Learn German with Leo🦁

2021-11-18 13:07:46 Wollen Sie eine Wohnung mieten?

Today we're going to try to figure out what vocabulary you'll need to rent a flat in Germany

And the first word is mieten - to rent, borrow, lease. Hence the noun - die Miete (rent, hire, hire out, as well as rent). But if you look at rental ads, you're bound to come across these two words: Kaltmiete and Warmmiete. What are they? It is the cost of rent without other expenses (Kaltmiete) and with the "full package" - Warmmiete.

What is included in Warmmiete?
Nebenkosten (extra costs), which include Hauswart (housekeeping), Schneeräumung (snow removal), Gartenpflege (gardening), Gebühren für Kehricht, Wasser und Abwasser (waste charges, water and sewage), Allgemeinstrom in Treppenhaus und Waschküche (electricity in common areas - stairs and laundry room), TV-Gebühren (TV fees) and Heizkosten (heating costs).

Remember that in addition to the monthly Miete you have to pay a Kauton (deposit), which is about 2 or 3 months' rent.

What other features can be found in the listings? Number of rooms (Zimmer), Wohnfläche (area). House type (e.g. Etagenwohnung - flat in a multi-storey building), floor (Geschoss), year the house was built (Baujahr).

What additional rental details can the landlord add?
Balcony (Balkon)
Term of tenancy (Bezug)
Other rooms available to the tenant: Stellplatz (parking), Kelleranteil (space in the basement)
For those who like pets - Haustiere erlaubt (pets allowed)

Under the heading Lage you can find information about the position of the house and the infrastructure nearby. You will need the following expressions:
unweit - nearby, not far, close by
Einkaufsmöglichkeiten - various shops; shopping opportunities
Wochenende Möglichkeiten - leisure activities
Etwas liegt... - something located...
in - Minuten erreichen - to reach in - minutes
in der Nähe... - nearby Öffnen / Wie

2021-11-16 11:59:10 Swear words in German

What does a German say when he's just angry and when he's really, really angry? In German, obscene vocabulary has a certain structure, which we're going to look at now:

Fluchwörter

Crude expressions by which the speaker expresses a vivid emotion, such as anger, frustration or wishing something bad.

Schimpfwörter.

They are used to give a negative characteristic to an object (a person or an object) to offend or humiliate it. They are often formed from words like "shit" (and everything related to it) and all sorts of names of body parts as well as animals.

Vulgarismen (vulgarisms).

Basically, this group of owls includes words from the previous two categories in everyday speech, not necessarily to offend anyone, but often just to fill a pause.

Click the button below to open the article, find examples for each category and find out where in Germany you can use swear words and where you can't! Öffnen / Wie

2021-11-15 09:28:20 ​​ Opposites attract! Let's learn some German antonyms

fleißig (hard-working) - faul (lazy)

schnell (fast) - langsam (slow)

teuer (expensive) - billig (cheap)

hoch (high) - niedrig (low)

sauber (clean) - schmutzig (dirty)

geizig (greedy) - freigebig (generous)

klug (clever) - dumm (stupid)

lustig (happy) - traurig (sad, sad)

hungrig (hungry) - satt (full)

dick (fat) - dünn (thin)

laut (loud) - leise (quiet)

alt (old) - jung (young), neu (new)

voll (full) - leer (empty)

klein (small) - groß (large)

reich (rich) - arm (poor)

leicht (light) - schwer (heavy)

fett (fat) - mager (skinny)

hart (tough) - weich (soft)

lang (long) - kurz (short)

eng (narrow) - breit (wide)

stark (strong) - schwach (weak)

hell (light) - dunkel (dark)

trocken (dry) - nass (wet)

tief (deep) - flach (shallow)

gerade (straight) - krumm (crooked) Öffnen / Wie

2021-11-10 09:16:13 Apologies accepted

I messed up after all. How? I can't imagine! What a situation... Well, don't worry! It happens to everyone. The main thing is to be able to correctly and correctly apologize in any language, including German.

Yes, yes, today we are speaking just about that. You need to learn the options for apologies at the very, very beginning, because they will definitely be needed in life, at least in order to be polite. You've probably already learned the phrase:
Ich entschuldige mich - I'm sorry.

