À part entière

der Schlaf - sleep schlafen - to sleep schläfrig - sleepy

die Müdigkeit - tiredness müde - tired gähnen - to yawn die Erschöpfung - exhaustion erschöpft - exhausted

Gute Nacht! - Good night! Schlaf gut! - Sleep well! Träum schön / süß! - Sweet dreams!

das Nickerchen - nap sich niederlegen - to lie down einschlafen - to fall asleep der Traum - dream träumen - to dream der Albtraum - nightmare sich hin und her wälzen - to toss and turn schnarchen - to snore ausschlafen - to sleep in aufwachen - to wake up aufstehen - to get up schlaftrunken - drowsy, sleepy (lit. “sleep drunk“) ausgeschlafen - well-rested wach - awake

das Schlafzimmer - bedroom das Bett - bed die Couch, das Sofa - couch, sofa die (Bett)decke - blanket das Kissen, der Polster (österr.) - pillow das Nachtkästchen, der Nachttisch - nightstand die Nachttischlampe - bedside lamp der Wecker - alarm clock

de tijd - die Zeit - time

het uur - die Stunde - hour de minuut - die Minute - minute de seconde - die Sekunde - second

de klok - die Uhr - clock

uur - Uhr - o’clock het kwart - das Viertel - quarter half - halb - half over - nach - past voor - vor - to

Hoe laat is het? - Wie spät ist es? - What’s the time?

Het is … - Es ist … - It’s …

… tien uur - zehn Uhr - ten o’clock (10:00) … vijf (minuten) over tien - fünf (Minuten) nach zehn - 10:05 … kwart over tien - Viertel nach zehn - 10:15 … tien (minuten) voor half elf - zehn (Minuten) vor halb elf - 10:20 … half elf - halb elf - 10:30 … vijf (minuten) over half elf - fünf (Minuten) nach halb elf - 10:35 … kwart voor elf - Viertel vor elf - 10:45 … vijf (minuten) voor elf - fünf (Minuten) vor elf - 10:55 … precies elf uur - genau elf Uhr - eleven o’clock sharp (11:00)

a.m. / p.m.

In both Dutch and German the 24-hour clock (i.e. 4pm → 16:00) is used, (veertien uur achtendertig - vierzehn Uhr achtunddreißig - 14:38)

but especially in spoken language the 12-hour clock is more common. If context alone is not enough, the following words are used to distinguish between a.m. and p.m.:

… uur ‘s morgens / ochtends - Uhr morgens - a.m. (morning to noon) … uur ‘s middags - Uhr nachmittags - p.m. (afternoon) … uur ‘s avonds - Uhr abends - p.m. (evening) … uur ’s nachts - Uhr nachts - p.m. / a.m. (night)

Hoe laat? - Um wie viel Uhr? - At what time?

om - um - at

De film begint om half acht. Der Film beginnt um halb acht. The movie is starting at half past seven.

Hoe lang? - Wie lange? - How long?

Het duurt drie uur*. Es dauert drei Stunden. It takes three hours.

van … tot - von … bis - from … until

De winkel is open van zeven tot twaalf uur. Das Geschäft hat von sieben bis zwölf Uhr geöffnet. The shop is open from seven until twelve o’clock.

* unlike in German and English uur stays in this case in the singular form

Sitzt du vor der Glotze? If the answer is yes, you are in good company. Though the verdict isn’t out yet on the consequences of long-term exposure to screens, we in the meantime still have fond memories of watching our favorite shows as kids. Though more recently some of our shows have been imported from the United States, such as Spongebob or The Simpsons, many were German products or co-productions and somewhat telling of the time period they were created in.

Pro tip: Though it can be embarrassing to be caught watching these, it is GREAT practice for German learners. The vocab tends to be simple and repetitive and the situations applicable to everyday life. This is not to mention that the songs, whether you want them to or not, will be burned in your memory for-ev-er.

Here is our shortlist of our favorite German children’s shows:

Sandmännchen (Little Sandman)

A kids show with both a GDR and an FRG version is a good example of how even children’s television can reflect politics. Sandmaennchen was a parents best friend in that it was a “bedtime” show designed to get kids ready for bed. The pace of this show and the use of puppets may remind American viewers of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. The difference between the two versions is subtle–with the FRG version being slightly more “modern” looking.

