Language is love

I have a queer platonic partner (transman so the gender of the term partner isn't an issue). But I can't find any terms in german for QPR/QPP. Do you have any resources for vocab on this specific sort of area of aro/acespec culture?

Hello! It's great that you're searching for words to describe your situation instead of compromising your reality to be able to use the words provided.

In general: the word partner in German, is gendered (boo!): der Partner, die Partnerin. If your partner is a transman and feels comfortable with it, you can go with "mein Partner" though, which is great. If you want to talk about your partner's gender identity, you'll likely want to use: ein Transmann, transgender/trans, queer

The german word for a QPR is: queerplatonische Beziehung (taken from english, of course)

if you want to familiarize yourself with german info about it:

wikipedia: Queerplatonische Beziehung (there's german sources in the sources too, hidden in between english ones :)

short brochure by aromanticism.org about aro/ace (and QPR)

short blog-post on echte-vielfalt.de

I would really like to share this app with all of you - Polygloss!

The premise is really simple - you are given a picture, and you need to describe it in a way that the other person will understand! Then, you'll be given the other person's description, and will need to figure out, which picture it is!

I cannot say enough how good it is for your brain. And if you will make a mistake, don't worry - other person can correct it, and you'll be able to give them a lil' reward as a thanks!

As you can see, I have a long road ahead. But maybe, we can go on this walk together!

Feel free to join me! (⁠つ⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)⁠つ

das Backblech – baking tray die Backform – baking tin das Backpapier – baking paper der Esslöffel (pl. die Esslöffel) – tablespoon das Küchenmesser (pl. die Küchenmesser) – kitchen knife die Küchenwaage – kitchen scales der Küchenwecker – kitchen timer der Messbecher (pl. die Messbecher) – measuring cup der Ofen – oven das Papierbackförmchen – patty pan; paper case die Pfanne – pan der Pfannenwender – spatula die Reibe – grater das Rezept (pl. die Rezepte) – recipe das Sägemesser – serrated knife der Schneebesen (pl. die Schneebesen) – whisk das Schneidbrett (pl. die Schneidbretter) – cutting board der Schongarer – slow cooker das Sieb – sieve der Sparschäler – peeler der Stabmixer – stick blender der Teelöffel (pl. die Teelöffel) – teaspoon der Topf (pl. die Töpfe) – pot; saucepan der Topfhandschuh – (pl. die Topfhandschuhe) – oven mitt der Topflappen (pl. die Topflappen) – potholder die Zutat – ingredient

(etwas) ausrollen – to roll (something) out braten – to roast; to fry einfetten – to grease entkernen – to core garen – to cook hacken – to chop kochen – to cook; to boil messen – to measure pürieren – puree raspeln – to grate reiben – to grate schneiden – to slice umrühren – to stir (etwas) verquirlen – to whisk (something) vorheizen – to preheat (etwas) wenden – to turn (something) over; to flip (something) wiegen – to weigh würzen – to season zubereiten – to prepare

cremig – creamy frisch – fresh klebrig – sticky knusprig – crispy körnig – grainy schmackhaft – tasty tiefgefroren – frozen

YouTube

Benjamin - Der Deutschlehrer

My favorite channel for specifically preparing for the exam. Very good at explaining letters, conversations, that sort of thing. Also very helpful with advice on what to add or take away in the delivery to make it sound more b1 rather than a2.

LordPappnase

I love his gameplay videos and his way of speaking. But frankly, he's more as an example here - go to youtube and type in your hobby/special interest/favorite game/favorite media + deutsch into the search box and you'll get a lot of auditory training, which you won't be bored watching! I have to admit, I get terribly bored watching all these videos that are specifically designed for language learners - they look in places like they think I'm an idiot >.<

Android Apps

Babbel

The best program for learning German in my eyes. Grammar, drills, interesting topics - it's all there. But, a small nuance - it is the best for those who know Ukrainian, because then you will have a full course without ads and restrictions. I do not know why. But it's worth taking advantage of if you have the opportunity!

