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German Language/Questions Answered by Expert Cornelia Neumann
| Subject | Date Asked |
| Hi | 4/29/2011 |
| Q: I am currently living in the U.S. I just got accepted into nursing school. An associate's in nursing ... A: in my experience it's always easier to learn a language when you use it to communicate, either in ... | |
| learning german? | 4/23/2011 |
| Q: I am currently a college student in the USA. I have wanted to lear German for a few years and, and ... A: I'd say focus your energy on the classes you're taking right now and start taking German when a ... | |
| German Languge Problem-vowel long/short a | 4/19/2011 |
| Q: I have a quick question that I could really use some help on The German language has long and short ... A: I'd try leo.org, which has German examples you can listen to. I've found a few that were ... | |
| German Umlaut and vowel pronunciation | 4/17/2011 |
| Q: Guten Tag Frau Neumann I hope I got the greeting right. I am learning German because my family ... A: yes, the greeting was perfect. :-) I've spent a good 15 mins trying to find something with examples ... | |
| simple phrases - going up and downstairs | 3/22/2011 |
| Q: I was wondering how to say "I am going upstairs" and "I am going downstairs" in German. Would it be ... A: firstly, "hinab" means "down", while "hinauf" means "up". You could also say "Ich gehe nach ... | |
| seine Schäfchen ins Trockene bringen | 2/22/2011 |
| Q: Greetings Cornelia, Please, what does the expression “seine Schäfchen ins Trockene bringen” mean? ... A: are you familiar with leo.org? Whenever I want to look up or double-check a collocation, I try them: ... | |
| question regarding use of german word'erinnern' | 2/18/2011 |
| Q: can you use the word 'erinnern' in german without it being reflexive e.g. can you say' ich erinnere ... A: there is a way - if you want to speak bad German. :-) Using "erinnern" without "sich" is an ... | |
| Christmas Prayer | 1/18/2011 |
| Q: My grandmother just recently passed away. She came the US as a child from Germany. For as long as I ... A: I've got it!!!!! Jesukindlein, komm zu mir, mach ein frommes Kind aus mir. Mein Herz ist klein, ... | |
| Christmas Prayer | 1/17/2011 |
| Q: My grandmother just recently passed away. She came the US as a child from Germany. For as long as I ... A: I'm sorry but I don't think I'll be able to help you here - I'm not a religious person myself, ... | |
| beer stein | 1/10/2011 |
| Q: I have been passed down a west german beer stein from a family member and I am rying to figure out ... A: the text says: Nach alter Sitt', in durst'ger Mitt', kommt, trinkt euch aller Sorgen quitt. It ... | |
| german bedtime prayer?? | 12/8/2010 |
| Q: I learned this phoenetically when I was 12, can you please translate: mieder bienish gaychadu ... A: the written version looks like this: Müde bin ich, geh' zur Ruh', schließe beide Äuglein zu. Vater, ... | |
| The Eszett and the Umlaut | 11/23/2010 |
| Q: I hope this is not too technical. In some 18th century church records from Baden, I have come across ... A: the only "legal" vowel combinations would be "au" and "äu" -- "aü" and "äü" do not exist in German ... | |
| "mein Herze" | 11/19/2010 |
| Q: I am wondering why there is a final e on the noun Herz in: "Mache dich, mein Herze, rein" (aria #65 ... A: there used to be an -e ending for short masculine and neutral nouns, but only in the dative case ... | |
| platzt ihr Traum von der heilen Familie | 9/24/2010 |
| Q: Please, how can I translate "...platzt ihr Traum von der heilen Familie" into good English? Here is ... A: I don't know if there is a similar expression in English regarding dreams but there is "to burst ... | |
| Pron of name Nöldeke | 9/20/2010 |
| Q: Please could you let them know the exact pronunciation of the surname Nöldeke? ... A: the stress is on the first syllable, and the ö is open and short like in "möchte". The second and ... | |
| Is German easier to learn than French | 8/28/2010 |
| Q: Urdu is my first language. English is my second language. I have to take a course at my university ... A: as German is my native language (so I have no memories of actually learning it) and I don't know ... | |
| in Kauf nehmen | 7/9/2010 |
| Q: Please may I check that I have the right understanding of this idiom? Did it originally refer to ... A: you understand and use the phrase correctly, though I think your explanation is a bit off. I ... | |
| visiting Germany first time | 6/11/2010 |
| Q: I am visiting Germany first time. I have book a apartment at Alexanderplatz. I wont to attend CWIEME ... A: you should choose public transport. Taxis are very expensive in Germany - do not use them for long ... | |
| Are these sentences correct? | 4/24/2010 |
| Q: I have put together 40 German sentences for some children to use while playing games. Would you mind ... A: I did my best on these - no idea what precisely a spinner is (I suppose it depends on the game), or ... | |
| Wie bist du denn drauf? | 4/23/2010 |
| Q: In a soap I'm watching, a girl tells someone a pack of lies to mislead him deliberately and then ... A: this rang a bell, and I checked, and I really answered a very similar question almost exactly a year ... | |
| “Ich bin ein Berliner” | 4/5/2010 |
