Learn German with Leo🦁

2022-01-30 12:25:56 Sherlock.

One of the most popular detectives around the world, the genius detective solves intricate mysteries with his intellect. Let's take a look at an excerpt of the modern Sherlock series in German!

Watson: Haben Sie irgendwas drunter?
Do you have something underneath under the sheet?
Sherlock: Nein.
No.
Watson: Okay. Buckingham Palace! Ich kämpfe gegen die Versuchung an, einen Aschenbecher zu stehlen. Was tun wir hier eigentlich? Nein, ernsthaft, was?
All right. Buckingham Palace! I'm fighting the temptation to steal some ashtray. What are we really doing here? No, seriously, what?
Sherlock: Keine Ahnung.
I have no idea.
Watson: Treffen wir die Queen?
Are we dating the queen?
Sherlock: Oh, offenbar ja!
Oh, I suppose we are!
Mycroft: Könntet ihr beide euch nicht einmal wie Erwachsene benehmen?
Couldn't you two act like adults for once?
Watson: Wir klären Verbrechen auf, ich blogge darüber und er hat seine Hose vergessen. Ich hätte da keine allzu großen Hoffnungen.
We solve crimes, I blog about it, and he forgot his pants. I wouldn't get my hopes up too high.
Sherlock: Ich stecke Mitten in einem Fall, Mycroft.
I was in the middle of an investigation, Mycroft.
Mycroft: Wie? Der Wanderer und die Fehlzündung? Ich kenne den Polizeibericht, ziemlich offenkundig, nicht?
Which one? The tourist and the broken down car? I read the police report, it's pretty obvious, isn't it?
Sherlock: Absolut offenkundig.
Absolut offenkundig.
Mycroft: Zeit für etwas neues, too. Wir sind im Buckingham Palace. Im Herzen den Britischen Nation! Sherlock Holmes, bitte, zieh deine Hosen an.
It's time for something new, though. We are at Buckingham Palace, the heart of the British nation. Sherlock Holmes, put your pants on!
Sherlock: Für wen?
For whom?
Mycroft: Für deinen Klient.
For your client.
Sherlock: Und mein Klient ist...
And my client ist.

There are several interesting moments in this scene at once:
The expression gegen Akk ankämpfen - to fight something
The colloquial expression keine Ahnung haben - to have no idea (about something)
Purgent declension: zieh deine Hosen an! (put on your pants!)

Have you seen Sherlock? Öffnen / Wie

2022-01-27 15:57:25 10 Reasons to Learn German.

It is no secret that at present German language is respected by many, yet still most people believe that it will not be useful to them later in life. But, whatever your plans for the future are, knowledge of the German language will significantly expand your opportunities:

1. Business / Business Life:
By communicating in German with German-speaking business partners, you will significantly improve partnerships and increase the chances for productive mutual understanding, which will undoubtedly have a positive impact on success.

2. Global career:
By learning German, you increase your chances to accelerate your professional and career growth. A good level of knowledge of the German language will make you a promising employee for an employer with international business connections.

3. Tourism and hotel business: Many tourists from German-speaking countries travel to all countries of the world. During the holidays, tourists spend quite a lot of money and prefer to be served by staff and guides who speak German.

4. Field of research:
German is the second most important language in the scientific world. Germany is in third place in the world in terms of research funding and funding for the development of science. Each year, Germany provides a wide variety of scholarships for students and aspiring scientists in a variety of countries.

5. Communication:
The level of today's development of information technology makes multilingual communication highly demanded. Many of the most important websites provide information in German. 10% of all books are published in German. Knowledge of the German language opens up wide access to a wide variety of information.

6. Cultural understanding: Learning German gives you the opportunity not only to see, but also to understand and accept the life, customs and dreams of the people of German-speaking countries with their multicultural community.

7. Travel:
Knowledge of German allows you to expand the list of countries to which you can go and thereby expand your travel notes, and not only about the countries in which German is spoken, but also other European countries.

8. Acquaintance with literature, music, art and philosophy: Goethe, Kafka, Mozart, Bach and Beethoven created their works in German. You can really enjoy reading or listening to these works in the original.

