Category Archives: German language

Today’s German word comes with a photo: Der Schimmel is a white horse (also mold, but that’s another post). Das Amt is an administrative office. Put them together, and you get der Amtsschimmel, the dreaded beaurocratic mess we Americans call … Continue reading →

Posted on by Clare Dunkle | Comments Off on der Amtsschimmel

Learning German with Lucky Luke

I don’t just sit around and watch television all day. Sometimes I read books. Comic books, that is–and my favorite is Lucky Luke, the man who shoots faster than his shadow. Television is a great way to learn a foreign … Continue reading →

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In a cartoon skit by the famous German comedian Loriot, two grown men compelled by fate and a confusing hotel layout to share the same bathtub are having a genteel conversation (if marred by a certain amount of passive-aggressive behavior). … Continue reading →

Posted on by Clare Dunkle | 2 Comments

English just has yes and no, but German has ja and nein … and doch. If ja means yes and carries the idea, “I agree,” then doch means “I know you don’t agree with me, but yes!” Doch is one … Continue reading →

Posted on by Clare Dunkle | 2 Comments

The other night, I was watching the European Jumping Championships on Eurosport. An excellent German rider was all set to win the gold medal when his horse took down a bar on the very last jump. That bar, said the … Continue reading →

Posted on by Clare Dunkle | Comments Off on gar nichts

I just learned via a brochure I picked up this weekend that there is a museum only 15 miles (25 kilometers) away in Bruchmühlbach-Miesau dedicated to the invention and development of der Staubsauger. It looks like a lot of fun. … Continue reading →

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It’s been rainy and chilly. Last night was a crisp 43 degrees F (6 degrees C). Today is beautiful, though, sunny and hot–unseasonably warm for September. But it isn’t the start of Indian summer, as my friend Heidi points out. … Continue reading →

Posted on by Clare Dunkle | Comments Off on der Altweibersommer

My box of German cereal informs me that I’m getting 3,7 grams of Ballaststoffe in every serving. Now, I know that die Stoffe is stuff–or, to put it a nicer way, material. And I can guess pretty quickly that der … Continue reading →

Posted on by Clare Dunkle | Comments Off on die Ballaststoffe

As I flip channels on my German television set, by far the most surreal experience I can have is pausing on channel 29, TV5Monde: French television with German subtitles. The juxtaposition highlights how almost ostentatiously different the languages of these … Continue reading →

Posted on by Clare Dunkle | Comments Off on die Wut

German television is loaded with animal and nature shows. On one of them yesterday, a vet was showing off a litter of baby bunnies while their mother hovered nervously nearby. The little fist-size furballs tried to follow him out of … Continue reading →

Posted on by Clare Dunkle | 2 Comments