| Q: I've often heard it said that when Kennedy said, “Ich bin ein Berliner”, what he actually said was ... A: well, this one is a classic. Living in Hamburg, I especially feel for Kennedy. :-) The problem is in ... | |
| Grandfather and Grandmother | 2/20/2010 |
| Q: My Mom called her grandparents (father's parents), Johann and Frederika, "Futtie" and "Muttie" (not ... A: actually, it's an odd things she called her grandparents "Vati" and "Mutti" (that's how we would ... | |
| ein Treffen der griechisch AG | 2/18/2010 |
| Q: I think it was on "Alisa – Folge deinem Herzen" (a telenovela) that someone said, “Es klingt wie ein ... A: this would be the Griechisch-AG, the Greek Club: AG stands for Arbeitsgemeinschaft and it's used ... | |
| Grammar | 2/10/2010 |
| Q: I'm doing a project on the sound inventory of German and how it is different than that of English. I ... A: the first three hits on Google are all very helpful: ... | |
| Grosse Kreisstadt | 1/26/2010 |
| Q: I was wondering about the phrase "Grosse Kreisstadt" and the word "Kreisstadt" used to describe some ... A: a Kreis (literally "circle") is a county, so a Kreisstadt is the seat of the county administration. ... | |
| Difficulty in translating some older academic German. | 1/25/2010 |
| Q: I'm translating a passage dealing with Medieval philosopher Robert Grosseteste for an academic paper ... A: I took another stab at this, though I ended up working more on the first part. The entire physical ... | |
| Difficulty in translating some older academic German. | 1/20/2010 |
| Q: I'm translating a passage dealing with Medieval philosopher Robert Grosseteste for an academic paper ... A: a little context might indeed help, as the meaning of "sie" at the beginning is unclear. I will ... | |
| Pappenstiel | 12/14/2009 |
| Q: Here's an interesting expression: Das ist ein Pappenstiel. What exactly is a Pappenstiel in the ... A: well, I had no idea either, so I googled: Der Pappenstiel hat nichts mit "Stil" zu tun, sondern ... | |
| volle Kanne | 12/1/2009 |
| Q: Greetings Cornelia, In a telenovela someone used this expression but I didn't get it. “Du bist ... A: "volle Kanne" means something like "very fast/at top speed". So: Meine Katze ist volle Kanne gegen ... | |
| Expressions | 11/20/2009 |
| Q: A couple of expressions from my telenovela: 1 Du hast keine Ahnung, wie ich drauf bin. 2 Ich ... A: "draufsein" means something like "be in a (good/bad) mood". gut draufsein = be in a good mood ... | |
| Learning German!! | 11/17/2009 |
| Q: my family migrated from Germany in 1880-ish. I'm interested in trying to learn the German language. ... A: there are ways - if you have no access to a class then you can still buy a language course (i.e. a ... | |
| sollte – müsste - dürfte | 11/10/2009 |
| Q: Please could you explain the basic differences between the above? I don't need anything ... A: I'm sorry but I'm swamped with work and my previous attempts at answering this question have led to ... | |
| "es" mit verb im plural | 10/30/2009 |
| Q: I am having to explain the construction, " 'es' ... [verb] ... [subject, i.e. nominative]" e.g.: ... A: Hallo Martina, Wikipedia to the rescue: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expletivum --> Ebenfalls ... | |
| propper | 10/28/2009 |
| Q: what is the meaning of "propper angezogen"? A: it's a spelling variation of "proper", meaning something like "acceptable", with a connotation of ... | |
| Drehscheibe | 10/27/2009 |
| Q: Please, how is the word “Drehscheibe” usually used in the modern language? Also, what is the ... A: today's usage would mostly be that of trade/transport, as in "(Hafen X) ist eine Drehscheibe des ... | |
| Was man sich eingebrockt hat, das muss man auch auslöffeln. | 10/26/2009 |
| Q: Re Was man sich eingebrockt hat, das muss man auch auslöffeln. I understand that it means “You've ... A: I've always taken it to refer to the old custom of crumbling bread into the soup, mostly because ... | |
| Er kocht auch nur mit Wasser | 10/15/2009 |
| Q: What does this proverb mean exactly, please? Er kocht auch nur mit Wasser Also, what is the exact ... A: this means that the other person is not much better than the one this is being said to. You use it ... | |
| tun vs. machen | 9/24/2009 |
| Q: I was wondering if you could please give me a couple of tips on the distinction between “tun” and ... A: this thread has some good info on tun vs machen: ... | |
| Sie hat fast ein Reh umgecheckt. | 9/11/2009 |
| Q: Greetings Cornelia, This was used in a programme on ZDF about a spoilt rich woman who crashed ... A: I googled around and found a few instances of people using this phrase. It looks like it's a rugby ... | |
| hopeless at (suffix) | 6/29/2009 |
| Q: Please could you refresh my memory? I'm pretty certain there's a suffix you can stick on the end of ... A: if it's someone really hopeless I'd actually go with -idiot, if the situation allows for this kind ... | |
| Should I Major in German Lit.? | 6/22/2009 |
| Q: Hallo! Ich bin mir nicht so ganz sicher, ob mein Deutsch gut genug ist an einer sehr guten ... A: Hallo Azeret, wenn deine Anfrage in deinem eigenen Deutsch geschrieben wurde, dann denke ich, du ... | |
| name pronunciation | 6/12/2009 |
| Q: I'm wondering how to pronounce the name of German literary theorist Hans Robert Jauss? Many thanks, ... A: I'm assuming it's the last name that you are asking about - Hans is pronounced just as it's written, ... | |
