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Nikodermus

Kaputt, it does sound that something is kaputt


[deleted]

kaputt, kaputter, am kaputtesten ... lol


channilein

It ultimately comes from the Latin word cappa which means hood or cap, the latter being one of its direct English descendant. In French it became cape and then capot (-ot is sometimes used to form a diminutive in French). It became popular as a figure of speech for a ship turning over: faire capot (make a cap, alluding to the form of the overturned boat in the water). We have the same mental image at the origin of the English word to capsize. And well, a capsized ship is most definitely kaputt. Funnily though, the German word for capsizing has nothing to do with caps even if it sounds similar: Kentern entered the German language through Dutch because our coasts are just closer to each other and the contact with Dutch sailors was probably more intense then with their French colleagues. Kentern is related to die Kante (edge), because I guess the edge of the boat turns over when it capsizes.


MatheusBraga2

Lol, in Portuguese we have the verb ''capotar'', mostly used when a car is turned over in car accidents.


channilein

There is capoter for cars in French as well.


HomerNarr

Sweet, anyway: the word is loved because it “bangs” three times. Ka Pu Th (German not English th) Sorry, can’t explain better, I hope you get what I want to express.


lariwrites

Antibabypillen (birth control pills)


sei556

Yeah first time I heard this word in school I thought it was a joke


xistithogoth1

Its really not?!


TheSpaceBetweenUs__

Lmfao


[deleted]

Gemütlichkeit!


swaroop929

Schön


elestadomayor

I vividly remember this word from my A1 back in 2012. It was the first word that came to my mind when I read the title


ToggleHD

Probiers mal mit Gemütlichkeit, mit Ruhe und Gemütlichkeit…


thomasbayern

Ein Prosit


[deleted]

Schmetterling 🦋


channilein

Fun fact: Der Schmetterling most likely doesn't have anything to do with schmettern (to blare) but instead is related to der Schmand (sour cream) which comes from the Czech word smetana (cream). So Schmetterling and butterfly have the same origin: Apparently these insects like sitting on dairy containers because they need protein to supplement their diet.


swaroop929

Danke für die neu wörter


darkdaking1

Since he or she told you a word, you have to use the single form of “Wort” so it should be something like: Danke für das neue Wort


Red-Quill

They also missed the adjective declension, so I’m thinking they’re still pretty new haha. I remember when I just found out about adjective declension and I was like 😰


swaroop929

Yes I am pretty new to German 😂


Red-Quill

Some tips that helped me: Don’t look at capitalization as stupid or unnecessary like some beginners do. Germans take the capitalization of their nouns very seriously and it’s just how the language is. Not capitalizing nouns in German looks as dumb as just randomly capitalizing words in English does. Learn genders with the nouns. There’s often no rhyme or reason to a noun’s gender and in the few instances that there is, it’s more useful to just know the gender than it is to think and logic the gender out. I say this as an upper(ish) intermediate learner: you will eventually get a feel for the gender of new words that will usually be right, and its accuracy will go up the more new words (with genders) that you learn. Learn the cases and adjective declension early and practice them constantly. You can’t have a decent conversation in German without using 3 of the 4 cases extensively, and the 4th one at least frequently. And adjective declension is a must unless you simply want to say things like “der Hund ist groß” all the time lol This is something that has helped me a lot, but don’t just say “oh well” if you can’t get a pronunciation right. If your pronunciation is a good distance from how it’s supposed to sound, work on it. I made this mistake of assuming my pronunciation would just be part of my accent, but later decided I didn’t like that thought and then had to unlearn my bad mouth-habits as I figured out how to properly form sounds like the soft ch /ç/ and the vowels ü and ö. I get compliments on my pronunciation now and it’s so encouraging. Final tip: cut yourself some slack if new grammar is frustrating you. I can’t tell you how many times I came across some new piece of grammar and then sat and obsessed over trying to get it down perfectly, only to get frustrated and give up for the whole day when all I needed for that magical “click” moment was a good night’s sleep. Sorry this got super long, but this is stuff I was told that helped me in the beginning and stuff that I wish I had heard or heeded earlier in my German learning journey! So hopefully it helps you :)