Flashcards // Anki // Drops

You will always benefit from a program which is simply a deck of useful words to memorize.. I used Flashcards like 90% of the time, but the other two will also do the job if you like them better.

Tutor Lily

I can't put into words the usefulness of this app. It's a chatbot with whom you can talk a little every day - and thus literally force your brain to lay down the neural pathways of how you should communicate in a particular language. I credit my 97/100 on speaking to this program alone. It is 100% worth it.

Polygloss

Shows you images that you have to describe in your target language. It doesn't sound particularly helpful, but one part of the DTZ exam is literally describing the picture! So it's actually insanely useful - including the fact that it forces you to look up words to describe different objects, events, and the like (or think of what you can call it if you forget a specific word).

Clozemaster

Read more about how I use it here and here!~

Additional notes:

I'm sorry, but there is no way to “learn a language in two weeks”. They're lying to you. You have to sit and study, half an hour a day, ten minutes - even five minutes. Every day. Or every other day. Learning a language takes time, and even if someone was able to memorize a few lines for an exam to pass, factually speaking, it's a Pyrrhic victory - they still have to learn it all over again if they want to really know the language and not just pass the exam (which may work on b1, but good luck with b2 then, me dude).

You will be bored. You will feel like nothing is happening. That's part of the process - and there's no avoiding it. And that's okay.

Find something that lets you dip your feet into the language, but doesn't feel like bloody agony - for me, it was listening to the German podcast Easy German on the way to and from my courses. By the time of the exam, I had listened to about 70 hours of this podcast, which is 70 hours of uninterrupted German. By the end, I was even understanding it very well!

If you like playing video games, put on German voiceovers. Even if you leave the text in your native language, it's still an unconscious imersion - and every minute is worth it.

While you're at it - put German dubbing in your movies and TV series too. It may be strange at first, but it also helps a lot!

And in the name of all that is holy, don't use chat gpt. No, chat gpt's “wonderful courses and explanations” won't help you. No, if you throw your letters into it, it won't analyze them and give you a worthwhile assessment - it'll hallucinate and give you some faulty answers.

Please. We really don't need another person starting their German letter with “Guten Tag,”, as did at least 3 of my coursemates <.<

If you didn’t see the original post — it’s an immersion based language game good for beginners, the idea being you’re dropped on an island and have to figure out the language.

It has a surprising number of languages too.

Latin-American Spanish

Castilian Spanish

French

Italian

German

Brazilian Portuguese

Tagalog

Dutch

Turkish

I haven’t tried it yet, I’ll get back to you lot when I do. I’ll probably test the Spanish and then maybe try Dutch or Tagalog :-)

(my favorites!)

1. Resources I use everyday and I always have open.

http://verbformen.com/ Dictionary. I love it because not only it tells you the meaning, but it tells you the conjugation of the verbs and the declension of the words, also has examples in sentences.

https://der-artikel.de/ You can write a word and it gives you the article it uses (die, der, das). My favorite use of this is that it also gives you the plurar of the word, so I always use it for quick searches. Also gives you the article in all the 4 cases.

Pons Translator. Works great from german-spanish/spanish-german, also has other langauges but I haven't tested them, but I can guess it works fine too. You can also click on every individual word for more definitions.

2. Resources I use to learn or practice

https://learngerman.dw.com/ | Nicos Weg This website has a lot of resources to learn german, one of them is Nicos Weg (pretty well known) with videos and exercises. Great to practice but not the best to learn imo.

vhs-Lernportal This one is GREAT! Has lessons and a lot of exercises, also audios and option of recording so you can compare your self.

3. Resources for spanish speakers

AlemanSencillo.com Explicaciones de lecciones de alemán. No es mi favorita para aprender, porque a veces viene demasiada información y no está muy simplificada, pero cuando tengo dudas con un tema lo busco aquí y tiene muy buenas explicaciones.

Alemán Sin Tapujos. Explicaciones muy sencillas, suelen añadir gráficos y pictogramas que se entienden genial. Muchas veces también añaden documentos de google drive con ejercicios o más explicaciones.