| Learning German | 6/10/2009 |
| Q: I'm thinking of learning German. How long will this take? Thanks, Bernie A: this depends on many factors: your age, your talent, the amount of time you're willing to invest, ... | |
| German grammar use of word "ham" in place of "haben" | 5/25/2009 |
| Q: I have seen the use of the German word ham in place of haben in the following sentences: 1. Wir ham ... A: Ariane, "ham" is used in everyday *speech* but you wouldn't write it - in a way it is like "gonna" ... | |
| "changing your watch" "time zone" | 5/14/2009 |
| Q: Guten Tag. I möchte wissen wie man sagt "changing your watch" auf Deutsch. Ich meine,wenn man nach ... A: I'd say "Ich muss meine Uhr umstellen." and the context would make clear whether it's because of ... | |
| Dots | 5/11/2009 |
| Q: How do I put the two German dots above the letter "e"? Also, How do you pronounce my last name in ... A: Kelsey, there are not dots above the e or i in German, and if there were they'd not be optional as ... | |
| Grammer tenses | 5/7/2009 |
| Q: Please can you tell me, what is the English equivalent tense of 'Partizip 11' eg. abgeholt, which is ... A: the Partizip II is not a tense per se but can be used in two tenses, the Perfekt (Ich habe meinen ... | |
| token ?medal translation | 4/24/2009 |
| Q: Could you possibly translate into english and advise if it ids a medal or token thanking You for ... A: Well, this is a bit of a story: It might a medal of some sort or possibly also a decorative item, ... | |
| kneifen ist nicht | 4/17/2009 |
| Q: Greetings Cornelia, Please, what does "kneifen ist nicht" mean? Please see: ... A: this phrase means something like "There's no giving up", "You can't give up now". A similar phrase ... | |
| Name Pronunciation | 4/14/2009 |
| Q: I am American, and I have a question for the correct German pronunciation of the names: Frauke, ... A: Frauke would be pronounced somewhat like this: Frow(like in "how")ke(almost like in "kip" but a ... | |
| Wie bist du denn drauf? | 4/8/2009 |
| Q: Greetings Cornelia, The context was a telenovela, “Alisa – Folge deinem Herzen” – there was a kind ... A: "gut draufsein"/"schlecht draufsein" means to be in a good or bad mood. The "denn" in the question ... | |
| German - English translation | 3/29/2009 |
| Q: Don't worry about the homework thing, I don't think I'd want to be that lazy, and I'm taking Spanish ... A: what a weird text - where is this from? It means something like: "The heretics divine poetry ... | |
| Kurellas Schrift: Kafka und die Fledermaus | 2/13/2009 |
| Q: Many thanks for the help with “Angela”. Re the Biermann song, I fully understand about your being ... A: apparently this is the story: Sometime in '63, there was a writers conference in Prague on Kafka. ... | |
| The exact pronunciation of the name “Angela” | 2/11/2009 |
| Q: Please could you let me know the exact pronunciation of the name “Angela”? Are any of the vowels ... A: my best friend since kindergarten days is called Angela, and everybody has always pronounced her ... | |
| Literature sites | 2/7/2009 |
| Q: Are there any German sites with books that are no longer copyright? I loved “Tonio Kröger” – perhaps ... A: other than http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/, I wouldn't know any sites. Thomas Mann's works are most ... | |
| Controller | 1/22/2009 |
| Q: The word “Controller” came up on German TV last night as a German word. The meaning was some kind of ... A: you can find a job description here: http://www.berufe-lexikon.de/berufsbild-beruf-controller.htm ... | |
| Synonym for "ein blaues Auge" | 1/20/2009 |
| Q: On TV last night, a word for “black eye” was used which sounded like “Pfeilchen” or “Feilchen” or ... A: no, you heard right, only your spelling is a little off: It's a Veilchen, a violet, since the color ... | |
| “Lieber ein Ende mit Schrecken als umgekehrt.” | 1/17/2009 |
| Q: I do hope you can make some sense of this as I may have got it down wrong: “Lieber ein Ende mit ... A: I don't know if this is a saying as such but I remember it from the ending of the novel "Effi ... | |
| Kurt Hager of the ex-DDR | 1/13/2009 |
| Q: Many thanks for the excellent recent help. Re Kurt Hager, the article to be found on this page ... A: Oh, and just because it is a pet peeve of mine: Ex-DDR is a somewhat silly term. There's no ... | |
| dass sentences | 11/29/2008 |
| Q: I am going to Berlin, Germany in December just for fun. I have been studying German for a few ... A: I'm not sure where the question is. A clause with "dass" is a dass-clause, one with "zu" isn't. Both ... | |
| Sentence | 11/24/2008 |
| Q: Please, what is the best way to say in German, “I benefited from the government cuts (cutbacks) by ... A: I'd probably say "Ich profitierte von den Kürzungen der Regierung, indem ich in den Vorruhestand ... | |
| Naming my pet | 11/16/2008 |
| Q: I recently purchased a 7 week old Mini Schnauzer, I would like to give it a German name, any ... A: pet names are as varied in Germany as they are everywhere, but how about "Schnuffi"? It is related ... | |
| deutsche literatur | 11/11/2008 |
| Q: Hallo Cornelia! Die Literatur gefaellt mir zu viel, besonders die deutsche Literatur ;weil ich ... A: Hallo Vandad, was das Persische angeht, habe ich wenig Ahnung. :-( Zur Literatur an sich: ... | |