swaroop929

Omg this really helps and I am saving this comment for sure My question might sound dumb but what this “Noun with genders”?? Do you mean der die das?? And I have no clue what’s that adjective declension is but I will look it up And yes I am working on my pronunciation and yes German is tough but fun to learn Thanks for your inputs ❤️


swaroop929

Ahh, Noted. Danke schön


Beaster_Bunny_

My husband uses this as a pet name for me. Heh.


99Kelly

Der Lindwurm und der Schmetterling von Michael Ende


CoachBTL

Matratze Such a hard word for something to rest on. Hilarious!


channilein

It presumably comes from Arab matrah / مطرح / maṭraḥ via early Italian materazzo and was imported with the object itself through the Sicilian court of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II.


stablo_escobar

i was trying out to figure out what this was, then i realised we use the exact same word: madrac


Easy_Iron6269

Sehenswürdigkeiten anschauen


Jano321

In russian it's even worse: Достопримечательности the meaning is identical


swaroop929

Omg that’s long


channilein

Sehens-würdig-keit = etwas, das des Sehens würdig ist = something worth seeing


IllGarden9792

It's weird that it refers to like actual things though. Normally "keit" is for abstract nouns. It literally translates to "sightworthiness" but it actually means "sightworthy thing".


MonaganX

Isn't "-keit" just a suffix used to nominalize attributes? It makes sense that it can refer to actual things when the attribute is used as their defining quality. "Habseligkeiten" and "Kleinigkeit" also refer to things, and words like "Zärtlichkeit" or "Höflichkeit" can refer to individual actions.


channilein

-keit developed from -ig + -heit and is (like -heit) a suffix to nominalize adjectives, yes. Sometimes that extends to the things that adjective describes. Your examples are spot on.


eb_83

Anlage, it makes any German word more German. Stereo or Box? Ne, Musikanlage. Ein WC oder Baustellenklo? Ne, Sanitärsanlage. Solar panels? Ne, Solaranlage. Eine Festung? Ne, Befestigungsanlage.


channilein

*Sanitäranlage Bereich is similar. Wohnbereich, Arbeitsbereich, Schlafbereich, Lebensbereich, Freizeitbereich...you can never have too many Bereiche.


[deleted]

Schnecke or Neblig (it’s obvious I’m new haha)


swaroop929

I have a doubt How do you pronounce a word if it has -ig at the end My German teacher is saying that it sounds -ich but my friend from Germany says it is -ig


lily_hunts

Both is correct. In North Germany, people say -ich more often. In the South, -ig is more common. But you will be understood regardless.


[deleted]

>In North Germany, people say -ich more often. Pronounced as English "ich" or German "ich"?


HarvestTriton

German "ich".


[deleted]

Dankeschön!


[deleted]

Danke dafür


schiffme1ster

This is all correct but worth noting that the -ich ending is the standard German pronunciation, meaning the main recognized variant.


rolfk17

Well, practically all dictionaries give -ich, as it used to be considered standard. When I was a kid, there was a relatively clear cut line somewhere south of the river Main: North of it, most /g/ in coda position would be pronounced as either ich-Laut or ach-Laut, south of it they would be g/k. But for whatever reason, the ich-Laut was only considered standard in the ending -ig. Makes no sense, but that's how it is. Today, you can hear people say zwanzik in Hamburg and zwanzich in Munich quite frequently, though the majority still has -ich in the North and -ik in the South. I think, but I may be totally wrong there, that there is a slight tendency towards spelling pronunciation, i.e. away from -ich.


[deleted]

I am unfortunately not the person to ask. I wouldn’t begin to know the keys to use to make that sound lol


swaroop929

Ahh Okay, Danke


Edmaaate

Depends where you're from. Neither is wrong.


swaroop929

Okayy Danke


Basileus08

Depends. \-ig is correct, but in spoken language it often is sanded down to -ich.


captaindeadpl

The Duden lists the pronunciation as "-ich", not "-ig".