Die Sendung mit der Maus (The Program with the Mouse)

Called the “School of the Nation”, this weekly children’s series entered the scene in the 1970s. Short animated clips explained different things from everyday life from how cars work to how movies are made.

Löwenzahn (Dandelion)

These magical 30 minute episodes centered on host Peter Lustig, who lives in a imaginative converted caravan. From there he goes on a journey of discovery, explaining to a new concept about the connections between nature, environment and technology.

Siebenstein

In Siebenstein, Frau Siebenstein owns a shop which buys and sells second-hand goods. The shop is also home to a raven called Rudi and a suitcase called “Suitcase”. To say that they can both talk would be an understatement. They spend most of their time bickering like children but are the best of friends at heart. Frau Siebenstein uses something a customer has brought in or bought that day as inspiration for a story.

Die Biene Maja (Maya the Bee)

Based off a book by Waldemar Bonsels, Maya the Bee leaves her home in search of adventure outside the hive. Along with her friends Willi the bee, Philip the grasshopper, Maya’s teacher Mrs. Cassandra, and other insects and creatures go on adventures together.

Meister Eder und sein Pumuckl (Master Carpenter Eder and his Pumuckl)

The master carpenter Eder meets the one and only Kobold Pumuckl, whom we find out–only Eder can see, because Pumuckl becomes invisible when other people approach! Pumuckl finally stays with Eder in his carpentry. Pumuckl can best be described as “cheeky” and is one of the most popular characters in children’s entertainment in Germany.

Wickie und die starken Männer (Wickie and the Strong Men)

Who doesn’t like vikings? Come on. This German-Austrian-Japanese animated co-production tells the adventures of the young and imaginative Vicky, a young viking boy who uses his wits to help his Viking fellows.

If you were visiting a Mediterranean harbour anywhere fro the 11th to the 19th century, you would have heard a strange yet familiar language.

Se ti saber, ti responder. Se non saber, tazir, tazir. *

Understood from Valencia to Istanbul, from Tunis to Venice, this was the language of commerce and diplomacy and commonly used among European renegades and the captives of the Algerian pirates.

This language, Lingua Franca or Sabir, flourished in the 10th century and was based on Toscan Italian and Occitan. (Back then, Catalan was a dialect of Occitan, so count us in as well!). It incorporated words from Arabic, Greek, Amazigh and Turkish, and later from Portuguese, French and Spanish, too.

[Image: expansion of the Kingdom of Catalonia and Aragon (green), its Consulates of the Sea (dots), and commercial expansion (orange lines). It is not hard to see why Sabir had such influence of Catalan.]

In the 19th century, with the expansion of European colonialism in northern Africa, Sabir was replaced by the colonizer’s languages.

Nowadays, lingua franca is used to mean any language or dialect which is used to communicate by people who speak different languages (nowadays, mainly English). This term originates from the Mediterranean Lingua Franca.

If they could be explained in one post, i’m sure we’d all have less problems lmao but i’ll try! 

1. What cases are there? 

German has four cases: Nominativ, Genitiv, Dativ und Akkusativ. (for any Latin nerds: Same as in Latin minus Ablative and Vocative.) 

2. Why are they necessary? 

Well, for once, you’ll need them if you want native speakers to understand what you’re saying. But let’s go a little deeper and compare German to English: 

In English, the meaning depends on the sentence structure. “The man bit the dog” and “The dog bit the man” have very different meanings even though both sentences use the same words - that’s because of the typical SVO-order. In English, the subject generally comes first, then some kind of verb, then the object (there are more difficult cases of course, but let’s not go into that rn). English has very little morphology, meaning that nouns/pronouns/determiners don’t inflect (a lot) depending on the case they’re in. 

In German, you can switch stuff around until you’re dizzy. “Der Hund biss den Mann” and “Den Mann biss der Hund” both mean the same, because “den” indicates that “Mann” is in the Akkusativ, thus he’s the one being bitten, no matter where you put him in the sentence. The case morphology allows a freer sentence order without leading to possible misunderstandings. 