"English has more phonemes than many languages, with around 44, depending on which variety of English you speak. It has an unusually large set of vowel sounds – there are around 11. According to WALS, most spoken languages only have between five to six vowel sounds. This is part of the reason that English spelling is fiendishly complicated, because it has inherited five letters for vowels from the Roman alphabet and speakers have to make them work for more than twice that number of sounds.

List of various terms of endearment that can be used in different languages. A lot of them are gender neutral.

English

Dear

Pet

Baby

Babe

Honey

Darling

My love

Sunshine

Sweetheart

Sweet cheeks

Prince/Princess

Arabic

Habibi حبيبي (my love)

Ya hayati يا حياتي (my life)

Ya qalbi يا قلبي (my heart)

Ya ruhi يا روحي (my soul)

German

Liebling (beloved/favourite)

Schatz (treasure)

Kleines (little one) (mostly f)

Maus (mouse)

Engel / Engelchen (angel)

French

Mon amour (my love)

Mon cœur (my heart)

Chéri (m) / Chérie (f) (darling)

Italian

Tesoro (treasure)

Amore mio (my love)

Cuore mio (my heart)

Spanish

Cariño (darling)

Bebé (baby)

Corazón (heart)

Mi amor (my love)

Romanian

Iubi (Sweet heart/darling)

Iubirea mea (my love)

Draga mea (f) / Dragul meu (m) (my darling)

Turkish

Aşkım (my loved one)

Canım (my love/soul)

Hayatım (my life)

Dutch

Schatje (treasure)

Lieve (loved one)

Hebrew

Chaim sheli חיים שלי (my life)

Neshama sheli נשמה שלי (my soul)

Lev sheli לב שלי (my heart)

Welsh

Cariad (love)

Hindi

Meri jaan मेरी जान (my life)

Malay

Sayang (dear/darling)

Afrikaans

Lief (love)

Liefie (lovey)

Farsi

Joon/Jaan جان (life)

Azizam عزیزم (my dear)

Asalam عسلم (my honey)

Golam گلم (flower)

Urdu

Meri jaan میری جان (my life)

Pyaari پیاری (sweetheart)

Shahzadi شہزادی (f) (princess)

Polish

Kochanie (my beloved)

Korean

Jagiya 자기야 (honey/baby)

Aegiya 애기야 (baby/little one)

Gongjunim 공주님 (f) (princess)

Wangjanim 왕자님 (m) (prince)

Nae Sarang 내 사랑 (my love)

Gwiyomi 귀요미 (cutie)

Italian puts a G before L or N, as in tagliatelle and gnocchi.

Portuguese puts an H after L or N, as in Julho and vinho.

Spanish doubles the letter, as in llamo and cabaña (???).

The secret here is that the letter "Ñ" was originally "NN". The squiggle on the top is actually a second, teeny N, being worn as a hat, because why waste horizontal space when you can just stack the letters for convenience?

Sight

rolling waves crashing on the shore

seagulls flying overhead

golden sand stretching along the coastline

seashells, driftwood, and seaweed scattered on the beach

people sunbathing, playing, or walking

dogs jumping around the water

a group of people playing volleyball or frisbee

boats on the horizon or surfers in the water

the shimmer of sunlight reflecting on the water

Hearing

the rhythmic crashing of waves

crying seagulls and other coastal birds

children laughing and playing

yelling from groups playing volleyball

the distant hum of boats or jet skis

wind rustling through palm trees or beach grass

vendors selling ice cream, yelling out to their potential customers

footsteps crunching in the sand

Touch

warm, grainy sand beneath your feet

cool ocean water lapping at your ankles

a salty breeze brushing against your skin

smooth pebbles, rough shells, or prickly bits of dried seaweed

the sun's heat on your skin

ice cream cone in hand

dampness from the sea mist or splash of waves

rough skin, dehydrated from the sea water

getting sand in places you wish it wouldn't touch

Smell

salty sea air

the scent of seaweed

the smell of sunscreen

barbecues or food stands nearby (grilled fish, fries)