| Veranlassungswort | 11/6/2008 |
| Q: Please, what would be the best rendition of this grammatical term into English in your opinion? ... A: Actually what 99 out 100 people would say is "jemanden dazu zwingen, sich zu verbeugen" (note my old ... | |
| writing | 11/6/2008 |
| Q: I have learnt German at school for 7 years and recently moved to Berlin. The German which I learnt ... A: I think the best way of going about this depends on what exactly you are doing in Berlin - do you ... | |
| Veranlassungswort | 11/5/2008 |
| Q: Please, what would be the best rendition of this grammatical term into English in your opinion? ... A: "veranlassen" means causing something, making something happen. Example: "Wir haben die Zahlung ... | |
| Heinrich Heine - quotes. | 10/6/2008 |
| Q: Chanced upon your site while looking for information on Heinrich Heine. I can find plenty of his ... A: first off, please excuse my very late response - my laptop died and at work I can't use the ... | |
| German | 9/11/2008 |
| Q: I started to learn German language online thru audio files. What should I keep in mind to learn it ... A: you should probably make sure that you also practice your reading and that you have a grammar book ... | |
| german prayer | 9/2/2008 |
| Q: Cornelia. I was wondering if you might help with this prayer that we say at all family events. It ... A: no problem. :-) Amen, of course, is clear. "Liebe fadda" is "lieber Vater", dear father. The first ... | |
| Don't know what this translates to?? | 7/3/2008 |
| Q: I am working on a family tree for my father. The last name of someone in his tree is listed as ... A: I'm sorry but I don't think I can help you with this - both words can be names in German but I ... | |
| site information | 6/10/2008 |
| Q: Is their a website where I can check the grammatical correctness of a sentence in German language. A: No, I don't think there is, unfortunately. There are sites that explain grammar but since all ... | |
| german grammer | 6/10/2008 |
| Q: why this sentence is wrong 'Hier ist einen Bruder'. ANSWER: Hi, it is wrong because Bruder is the ... A: It's not correct. The correct version is "Er ist ein Bruder." "Sein" (the infinitive of "ist") is a ... | |
| -wesen | 5/26/2008 |
| Q: I frequently come across words in –wesen. As it’s not always convenient to look them up in a ... A: wiktionary says: -wesen: [3] in Zusammensetzungen zur Bildung eines Oberbegriffs, der ein ganzes ... | |
| MOM? | 5/3/2008 |
| Q: I wanted to know if you could tell me the translation of the word "MOM" from english to German? I'm ... A: the closest to "mom" would be "Mama", also "Mutti" which is derived from "Mutter"/mother. I don't ... | |
| etwas werden vs. zu etwas werden | 4/24/2008 |
| Q: I remember having a discussion many years ago with a friend about whether “to become a Christian” ... A: I googled "zu einem * geworden" as well as variations with "werden" and with "einer", and while the ... | |
| German saying | 4/20/2008 |
| Q: When someone sneezes, I have heard others say something that phonetically sounds like "Gott sund ... A: the word is "Gesundheit" and it means "health". You sneeze, I wish you (good/improving) health. In ... | |
| Old German LP | 4/16/2008 |
| Q: I am looking for at least a title of an old 1960's german LP. The whole LP was about SEAMAN songs. ... A: I'm afraid a quick search of amazon.de brings up only Lolita albums or newer stuff. Google has a ... | |
| Old German LP | 4/16/2008 |
| Q: I am looking for at least a title of an old 1960's german LP. The whole LP was about SEAMAN songs. ... A: unfortunately your description is a little too general. There must be dozens of LPs that would fit. ... | |
| Buxtehude | 4/13/2008 |
| Q: What exactly does "jmdn nach Buxtehude jagen" (or something like that) mean? I always thought that ... A: according to the German wikipedia, it is a southern saying, which would explain why I had never ... | |
| fonts - text | 3/30/2008 |
| Q: Cornelia, I am 67 years old, retired. I am a graphics designer by trade. Recently I have become ... A: congrats on the decision to start another language! As far as fonts are concerned, you can relax. ... | |
| Krenwurst oder Krenwürstchen | 3/11/2008 |
| Q: I've recently developed a fascination for Romanian, and find the following dictionary entry at ... A: yes, Kren means horseradish, but the word is regional, Meerrettich ist standard. People eat it ... | |
| Beinwärmer | 3/7/2008 |
| Q: It was stated in a recent TV programme that “Beinwärmer” (literally "leg-warmers", presumably) were ... A: yes, these would be 80s, Madonna-style leg warmers, ankle to knee (or rather slouching above the ... | |
| schmutter/shmutter | 2/26/2008 |
| Q: There is an American word schmutter/shmutter which must come from Yiddish and means “rag”. (An ... A: all I can come up with here is "Schmutz", which means dirt, rubbish. How that would translate into ... | |
| Berlinale Palast | 2/8/2008 |
| Q: I'm a bit confused by the name “Berlinale Palast” (where the films competing for the Golden Bear ... A: Berlinale is a made-up word. I don't know and haven't been able to find out what the origin of the ... | |
| german phrases | 2/4/2008 |
| Q: Could you please tell me how to say the the following phrases in german: "where is he" "The ... A: "where is he" - Wo ist er? (pronounced: Vo ist air?) "The President is on the second floor"- Der ... | |
