german langblr

german native speaker trying to make your language learning journey easier

[oldmayihelpyouwithgerman]

HELLO long time no hear from me.... So let me explain something

I no longer have access to this account through my laptop as I have changed my phone number and cannot log into this account through any any other devices other than my phoneeee

Also this is only a side blog and not a main blog so I can't do as much as I could if thid was a main blog, so I'm just going to RENAME THIS TUMBLR to oldmayihelpyouwithgerman and CREATE A NEW TUMBLR called mayihelpyouwithgerman on which I'm going to re-upload mosy of my old posts and be way more active (this time actually I promise) especially since quarantine is a great opportunity to learn a new language!

You can follow it or whatever idk if anyone even sees this lmao

ok so see you over there maybe??? tschüß

edit; Im also going to be taking down every post on here as soon as i reposted it :)

[oldmayihelpyouwithgerman]

Hiii, i recently started to learn German and it’s kind of difficult, specially the pronunciation. I try to listen to German stuff to see how they pronounce it, but they talk so fast I end up slowing it down and then I get even more confused. Any tips or something?

Hello! Not every German speaks fast, I would advise you to find a podcast/YouTuber who speaks at a speed you're comfortable with. I hope this helps, if not, feel free to dm me!

[oldmayihelpyouwithgerman]

this is gonna sound realllly dumb but maybe u can help?? i’ve just started learning German and i’m enjoying it but my accent is atrocious. any tips for improving it? i’m a native english speaker and have a decent foundation in spanish.

I would advise you to watch movies in German with English subtitles, if you are using a language learning app (like Duolingo which I really recommend) it's best to repeat what is said when doing exercises.

[oldmayihelpyouwithgerman]

any tips for making sure i don't sound like im saying sex when i say sechs

As both "sechs" and "sex" are pronounced the same, there is no way to not make it sound like "sex".

[oldmayihelpyouwithgerman]

is it okay to say ich liebe dich to a very close friend or should i stick to ich habe dich lieb?

I would say it would be okay to say "Ich liebe dich" to close friends, but I would advise you to stick with "hab dich lieb".

[oldmayihelpyouwithgerman]

I recently found out that the "eu" in beurteilen is not pronounced like it's pronounced in euer. Are there more exceptions to the rule that "eu" sounds like "oi"?

Hello! I'm pretty sure this is because in the word "beurteilen" (to judge), "eu" isn't really present. The actual verb is "urteilen" but with the prefix be-, therefore it's not pronounced like you'd usually pronounce "eu". It's always an exception if there is an "eu" because of a prefix/suffix.

[oldmayihelpyouwithgerman]

what kind of post do you want?

- vocabulary (tell me a topic)

- grammar

- useful sentences

- pronounciation

[foxlanguages]

The Language Learning Tip

I’ve improved my German in so little time that it almost seems impossible. Before I wouldn’t have dreamed about chatting with natives, but now it comes naturally.

Involve your target language into your daily living.

Write a little poem or journal entry

Listen to music

Watch an episode of any show

Get on YouTube and watch any video you like

Play Duolingo, memrise or any other app

Read an article, a chapter of a book or manga

Think in your target language

Stick post its to all the appliances in your house with their names in your target language

Listen to podcasts

Read the news

Talk to your friends and family in your target language even if just to say hi or thank you

Do anything you want, just don’t go a day without actually using your target language. Embrace that language as if it were your native one.

[oldmayihelpyouwithgerman]

Months

Januar (m) - January

Februar (m) - February

März (m) - March

April (m) - April

Mai (m) - May

Juni (m) - June

Juli (m) - July

August (m) - August

September (m) - September

Oktober (m) - October

November (m) - November

Dezember (m) - December

[oldmayihelpyouwithgerman]

How to learn a language

If you don’t use a language, your brain marks it as “useless”. That means that you’ll slowly forget everything you’ve learned. Here are some things you can do to prevent this:

-Read a book in the language you want to learn

Start with a children’s book. If you see a word you don’t know: Write it down with the translation!

-Watch your favorite movie in the language you’re learning (with/without subtitles)

-Follow people on social media which speak the language you want to learn

-Watch youtube videos

You like comedy/beauty/lifestyle/educational etc. videos? I bet people who speak the language you want to learn make them too!

-Listen to music from the foreign language

-Find some reasons to learn the language

This one could help to motivate you!