And you actively use it, but this is not a very correct phrase.
The most common, generally accepted and neutral apology is with the verb (sich) entschuldigen and the noun die Entschuldigung. They are used without restrictions and in any situation, however, as mentioned above, saying "Ich entschuldige mich" is not entirely correct (although German speakers often say so).

The fact is that (sich) entschuldigen is a reflexive verb, which means that we return the action to ourselves. Literally it turns out, I EXCUSE MYSELF - this is incorrect, the interlocutor must excuse you, so we give the correct versions of the apology:

Ich möchte mich bei Ihnen entschuldigen - I must apologize to you (the most polite option)

Entschuldigen Sie mich bitte! - I'm sorry/ Forgive me please

Ich bitte um Entschuldigung! - Pardon me/I ask for forgiveness

Entschuldigung! - Excuse me!

Ich möchte um Entschuldigung bitten! - I apologize to you.

Deep apologies for significant actions or deeds are usually expressed with the verb verzeihen and the noun die Verzeihung:

Verzeihung! - Excuse me!

Verzeihen Sie mir bitte! - Excuse me, please!

Ich möchte um Verzeihung bitten! - I want to ask for forgiveness!

Ich bitte um Verzeihung! - Sorry, sorry!

Verzeihen Sie meinen Fehler! - Forgive my mistake!


When something insignificant happened, it is customary to apologize with the word Pardon!
Such an apology is absolutely non-binding and is accepted only in informal communication.

How else can you make amends? There are also "pro" non-standard expressions, for example:

Was habe ich da angerichtet / gemacht / getan! - What have I done!

Wie kann ich das wieder gutmachen? - How can I make amends?

Seien Sie mir nicht böse! - Do not be angry at me!

Es tut mir leid! - I'm sorry!

Finally, the incident happened, the apology is accepted, which can be heard in response:

Das macht nichts - that's nothing

Das war doch nicht so schlimm - It's okay / It wasn't that bad

Kein Problem! Keine Frage! Kein Thema! - No problem! No question! No topic!


Now you are fully armed. And even if the trouble does happen, you can beautifully apologize. Then your opponent will have nothing to say but “macht nichts”.

Which phrase do you say more often? Öffnen / Wie

2021-11-08 09:20:16 15 tips on how to new learn words effectively!

1. Underline and highlight words

2. Learn the words for 30 minutes at a time, with a 10-minute break.

3. The brighter, more unusual or vulgar the word you memorize, the better.

4. Create sentences from the words

5. Words with pictures are better to remember

6. Imagine the word, say the word, picture the word

7. Sleep. Regular and healthy sleep is the main component of the learning process

8. Repeat:

first time in a few minutes;
second time - after 1 hour;
the third time - after sleeping;
fourth time - after 1 month.

9. Memorize no more than 7 new words at a time

10. Make chains of words. Example: table-chair-girl.

11. Mental attitude: imagine yourself successful, set yourself up for success.

12. Human possibilities are limitless with regular rest and a sense of security;
- to memorize information, imagine it;
- rest with music & a quiet sound of foreign words being pronounced;
- use of words in games, daily activities, etc.

13. Imagine the words you are hearing in music

14. The better the description of the word, the better

15. 50-100 new words in 1 day - possible!

Do you remember new vocabulary easily? Öffnen / Wie

2021-11-06 10:12:36 German prepositions with Akkusativ

German prepositions (placed before nouns) and postpositions (placed after nouns), indicate the location of a person and an object, they can be used either with the dative case (Wo?), or with the accusative case (Wohin?). However, there are also prepositions that are always used only with Akkusativ. They need to be learned.