| German "title" question... | 1/25/2008 |
| Q: What exactly does "von und zu" mean in someone's title or name? For example: Klaus von und zu ... A: it seems to be like this: Originally, all noble titles had the "von", although not all "von"s are ... | |
| names | 1/20/2008 |
| Q: How do you pronounce the names "Sebastian" (and other names in -AN if there are any) and "Josef"? ... A: the -an in Sebastian is really just a simple -a- like in Bahn, fahren etc., only not quite as long. ... | |
| a couple of quotes | 1/16/2008 |
| Q: Here are a couple of quotes: Deutschland einig Vaterland (Heinrich Heine) Alles is lebend Tot (Egon ... A: two different rules apply here. Alles ist lebend tot. - Here the word "lebend" is an adverb, it ... | |
| Song Adaptation: Breaking Free | 1/15/2008 |
| Q: I submitted this a while ago, and you replied saying that you were too busy at the time. As you ... A: yes, fortunately I have a lot more time now so here it goes: Wir fahren (soar = schweben, ... | |
| über die Klinge springen | 12/11/2007 |
| Q: Please, how is the above expression used? Only of a violent death/murder? In what circumstances ... A: it means "to sacrifice someone", in the sense of "In order to save his own hide, he *let his friend ... | |
| Ancestor's names | 12/10/2007 |
| Q: My great grandmother, who came to the US from Germany, was named Gepke. Is there an English ... A: Gepke is a regional variation of Köpcke, which according to the sources I've found is a diminutive ... | |
| dativ & akkusativ | 12/6/2007 |
| Q: I'm Senidda and I'm from Macedonia! I study German at school but I've got a little problem with ... A: I visited Macedonia once, some years ago. Ohrid was quite beautiful! I suppose you know which ... | |
| Translation if possible | 11/29/2007 |
| Q: I have a framed, apparently "old" German paper,possibly religious in nature. Begins with: ... A: the lines are from a poem: Wir woll´n uns gerne wagen, In unsern Tagen Der Ruhe abzusagen, Die´s ... | |
| Manuscript translation | 11/22/2007 |
| Q: I'm a PhD student at the University of Leeds, U.K. and I'm wondering if you could help me with a ... A: now there's an academic request! Unfortunately I don't have the time these days to hit any decent ... | |
| Eine Kleine Nachtmusik | 11/20/2007 |
| Q: Please, what is the sense of the adjective “klein” in Mozart’s “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik”? How can ... A: Wikipedia to the rescue! <i> ...Ihren Beinamen Eine Kleine Nachtmusik verdankt sie Mozarts Eintrag ... | |
| the man for others | 11/19/2007 |
| Q: Please, what is the translation of the expression “the man for others”, as Bonhöffer described ... A: the translation would be "ein/der Mensch für andere". I've found it here: ... | |
| German | 9/23/2007 |
| Q: There is a book entitled Falsche Slawengotter ("False Slavic Gods"?). Based on this, can I assume ... A: well, that's what I would assume. "*Falsche* Slawengotter" shows rather clearly that the author ... | |
| Knulp | 9/16/2007 |
| Q: Greetings Cornelia, and many thanks for the recent help, I recently found these following words in ... A: "Knulp" means nothing (to me at least), though it sounds somewhat undignified and a bit silly. A ... | |
| ABfinden | 9/14/2007 |
| Q: I'm a great believer in analysing each and every morpheme to gain a deeper understanding of words. ... A: hmm, I'd say one meaning of ab- would be "be final, to finish, move away from something, cause a ... | |
| German & Dutch, good combination | 9/10/2007 |
| Q: Basically I've began learning Dutch and German (more re-learning German, again) over the past month ... A: my first question would be *why* you are studying these two particular languages at the same time. ... | |
| the | 9/1/2007 |
| Q: How many ways are there for the word "the" in German? thanks A: Oh dear. I'm sorry to tell you this but there are many. :-) You might already know that in German, ... | |
| Venus im Pelz | 7/26/2007 |
| Q: Greetings Cornelia, Regarding “Venus im Pelz” (1870) by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, how do you ... A: Hey Simon, yes, the -a- is long, like in malen. The -s- is like in rise, as it pretty much always ... | |
| Venus im Pelz | 7/26/2007 |
| Q: Greetings Cornelia, Regarding “Venus im Pelz” (1870) by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, how do you ... A: Sacher: stress on the first syllable, similar to "machen" Masoch: stress on the first syllable, the ... | |
| Beer Stein Inscription | 7/11/2007 |
| Q: I have two beer steins that I would like translated. Both are hard to read because of the way the ... A: I can only help you with one inscription - the first is very jumbled. Maybe you can take a picture ... | |
| Danke & Danke schön | 7/9/2007 |
| Q: Under which conditions should one reply Danke and Danke schön. Thank you, Scott ANSWER: Hi Scott, ... A: Ah, now this is a much easier question. It's not just the "flavor" that's different here, these ... | |
| Danke & Danke schön | 7/7/2007 |
| Q: Under which conditions should one reply Danke and Danke schön. Thank you, Scott A: I don't know that there are any hard and fast rules for these words but in all but fairly formal ... | |
| Leiterwagen and its definition | 7/4/2007 |