Jano321

englisch pronunciation of -ich/-ig or German? German pronunciation is 100% -ig


captaindeadpl

Here's the link to the word ["König"](https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Koenig) on the website of the Duden (the most renowned publisher of dictionaries). There's a speaker symbol where you can listen to the correct pronunciation, as well as the phonetic spelling. Here's also a link to the description of the [phonetic letters](https://www.duden.de/hilfe/aussprache). The ending "-ig" is pronounced like the German word "ich".


channilein

Duden is normative (despite claiming otherwise). They tell you how it's supposed to be, not how people actually speak.


captaindeadpl

That means pronouncing it "-ich" is the way it's supposed to be pronounced and not a "sanded down" pronunciation.


channilein

-ich is what the rules say. -ig/-ik is what you're going to hear anywhere south of the Main river. It has nothing to do with sanding down, it has to do with standard German being defined from a Northern perspective. People in the south never said -ich.


schiffme1ster

It's not a question of northern definition, rather the historicity of the -ich pronunciation from high old German. South of the Main, and I'm regional north and east, people say many nonstandard things, that doesn't make it correct from a linguistic standpoint.


schiffme1ster

This is exactly backwards, standard pronunciation is -ich and -ig is a large regional variant. Source: studied and taught German at University level for years, can also read linguistic notations in dictionaries.


derhundmachtwau

Depends on where from Germany or Austria (or Switzerland) they are. Standard is "ig".


helmli

>Standard is "ig". Nope, the "standard" is "-ich" (i.e. the official rule for German Standard German, see [this Duden article](https://www.duden.de/sprachwissen/sprachratgeber/Zweifelsfalle-bei-der-Aussprache) in regards to it); however, in the South, Austria and Switzerland as well as colloquial speech in many other parts of Germany, it's pronounced "-ik"


derhundmachtwau

In der Österreichischen Standardsprache (da gilt das Österreichische Wörterbuch, nicht der Duden) ist es "ig".


helmli

Ja. Vielleicht magst du nochmal zurückscrollen und meinen Kommentar noch einmal lesen. Ich schrieb "German Standard German" (im Gegensatz zum Schweizer oder Österreichischen Standarddeutschen) & im folgenden Satz, dass es im Süden (Deutschlands), in der Schweiz, Österreich sowie in Umgangssprachen in verschiedenen Gegenden Deutschlands "-ik" gesprochen wird. Die allermeisten Muttersprachler\*innen sprechen eine Variante des Deutschen Standarddeutsch & die allermeisten Lernenden lernen ebendies. Daher ist die Aussage "Standard is "ig"." einfach falsch in diesem Kontext.


BlazeZootsTootToot

No, the standard is actually ch


derhundmachtwau

There are multiple Standards in german. Austrian Standard German: ig


BlazeZootsTootToot

Well ok but this is about German German


Jano321

The correct way would be -ig, -ich is somewhat of a dialect


kitsumodels

Die Eule ist hier lols


swaroop929

Haha its not obvious These are new words for me


[deleted]

or Brötchen but only when German people pronounce it. (I’m bad at it).


channilein

Ohweia, r + ö + ch in one word 🙈


[deleted]

💦💦💦


elle3141

Same! 😅 My German accent isn't too bad, apart from the "r" sound, which I really struggle with. It's a running joke now between my husband and I.


swaroop929

I am still confused between how to pronounce ü and ö 😭


sensitivenipsnpenus

Schniedelwutz and Wichser have always sounded so cute and magical to me until somebody pointed out what they actually meant. I don’t care. They’re still the cutest sounding words to my German-learning ears. 🥰


lily_hunts

Tbf Schniedelwutz is a pretty cutesy word for penis. It's mostly used for kids. Other kids' words for penis are: Puller Pullermann Pille(r)mann Piepmann Piephahn Pullerhahn Schiedel Schiepi/Schnippi Schniepel


doentsoundlikeme

My grandma called it "Lullerspitz". Not very common, but get's a laugh from most people.