um - around

um den Apfelbaum - around the apple tree
um die Straßenbahn - around the tram
um das Sommerhaus = ums Sommerhaus - around the country house

durch - through

durch das Notspeiserohr = durchs Notspeiserohr - through the emergency feed pipe
durch den Gang - across the hallway
durch die Wand - through the wall

entlang - along

den Kai entlang - along the waterfront
die Küste entlang - along the coast
das Tal entlang - along the valley

gegen - against

gegen den Wind - against the wind
gegen die Ungerechtigkeit - against injustice
gegen das Moratorium - against the moratorium

wider - contrary to, against

wider den Strom - against the stream
wider (alles) Erwarten - contrary to (all) expectations
wider (alle) Erwartung - contrary to (all) expectations

für - for

für den Kollegen - for a colleague
für die Wahrheit - for the truth
für das Volkswohl = fürs Volkswohl - for the good of the people

ohne - without

ohne Anstand - without delay, no delay
ohne Warnung - without warning
ohne Datum - without a date

bis - until

bis Mittwoch - until Wednesday
bis Ende des Jahres - until the end of the year
bis Mitternacht - until midnight

betreffend - relatively, in relation

betreffend die Zusammenarbeit - regarding cooperation
betreffend den neuen Termin - regarding the new date
betreffend das Vorhandensein - regarding availability

Let's now see how all of the above prepositions are used in German sentences:

Unsere Kinder sitzen gerne um den runden Tisch. - Our children like to sit around the round table.

Die Berge kann dein Sohn durch das Fernglas sehen. - Your son can see the mountains through the binoculars.

Dieser Autobahn entlang gab es viele Zypressen. - There were many cypress trees along this highway.

Sie alle beabsichtigen, gegen die Internetzensur zu demonstrieren. - They all intend to demonstrate against internet censorship.

Der LKW war gegen die Brückenstütze gefahren. - The truck drove into the bridge support.

Dein Mann handelte immer wider besseres Wissen. - Your husband always acted against his better judgment.

Seine Kameraden glühen für das Vaterland. - His comrades are burning with patriotism.

Dieses Restaurant war zu teuer für unsere Freunde. - This restaurant was too expensive for our friends.

Barbara wartete auf uns bis Mittag. - Barbara waited for us until noon.

Seine Tante saß am Schreibtisch ohne Brille. - His aunt was sitting at her desk without glasses.

Der Anruf betreffend die Verlängerung der Lieferzeit hat ihn überrascht. - The call regarding the lengthening of delivery dates startled him. Öffnen / Wie

2021-11-03 09:09:07 German prepositions with Akkusativ

German prepositions (placed before nouns) and postpositions (placed after nouns), indicate the location of a person and an object, they can be used either with the dative case (Wo?), or with the accusative case (Wohin?). However, there are also prepositions that are always used only with Akkusativ. They need to be learned.

um - around

um den Apfelbaum - around the apple tree
um die Straßenbahn - around the tram
um das Sommerhaus = ums Sommerhaus - around the country house

durch - through

durch das Notspeiserohr = durchs Notspeiserohr - through the emergency feed pipe
durch den Gang - across the hallway
durch die Wand - through the wall

entlang - along

den Kai entlang - along the waterfront
die Küste entlang - along the coast
das Tal entlang - along the valley

gegen - against

gegen den Wind - against the wind
gegen die Ungerechtigkeit - against injustice
gegen das Moratorium - against the moratorium

wider - contrary to, against

wider den Strom - against the stream
wider (alles) Erwarten - contrary to (all) expectations
wider (alle) Erwartung - contrary to (all) expectations

für - for

für den Kollegen - for a colleague
für die Wahrheit - for the truth
für das Volkswohl = fürs Volkswohl - for the good of the people

ohne - without

ohne Anstand - without delay, no delay
ohne Warnung - without warning
ohne Datum - without a date

bis - until

bis Mittwoch - until Wednesday
bis Ende des Jahres - until the end of the year
bis Mitternacht - until midnight

betreffend - relatively, in relation

betreffend die Zusammenarbeit - regarding cooperation
betreffend den neuen Termin - regarding the new date
betreffend das Vorhandensein - regarding availability

Let's now see how all of the above prepositions are used in German sentences:

Unsere Kinder sitzen gerne um den runden Tisch. - Our children like to sit around the round table.

Die Berge kann dein Sohn durch das Fernglas sehen. - Your son can see the mountains through the binoculars.

Dieser Autobahn entlang gab es viele Zypressen. - There were many cypress trees along this highway.

Sie alle beabsichtigen, gegen die Internetzensur zu demonstrieren. - They all intend to demonstrate against internet censorship.