3. So how do I know which case I need? 

This is the moment where it gets more complicated. You can associate the following questions with each case: 

Nominativ = Wer oder was? (Who?. The subject of a sentence is always in the nominative case.)

Genitiv = Wessen? (Whose?. Typically describes possession or comes as a rule after certain prepositions like “wegen” or verbs like “gedenken”.)

Okay, we can deal with that. Now on to the more difficult stuff: 

Dativ = Wem? 

Akkusativ = Wen oder was? 

To understand this, some knowledge of grammar is definitely an advantage. Consider the following sentences: 

I have a book. = Ich habe ein Buch. 

This is all well and nice. Subject (NOM), Verb, Object (AKK). 

In English, you would call “a book” a direct object because the verb “to have” is transitive, meaning it carries one object. “I have.” isn’t generally a full sentence and is expected to be followed by an object.

So apparently all our problems are solved with the Akkusativ/direct object. What now? 

I give you a book. = Ich gebe dir ein Buch. 

This is the critical moment. Subject (NOM), Verb, Object (DAT), Object (AKK). 

Suddenly we have two objects because the verb “to give” makes us expect information about what we’re giving (direct object, AKK) and to whom we’re giving it (indirect object, DAT). 

Such verbs are called ditransitive, meaning they can carry two objects. Just saying “I give.” leaves us wondering what you’re talking about because we’re missing key information. 

English, as explained above, solves this with sentence order by making the indirect object come first or by indicating it with “to” (“I give a book to you”). German solves it with inflection, putting the indirect object in a different case. 

That’s why things like “Ein Buch gebe ich dir” and “Dir gebe ich ein Buch” are both possible in German.

There are also intransitive verbs which carry either no object at all or just a dative object (“Ich antworte ihm”). 

4. How do I know which verbs carry which object(s)? 

This list will save you.  At some point (once you’ve gotten to a certain level in German), you’ll have a gut feeling about which object(s) to use just from experience. Give it some time! 

5. What about determiners and pronouns? 

I actually think this is less work because it’s one table of endings each, and once you’ve got that down you should be fine. 

This handbook explains everything really well in my opinion. 

Here’s a whole page about pronouns (relative, personal, and every other kind you can think of.)

Here are a LOT of exercises. 

Here are printables for German case declensions by @languageoclock. 

German (like English) has very few “true” postpositions, it’s pretty disputable about how many there actually are, but around 3-5 in current use is a good guess. There are more adpositions that can be used as pre- or postpositions. 

Forgot to mention, postpositions follow the noun they’re referring to! I’ve put their meaning as a postposition, not as prepositions!!!!!

Here are 11 German postpositions (+ adpositions used postpositionally)!

1. Durch (normally preposition) + Akkusativ.

> Means ‘throughout/during’ a definite period of time. Ex: den ganzen Tag durch. Translation: Throughout the whole day.

2. Entgegen (more commonly preposition) + Dativ.

> Means ‘towards’ or sometimes ‘contrary to’. Ex: Der Hund läuft dem Mann entgegen. Translation: The dog runs towards the man.

3. Entlang (varies) + Akkusativ. or +Dativ if you use an.

> Means ‘along’, as a postposition, normally to do with movement not position. Ex: Sie gingen den/an dem (am) Bach entlang. Translation: They walked along the stream.

4. Gegenüber (always after pronoun, before or after noun) + Dativ.

> Means opposite/in relation to/contrary to. Ex: Ich setzte mich ihr gegenüber. Translation: I sat opposite her.

5. Halber (always postposition) + Genitiv.

> Means ‘for the sake of’. Ex: der Vollständigkeit halber. Translation: For the sake of completeness.

6. Lang (usually postposition) + Akkusativ.

> Normally shortened form of ‘entlang’ but also can mean ‘for + time phrase’. Ex:  Die Konzerne müssen ihre Preise nun drei Jahre lang einfrieren. Translation: The companies now have to freeze their prices for three years.

7. Nach (usually preposition) + Dativ.

> Can only be postposition for meaning 'according to’ & found in set phrases. Ex: Meiner Meinung nach… Translation: (According to) In my opinion…

8. Über (Usually preposition) + Akkusativ.