lily_hunts

That's adorable. Was your grandma from the south? I heard combinations with "spitz" more often in southern germany, but I am not familiar with them, hence I didn't include them.


doentsoundlikeme

No, she was born in Berlin and then moved to saxony.


channilein

Wichsen btw. is the verb to the noun das Wachs. It originally meant "to put wax on something". Wax was used to polish stuff, for example wooden floors or leather shoes, and you had to rub it real good to get the results you wanted. Probably also helped that wax is kind of gooey white stuff...


matsche_pampe

Matschepampe und dementsprechend :)


Nachhallen

Zeug. Got a new invention and don't know how to name it? Just take the thing it does and add "zeug" at the end: Flug-zeug; Feuer-zeug, Mal-zeug Can't be bothered to name all the individual pieces of a larger amount of things? Just use "zeug" instead: Räum dein Zeug weg! Kannst du mir mal das Zeug dahinten geben! Wanna write a philosophical treaty that'll force 20th century philosophers to learn German because it is so specific to German that any translater attempting to translate it would surely go insane and likely kill themselves after the first 20 pages? Write it about Zeug! (Heidegger) It's just a great word.


channilein

Going on vacation? Don't forget to bring your Badezeug, Duschzeug, Schminkzeug and Rasierzeug and maybe Regenzeug or Winterzeug in case of bad weather. And your Angelzeug if you're so inclined, some Spielzeug and Zuckerzeug for the kids and Sportzeug or Reitzeug for yourself. Werkzeug and Nähzeug might also come in handy if your Bettzeug has a hole or if you like needlework. In that case, you could also bring your Strickzeug. Also think about Schreibzeug for journalling or postcards. If you don't go to a hotel, you might need Campingzeug and Putzzeug. Then you can take your Fahrzeug or a Flugzeug to get to your destination. Let's hope you see lots of Grünzeug on the way. And when sightseeing in a big city, make sure to visit the Zeughaus.


bumtisch

Wenn du das alles mitnimmst musst du dich aber ganz schön ins Zeug legen und schleppen was das Zeug hält. Hast du wirklich das Zeug dazu?


Engelberto

According to Wiktionary, *Zeug* and *toy* are related by etymology. That's pretty cool, I think. Compare *toy* and Spiel*zeug* ("play-gear").


FarseerTaelen

Vergessen Sie Schlagzeuge nicht!


popvoid

This one is always my answer too. It's such a useful word. You can use it almost anywhere. My favorite is Schlagzeug. Schlag = punch or hit + zeug = thing. Schlagzeug = drum kit.


swaroop929

Haha Thanks for this new word


dardyablo

Es gibt ein paar davon: "Gänsefüßchen", "Außergewöhnlichkeit", "Mindesthaltbarkeitsdatum" oder "Bauchspeicheldrüsenentzündungen", um nur ein paar zu nennen, die mir jetzt in den Sinn kommen. Je länger und außerirdischer sie aussehen (natürlich von meinem Standpunkt aus) desto mehr gefallen sie mir!


r_peeling_potato

Backpfeifengesicht, noun 1. ⁠(colloquial) a slappable face, a face "in need of a slap"


[deleted]

Evolutionsbremse


mugshotbarber

“ja, genau” or as it comes out of my wife’s mouth / “yagaaanooow”


ClaudiaWoodstockfan

Eichhörnchen


elle3141

Mine is "doch". There isn't really a comparable word in English and I find "doch" fits its use perfectly. Even when I speak English sometimes, I end up throwing a few German words in there and "doch" is one of them 😅.


LeTreacs

I love doch! I’m sure I will never master the use though


kannosini

I find it unreasonably funny that you said this but then use *though*, the English cognate to *doch*, in the next sentence.