a faint fishy or musty ocean smell

Taste

salt on your lips from the ocean spray

a hint of sand in all your snacks

fresh seafood from a stall or a nearby restaurant

sweetness from tropical fruit or ice cream

More: How to create an atmosphere

the winter of civilisation

fruits we'll never taste, languages we'll never hear: the need for needless complexity

emily dickinson and the creative solitude of space

the lost art of looking at nature

the bowl, the ram and the folded map: navigating the complicated world

ada limón on preparing the body for a reopened world

before it was 'bittersweet', nostalgia was seen as a parasite

why alien languages could be far stranger than we imagine

the fig leaf, benjamin shane evans

cat pianos, sound-houses, and other imaginary musical instruments

of shark moves, shell shocks, and trash landings on the moon

as bright as a feather — ostriches, home dyeing, and the global plume trade

getting ahead, jonas karlsson

do these florida dolphins have a language?

the form of a demon and the heart of a person: kitagawa utamaro's prints of yamauba and kintarō (ca. 1800)

who needs ai text-generation when there's erasmus of rotterdam

when memories from fiction become part of who you are

to try to include in your next poem/story

Abozzo - a rough sketch or draft (as of a picture or a poem)

Agrypnia - insomnia

Bouleversement - reversal; a violent disturbance

Cachaça - a Brazilian liquor distilled from sugarcane

Cantillation - recitation with musical tones

Doloriferous - obsolete: producing pain

Fantasticate - to make fantastic

Graphospasm - writer's cramp (i.e., a painful spasmodic contraction of muscles of the hand or fingers brought on by excessive writing)

Immarcescible - imperishable, indestructible

Kakidrosis - secretion of sweat of a disagreeable odor

Ligneous - of or resembling wood

Metempsychosis - the passing of the soul at death into another body either human or animal

Nemoricole - inhabiting groves

Optative - expressing desire or wish

Pastourelle - a conventional form of poetic pastoral composed in French during the late middle ages and Renaissance and consisting of a love debate between a knight and a shepherdess

Secundines - afterbirth

Tramontane - lying on or coming from the other side of a mountain range

Vatic - prophetic, oracular

Vinca - periwinkle

Wiseacre - one who pretends to knowledge or cleverness

Gauche

Adjective - left, awkward/clumsy

Noun (f) - left side (à la gauche de Marianne), the Left (la gauche - politics)

Droite

Adjective (droit) - right, straight (line), upright (se tenir bien droit), honest (être droit et fiable)

Noun (f) - right side, the Right, a straight line (tracer une droite), a slap (casual)

Noun (m) - right (law - avoir des droits), law (étudier le droit), entitlement (avoir le droit de parler), tax (les droits de succession)

Expressions

À droite à gauche - left, right and centre/everywhere

À gauche (de) - on/to the left (of)

Ailier gauche, m - left forward (sports)

Aller droit au but - getting straight to the point

Aller droit dans le mur - heading for disaster

Angle droit, m - right angle (maths)

À qui de droit - to whom it may concern

Avoir deux mains gauches - being very clumsy

Bras droit, m - right hand man/woman

Centre gauche/droite, m - centre left/right

Clivage gauche-droite, m - left right divide

Coucher à droite à gauche - sleeping around

Crochet du gauche, m - left hook

Dans le droit chemin - straight and narrow

De gauche à droite/de droite à gauche - all over the place

Demi-droite, f - ray (maths)

Demi tour, droite - right about face (military)

Dernière ligne droite, f - last home straight/last effort

Droit-e comme un i - ramrod straight

Droit-e comme un piquet - very straight and still

Droit-e dans ses bottes - self-assured

En haut/bas à gauche - in the top/bottom left corner

Être à droite/gauche - being right/left wing

Être d'extrême gauche/droite - being far left/right

Gauche castor, f - vote blue no matter what leftism ("beaver left")

Gauche caviar, f - champagne socialism

Gauche/droite radicale, f - radical left/right

Gauchement - clumsily/awkwardly

Gaucher/gauchère - left handed

Gaucherie, f - awkwardness

Gauchir - warping, distorting

Gauchisant-e - left leaning

Gauchisme, m - leftism

Gauchissement, m - misrepresentation

Gauchiste, m/f - leftist (informal, pejorative)

