Achtung, Deutsch! German! Watch out!

German can be quite easy: beer house mouse computer freak to flip out = Bier = Haus = Maus = Computerfreak = ausflippen

similar spelling and similar pronunciation idiot it stinks shit weather forbidden = Idiot = es stinkt = Schiet (northern German dialect), most used in „Schietwetter“ = Wetter = verboten

more similar spelling and similar pronunciation guest bed apple cat water world worm = Gast = Bett = Apfel = Katze = Wasser = Welt = Wurm

but watch out!!!!!! Achtung! ≠ Bad (bath) ≠ bekommen (to get) to become gift eagle ≠ Bad (bath) ≠ bekommen (to get) ≠ Gift (poison) ≠ Igel (hedgehog)

So you better don‘t believe in what you believe it should mean! Der Igel bekommt Gift. DOES NOT MEAN The eagle becomes a gift. IT MEANS The hedgehog gets poison!!!!!!

more confusing stuff Bad (bath) Ei (egg) (schlecht) bad ≠ See (sea) Stern (star) Angel (fishing tackle) Mist (dung, rubbish) Präservative (condoms) (schlecht) bad ≠ (Auge) eye ≠ (sehen) see ≠ (ernst) stern ≠ (Engel) angel ≠ (Dunst) mist ≠ (Rostschutz) preservative ≠

another common source for misunderstanding I will……sth. means: „I‘m going to do sth. in the future.“ Ich will……etwas. means: „I strongly desire (wish or want) to do (or have) sth.“

The different sound of the vowels: Rhabarbermarmelade a verregneter September e oben ohne o Kuddelmuddel u keinerlei Einsicht ei Infinitiv i,ie Austausch au neue Freunde eu ärgerlicher Bär – ängstliche Lämmer ä schöne Töne ö Küchentücher ü bar (rhubarb jam) end (September spoiled by rain) over (topless) you (muddle, jumble) my (no understanding at all) bee (infinitive) house (exchange) loitering (new friends) man (angry bear – scared lambs) - (nice sounds) - (kitchen tissues)

Form you mouth to an o and say ee = Ö Form the mouth to a u and say ee You will not lean it in 21 minutes but nevertheless let‘s try the Ö and Ü Form you mouth to an o and say ee = Ö Form the mouth to a u and say ee = Ü Example: Füll den Müll nicht in die Frühstückstüte! (Don‘t fill the rubbish in the breakfast bag)

Something more you should now about vowels: Meer sounds like mehr (ocean) (more) Boot sounds like bot (boat) (bid) lehren sounds like leeren (to teach) (to empty) BUT Weg doesn‘t sound like weg

now to the consonants We Germans like the ch: Manch Schnarcher macht nachts Krach. (Someone snoring makes noise at night.)

Angstschrei (scream of fear) more consonants Some words have 8 consonats in a row like *NGSTSCHR* Angstschrei (scream of fear)

triples Schifffahrt = boat trip Stofffetzen = piece of textil Eisschnelllauf = ice scate race Bassstimme = bass voice Kennnummer = identity number

triples Rüdesheim is Rüdes-Heim and NOT Rüde-Sheim! Schifffahrt = Schiff-Fahrt = boat trip Stofffetzen = Stoff-Fetzen = piece of textil Eisschnelllauf = Eis-Schnell-Lauf = ice scate race Bassstimme = Bass-Stimme = bass voice Kennnummer = Kenn-Nummer = identity number Here you can see how important it is to know which are The parts of a word, so for example Rüdesheim is Rüdes-Heim and NOT Rüde-Sheim!

Make up you own favourit longest word: long words Berechtigungsscheinabgabe Dampfschifffahrtskapitän Einkommensteuererklärung Make up you own favourit longest word: Austauschschülerfehlverhalten (misbehaviour of exchange students)

common abbreviations z.B. zum Beispiel for example z.Zt. zur Zeit right now u.v.m. und vieles andere mehr and much more etc. et cetera and so on usw. und so weiter and so on MfG mit freundlichen Grüßen Sincerly Yours PKW Personenkraftwagen car LKW Lastkraftwagen truck AKW make a guess! ????????????

common abbreviations z.B. zum Beispiel for example z.Zt. zur Zeit right now u.v.m. und vieles andere mehr and much more etc. et cetera and so on usw. und so weiter and so on MfG mit freundlichen Grüßen Sincerely Yours PKW Personenkraftwagen car LKW Lastkraftwagen truck AKW Atomkraftwerk nuclear power plant

Der Die Das the, the, the the man der Mann (male) the woman die Frau (female) the girl das (!) Mädchen (neutal) (sorry, girls!) the sun (el sol) die Sonne the moon (la luna) der Mond ….dont‘t ask my why!

more of it to make it more confusing the woman die Frau you remember die Frau (female) Don‘t be desperate when you hear: „Laß uns das Auto der Frau fahren!“ (Let‘s take the car of the women!) „Gib der Frau einen Kuß! (Give a kiss to the women!) That‘s grammar, so don‘t worry about der, die, das, Just give it a try, most Germans will understand you!

