Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Language 101 - German

One of the new things I'd like to try is to learn a few basic phrases and words in as many foreign languages as possible.  You never know when it would come in useful to be able to tell a foreigner, in his native tongue, to go fly a kite or to compliment him on his hat.

As I live in Canada, land of beavers, snow and the occasional Frenchman, I suppose French is the best place to start.  So, here we go with some basic German.
Are you all paying attention?  Excellent.  German, as a language, is guttural and angry, with even words for the most beautiful of things sounding like you just coughed up a rancid frog.  For instance, a butterfly in German is a "Schmetterling".  

Now, Schmetterling is a word that you would likely find in a "feuilleton" (a part of a European newspaper devoted to light literature, fiction, criticism, etc.), and I suppose that means that the section you just read in brackets is an "epexegesis". That, my friends, is how you get not one but two Words-Of-The-Day into your blog.

So here is a list of standard words and phrases in German that should stand you in good stead if you ever decide to visit Deutschland for yourselves.  Click the links to get pronunciations and bonus words!

Numbers
  • One - Eins
  • Two - Zwei
  • Three - Drei
  • Four - Vier
  • Five - Fünf
  • Six - Sechs
  • Seven - Sieben
  • Eight - Acht
  • Nine - Neun
  • Ten - Zehn
Days of the week
  • Monday - Montag
  • Tuesday - Dienstag
  • Wednesday - Mittwoch
  • Thursday - Donnerstag
  • Friday - Freitag
  • Saturday - Samstag
  • Sunday - Sonntag
Months of the year
  • January - Januar
  • February - Februar
  • March - März
  • April - April
  • May - Mai
  • June - Juni
  • July - Juli
  • August - August
  • September - September
  • October - Oktober
  • November - November
  • December - Dezember
Basic phrases
  • Hello - Hallo
  • Goodbye - Auf Wiedersehen
  • Yes - Ja
  • No - Nein
  • Maybe - Vielleicht
  • Sorry - Entschuldigung
  • Please - Bitte
  • Thank you - Danke schön
  • Help! - Hilfe!
  • Do you speak English? - Sprechen sie Englisch?
  • What is your name? - Wie heisst du?
  • Where is the toilet? - Wo ist die toilette?
  • What is the time? - Wie spät ist es?
  • Excuse me - Entschuldigen sie bitte
  • My name is ... - Ich heisse ...
  • I don't understand - Ich verstehe nicht
  • Yesterday - Gestern
  • Today - Heute
  • Tomorrow -  Morgen
  • Entrance - Eingang
  • Exit - Ausgang
  • Push - Drücken
  • Pull - Ziehen
  • Stop - Stoppen
  • Go - Gehen
  • Open - Offen
  • Closed - Geschlossen
  • No smoking - Rauchen verboten
  • Toilets - Toiletten
  • Gents - Herren
  • Ladies - Damen

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