Category: German (Deutsch)

Special offer from Rocket Languages

By Simon

Rocket languages

This week Rocket Languges are celebrating their 13th Anniversary with a 4-day sale starting today and continuing until Friday 17th March, or until they’ve sold 1,000 courses.

During this time you can get 60% off any of their online language courses, which include: French, Spanish, Italian, Chinese (Mandarin), German, Japanese, Russian, Arabic, Hindi, ASL, Korean, Portuguese and English (for Spanish or Japanese speakers).

The coupon code to receive the discount is ANNIVERSARY

They also offer online piano courses, in case you fancy a break from your language studies.

I have tried and reviewed their Hindi and Japanese courses, and think they are definitely worth a look. Since then they have added some new languages – Russian and Portuguese – and I’m tempted to try their Russian course, even though I already have plenty of other Russian courses and learning materials. Can you ever have too many language learning materials?

Note: I am a Rocket Languages affiliate, and will receive commission if you buy any of the courses via the links above.

The white light of the world

By Simon

свет (svet)

An interesting and useful Russian word I came across today is свет [svʲet], which means light, and also lights, lighting, day, radiance, power, electricity, world and (high) society.

It comes from the Old East Slavic свѣтъ ‎(světŭ – light; world), from Proto-Slavic *světъ ‎(light; world), from the Proto-Balto-Slavic *śwaitas, from the Proto-Indo-European *ḱwoytos / *ḱweytos ‎(bright; shine), from *ḱwey-.

Related words in other Slavic languages include: Belarusian: свет ‎(world), Ukrainian: світ ‎(world, universe), Bulgarian свят ‎(world, earth, universe), Macedonian: свет ‎(world), Slovene: svẹ̑t (sacred, holy), Czech: svět (world), Polish: świat (world), and Slovak: svet (world) and svetlo (light).

Words for white in Germanic languages come from the same PIE root: such as white in English, weiß in German, wit in Dutch, hvit in Norwegian, vit in Swedish and hvid in Danish.

Here are some examples of related words and usage:

– светать = to get/grow light
– светлый = bright, light, lucid
– светильник = lamp
– светить = to shine
– светлеть = to lighten
– свети́ло = heavenly body; luminary
– светофо́р = traffic light
– свеча́ = candle; spark plug; suppository
– дневно́й свет‎ = daylight
– со́лнечный свет‎ = sunshine, sunlight
– я́ркий свет = bright light
– ско́рость све́та = speed of light
– при свете луны/свечи = by moonlight/candlelight
– в свете = in the light of
– ни свет ни заря = at the crack of dawn
– чуть свет = at daybreak
– появи́ться на свет‎ = to be born (“to arrive in the light/world”)
– выходить в свет = to be published (“to face the light/world”)
– проливать свет на что = to shed/throw light on sth
– тот свет = the next world

The name Светлана (Svetlana) also comes from the same root.

Sources: Reverso, Wiktionary

Going through the motions

By Simon

Russian verbs of motion

In English you can use the verb to go to indicate any kind of travel – it doesn’t matter if you’re going on foot, by bicycle, car, bus, train, boat or plane. There are other verbs you can use: walk, stroll, hike, cycle, drive, travel, sail, fly, etc, but you can also just use go.

In some other languages the verbs you use for motion depend on how you are going. In German, for example, gehen is used when you go by foot, and fahren is used when you use some form transport, such as a car, train, bus or bicycle.

Other German words for motion include:

– reisen = to travel
– fliegen = to fly
– laufen = to run, to go, to walk
– spazieren = to stroll, to strut
– spazieren fahren = to go for a drive, ride or run
– spazieren führen = to take sb for a walk
– spazieren gehen = to go for a walk or stroll
– schreiten = to stride, walk, proceed, strut, stalk
– wanderen = to wander, roam, drift, ramble, hike
– führen = to sail, carry, fly, pilot, take, lead

The German word fahren comes from the Old High German faran (to proceed, go, travel), from Proto-Germanic *faraną (to go, travel), from the Proto-Indo-European *per- ‎(going, passage), which is also the root of the English words fare and ferry, and related words in other Germanic languages.