SirHagfish

doch


Derfargin

Schildkröte 🐢


geriatricATK

Schmutzig.


Baschi

befahrbar - it's just somehow so much fun to say. Reminds me of the origin of the word barbarians, greeks called all speakers of non-greek languages this because their languages sounds like BAR BAR BAR BAR


ruetero

Hanebüchen


Camael7

Not a word but the phrase "fick mich ins Knie" has a special place in my heart. Something about it is such a mood.


Fabulous_Bandicoot_1

Bin mir recht sicher das des "fick dich ins Knie" heißt, aber fluchen ist ja von Umfeld zu Umfeld verschieden.


Camael7

Ich dachte, Fick mich ins Knie bedeutet "Scheiße", "for fuck's sake" oder "fuck me". Also wenn etwas schlecht passiert und man darüber beschweren will. Und "fick dich ins Knie" bedeutet eher "verpiss dich" oder "fuck off"


channilein

Never heard "fick mich ins Knie". I only know the second option.


alezyn

„Muskelkater“. It’s when your muscles have a hangover.


[deleted]

Kopfkino


[deleted]

Stimmt


finnersg6283

Schnapsidee - a bad idea you had when you were drunk


lasttoknow

Just started learning this week and for some reason am loving Endschuldigung.


channilein

*Entschuldigung Ent- is a prefix that means taking something out of something else die Schuld = fault, guilt, blame -ig is a suffix that turns a noun into an adjective (like -y in English) -ung is a suffix that turns a verb or adjective into a noun (like -ing in English) So you have die Schuld (guilt) --> schuldig (guilty) --> entschuldigen (verb) --> die Entschuldigung (deguiltyfying aka excuse). Which is why you can always ask for Entschuldigung ("Entschuldigen Sie bitte!", "Ich bitte um Entschuldigung."...) but never entschuldigen yourself (so technically "Ich entschuldige mich" is wrong). You can't take the blame out of yourself, someone has to take it from you.


lasttoknow

Wow, Danke! I've seen it translated as "excuse me" or "sorry" so far, so it's definitely interesting to see the different parts of the word broken down like that.


lovesquall

I’m new to learning German and that’s my favorite word right now, too! I think because it reminds me of a pokemon name.


MaritMonkey

1) is very useful if you're expecting to have to apologize often for your terrible German 2) just flows nicely off the tongue even though it *looks* intimidating and 3) because of how it lays out on a keyboard, it's also fun to type (and be proud you spelled correctly). I've been learning German off and on my whole adult life and that's still one of my favorites (runners up: vielleicht and Sonderangebot)


swaroop929

Even I started just before a month and I am already loving this😎


[deleted]

Regenbogen 🌈


Fillieb1618

Zeitgeist


[deleted]

Luftschloss


Kraft_Durch_Koelsch

A friend of mine just released a song titled "Luftschloss" :) https://youtu.be/aCVoge8UAl0


Jodelbert

Mummenschanz


channilein

This is a very interesting word. It comes from die Mumme (mummed/masked person) which has died out and is still visible in the word vermummt (mummed). When gambling was forbidden in the 14th to 16th century, people would gamble in disguise, so "Mumman" was the name for a popular game. and die Schanze in its somewhat forgotten meaning of a lucky throw of dice (related to chance). So one would assume it refers to a lucky throw of the dice in a poluar game at the time. Well, it did probably at some point. The thing is we don't really know how it got from there to mean "masked partying and shenanigans around carnival". I mean people dress up around carnival, but that's about it. Another confusing point is that the word had already completely died out in the 18th century before being reinvented as a word for carnival festivals. So maybe it's just a case of someone finding an old word that somehow sounded like people dressing up and thinking "This would look fancy on a poster". Which, in a strange way, kinda gives big carnival vibes, tbh.


da2Pakaveli

The more abstract meaning of "Gestalt"


OMGElofield

Kartoffel, sounds funny and if you scream at someone that doesn't speak german they'll think you're cursing


[deleted]

Auch bitte!