| Q: I'm having a bit of trouble understanding what a “Leiterwagen” is, and also the definition: ... A: it is a cart whose side walls are shaped like a ladder, i.e. imagine your standard wood ladder, turn ... | |
| learning 2 languages | 7/3/2007 |
| Q: My name is Hamid and I would like to know more about learning 2 languages at the same time. In fact ... A: I think it really depends on the individual situation. Some people will learn languages easily, ... | |
| Gottfried Bürger - Lenore | 6/29/2007 |
| Q: I quote from Bram Stoker: "One of my companions whispered to another the line from Burger's ... A: yes, they really used to spell thing like that in the olden days. German spelling wasn't really ... | |
| “Thank you for correcting my (academic) thesis” | 6/18/2007 |
| Q: How should I translate “Thank you for correcting my thesis”, please? Danke, meine These korregiert ... A: I didn't mean the title of the paper, just its nature. :-) If it is a paper for a class, I'd ... | |
| “Thank you for correcting my (academic) thesis” | 6/17/2007 |
| Q: How should I translate “Thank you for correcting my thesis”, please? Danke, meine These korregiert ... A: in German, a These is a hypothesis, so you wouldn't use that word here. If it is something like a ... | |
| KURFUERST OR KUERFUERST? | 6/4/2007 |
| Q: Greetings Cornelia, I'm a bit confused here: The British King, George I, was, I believe, the ... A: Oh dear, without an etymological dictionary I'm going to go out on a very thin limb here... :-) I ... | |
| Wasserstein | 5/8/2007 |
| Q: Greetings Cornelia, Please, does Wasserstein mean anything in German? If so, what? Or is it just a ... A: "Wasserstein" means "water stone". It is also the word for lime, as in calcium deposits in your sink ... | |
| Definition of Experience | 5/6/2007 |
| Q: I read somewhere that in German there is no exact definition of the English word "experience" is ... A: of course we have that concept (or rather these concepts, as there are several meanings of ... | |
| German pronunciation | 4/30/2007 |
| Q: How do you pronounce: are you a german A: there are 4 ways, based on whether the person you are asking is male or female and whether you are ... | |
| Was ist mit | 4/19/2007 |
| Q: In a film I recently watched, “Was ist mit der Ernte” was used to mean “What about the harvest?” (It ... A: you are right, the title is ambiguous, but it wouldn't sound confusing, really. "Was ist mit dir?" ... | |
| Menelaos (lat. Menelaus, griech. Μενέλαος „Volksführer”) | 3/31/2007 |
| Q: From Wikipedia: Menelaos (lat. Menelaus, griech. Μενέλαος ... A: we would never spell the name "Menelaus" as that would indeed make people pronounce the "au" as a ... | |
| Phonetic sounds | 3/21/2007 |
| Q: I would like to know how many phonetic sounds are in the German language and what they are? Are ... A: here are two useful sites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_language ... | |
| mission statement in German | 3/19/2007 |
| Q: Please could you translate our school mission statement into German- "Building up God's kingdom ... A: there are various ways of expressing this in German. These phrases could work: gemeinsam Gottes ... | |
| Is this song's sampled lyrics in German? | 3/18/2007 |
| Q: I am desperately trying to find out the name of the following song... but am having trouble ... A: yes, this is German. The lyrics are: Wir hören ein Singen im Raum / wir jagen die Monotonie. (We ... | |
| German | 3/14/2007 |
| Q: 1 How to type Words with umlaut? 2 Which pc , software useful in languages for reseach and ... A: I don't quite understand your second question but here's how I get Umlaute with Word: In the ... | |
| Marienbad | 1/29/2007 |
| Q: Many thanks for the recent help. Your guide to the pronunciation was excellent. May I just ask: why ... A: you're right with the Marienbad pronunciation. Minsk - it's a Star Trek Deep Space Nine reference, ... | |
| Pronunciation of names | 1/28/2007 |
| Q: Greetings Cornelia, and many thanks for the wonderfully prompt reply! Please could you tell me how ... A: Oh dear. I'll try. I'll assume you're British or can pretend to be, for phonetic purposes. :-) ... | |
| Berliner Brautgang | 1/28/2007 |
| Q: Greetings Cornelia, Please, how would you translate the title of Wolf Biermann's first play, ... A: first off, I'm not familiar with the play, unfortunately, which means I can't refer to any other ... | |
| German Surname (I think) | 1/20/2007 |
| Q: I have been wondering lately what my surname, Bicksler, means. I believe it is German. I have ... A: surnames go back to the Middle Ages. Towns grew rapidly, and it became necessary to tell apart all ... | |
| Could you please check the following passage for any grammatical errors? | 11/13/2006 |
| Q: Schule in der Zukunft wird viel interessanter sein. Das Jahr 2050 werden die Studenten ... A: Jen, here are the corrections: Im Jahr 2050 jeder Student seinen eigenen Computer werden immer ... | |
| vom - vam | 11/2/2006 |
| Q: I HAVE BECOME THE MOMMY TO A GERMAN SHEPHERD PUPPY. LOOKING THOUGH HER PEDIGREE. THE WORD VON OR VOM ... A: "von/vom" means "of" or "from". The difference between the two words is grammatical, "vom" is used ... | |
| grammar check | 10/12/2006 |
| Q: i was wondering if you could check my grammar and ordering for 2 questions which i have answered, ... A: #1) Sie ist mittelgroß und hat wellige, kurze, schwarze Haare und dunkelbraune Augen. Sie trägt auch ... | |
