Too Many Languages

a German version of @languagesetc‘s Dutch spring vocab with some additions!

der Frühling - spring der Neuanfang - new start das Frühlingserwachen - spring awakening Ostern - Easter die Fastenzeit - Lent März - March April - April Mai - May die (Frühjahrs-)Tagundnachtgleiche - the (spring) equinox der Frühjahrsputz - spring cleaning

grün - green blau - blue lila - purple rosa - pink gelb - yellow weiß - white

die Blume(n) - flower(s) das Blütenblatt - petal das Gras - grass der Baum - tree das Blatt, die Blätter -leaf, leaves die Narzisse - daffodil das Gänseblümchen - daisy die Schneeglocke - snowdrop die Tulpe - tulip der Samen - seed der Blütenstaub - pollen die Allergie - allergy der Heuschnupfen - hay fever die Biene - bee das Insekt - insect der Schmetterling - butterfly die Raupe - caterpillar der Vogel - bird das Lamm - lamb

der Regen - rain der Regenbogen - rainbow der Regenschirm - umbrella die Regenjacke - raincoat die Pfütze - puddle der Wind - wind die Sonne - sun die Wärme - warmth die Luftfeuchtigkeit - humidity das Vogelgezwitscher - birds’ twittering

bewölkt - cloudy sonnig - sunny warm - warm frisch - fresh erfrischend - refreshing windig - windy regnerisch - rainy kühl - cool

These are all things i do when learning languages based on my personal experience of learning languages at school & by myself at home (but they might not work for everyone!)

avoid languages of the same language family that are too similar! I know it’s tempting to learn Norwegian AND Swedish AND Danish cause they’re so similar, but at the end of the day, you WILL always confuse them, constantly. So choose one of them and you’ll likely be able to understand a lot of the other languages anyway (at the very least written stuff)

only start learning a new language once you’re advanced and comfortable enough in the other languages you speak (i’d say at least level B1). Cause then you can concentrate on practising using & applying one language you already know quite well, while learning new basic vocab and grammar exercises in a new language (if you start another language while you’re still in the middle of bulking vocab & grammar exercises, you might confuse the two or get overwhelmed)

always reflect on what you’re struggling with! If there’s a certain grammar aspect you always get wrong, take some extra time to read up on it, do exercises and practise, practise, practise! The same goes for vocab: if there’s certain words or phrases you just can’t seem to get in your head, make a special vocab folder/file with those and then set some extra time aside each time you practise that language to go over those words and phrases.

learn to understand AND use a language. You can be able to understand your target language like native speaker and still struggle with forming complete sentences. So always focus both on understanding AND actively using languages!

when using vocab cards, look at the word in your native language first! It’s much more effective if you have to think of the word in your target language (instead of just recognizing it)

Here are some rules about how to use quotation marks, dates, times, numbers, and addresses in German texts:

Quotation marks:

Quotation marks in German texts usually look like this:

„Hallo, ich heiße Espen.“

„Ich glaube nicht“, sagte er, „aber ich bin mir nicht sicher.“

Er sagte: „Ich habe einen Apfel gegessen.“

Date:

The date is written in the form day/month/year, usually like this:

am 3. August 2023 (read: "am dritten August 2023")

am 03.08.2023 (read: "am dritten August 2023")

Time:

The time is usually stated in a 24 hour format (otherwise you add 'in the morning' or 'in the evening' to clarify):

Es ist 18:40 Uhr. (read: "Es ist 18 Uhr 40")

Es ist 4 Uhr nachmittags.

Numbers:

The points and commas in numbers look like this:

eleven thousand = 11.000 (e.g. 11.000 Maschinen)

eleven point three = 11,3 (e.g. 11,3% Umsatz)

Address:

Addresses on letters are usually written like this:

Max Mustermann (first & last name)

Musterstraße 11 (street name & house number)

12345 Musterstadt (postcode & city)

GERMAN IS INSANELY REPRESENTED ON WIKIPEDIA

I rarely see wiki entries (that aren't hyperspecific to a country or culture) that don't have a German page! In fact:

["Number of German articles on Wikipedia by 2023 (... in) June there were 2.8 Million German articles on Wikipedia. This places the German wikipedia on the third place of the ranking, whcih is lead by the English version with around 6.7 Million articles."]

41% of the English Wikipedia exists in German! This is a literal goldmine of content!!

Read about your interests! Look up your favorite celebrities! Read summaries of books, movies, mythologies, whatever your heart desires!!!!

Of course, if anyone is dreaming of making such a blog, be my guest !

das Ammenmärchen – old wives’ tale der Arbeitseifer – enthusiasm for work die Lehrkraft – teacher das Zustandekommen – materialisation; occurrence

sich abkapseln – to shut oneself off anpassen – to adjust entfalten – to unfold japsen – to gasp

reuig – repentant verwelkend – wilting wässrig – watery zahm – tame