Der LKW war gegen die Brückenstütze gefahren. - The truck drove into the bridge support.

Dein Mann handelte immer wider besseres Wissen. - Your husband always acted against his better judgment.

Seine Kameraden glühen für das Vaterland. - His comrades are burning with patriotism.

Dieses Restaurant war zu teuer für unsere Freunde. - This restaurant was too expensive for our friends.

Barbara wartete auf uns bis Mittag. - Barbara waited for us until noon.

Seine Tante saß am Schreibtisch ohne Brille. - His aunt was sitting at her desk without glasses.

Der Anruf betreffend die Verlängerung der Lieferzeit hat ihn überrascht. - The call regarding the lengthening of delivery dates startled him. Öffnen / Wie

2021-10-30 20:40:49 10 very useful words. With examples and explanations!

ALLE - all (+ plural nouns)
Alle Bücher auf diesem Regal hat seine Tante gekauft. - All the books on this shelf were bought by his aunt.

ALLES - all (without noun).
Seine Mutter hat alles rechtzeitig erfahren. - His mother knew everything in time.

GANZ - adjective "whole"
Barbara konnte die ganze Nacht wegen des Lärms im Nebenzimmer nicht einschlafen. - Barbara could not sleep all night because of the noise in the next room.

GANZ - adverb 'completely, totally, totally'
Monika sieht ganz traurig auf diesem Bild aus. - Monika looks completely sad in this picture.

VIEL is an adverb for 'many' and is used with real and abstract nouns.
Unsere Studenten arbeiten sehr viel an ihrer Aussprache. - Our students work very hard on their pronunciation.

VIEL - adverb 'much' + comparative degree of adjective
Der Wind ist heute viel stärker geworden. - The wind is much stronger today.

VIELE - pronoun "many" + plural nouns
Auf dem Strand hat Petra viele wunderschöne Muscheln gefunden. - Petra found many beautiful shells on the beach.

JETZT - adverb "now, presently, now"
Jetzt könnt ihr den Tannenbaum schmücken. - Now you can decorate the Christmas tree.

GLEICH - adverb "soon, about to, now".
Wann kommt unsere Spanischlehrerin? - Sie kommt gleich! - When is our Spanish teacher coming? - She is about to come!

GLEICH - adverb "indifferent"
Ihrem Sohn ist nicht alles gleich. - Her son is not indifferent to everything.

EBEN - adverb "just now" = erst eben
Jemand hat eben an die Tür geklopft. - Someone just knocked on the door.

IMMER - adverb 'always'
Deine Schwester kauft immer schicke Kleider. - Your sister always buys elegant dresses.

IMMER - adverb 'all' + comparative degree of the adjective
Deine Artikel werden immer kürzer und immer schlechter. - Your articles are getting shorter and worse.

ERST - adverb 'only, only' in relation to time
Klara ist heute erst um 23.00 nach Hause zurückgekehrt. - Klara is only back home at 11.00 pm today.

NUR - adverb "only, only" not about time
Monika hat nur eine Lederjacke. - Monika has only one leather jacket. Öffnen / Wie

2021-10-24 09:55:50 Useful phrases for everyday communication.

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

2021-10-20 19:43:30 I like... The use of "gern(e)", "mögen" and "schmecken"

Today we will deal with the rules of use and the main meanings of these verbs, as well as learn useful info

We all love to do something!

In order to emphasize your passion for action, you must use the construction: verb + gern(e). In this case, the verb, of course, is conjugated, and gern(e) is placed at the end of the sentence. Gern(e) is translated into English as "gladly", "with pleasure".

× Ich schwimme gern - I like to swim / I swim with pleasure

× Er reist gerne - He likes to travel / He travels with pleasure

× Lesen Sie gerne? - Do you like to read / Do you read with pleasure?

We all like to eat something!

If we say that we love some kind of food, then in most cases the verb mögen is used. Actually, this is a modal verb and it has a lot of different meanings, but we need to remember: we use it with food and drink!

× Ich mag Pizza - I like pizza

× Magst du Kaffee? - Do you like coffee?

× Sie mögen diese Speise nicht. - They don't like this dish.

Tap the button below to read the full article. Öffnen / Wie