> Means throughout a definite period of time. Ex: Den ganzen Tag über. Translation: Throughout the whole day.

9. Wegen (Usually preposition) + Genitiv.

> Means because of/due to. Ex: des Geldes wegen. Translation: Because of the money.

10. Zuliebe (always postposition) + Dativ.

> Means ‘for the sake of’. Ex: Dir zuliebe gibt’s Spargel. Translation: Just for you, we’re having asparagus.

11. Zuwider (always postposition) + Dativ.

> Means ‘contrary to’. Ex: Karl handelte seinem Befehl zuwider. Translation: Karl acted contrary to his order.

Inspired by aspoonfuloflanguage’s Chinese post. Please check it out, her design skills are way more impressive than mine. ORL Also, take a look at livingwithlanguages‘s Polish post of the same nature, it’s also very pretty!

My first contribution to the langblr community! I’ve noticed that there are not very many Persian langblr posts out there, so I decided to start off with something basic–colours. Colour is also fundamental to Iranian/Persian space as a whole, so perhaps it is a fitting beginning in that respect as well. For each colour, I decided to use an image that is somehow symbolic or special to Persian/Iranian culture. The title banner, for example, is an image from the Shahnameh, the Book of Kings, often treasured as the source of the modern Persian language.

Below, I have included a brief explanation of the symbols. All of the pictures were taken from Google Images, so if something belongs to you, please contact me and I will remove it ASAP.

Colours (Rang ha) رنگ ها

قرمز/سرخ (Quermez/sorkh): Red, the colour of pomegranates, one of the main symbols of Shab-e Yalda, the Iranian Winter Solstice holiday.

نارنجی (Narenji): Orange, the colour of goldfish, an important symbol of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, celebrated on the spring equinox.

زرد (Zard): Yellow, the colour of many Persian sweets (shirini), including this one, nokhodchi, traditional roasted chickpea cookies.

سبز (Sabz): Green, the colour of the sabzeh, an important symbol of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, celebrated on the spring equinox. Symbolizes rebirth.

آبی (Ahbi): Blue, the colour of the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, a Safavid architectural and mathematical masterpiece, considered one of the most beautiful constructions in the world to date.

بنفش (Benefsh): Purple, the colour of the hyacinth flower, an important symbol of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, celebrated on the spring equinox.  

سیاه (Siyah): Black, often the colour of the chador, an outer garment specific to the Iranian region. An important feminist symbol during the Islamic Revolution, the chador was donned by many women in protest against the Shah’s oppressive policies. This image is a screencap of Maryam Mohamadamini in Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s iconic film, A Moment of Innocence (Farsi title: نون و گلدون‎‎).

der Körper [die Körper] - the body die Haut [die Häute] - the skin

der Kopf [die Köpfe] - the head das Gesicht [die Gesichter] - the face die Stirn [die Stirnen] - the forehead die Schläfe [die Schläfen] - the temple die Wange [die Wangen] - the cheek der Kiefer [die Kiefer] - the jaw das Kinn [die Kinne] - the chin die Nase [die Nasen] - the nose das Nasenloch [die Nasenlöcher] - the nostril der Mund [die Münder] - the mouth die Lippe [die Lippen] - the lip das Ohr [die Ohren] - the ear das Auge [die Augen] - the eye die Wimper [die Wimpern] - the eyelash die Augenbraue [die Augenbrauen] - the eyebrow der Hals [die Hälse] - the neck

der Brustkorb [die Brustkörbe] - the chest die Brust [die Brüste] - the breast die Brustwarze [die Brustwarzen] - the nipple der Rücken [die Rücken] - the back der Hintern/der Po [die Hintern/die Pos] - the butt die Pobacke [die Pobacken] - the buttock die Taille [die Taillen] - the waist der Bauch [die Bäuche] - the abdomen/the belly der (Bauch-)Nabel [die (Bauch-)Nabel] - the navel die Hüfte [die Hüften] - the hip

die Schulter [die Schultern] - the shoulder der Arm [die Arme] - the arm die Achsel [die Achseln] - the armpit der Ellbogen [die Ellbogen] - the elbow der Unterarm [die Unterarme] - the forearm das Handgelenk [die Handgelenke] - the wrist die Hand [die Hände] - the hand die Handfläche [die Handflächen] - the palm der Finger [die Finger] - the finger der Daumen [die Daumen] - the thumb der Zeigefinger [die Zeigefinger] - the index finger der Mittelfinger [die Mittelfinger] - the middle finger der Ringfinger [die Ringfinger] - the ring finger der kleine Finger [die kleinen Finger] - the little finger

Colors in Arabic

The difference between qué and cuál.