Gaucho, m - leftist (informal, pejorative)

Droit civil, m - civil law

Droit d'auteur, m - royalty/copyright

Droit de regard, m - right of inspection

Droit de réponse, m - right to reply

Droit devant soi - straight ahead of oneself

Droit de véto, m - veto power

Droit de vie ou de mort, m - right to life or death

Droit de visite, m - visitation rights

Droit de vote, m - voting rights

Droit des affaires, m - business law

Droit du sol, m - jus soli (birthcountry based citizenship)

Droit du travail, m - labour laws

Droitement - equitably

Droit fiscal, m - tax law

Droit fil, m - conformity, harmony

Droit fil, m - warp thread/straight grain (sewing)

Droitier/droitière - right handed

Droits civiques, m - civil rights

Droits de douane, m - customs duties

Droits de l'Homme - human rights

Droits d'inscription, m - registration fees

Droiture, f - uprightness

Hémisphère gauche/droit, m - left/right side of the brain

Jupe droite, f - pencil skirt

La nature reprend ses droits - life finds a way

Main gauche/droite, f - left/right hand

Monarchie de droit divin, f - divine right of kings

Parti de gauche/droite, m - left/right wing party

Passe-droit, m - special favour

Passer l'arme à gauche - kicking the bucket (informal)

Piano droit, m - upright piano

Prendre à gauche/droite - turning left/right (driving)

Prendre le gauche - doing something forbidden

Priorité à droite, f - give to the right (driving)

Raie droite, f - straight parting (hair)

Rentrer dans le droit chemin - getting back on the right track

Rive gauche/droite, f - left/right bank

Se lever du pied gauche - getting up from the wrong side of the bed; "getting up with the left foot first"

Serrer à droite - keeping right (driving)

Sur votre gauche/droite - on your left/right

Tout droit - straight ahead (driving)

Tout droit sorti de l'imaginaire de (sb) - straight from sb's imagination

Valoir et servir ce que de droit - with all rights and privileges, thereto pertaining (lit)

Ventricule gauche/droite, f - left/right ventricle

Veste droite, f - single-breasted jacket

Violation du droit d'auteur, f - copyright infringement

Virage à gauche/droite, m - left/right-hand bend (driving)

Voie de gauche/droite, f - left/right lane (driving)

I had always heard that Japanese has simplified kanji, kind of like how Chinese has simplified characters. They are called shinjitai (新字体). When I traveled to Japan (knowing Chinese but not knowing any Japanese), I instantly began noticing shinjitai and comparing them to simplified characters.

It was fascinating how I was able to understand some shinjitai instantly, whereas others took more time to decode. Some are actually identical to simplified Chinese characters. Below are all the shinjitai I noticed on my trip. This has been in my drafts for ages...!

Simplified in Japanese only

(Order: traditional / shinjitai)

冰-氷

乘-乗

舍-舎

拜-拝

窗-窓

Same simplification in both languages

(Order: traditional - simplified/shinjitai)

萬-万

來-来

寫-写

區-区

醫-医

國-国

學-学

當-当

淺-浅

會-会

體-体

Different simplifications in each language

(Order: traditional - simplified - shinjitai)

兩-两-両

單-单-単

傳-传-伝

價-价-価

兒-儿-児

General:

The Five-Paragraph Essay

Using Punctuation Marks

Deadly Sins Checklist

Formatting Your Paper

Writing About Literature

Basic Essay

Revision Checklist

Planning and Organization

Editing and Proofreading

Latin Terms

Essay Structure

Tips on Introducing Quotes

Academic Writing Tips

Introductions:

Introductory Paragraphs

Introductions

Writing an Introduction

Preparing to Write an Introduction

Introduction Strategies

The Introductory Paragraph

Writing Effective Introductions

In The Beginning

Introductions and Conclusions

The Introductory Paragraph

Writing Introductory Paragraphs

How to Write an Intro

Body Paragraphs:

Paragraph Development and Topic Sentences

Transitions

Transitions

Transitions

Four Components of an Effective Body Paragraph

Writing Paragraphs

Paragraph Development

Body Paragraphs

Body Paragraphs

Strong Body Paragraphs

Body Paragraphs

Writing Body Paragraphs

How to Write Body Paragraphs

Writing the Body

Writing Body Paragraphs

Body Paragraphs

Body Paragraphs that Defend a Thesis

How to Write Body Paragraphs

The Perfect Paragraph

Topic Sentences:

Topic Sentences

Writing Topic Sentences

Topic Sentences

Topic Sentences

The Topic Sentence

Paragraphs and Topic Sentences

The Topic Sentence

Topics, Main Ideas, and Topic Sentences

Writing a Good Topic Sentence

Good Topic Sentences

Conclusions:

Writing Effective Conclusions

Introductions and Conclusions

Conclusion Paragraphs

Conclusion Strategies

Conclusions

Tips for a Strong Conclusion

The Concluding Paragraph

Ending the Essay

Types of Conclusions

Writing a Strong Conclusion

How to Write a Conclusion

Writing Conclusions

Guide to Conclusions

Thesis Statements:

The Thesis Statement

Thesis Statements

Writing a Thesis Statement

Thesis Statement

Tips and Examples

Writing a Thesis

Writing the Thesis

How to Write Your Thesis

The Thesis

Thesis Statements

Guidelines for Writing a Thesis

Thesis Statements

Thesis

Thesis Statements

The Thesis

Create a Strong Thesis

How to Write a Thesis

Developing a Thesis

Guide to Writing Thesis Statements

Thesis Statements

Citing:

When to Cite

APA Documentation

MLA Documentation

Suggestions for Citing Sources

Research and Citation Resources

Citation Information

MLA Guidelines for Citing Poetry

MLA Style for Poetry

How to Format Your Paper

Argumentative Essays:

Argumentative Essays

Argument

Argumentative Essays

Persuasive or Argumentative Essays

Argumentative Essay

Argument/Argumentative

Argumentative Essays

How to Write a Good Argument

How to Write an Argumentative Essay

Writing Conclusions to Argumentative Essays

Argumentative Essay

Persuasive Essay Writing

Writing Concluding Paragraphs

Constructing the Argumentative Essay

Writing About Poetry:

Writing About Poetry

Writing About Poetry

Writing About Poetry Q & A

Poetry Explications

Writing About Poetry

Writing About Poems

Explicating a Poem

Writing About Poetry

Writing a Thesis Paper About a Poem

How to Start a Poetry Introduction

Poetry Essay Structure

Poetry Explication

Expository Essays:

Structure of a General Expository Essay

Expository Essay Examples

Sample Expository Essay

Expository Writing

Expository Essay Model

Elements of Expository Essays

Expository Writing Information

Expository Essays

Writing Expository Essays

How to Write an Expository Essay

Tips on Writing an Expository Essay

Expository Essays

Essay Map

Writing Expository Essays

How to Create a Strong Expository Essay

Expository Essay Writing

The Expository Essay

Research Papers:

How to Write a Research Paper in Literature

Writing a Research Paper

The Research Paper

How to Write a Research Paper

Five Paragraph Research Paper

Sample Research Paper

Writing a Research Paper

Tips for a Research Paper

How to Write a Research Paper

Writing a Scientific Research Paper

Writing Research Papers

Research and Writing

Research Papers that Rock

How to Write an Effective Research Paper

College Application Essays:

Application Essay Tips

Application Essays

Tips

10 Tips

Application Essays

How to Write a College Application Essay

Tips for an Effective Essay

Do’s and Don’t’s

College Application Essay

How to Write a College Application Essay

Narrative Essays:

Narrative and Descriptive

Narrative Essay Writing

The Personal Essay

Narrative Essays

Narrative Essays

Writing Narrative Essays

Narrative/Descriptive

Narrative Essay

Writing a Narrative Essay