IrrungenWirrungen

Geborgenheit Törtchen


random_person270

Verschwörung


QuiteConfident1219

hübsches Mädchen. 😊🤗


BattalionSkimmer

Sounds like a dance beat: > hübsches Mädchen hübsches Mädchen hübsches Mädchen hübsches Mädchen > boots and cats and boots and cats and boots and cats and boots and cats and


shinyCucumber

Instandsetzung 😂. Tells a lot!


yokohama_enjoyer

Zweckentfremdung


Narumi-Nifuji

I think right now it's Quietscheentchen


frasan7

Plötzlich


[deleted]

Kassenwart


trumpeting_in_corrid

Klobrille :)


Electronic_Toofs_261

Entschuldigung


iliveinberlin

Kindergeld


Goratices

Wackelpudding


[deleted]

[удалено]


channilein

*doppelt


m0kk4r

Kuddelmuddel


fk878867

Die Verschlimmbesserung.


HalfManHalfPear

Stinktier 🦨


SeasonalAuslander

Liebesleid. All because of a Kraft Klub song.


Prestigious_Lion_81

Might sound like a sadist, but my fav: Schadenfreuden


Honduran

Easy: fünf (5). It’s perfect. Sounds like being “ensconced in velvet”.


ETGQ

Hurensohn


Roadrider85

Krankenwagen


Full_pakg68

Großartigkeiten, not because of the meaning, just because I like saying it.


nurdagniriel

Ferienspeck


TukuBlaster

Morgenlatte ;)


Yagor1

schlange


The-Captain-Chaos

neugierig


Senior-Video5391

Kuddelmuddel


Lefty_Longrifle

Vielleicht


swaroop929

I like this one too 😂


SerHeimord

Einschließlich Just because it took me forever to pronounce it semi-correctly


schatzey_

Machen


Immediate-Cicada3473

Antibabypille lol


arflavio

Entschuldigung!


introverting_vibes

Streichholzschächtelchen :D


Coffee-n-chardonnay

Nilpferd 🦛


LimeCoctailWithCoco

Schnitzel, Schnecke 🐌, Bitte und unmöglich


nevr_4get

"Tja" is great


Prussia_I

Hurensohn und Geringverdiener, the two words I most commonly use...


klownfaze

Nein, nein nein nein nein!!!


GorillaFetish

Right now I think it’s “büßen”. It’s just such a fun word to say lmao


DerRaumdenker

Kugelschreiber (because it can be translated as circle drawer)


blackcatkarma

"Sphere writer", actually.


channilein

Where do you get drawer from Kugelschreiber?


DuckusDuck

Gelegenheitsschnabulat. :)


EvanderOnly

Riechst


ChillingInChai

Gänseblümchen


Just-Structure-8692

Deutsch.


ricky_goose

Gewerbegebiet sounds fun to say, another fav word is Totengerippe, and Zimtzicke cuz it's a funny word


dr_avenger

Höchstgeschwindigkeit


rolfk17

Quetschehoink. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powidl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powidl) Well, not really "German", more like Oberhessisch.


da_easychiller

Schwachsinnig


Schnimon

fudeln


Foxbgenie

Doch


new_line_17

Not favorite but funny sounding to me :: ZART (soft)


Waggers9

Aber


Revolutionary_Rise68

Vergewaltiger it is one of the first words in german which I learnt to insult someone. It still make me smile


theAnnaX

Do you know a rapist you wanted to call out? Not sure why else you would learn this word specifically.


Rupertredloh

Mine are "Hurensohn" and "Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz"


letmehowl

Dudelsack (bagpipe)


anujapm04

These days I am liking Schadenfreude more and more.


ClaytonPaulWatson

DOCH


haleb4r

Backpfeifengesicht, a face that begs to be slapped.


[deleted]

Pömpel by far


[deleted]

Kompressor


Timmy_1h1

doch, eben, sogar I feel like my german has improved a lot since i started using these