local dialects Brötchen most common Rundstück in Hamburg Many names for one thing: (sweet) roll Brötchen most common Rundstück in Hamburg Semmel in Bavaria Schrippe in Berlin

diminutions chen and lein, or le or i Schatz Schätzchen Schatzi/Schatzilein Haus Häuschen / Häusle Rose Röslein Hans Hänschen (pronanciation!)(Jack) Frau Fräulein ? Mädchen /Mädel Biss bißchen (a little bit) ein Bier ein Bierchen (to make a large beer sound small)

This is also German

Sütterlin What is that? The Sütterlin Alphabet A common used German handwriting in the first half of the last century, also called „Preußische Kanzeleischrift“ – „Prussian chancellery script“. The modern fonds often ignore the 2 different „s“ The „middle-s“ and the „end-s“. The „middel-s“ and the z made the ß, An endangerd German speciality for sure.

documents in Sütterlin developed 1911, official writing from 1915-41, after WWII taught at schools till the mid-70s

the ß is not a B ß is used like ss behind long vowels Straße (street) Floß (raft) Stoß (a push) In capitals we Germans have a problem: STRASSE or STRAßE ? But not STRABE! Like MASSE or MAßE or MASZE (there is a short-A Masse as well). Oh well…

Different keyboards The American and English keyboard layout is different from the German layout – most significant is the different position of the Z and Y, the additional ß, ü, ö and ä

groß oder klein The rule: The beginning of a sentence, nouns and names are written with a capital first letter, and so is the formal you : Du, Dir and Dein… as well as you (plural) Ihr, ihr because it can mean „you (pl.)“ or „their“ : „Ihr habt ihr Auto benutzt.“ You have used their car. „Ihr habt Ihr Auto benutzt.“ You have used your car.

to relax some „Fremdworte“ flatrate/happy hour/roastbeef/servicepoint are used in Germany. In ads English is used frequently like „Come in and find out“ for a drugstore. Do most Germans understand it? NO! A research showed, most people thought it meant: „Walk in and try to find your way out!....“

to relax more „Fremdworte“ to download downloaden to zip zippen to email emailen to upgrade upgraden ich upgrade du upgradest er upgradet wir upgraden ihr upgradet sie upgraden That‘s how you conjugate the regular verbs…

irregular verbs The 80 (!) most common irregular verbs are listed in the smart and handy „Verb-Fix Deutsch“ – Ideal zum Üben (perfect for excercizing) a MUST for everybody‘s wallet!!!!

an example brechen to break (or to vomit) ich breche ich brach ich habe gebrochen I break I broke I have broken The vowel is changing. Don‘t wait for rules – just learn it by heart!

verbs with extensions anhalten to stop ich halte an I stop ich hielt an I stopped ich habe angehalten I have stopped Es ist besser It is better to stop anzuhalten

numbers 1.000 how much is it?

numbers 1.000 how much is it? One thousand in Germany! One in the USA? 1,234,567.89 $ 1.234.567,89 € See the difference!

more about numbers How much are 1,000 x 1,000,000? ( one thousand times one million)

more confusing differences 1,000 x 1,000,000 = In Gemany: 1 Milliarden In the USA: 1 US billion 1 German Billion equals 1 US trillion…. (Talking about national depth, What difference does one or three 0 make?

another avoidable trap 7890 / 1890 Which year is it?

1234567890 Germany 7890 = 7890 1234567890 USA See the difference? how to write numbers 1234567890 USA 1234567890 Germany 7890 = 7890 See the difference?

date and time September 22nd, 2007 or 22-09-2007 22. September 2007 or 22.09.07 But at what time?

what time is it? Best time for „Kaffe und Kuchen“ (tea time): 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 a.m Uhr p.m 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Best time for „Kaffe und Kuchen“ (tea time): 15.30 Uhr or „ ½ 4“, 15.25 Uhr could be „ 5 vor ½ 4“! 15.45 Uhr can be called „3/4 4“ or „1/4 vor 4“ (nachmittags). So pay attention if you are invited at 17 Uhr or 7 Uhr !

liters and kilometers vs. gallon and miles Don‘t bother that 1 liter is 0.2642 US gallons, 1 liter is (10x10x10 cm)= 1,000 ccm water, but too bad you count in inches and miles, so „ein Viertele“ ¼ liter vine = 15.25 cubic inches Sometimes we Germans do use inches as well: For example the diameter of pipes for plumbing is measured in inches (Zoll).

°C It is 17 °C in Bad Hersfeld today. How cold is it in °F ???????? Temperature converting is easy: 1 °F = 5/9 °C Freezing point is 32 °F = 0 °C It is 17 °C in Bad Hersfeld today. How cold is it in °F ????????

°C 17 °C /5*9+32 = 62.6 °F Baking sth. in Germany at 500 °F ? 500 °F /9*5 – 32 = 248 °C That makes sense!

Something to learn by heart: Danke Bitte gern geschehen Ja/Nein Ich weiß nicht Entschuldigung Guten Appetit! Guten Morgen! Guten Tag! Guten Abend! Gute Nacht! Auf Wiedersehen! Bis bald! Tschüß/ Servus Ich hab‘ Dich (Euch) lieb! thank you please you‘re welcome yes/no I don‘t know excuse me enjoy your meal good morning Hello Good night Good bye See you soon Bye bye I love you (all)!