[oldmayihelpyouwithgerman]

Days of the week

Montag (m) - Monday

Dienstag (m) - Tuesday

Mittwoch (m) - Wednesday

Donnerstag (m) - Thursday

Freitag (m) - Friday

Samstag (m) - Saturday

Sonntag (m) - Sunday

[oldmayihelpyouwithgerman]

Grammar-Gender-Rules

There are, as you may have noticed, 3 grammar genders in German: 

- Masculine (männlich, Maskulinum) definite article: der

- Feminine (weiblich, Femininum) definite article: die

- Neuter (sächlich, Neutrum) definite article: das

Every noun has a grammar gender. There are a few rules so you can remember them better!

Masculine

These nouns are usually masculine:

- Male people and their jobs: Der Mann, der Arzt (...)

- Seasons: Der Januar, der Februar (...)

- Days/Months: Der Montag, der Dienstag, der August, der Oktober (...)

- Weather: Der Hagel, der Regen (...)

- Cardinal points: Der Norden, der Süden (...)

- Car brands: Der Mercedes, der Porsche (...)

- Alcoholic drinks: Der Sekt, der Schnaps (...) [NOT: Das Bier]

- Nouns with the following suffixes:

-ich; -ig; -ling; -ant; -är; -eur/ör; -ent; -iker; -ismus; -ist; -or;

Feminine

These nouns are usually feminine:

- Female people and their jobs: Die Frau, die Ärztin (...)

- Numbers used as nouns: Die Eins, Die Vier (...)

- Trees: Die Ulme, die Eiche (...)

- Flowers: Die Tulpe, die Rose (...)

- Ships and airplanes: Die SS Great Britain, die Boenig 787 (...)

- Nouns with the following suffixes:

-ei; -in; -heit; -keit; -schaft; -ung; -ade; -age; -anz; -ie; -enz; -ik; -ine; -ion; -isse; -(i)tät; -sis; -ur; 

Neuter

These nouns are usually neuter:

- Diminutives with -chen and -lein: Das Blättchen, das Spieglein (...)

- Metals: Das Eisen, das Gold (...) [NOT: Der Kupfer, der Stahl]

- Medicaments: Das Aspirin, das Ibuprofen

- Words borowed from another language: Das rendez-vous (...)

- Nous with the following suffixes:

-tel; -ett; -in; -ing; -(i)um; -ma

[oldmayihelpyouwithgerman]

(to) like (=mögen)

ich mag

du magst

er/sie/es mag

wir mögen

ihr mögt

S/sie mögen

[oldmayihelpyouwithgerman]

Greetings

Hallo! = Hello!

Wie geht es dir? = How are you (ifm.)

Wie geht es Ihnen? = How are you (fm.)

Guten Tag! = literally: Good day! (fm. // can be used between 10am and 4pm)

Guten Morgen! = Good morning!

Guten Nachmittag! = Good afternoon!

Guten Abend! = Good evening!

Gute Nacht! = Good night!

Guten Abend! = literally: Good evening!

Note: Phrases like “Hi!” or “Hey!” are also used in German. Happy new year!

[oldmayihelpyouwithgerman]

Ö’s,Ü’s and Ä’s (=Umlaute)

Great now I know like thousands of words but I don’t know how to pronounce them

How to pronounce the “Ö”: take the word way (or betray, lay) and now just say the ay. Amazing now tightly round your lips. If you have problems with that use a mirror to see if your lips are actually rounded.

How to pronounce the Ü: take the word knee (or weed, bee) and just say the ee. You have to round your lips just like with the Ö. The result is the Ü sound.

How to pronounce the “Ä”: You already have that in English! Take the word air and remove the r. And that’s how the German Ä sounds like!

[oldmayihelpyouwithgerman]

numbers! (1)

1 = eins

2 = zwei

3 = drei

4 = vier

5 = fünf

6 = sechs

7 = sieben

8 = acht

9 = neun

10 = zehn

!!!Attention!!! The German word for “sex” sounds very similar to “sechs”

[oldmayihelpyouwithgerman]

Vocabulary! (2)

"A rainy day" - "Ein regnerischer tag"

der Regen (m) - the rain

Es regnet. - It rains.

regnen - (to) rain

der Tee (m) - the tea

die Tasse (f) - the cup

der Film (m) - the film

der Sturm (m) - the storm

Es ist kalt. - It is cold.

Only a few words because it's better to learn them!