In Russian you have to think not only about how you are going, but also whether you’re coming back or not. There are two main verbs for to go, each of which has several aspects:

– ходить/идти (пойти perf) = to go (on foot), to move; to wear (smth); to go (to), attend, visit; to run (trains, ships); to work, run (clocks); to lead, play, move (in games); to tend, take care of, nurse.

– ездить/ехать (поехать perf) = to go (by horse or vehicle), to ride, to drive; to come; to visit; to travel

Ходить and ездить are the indeterminative imperfective aspects. They are refer to repetitive or recurring activity that may or may not occur on a given path.

Идти and ехать are the determinative imperfective aspects. They are refer to a single activity at a single time, along a single path.

Here are some related expressions and examples of usage:

– Татьяна уже пошёла в школу = Tatiana already went to school (Perfective)
– Татьяна идёт в школу = Tatiana is going to school (Determinative imperfective)
– Татьяна ходит в школу (пять дней в неделю) = Tatiana goes to school (five days a week) (Indeterminative imperfective)
– Ходи́ть пешко́м‎ = to walk, to go on foot, to hike
– Ходи́ть го́голем‎ = to strut
– Ходи́ть босико́м‎ = to go barefoot
– Ходи́ть вперева́лку/вразва́лку/вразва́лочку‎ = to waddle
– Ходи́ть на лы́жах‎ = to ski
– Ходи́ть на цы́почках‎ = to tiptoe
– Ходи́ть в похо́д‎ = to hike
– Часы́ не хо́дят = The watch doesn’t work
– Поезда́ сего́дня не хо́дят = There are no trains (running) today.
– Идём в кинотеа́тр = Let’s go to the cinema.
– Идёт дождь = It’s raining.
– Идёт снег = It’s snowing.
– Он часто ездит в Китай = He often goes to China.
– Сегодня вечером мы идём танцевать = We’re going dancing tonight.
– Пойдем на пляж = Let’s go to the beach.
– Я люблю ходить пешком = I like walking
– Мы ходили в паб = We went to the pub.
– Ты пойдёшь завтра гулять? = Will you go for a walk tomorrow?
– Она ездила в Петербург на машине = She went to St. Petersburg by car.
– Они будут ехать домой на поезде = They will be going home by train.

Other verbs of motion in Russian include:

– Бегать / Бежать = to run
– Бродить / Брести = to stroll
– Гонять / Гнать = to drive
– Лазить / Лезть = to climb
– Летать / Лететь = to fly
– Плавать / Плыть = to swim, to sail
– Ползать / Ползти = to crawl
– Возить / Везти = to transport, to carry (by vehicle)
– Носить / Нести = to carry, to wear
– Водить / Вести = to lead, to accompany, to drive (a car)
– Таскать / Тащить = to drag, to pull

More about Russian verbs of motion

Sources: Wiktionary, Reverso, Russianlessons.net

Plains, pianos and floors

By Simon

Flat piano on a wooden floor

The Welsh word llawr [ɬau̯r] means floor, deck, gallery, stage, platform, cellar, basement, ground, face, and a few other things. I discovered today that it has cognates in all the other Celtic languages:

– leur (Cornish) = floor, ground
– leur (Breton) = area, ground, floor, soil
– lár (Irish) = ground, floor, middle, centre
– làr (Scottish Gaelic) = floor, ground, storey
– laare (Manx) = storey, deck, floor, bottom, flat, set, sill, level

These words all come from the Proto-Celtic *ɸlārom (floor), which comes from the Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂rom or *ploh₂rom, from *pleh₂- ‎(to be flat).

THe PIE word *pleh₂- is the root of many other words, including:

– The English piano, plain, plan, floor and flake
– The Dutch vloer (floor, ground, surface)
– The German Flur (hall, hallway, corridor, stairwell)
– The Italian piano (flat, level, smooth, plane, softly, quietly)
– The Spanish llano (even, flat, level, plain) and plano (plain, level, flat)
– The Latvian: plats, plašs ‎(wide, broad)
– The Lithuanian: platus ‎(wide, broas)
– The Russian плоский (flat, plain, level)

Sources: Wiktionary, Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru, Maga Cornish Dictionary / Gerlyver Kernewek, Dictionnaires bilingues de Francis Favereau, teanglann.ie, Am Faclair Beag, On-Line Manx Dictionary, Reverso

Wheels with teeth

By Simon

An illustration of cog(wheels)

I discovered last night that in French a cog is a une dent, which also means a tooth, or une dent d’engrenage (“tooth gear”), and a cog wheel is une roue dentée (a toothed wheel), which is kind of a cog looks like.