9. Opportunity to study and work in Germany:
Germany provides a large number of scholarships to those wishing to study in various universities in this country. For young people from abroad, there are special tourist visas that give work permits, and representatives of some professions can obtain special permits allowing them to perform certain jobs.

10. Exchange programs: Germany and many countries of the world, have agreements among themselves on the ongoing implementation of school and student exchange programs.

Why do you need/learn German? Öffnen / Wie

2022-01-21 16:12:11 How to say "Hello" in German?

It would seem that it could be simpler than an ordinary greeting and a short word "hallo", which absolutely everyone who learns German knows, but there are many options and features of the greeting.

Moreover, greetings differ both in the time of day when they are used, and in different regions where they are in use.

FACT: In Bavaria and southern Germany they usually say: Grüß Gott!. And in Berlin you often hear: Schönen Tag!

In the morning, use:
"Guten Morgen", or simply "Morgen", that is, "Good morning",

Or a generic phrase:
"Guten Tag", which means "Hello". "Guten Tag" also means "Good afternoon" and therefore can be used all day long.

FACT: By the way, the day in the German worldview system usually starts at 12:00

After about six in the evening, the Germans greet each other with the phrase:
"Guten Abend", meaning "Good evening".
"Gute Nacht", "Good night", is used either in parting at the end of the evening or when a person actually goes to bed.

There is one more greeting:
"Grüß dich", literally "I greet you". This phrase is used mainly by young people.

There are various regional variations of the German greetings.

For example, in Austria and southern Germany, the greeting is "Grüß Gott", literally hail God. And also common
"Servus!", Literally "greetings"

When in doubt about which phrase to use in a given situation, you can always say
Hallo - hello.

FACT: It's always best to start with a more formal address and gradually move to a less formal one if you feel like the person you're talking to.

Since the Germans pay great attention to formalities, they constantly use titles. When referring to someone who is not your friend, always use words like Herr, Frau, Dr (Mr, Mrs, Dr) combined with their last name - Herr, Frau, Dr Schmidt.

A little bit about goodbyes

A number of expressions can also be used to say goodbye, which vary depending on the status of the person you are talking to.

If the situation is formal, you can say "Auf Wiedersehen", "Goodbye", literally: "until we see you again."

In a circle of friends or in an informal setting, you can use "Bis bald", "See you soon", "Tschüss", "Bye" or "Sehen wir uns" - "See you". Öffnen / Wie

2022-01-12 11:19:14 Let's learn the endings of adjectives

- lich:
freundlich - friendly
sportlich - sports
glücklich - happy

- isch:
fantastisch - fantastic
exotisch - exotic
optimistisch - optimistic

- sch:
falsch - wrong, erroneous, fake
deutsch - German
hübsch - handsome, cute, cute

- ig:
richtig - correct
dreckig - dirty
lustig - funny

- lig:
billig - cheap, inexpensive, primitive
langweilig - boring
heilig - saint

- bar:
wunderbar - wonderful
furchtbar - terrible
genießbar - edible

- los:
sinnlos - meaningless
bewusstlos - unconscious
arbeitslos - unemployed

- haft:
ekelhaft - nasty, disgusting
zauberhaft - charming
dauerhaft - durable, solid

- sam:
langsam - slow
seltsam - strange
sparsam - economical, frugal

- voll:
wertvoll - valuable
sinnvoll - appropriate, reasonable
qualvoll - torturous

- reich:
hilfreich - useful
zahlreich - numerous
kalorienreich - high in calories

- ant:
interessant - interesting
elegant - elegant
riskant - risky

- al:
fatal - fatal
banal - banal
total - total

- ell:
offiziell - official
originell - original
visuell - visual

- iv:
aggressiv - aggressive
intensiv - intensive
kreativ - creative

- ös:
seriös - serious
nervös - nervous
religiös - religious

- ern:
silbern - silver, silver
modern - modern
nüchtern - sober

- end:
spannend - fun, intense
passend - suitable
fließend - runaway, current Öffnen / Wie

2022-01-10 09:14:38 Useful phrases for everyday communication.
Save them!

Ich habe kein(en) Bock darauf! = I don't want that! / No mood for that!

Das ist echt Spitze! = This is super!

Gott sei Dank! = Thank God!

Es ist mir Wurst = I don't care.