We use qué for general questions.  And we use cuál for specific questions. 

QUÉ + VERBS

¿Qué te gusta? - What do you like? (In general, whatever is fine). 

¿Qué quieres? - What do you want? (In general, about anything).

CUÁL + VERBS

¿Cuál te gusta más? - Which one do you like the most? (Among these 5-10 objects).

¿Cuál quieres? - Which one do you want? (Among these 3 options?)

* These questions are used with a previous context. 

QUÉ + NOUNS

¿Qué película te gusta? - What movie do you like? (Any movie).

¿Qué libro quieres leer? - What book do you want to read? (Any book).

CUÁL + NOUNS

¿Cuál película te gusta? - Which movie do you like? (Among these 10 movies?)

¿Cuál libro quieres leer? - Which book do you want to read? (Among these 15 books?

*In everyday conversations people prefer to use “qué” instead of “cuál” with nouns. You might hear people say “¿Qué canción te gusta más?” (What song do you like the most?) even if there are only 5 songs to choose from. 

QUÉ + SER + NOUN

A very common mistake that most Spanish students make is trying to translate questions as “What is your name?” literally. 

As I explained before, we use cuál for specific information, someone’s name is a specific info, so we should say:

¿Cuál es tu nombre? - What is your name?

and not ¿Qué es tu nombre? (X). This sentence doesn’t make sense, because “qué” is about general things, but a person’s name is very specific. 

So we use qué + ser + noun when we talk about general meanings and dictionary definitions. We can ask:

¿Qué es nombre? - What is name? (the definition of the word “nombre”).

¿Qué es el amor? - What is love? (baby, don’t hurt me x)

¿Qué es la vida? - What is life?

¿Qué son las estrellas? - What are stars?

Note: I’ve also heard questions as “What is “house” in Spanish?”. In Spanish this is translated as “¿Cómo se dice “house” en español? and not “¿Qué es “house” en español?”

QUÉ + SER + NOUN

Sentences with cuál, that people often mistranslate:

¿Cuál es tu número de teléfono? - What is your phone number?

¿Cuál es tu dirección?/¿Cuál es tu domicilio? - What is your address?

¿Cuál es tu correo electrónico? - What is your email?

¿Cuál es la diferencia entre “a” y “b”? - What is the difference between “a” and “b”?

¿Cuál es el significado de esa palabra? - What is the meaning of that word?

¿Cuáles son las instrucciones para armar esta mesa? - What are the instructions to assemble this table? *Yes, “cuál” has a plural: “cuáles” (:

¿Cuál es la misión de la empresa? - What is the mission of the company?

¿Cuál es tu sueño? - What is your dream?

🌊Some vocab about the ocean in Spanish & French🌊 

acantilado (m) = cliff = falaise (f) alga marina (f) = seaweed = algues (fpl) ancla (f) = anchor = ancre (f) arena (f) = sand = sable (m) bahía (f) = bay = baie (f) barco (m) = boat = bateau (m) boya (f) = buoy = bouée (f) cangrejo (m) = crab = crabe (m) concha (f) = seashell = coquillage (m) duna (f) = dune = dune (f) estrella de mar (f) = starfish = étoile de mer (f) faro (m) = lighthouse = phare (m) foca (f) = seal = phoque (m) gaviota (f) = seagull = mouette (f) horizonte (m) = horizon = horizon (m) litoral (m) = coastline = littoral (m) mar (m) = sea = mer (f) marea (f) = tide = marée (f) marea alta (f) = high tide = marée haute (f) marea baja (f) = low tide = marée basse (f) ola (f) = wave = vague (f) orilla (f) = shore = rivage (m) poza (f) = rock pool = piscine naturelle (f) roca (f) = rock = rocher (m)