| german q&a | 10/8/2006 |
| Q: i have three german questions which are related to homework,but i'm not asking you to do it for me,i ... A: the first question, as you wrote it, is wrong. Maybe it's "Was hast du am Wochenende gemacht?" If ... | |
| German HOLD(ER) | 10/2/2006 |
| Q: I am looking at the German word HOLD, "propitious". My dictionary also mentions the phrase HOLDER ... A: in this particular case, the ending -er in "holder Friede" is due to the combination of the ... | |
| Asking questions in German | 9/23/2006 |
| Q: I am unsure how to arrange the word order for asking questions with either yes or no answers. I'm ... A: Oy, Marc, if only all questions were this easily solved! (Says the woman who is just assembling Ikea ... | |
| love German | 9/14/2006 |
| Q: I want to learn German..I'm a Chinese girl and have passion on learning different language..and I ... A: well, is there a school in your area that teaches German? I myself am a bit of a social learner and ... | |
| translation on german beer stein | 6/15/2006 |
| Q: We have a regimantal beer stein. Can you please translate these two phrases? Thank you so much! ... A: some of these words do not make sense - in the olden days the writing style was different and ... | |
| Verbs | 6/2/2006 |
| Q: If a sentence in German contains three or more verbs, where do they all go, i know that normally a ... A: in the sentence "I like to sleep when it's warm" you actually have two clauses, one with one ... | |
| Was Sie will bekommt Sie auch | 5/28/2006 |
| Q: What is the literal translation of the phrase, Was Sie will bekommt Sie auch? I know that its ... A: yes, that's pretty much what it means. The problem is the capitatization of "Sie", which would ... | |
| Ich mach' jetzt auf durchgeknallt. | 3/31/2006 |
| Q: Greetings Cornelia, Many thanks for the recent help. Please could you explain and translate the ... A: Ah. Colloquial German! "(einen) auf etwas/jemanden machen" means "to behave like/pretend to be". In ... | |
| Leistungskurs | 3/29/2006 |
| Q: Greetings, Please, what is meant by Leistungskurs? My dictionary says "set", but that doesn't help ... A: the word Leistungskurs refers to the intensity of a subject studied during the last 2-3 years of ... | |
| definition of name | 1/31/2006 |
| Q: my great great grandfather came to the us after his discharge from the german army in the 1850's. ... A: this name changing business was quite common at the time - not everybody who worked at immigration ... | |
| Doch! | 12/20/2005 |
| Q: just a quick question. I have often heard the word "doch" used though I am unsure of an English ... A: did I ever answer this? If not: Yes, "doch" is pretty impossible to translate. It's mostly a ... | |
| construction company | 12/10/2005 |
| Q: How can I say:I founded a construction company, employed 25 workers,architects and engineers, ... A: Ich gruendete eine Baufirma, die 25 Arbeiter, Architekten und Ingenieure beschaetigte. Die Firma ... | |
| German language grammar? question | 11/15/2005 |
| Q: Neumann, I took four years of German language when I was in high school, back in the 1970's. A ... A: the list you're looking for is that of the dative prepositions. I always teach them the following ... | |
| historical peasant footware | 9/29/2005 |
| Q: Could You please furnish me the English equivalent for the German word for "Bundschuch" at your ... A: I looked around a bit but even Google hasn't been much help. I doubt that there's a special name ... | |
| geschaeftlichen | 9/18/2005 |
| Q: Hallo Cornelia, Ich habe einen Satz gefunden, den ich nicht richtig sein denke. Problem: ... A: Myron, Sie haben leider nicht Recht. In diesem Satz ist "geschaeftlich" kein Adjektiv, sondern ein ... | |
| Bismarck quote | 9/17/2005 |
| Q: Please could you help me to find the quote from Bismarck, in the original German, to the effect that ... A: it should be this: "Nicht durch Reden und Majoritätsbeschlüsse werden die großen Fragen der Zeit ... | |
| da, dort, dabei | 9/16/2005 |
| Q: Hallo Cornelia, Was ist die Unterschied zwischen "Ich war da", "Ich war dort", und "Ich war dabei". ... A: "da" means "there", in both the meanings of "over there" and "present". "Dort" is just "over there", ... | |
| zum Verständnis | 8/20/2005 |
| Q: Liebe Cornelia, Ein Satz auf Deutsch: Gleichzeitig werden wir spezifische Themen behandlen, die ... A: actually, it's the other way around: We will deal with specific themes that will contribute to the ... | |
| Genitive article | 6/21/2005 |
| Q: I am teaching myself German with the help of tapes and books. As an admirer of the music of Richard ... A: the Nibelungs were a mythical dwarf race, and the original dwarf owner of the treasure that ... | |
| bekommen und erhalten | 5/18/2005 |
| Q: Liebe Cornelia, Gibt es ein Unterscheid zwischen die Woerte: bekommen und erhalten? Oder, sind sie ... A: bekommen is less formal, but other than that they are mostly identical. Ich habe Ihren Brief gestern ... | |
| German Travel | 5/12/2005 |
| Q: Please forgive me if this is a stupid question. I want to travel to Germany next summer. My ... A: Bavaria is indeed in Germany. It contains a fair number of biggish cities, Munich being the largest. ... | |
| ability test | 5/7/2005 |
