nehmenden Freundlichkeit im Umgang mit Untergebenen und einfacheren Menschen" (affable towards people of lower rank or social status).
The Wikipedia entry for Leutseligkeit sheds some light: the definition of "Leute" has shifted much in the same way "common people" has, so leutselig today means "friendly towards your fellow man" when it used to be closer to "fraternizing with the plebes."
― oder doch?, Thursday, 2 August 2018 07:10 (six years ago) link
Thanks for the help with “leutselig.“ Today’s question has to do with the proper way(s) to say “What’s-his-name” and “Peter so-and-so.”
― The Vermilion Sand Reckoner (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 26 August 2018 18:30 (six years ago) link
I see Dingsbums or just Dings in the dictionary but I have never really used or come across these before.
― The Vermilion Sand Reckoner (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 26 August 2018 18:34 (six years ago) link
What’s-his-name = wie-hieß-er-nochSo-and-so = soundsoDings/Dingsbums is reserved for inanimate objects, for people it's Dingens/Dingenskirchen.
― oder doch?, Monday, 27 August 2018 00:12 (six years ago) link
That’s perfect, thanks!
― The Vermilion Sand Reckoner (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 27 August 2018 00:27 (six years ago) link
nach wie vor
― groovemaaan, Friday, 23 November 2018 19:47 (five years ago) link
It means “we for natch”
― F# A# (∞), Friday, 23 November 2018 19:49 (five years ago) link
naw wir gegen es mayne
― j., Friday, 23 November 2018 19:52 (five years ago) link
seriously this fkn language
― groovemaaan, Friday, 23 November 2018 20:14 (five years ago) link
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/05/world/europe/merkel-storm-translation-germany.html
Speaking at a technology conference on Tuesday, Ms. Merkel, known as a staid, no-drama politician, told a self-deprecating anecdote about being widely mocked online five years ago after she described the internet as some mysterious expanse of “uncharted territory.”
She chuckled at the memory of the digital blowback.
“It generated quite a shitstorm,” she said, using the English term — because Germans, it turns out, do not have one of their own.
― j., Thursday, 6 December 2018 11:46 (five years ago) link
Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän
Learned in school, never forgotten.
― Bimlo Horsewagon became Wheelbarrow Horseflesh (aldo), Thursday, 6 December 2018 11:57 (five years ago) link
Um sie den Arm geschlungen zag, sprach er mit sanftem Zungenschlag,was war das für ein Schlangenzug, der mich in deine Zangen schlug.
― maximum waste and minimum joy (oder doch?), Friday, 7 December 2018 01:16 (five years ago) link
Es war einmal ein Leibesriese,der machte eine Liebesreise.Des Abends sprach er: „Reib es, Liese!“Und Liese kam und rieb es leise.
― maximum waste and minimum joy (oder doch?), Friday, 7 December 2018 01:32 (five years ago) link
Frohe Weihnachten!
― Spirit of the Voice of the Beehive (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 25 December 2018 15:17 (five years ago) link
wot's german for wobs
― j., Tuesday, 25 December 2018 17:18 (five years ago) link
It's pronounced 'vaubz'.
― pomenitul, Tuesday, 25 December 2018 17:21 (five years ago) link
ach, ein lehnwort!
― j., Tuesday, 25 December 2018 17:23 (five years ago) link
Wie so oft.
― pomenitul, Tuesday, 25 December 2018 17:24 (five years ago) link
Fast immer, glaube ich
― Spirit of the Voice of the Beehive (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 25 December 2018 18:01 (five years ago) link
Redewendung des Tages: Pi mal Daumen.
― Theorbo Goes Wild (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 14 March 2019 12:58 (five years ago) link
Oder besser gesagt:Gott sei Dank, es ist Pi-Tag!
― Theorbo Goes Wild (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 14 March 2019 13:00 (five years ago) link
Pi-Tag ist 22/7.
― Three Word Username, Thursday, 14 March 2019 22:06 (five years ago) link
warum?
das ist pi-annaeherungstag
― John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt, Thursday, 14 March 2019 22:25 (five years ago) link
3.14 ist kein Datum in der deutsche Schreibweise.
― Three Word Username, Friday, 15 March 2019 02:17 (five years ago) link
Vielleicht doch in Texas?
― seandalai, Friday, 15 March 2019 11:58 (five years ago) link
wikipedia:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi-Tag
Zum anderen wird ein Pi-Annäherungstag (Pi Approximation Day) am 22. Juli gefeiert, mit dem die näherungsweise Darstellung von π durch Archimedes als 22/7 ≈ 3,14 geehrt werden soll.
pi ist 3,14
― John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt, Friday, 15 March 2019 21:16 (five years ago) link
Kleinvieh macht auch Mist.
― Irae Louvin (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 30 November 2019 23:08 (four years ago) link
Small /something/ power also poop?
― viborg, Saturday, 30 November 2019 23:53 (four years ago) link
small animals also poop I think
― britain's secret sauce (seandalai), Saturday, 30 November 2019 23:54 (four years ago) link
Sorry little m not big M - 'makes'.
― viborg, Saturday, 30 November 2019 23:54 (four years ago) link
My favorite word was always 'Eisdiele', not sure why. Typical grade school bs I guess.
― viborg, Saturday, 30 November 2019 23:55 (four years ago) link
Kruzitürken!
― Don’t Slander Meme (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 19 December 2019 13:33 (four years ago) link
Was zum Kuckuck?
― Don’t Slander Meme (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 19 December 2019 13:37 (four years ago) link
Dann gibt es Mort und Totschlag.
― Don’t Slander Meme (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 19 December 2019 13:38 (four years ago) link
― breastcrawl, Thursday, 19 December 2019 14:13 (four years ago) link
Fjandinn hafi það!
― Don’t Slander Meme (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 19 December 2019 15:57 (four years ago) link
der Gabelstaplerführerschein
― The Soundtrack of Burl Ives (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 28 December 2019 02:04 (four years ago) link
anyone have any good tips/cheats to look our for (and use) for more native-sounding vernacular spoken german?
e.g. in french class you'll learn to use 'ne... pas' to negate a verb but often in spoken french they'll just drop the ne completely. similarly, privileging use of 'on' over 'nous'; adding 'quoi' for emphasis; running words together ('tu as dansé hier soir' becomes 't'as dansé hier soir' etc). that's before you get to even slang words (les mecs; BCBG; bouffer; etc)
― ||||||||, Saturday, 11 January 2020 14:59 (four years ago) link
^probably all bad habits (certainly in written french) but w/e
― ||||||||, Saturday, 11 January 2020 15:00 (four years ago) link
well German has slang too of course, you could also lean into a Dialekt
― VOTE! In the 2019 EOY Poll (seandalai), Saturday, 11 January 2020 15:13 (four years ago) link
but even after living in Germany for a year my lecturers told me I spoke like a book so I'm probably not going to be that helpful
― VOTE! In the 2019 EOY Poll (seandalai), Saturday, 11 January 2020 15:16 (four years ago) link
use "halt" in every sentence
― groovemaaan, Saturday, 11 January 2020 15:38 (four years ago) link
use "ne?" at the end of a sentence to mean "which i'm sure we all agree on?", use "oder?" to mean "don't you think so?" (slightly less rhetorical), never use past simple unless you want to sound like the finanzamt or a 19th century nursery rhyme. "na?" is "sup?", use "zwo" instead of "zwei" (espec on telephone) "geil" for "wicked"/"awesome" (although that is kinda teenage) i'm sure further tips will occur to me later
― massaman gai (front tea for two), Saturday, 11 January 2020 16:15 (four years ago) link