The English word cog, meaning a tooth on a gear, or a gear or a cogwheel, comes from the Middle English cogge, from the Old Norse kugg (notch), from the Proto-Germanic *kuggō (cog, notch), from the Proto-Indo-European *gugā ‎(hump, ball), from *gēu- ‎(to bend, arch).

A cog can also refer to an unimportant individual in a greater system, e.g. He’s just a cog in the machine, which in French would be Il n’est pas qu’un rouage de la machine – rouage is another word for cog or gearwheel, and also means part. Les rouages means machinery, as in les rouages de l’État (the machinery of state) or les rouages de l’administration (the wheels of government).

In German a cog is Zahn (tooth) and a cogwheel is Zahnrad (toothwheel). He is only a cog in a machine is Er ist nur ein Rädchen im Getriebe (“He is only a little wheel in the works/gears/gearbox”), or Er ist nur eine Nummer unter vielen (“He is only a number among many”).

Are there similar expressions in other languages about being a cog in a machine?

Sources: Reverso, Wiktionary, WordReference.com and giantbomb.com

Giggling wrigglers

By Simon

I learnt a nice new German word today – kichern [ˈkɪçɐn], which means to giggle or snicker. Related expressions include:

– ein Kicheranfall = a fit of the giggles
– Wir haben uns darüber gekringelt = We had a good giggle about it
– anfangen herumzukichern = to get the giggles

This also got me thinking about which words rhyme with giggle – there aren’t many, and few of them are commonly-used:

– friggle = to wriggle; to fiddle, fumble
– higgle = to hawk or peddle provisions; to wrangle (over a price)
– jiggle = a weak, shaking movement; to shake, rattle, or wiggle
– liggle = to laugh and giggle at the same time
– niggle = a minor complaint or problem; to dwell too much on minor points or on trifling details; to fidget, fiddle, be restless
– piggle = a long-handled fork for mixing or digging; to dig or uproot; to scrape; to worry about minor points
– scriggle = to squirm, wriggle or squiggle; to scribble, jot
– sniggle = to chortle or chuckle; snicker; to catch an eel by thrusting a baited hook into its den; to steal something of little value
– squiggle = a short twisting or wiggling line or mark; to write (something) illegibly
– striggle = to complain about one’s trivial social problems
– swiggle = to wriggle, wiggle or squirm; to drink to excess
– wiggle = to move with irregular, back and forward or side to side motions; to shake or jiggle.
– wriggle = to twist one’s body to and fro with short, writhing motions; to squirm.

Do you know any others?

Are there interesting words for giggles and other types of laughter in other languages?

Sources: Reverso, Wiktionary, Urban dictionary

Boxing tips

By Simon

Today is Boxing Day in the UK, and there are a number of ideas about the origins of the name. The Oxford English Dictionary, for example, defines Boxing Day as:

“the first week-day after Christmas-day, observed as a holiday on which post-men, errand-boys, and servants of various kinds expect to receive a Christmas-box”

The earliest attested use of the term was the 1830s.

Samuel Pepys mentions in his diary of 19th December 1663 that there was a tradition of giving tradespeople Christmas boxes of money and gifts; that servants were given a day off the day after Christmas to visit their families, and were each given a box of presents and sometimes leftover food.

Boxing day box

The name Boxing Day may come from the Alms Boxes in churches which were used to collect donations to the poor, or to the Roman and early Christian custom of placing metal boxes outside churches to collect offerings to celebrate Saint Stephen’s day, which falls on 26th December.

On the QI Christmas Special they mention that the tradition of giving tips started in Europe, particularly in the UK, and spread to North America, where many people were reluctant to take it up at first.