| Q: I would like to test my ability to translate from German to English at an advanced level. If you ... A: I am *still* not a Sir but a Madam, and quite happy with that too. Please be advised that most women ... | |
| ability test | 5/5/2005 |
| Q: I would like to test my ability to translate various texts bearing different subjects from German to ... A: I am not sure what you are asking me. Are you looking for text sources? If so, what level of ... | |
| Du or Sie? | 4/29/2005 |
| Q: Guten tag, Cornelia. (I studied German in high school some 25 years ago). Having closely followed ... A: that's an intriguing question! I have not been able to find any official info on how to address a ... | |
| Travelling | 3/21/2005 |
| Q: Could you translate to me please: What happened to you? Howcome you left US? A: !!! I decided I wasn't going to write a dissertation after all (as it would be no good in Germany ... | |
| Karl Baedeker | 3/10/2005 |
| Q: Please, how do you pronounce the surname "Baedeker"? Where is the stress? How should one write it in ... A: Baedecker is pronounced "'bay-deck-kerr", more or less, with the stress on the first syllable. It is ... | |
| learning german language | 2/21/2005 |
| Q: How are you? Hoping to find you happy and fine. I wish to learn German language. My mother tongue is ... A: I think that especially for a total beginner, it is always a good idea to study in a group. The ... | |
| Max Schmeling | 2/21/2005 |
| Q: I tried Google and nothing turned up. If it would not be too much trouble maybe your mother could ... A: well, my mom found no details but it seems logical that Schmeling at least acquired a basic ... | |
| Max Schmeling | 2/20/2005 |
| Q: I have just finished reading an autobiography of Max Schmeling, originally printed in the German ... A: I truly have no idea, and since I am not living in Germany I have no way of checking this in a ... | |
| names of places preceded by the definite article | 2/8/2005 |
| Q: In the German language the names of certain cities and countries are preceded by the relevant ... A: I've looked around a bit, and here are twoo good explanations of the phenomenon (if you read ... | |
| German Grammar | 2/2/2005 |
| Q: Firstly, Order of sentences. I am always confused in what order I put the verbs (I know that usually ... A: first, congrats on tackling a difficult language on your own. How very brave of you! :-) There are ... | |
| word meaning | 12/17/2004 |
| Q: What do the words "moppel" and "propper" mean? A: moppel, in my understanding, is a term of endearment for young and especially *chubby* children. ... | |
| Kennedy quotation | 11/18/2004 |
| Q: Please settle this for me: When JFK said, "Ich bin ein Berliner," instead of "Ich bin Berliner," was ... A: Jack, it is not wrong but it is very ambiguous. And since the "other" meaning is so silly one would ... | |
| translation | 8/1/2004 |
| Q: I am a writer working on a novel set during WWII. I was hoping you would translate two sentences ... A: Scott, it´s Feuer einstellen! and Jude, setz das Kind ab! Personal aside: Yuck, yet another WW II ... | |
| phonetics | 7/10/2004 |
| Q: Salam, I'm a teacher, I need to know the pronounciation of these German words. It's great help of ... A: I´ll try to use American English as a basis where possible: Glass - an open "a", like the first ... | |
| German funerals | 6/19/2004 |
| Q: When there is a death in a family, is it appropriate for people attending services to give cards ... A: Christine, no money. Absolutely not. A card, maybe some flowers (usually white but seasonal is ... | |
| standestaat | 5/26/2004 |
| Q: What does standestaat mean? A: Matt, I'm not quite sure as history isn't my best subject, but I think it refers to the medieval ... | |
| German prepositions | 3/2/2004 |
| Q: Cornelia. My name is Carlie and I am an ESL teacher. I have a few German speaking students in my ... A: ahh, the dreaded prepositions. I do admit that I still get confused by the English ones, so who ... | |
| grammar confusion | 2/27/2004 |
| Q: I am trying to write "Both sides of this argument agree that we should eliminate injustice, but ... A: I'd probably do it this way: Beide Parteien stimmen darin ueberein, dass wir Unrecht beseitigen ... | |
| words i cant find in the vocabularies | 2/2/2004 |
| Q: Here is a list of some words i could not look up in my vocabulary, i hope that you are able to ... A: Rasmus, in modern spelling: Mutmassung - conjecture Unkraut will Weizen heissen - even ... | |
| pantheismusstreit | 11/9/2003 |
| Q: I have two question about "pantheismusstreit" 1- It's pronunciation according to oxford phonetic ... A: I'm not sure how to help with pronunciation unless you'd like to call me here in Mexico. :-) I'm ... | |
German Language
Answers by Expert:
Cornelia Neumann
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I can answer questions regarding grammar and style, as well as many questions about German culture, history, and literature.
Experience
I am native speaker with a German degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language and German. I lived and worked in the USA for seven years (taught high school and all college levels) and spent three years as a high school teacher of German and EFL at an international school in Mexico. In 2006 I returned to Germany, where I am currently working as a teacher in Hamburg.
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