GermanPod101.com Blog

You leave your hotel and bundle yourself up against the winter cold in Kiel, northern Germany. It’s your first night and you’re not too sure where you are in town, so you glance at a street sign to make sure you know where to get back to. The directions in German read Einbahnstraße. Perfect. After a while of walking it gets later and later and you can’t seem to remember any of the landmarks you thought you remembered. Not to worry, you speak German! You stop a passerby, and in your best accent ask, Wo ist Einbahnstraße? The person you stop smirks, having marked you as a foreigner right away. "Einbahnstraße," comes the reply, "means ‘one-way street.’" A pretty spooky story, and it could happen to you! Unless, that is, you learn... Show more

What's that word? It's on the tip of your tongue! Put plain and simply, there's just no getting around the fact that you need a good vocabulary if you're going to speak good German. We've got that for you. Right here, stripped-down, are the top 100 German nouns, broken down into different categories so that you can easily find what you need. Basically, the perfect German nouns list for any beginner. If you're wondering why there are so many capitalized words on the list, it's because every noun in German is capitalized. Now, let's go! Table of Contents Nouns You Need for Travel Relaxing at Home Big Ideas In the Classroom University Life Hard at Work Sit Down for a Meal All About You Your... Show more

What would you say to lift the spirits of a special person you know? No doubt, you have dozens of kind words that come to mind in English, but do you know many compliments in German? A compliment can be described as a polite expression of praise, admiration, encouragement or congratulations. It’s sometimes used in absolute sincerity and sometimes to flatter, but either way, human beings love to receive compliments! Table of Contents The Importance of Compliments Compliments you always want to hear Conclusion 1. The Importance of Compliments Giving and receiving compliments is so important in society, that you can be considered rude if you’re a person who never acknowledges anyone. We all need to hear words of affirmation to... Show more

Anger is a natural response to pain of some sort; when you’re angry, you’re angry with a cause and want someone to pay! It’s so much harder when you’re traveling, because your routines are off-kilter, there’s culture shock to deal with and the smallest problems can seem overwhelming. How do you handle someone who’s just pushed your last button? At home, we often have a go-to person who is good at calming us down, but emotions are tricky to deal with in a foreign country. Sometimes people may treat you unfairly, but you’re completely baffled as to why. You have to remember that people in think differently to how you do and it’s not impossible to inadvertently cause offense. Don’t stress about it too much, because you’ll adapt! Once you... Show more

What is the most defining moment you will face this year? From memories that you immortalize in a million photographs, to days you never wish to remember, one thing's for certain: big life events change you. The great poet, Bukowski, said, "We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well, that death will tremble to take us." The older I get, the more I agree with him! Talking about significant events in our lives is part of every person's journey, regardless of creed or culture. If you're planning to stay in for more than a quick visit, you're sure to need at least a few 'life events' phrases that you can use. After all, many of these are shared experiences, and it's generally expected that we will show up with good manners... Show more

Did you know that every minute of the day, one billion tons of rain falls on the earth? Hard to believe, considering the climate crisis! Of course, all that rain is not equally shared across the planet. So, would you mention this fascinating fact to your new acquaintance? Well, small talk about local weather is actually a great conversation-starter. Everyone cares about the weather and you’re sure to hear a few interesting opinions! Seasons can be quite unpredictable these days and nobody knows the peculiarities of a region better than the locals. GermanPod101 will equip you with all the weather vocabulary you need to plan your next adventure. The weather can even be an important discussion that influences your adventure plans. After... Show more

Ever felt a little lost for words when speaking German? Chances are, you were missing an adjective. You can’t get very far when describing something if you’re limited to only a handful of adjectives, at most. "He’s a tall, muscular, bald guy…okay, I can say he’s tall…how about ‘bald?’" That sentence can’t even get off the ground. But here, with the information in this article, you’ll be able to learn German adjectives and confidently describe pretty much anything you need to, without breaking a sweat. Because 100 German adjectives is a lot! In our German adjectives lesson, before our list, you’ll find the following information on how to use German adjectives: German adjectives rules German adjectives word order German... Show more

Do you want to speak good German? You’ve got to live it. As long as you stick to your self-study books and your classes, you’ll make consistent progress—at a snail’s pace. You need to really fuel your German learning with something else. You need immersion. Basically, the more German you see and hear throughout the day, the more your mind is going to stay in German-acquisition mode and keep making new connections. And when you’re constantly seeing new German around you, you have limitless opportunities to review what you covered during your actual study time. One of the best ways to keep the German faucet flowing is by getting really sucked into a great movie or TV show. And since we’re writing this article in 2019, the biggest... Show more

German conjunctions give sentences life and make the language come alive. In the German sentences using conjunctions below, you can see that all of the conjunctions are necessary for the sentence to give you a bigger picture of the situation. Du bist wirklich sehr hübsch, aber ein bisschen zu klein. You’re really pretty but a bit too small. Ich musste zu meiner Frau nach Hause, weil sie krank ist. I had to go home to my wife because she is sick. Er hat nicht auf seine Eltern gehört, deshalb hat er Hausarrest. He didn’t listen to his parents and therefore he is on house arrest. Throughout this article, you’ll see even more German conjunctions examples like the ones above. If you’re wondering how to learn German conjunctions... Show more

What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about German people? You’ve probably heard things like "German people are always on time," and "They’re direct and have good manners." Well, I would say this is almost always the case. But now the question is: What are these so-called good manners and what does German etiquette look like? Almost every nation defines this a little bit different. Let’s just take some Asian countries, such as China, for example. While in most European countries, you can’t burp, smack, or slurp at the table, in most Asian cultures this is called good etiquette. This means that the food was tasty and that you’re satisfied. But when doing this at the table of a German family, this would be... Show more