Wann treffen wir uns? = When will we meet?

Was sagen Sie dazu? = What do you say to that?

Das macht aber nichts! = But it's okay!

Es tut mir Leid. = I'm sorry.

Wie schade! = What a pity!

Leider nicht. = Sorry, no.

Alles Gute! = Good luck!

Schämen Sie sich! = Be ashamed!

Was ist los? = What happened?

Lassen Sie mich in Ruhe. = Leave me alone.

Kennen wir uns nicht? = Looks like we know each other?

Einen Augenblick bitte. = Wait a second, please.

Meine besten Glückwünsche. = Please accept my best wishes.

Fahren Sie so schnell Sie können. = Come as soon as possible.

Kein Problem. = No problem.

Was du nicht sagst! = What are you!

Das ist ja eine Überraschung! = What a surprise!

Kommt nicht in Frage! = This is out of the question!

Hast du etwas dagegen? = Do you have anything against?

Ich habe nichts dagegen. = I have nothing against it.

Ich drück dir die Daumen! = I hold my fists for you!

Viel Spaß! = Have a good time! / Good luck!

Gute Reise! = Bon voyage!

Gute Besserung! = Get well soon!

Lass dir schmecken! = Help yourself!

Gut geschlafen? = How did you sleep?

Mach's gut! = Good luck!

Alles Gute! = Good luck!

Gleichfalls! = Mutually! / And to you the same! Öffnen / Wie

2022-01-06 22:08:55 Transport in German

Today we have gathered for you a small but useful selection of words for the main types of transport in German.

Transport can be land (Landtransport / Bodentransport / Landverkehr), air (Luftverkehrstransport) and water (Wassertransport)

Landtransport
die Straßenbahn, -en - streetcar
das Auto, -s - car
der Lkw ( elkave) =Lastkraftwagen - truck
der Bus, -se -bus
der Zug, -(e)s, a train
das Fahrrad, -"(e)s - bicycle

Luftverkehrstransport
der Hubschrauber, -s - helicopter
das Flugzeug, -e - airplane
der Heißluftballon, - s - a balloon

Wassertransport
der Wasserbus, -se - water bus
das Motorboot, -s - motorboat
die Jacht, -en - boat
das Segelboot, -e, a sailboat
das Motorschiff, -e - motorboat Öffnen / Wie

2022-01-03 20:45:48 Days of the week in German

Happy New Year once again! We'll start it off with something useful - let's remember what the days of the week are called in German

The very word "day of the week" - der Wochentag was formed from the merger of the German words "die Woche" - week" - and "der Tag" - day. And the most important thing to remember is that all days of the week in German are masculine (Masculinum), which means they are written with the article der.

So, let's go, let's remember the names of the days:

der Montag - Monday
der Dienstag - Tuesday
der Mittwoch - Wednesday
der Donnerstag - Thursday
der Freitag - Friday.
der Samstag - Saturday
der Sonntag - Sunday

Note that the word Saturday has two translations: der Samstag and der Sonnabend. The first variant used to be used more in the south and the second in the north of Germany. But recently, the word Samstag is considered official and is therefore used in speech more often.

For speed and convenience Germans also abbreviate the days of the week to the first two letters: Mo, Di, Mi, Do, Fr, Sa, So.

One version is that the names of the days of the week came from the names of the ancient Germanic-Scandinavian gods. Each day was associated with the name of a particular god or goddess.
Montag (Monday) was a day dedicated to the moon goddess (Mond).
Dienstag (Tuesday) comes from the Greek word dios, a deity, consonant with the name of the Germanic god of war Tiu.
There are two versions of the origin of the word Mittwoch (Wednesday). One of them says that it was named after Wotan, the Germanic father of the gods, and that it used to be called Wodanstag. The other is that Wednesday is the middle of the week, as is reflected in its names: "die Mitte" (the middle) and "die Woche" (the week).
Donnerstag (Thursday) is dedicated to Donnar (Thor), god of thunder and storms.
Freitag (Friday) is for Freya, the Germanic-Scandinavian goddess of love.
Samstag (Sabbath) comes from the Hebrew word for Sabbath and is named for the god Saturn.
Sonntag (Sunday) is the day of the Sun, a day of joy, rest and fellowship with family.