In some languages words for tips show clearly what the money is for:

– Trinkgeld (“drink money”) in German
– drikkepenge (“drink money”) in Danish
– pourboire (“for drinking”) in French
– propina in Spanish – from Latin prōpīnō (I drink to someone’s health), from Ancient Greek προπίνω, from προ- ‎(before) &‎ πίνω ‎(I drink, carouse).

Sources: Wikipedia, Wiktionary

What about in other languages?

Neither fur nor feather

By Simon

Ни пуха, ни пера

Today I came across an interesting Russian idiom in the book I’m reading (Moon Seed, by Stephen Baxter): Ни пуха, ни пера (Ni púkha, ni perá). It means literally “neither fur nor feather” and is used to wish someone good luck.

The phrase was originally used by Russian hunters in a sarcastic/ironic way. The feathers referred to birds, and the fur to animals, so they were saying that they hoped that the other hunters wouldn’t catch any birds or animals.

The usually reply to this phrase is К чёрту (K chëtu), which means “to the devil” or “go to hell”, and is saying “the hell I won’t”.

Source: http://www.linguajunkie.com/learning/russian-proverbs-sayings

An equivalent of this phrase in English is “break a leg”, which is traditionally said to actors to wish them luck before they go on stage, especially on the opening night. According to theatrical superstition it’s bad luck to wish someone good luck.

This phrase first appeared in writing in May 1948 in the The Charleston Gazette as:

“Another [superstition] is that one actor should not wish another good luck before a performance but say instead ‘I hope you break a leg.”

There is a similar phrase in German, Hals und Beinbruch (break your neck and leg), which was apparently used by the Luftwaffe during WWII. This might come from the Hebrew blessing hatzlakha u-brakha‘ (success and blessing), which might have made it’s way into English via German and Yiddish.

Source: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/break-a-leg.html

Are there idiomatic ways to wish people luck in other languages?

Have you got your snap?

By Simon

A snap tin make be Acme

On an episode of Uncle Mort’s North Country, a comedy drama on Radio 4 Extra that I listened to today, I heard the word snap used for a packed lunch. I’e heard it before, but wasn’t sure where it came from. The drama features two characters from Yorkshire: Uncle Mort and his nephew, Carter Brandon, who both speak with strong Yorkshire accents, so I thought snap might be a Yorkshire word.

I found it in a Yorkshire Dialect Dictionary defined as ‘a light meal’, and Wiktionary defines it as ‘a small meal, a snack; lunch’.

According to the The Oxford Guide to Etymology, lunch boxes were once called snap-tins in parts of the UK, and the word snap came to mean a a light meal or quick bite by metaphorical extension.

In A History of the Word on the BBC website it says that miners used snap tins to carry their lunch down the pits – the photo is an example of a miner’s snap tin.

The word snap comes from the Dutch / Low German snappen ‎(to bite; seize), from the Proto-Germanic *snappōną ‎(to snap; snatch; chatter), from the Proto-Indo-European *ksnew- ‎(to scrape; scratch; grate; rub) [source].

What do you call a container you put your lunch in?

Please alight

By Simon

I received an email yesterday asking about the Swiss German equivalent of Bitte verlassen Sie den Zug (Please alight from the train). Does anybody know?

Are announcements on Swiss trains in Swiss German or Standard German (Hochdeutsch)? What other languages are they in? Or does it depend on where you are in Switzerland?

This got me thinking about some of the words that are used in announcements on trains and stations. On trains in the UK there are endless announcements which tell you what stations, stops or station stops are coming up next, where the train is going, where it’s come from, what is available in the buffet / shop. You are reminded to keep a close eye on your luggage and personal belongings, to dispose of rubbish in the bins provided, not to smoke – not even in the vestibule areas or toilets, and not not to leave anything on the train and to mind the gap when you alight.

Some of the expressions are rarely heard elsewhere. e.g. alight, vestibule and station stop. Trains are referred to as services, and they call at station stops. Passengers are often referred to as customers.

In parts of Wales announcements are in Welsh and English, though not in the parts where Welsh is most-spoken.

You can hear recordings of some announcements from UK trains and stations here:

Are there particular terms used in announcements on trains and other public transport in other countries?