We suggest a little practice - what day of the week is today? Öffnen / Wie

2021-12-25 11:01:24 Christmas Wortschatz

Christmas Eve is a magical time that you always want to spend with close friends and family. We have prepared for you a selection of vocabulary related to the upcoming holiday!

das Weihnachten - Christmas
der Weihnachtsmann - German Santa Claus
der Nikolaustag - St. Nicholas Day
der Heilige Abend - Christmas Eve

der Weihnachtsmarkt - Christmas market
der Weihnachtslieder - Christmas carols
die Glocke - bell
der Engel - angel
der Weihnachtsstiefel - the Christmas shoe
die Schneeflocke - snowflake
der Schneemann - snowman

das Geschenk - gift
der Spielzeug - a toy
der Tannenbaum - Christmas tree
der Weihnachtskranz - a Christmas wreath
die Kerze - candle
der Adventskalender - the Christmas calendar

das Weihnachtsgebäck - Christmas baked goods
die Weihnachtsplätzchen - Christmas cookies
der Lebkuchen - artisan bread
die Weihnachtsgans - Christmas goose
der Glühwein - mulled wine.

Frohe Weihnachten! - Merry Christmas! Öffnen / Wie

2021-12-23 13:28:42 Christmas in Germany

In ancient times, pagan tribes celebrated the winter solstice day, which fell on December 21.

Before the advent of Christianity, many Germanic peoples worshipped a pantheon of gods, meaning they were pagans. The pagan holiday was called Julfest. People rejoiced that the daylight hours were now getting longer and longer. Today, the word "Jul" in some Scandinavian languages means "Christmas."

In 45 BC the new Julian calendar was introduced. According to this calendar, the winter solstice day was moved to December 25.

In the 3rd century A.D. a Christian church was founded that forbade the pagan holiday, but this custom was already deeply rooted in society. According to the decision of the church, December 25 began to celebrate the birth of Christ.

Already in those days, people decorated their homes in anticipation of the holiday with fir branches. Evergreen branches symbolized fertility and vitality.

The traditions of celebration changed over time. Since the mid-18th century, a decorated Christmas tree is placed in living rooms. Christmas becomes a family holiday for which it is customary to stay home and spend time with loved ones.

It is important to note that no matter how customs change, Christmas always remains the main holiday for Germans.

Read about how Christmas is celebrated in modern Germany in our article. Öffnen / Wie

2021-12-17 00:02:20 GEBEN and it's prefixes

You know that the verb geben means "to give" and many other things. But what if you add prefixes to this verb? That's exactly what we're going to talk about today.

angeben - to indicate, to name, to inform.
It can refer to an address or a place (time) of a meeting:
Geben Sie bitte Ihre Adresse an - Give me your address, please

aufgeben - to hand over (luggage), to give.
This verb can also be used in the sense of "submit", e.g:
Ich möchte eine Anzeige in der Zeitung aufgeben - I want to submit an ad to a newspaper.

ausgeben - to give out, release, issue (order)
In addition, this verb can also mean "to spend (money)" and "to treat":
Da muss ich dir ein Bier ausgeben. - I'm the one who should treat you to a beer.

(sich) begeben - to go somewhere.
Schließlich, hatte er sich in die nahe gelegene Stadt begeben. - Finally, he went to the nearest town.

ergeben - to reveal, to show, to give
This verb is used to show the results of some action, for example:
Vor kurzem hat eine Umfrage ergeben... - A recent survey showed...

(sich) ergeben - to turn out, to give up
Sonst hätte ich mich Ihnen kaum ergeben. - Otherwise I wouldn't have surrendered to you.

nachgeben - to add, to surrender, to yield
Er gibt nie nach - He never gives up.

vorgeben - to pretend, to falsely assert
Ich werde einfach vorgeben, dass mir jemand geschrieben hat. - I simply pretend that someone wrote to me.

vergeben - to forgive, to provide (for example, a report)
Zunächst einmal musst du mir vergeben. - To begin with, you must forgive me.

zugeben - to give in addition, to add to, to admit (guilt)
Ich muss zugeben, ich bin ein wenig eifersüchtig. - I have to admit that I am a little jealous. Öffnen / Wie