Learn how to understand classified ads
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Chuck: Chuck here. Intermediate Series Season 2, Lesson 36. Don’t get ripped off renting an apartment in Germany. |
| Judith: Hello, everyone. I'm Judith and welcome to GermanPod101. |
| Chuck: With us you’ll learn to speak German with fun and effective lessons. |
| Judith: We also provide you with cultural insights. |
| Chuck: And tips you won’t find in a textbook. This lesson, you’ll learn how to understand classified ads in German. |
| Judith: This conversation takes place at a German home. |
| Chuck: The conversation is between Mike and his German friend. Now, if you’re listening on an iPod. |
| Judith: Or an iPod Touch or an iPhone. |
| Chuck: Click the center button of the iPod or tap the screen on an iPod Touch or iPhone to see the notes for this lesson as you listen. |
| Judith: Read along while you listen. |
| Chuck: This technique will help you remember faster. Ok, let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| A: Wow. Ich kann das nicht lesen! Da sind so viele Abkürzungen! Hilfst du mir? |
| D: „Gartenstraße 10, 2-Zimmer-Wohnung, 67 Quadratmeter, Erdgeschoss, Balkon, Einbauküche, 500 Euro kalt plus Nebenkosten.“ |
| A: Klingt gut, oder? |
| D: Es ist okay. Du solltest dir die Wohnung auf jeden Fall ansehen. In Berlin-Mitte wohnen reiche und arme Leute nebeneinander und heruntergekommene Häuser stehen neben neuen Häusern. |
| A: Natürlich werde ich mir die Wohnung angucken. Aber erst einmal suche ich weitere Möglichkeiten. |
| D: Ja, ohne Aufenthaltserlaubnis und ohne Arbeit wird dir sowieso niemand eine Wohnung vermieten. |
| A: Ich hätte nichts dagegen, in einem alten Haus zu wohnen, solange es nicht heruntergekommen ist. |
| D: Alte Häuser sind schöner als neue, aber du bezahlst mehr an Heizkosten. Außerdem haben alte Häuser oft keinen Aufzug, du musst also viel Treppen laufen. |
| Judith: Now read slowly. |
| A: Wow. Ich kann das nicht lesen! Da sind so viele Abkürzungen! Hilfst du mir? |
| D: „Gartenstraße 10, 2-Zimmer-Wohnung, 67 Quadratmeter, Erdgeschoss, Balkon, Einbauküche, 500 Euro kalt plus Nebenkosten.“ |
| A: Klingt gut, oder? |
| D: Es ist okay. Du solltest dir die Wohnung auf jeden Fall ansehen. In Berlin-Mitte wohnen reiche und arme Leute nebeneinander und heruntergekommene Häuser stehen neben neuen Häusern. |
| A: Natürlich werde ich mir die Wohnung angucken. Aber erst einmal suche ich weitere Möglichkeiten. |
| D: Ja, ohne Aufenthaltserlaubnis und ohne Arbeit wird dir sowieso niemand eine Wohnung vermieten. |
| A: Ich hätte nichts dagegen, in einem alten Haus zu wohnen, solange es nicht heruntergekommen ist. |
| D: Alte Häuser sind schöner als neue, aber du bezahlst mehr an Heizkosten. Außerdem haben alte Häuser oft keinen Aufzug, du musst also viel Treppen laufen. |
| Judith: Now with the translation. |
| A: Wow. Ich kann das nicht lesen! Da sind so viele Abkürzungen! Hilfst du mir? |
| A: Wow. I can't read that! There are so many abbreviations! Will you help me? |
| D: „Gartenstraße 10, 2-Zimmer-Wohnung, 67 Quadratmeter, Erdgeschoss, Balkon, Einbauküche, 500 Euro kalt plus Nebenkosten.“ |
| D: "Gartenstraße 10, 2-bedroom-apartment, 67 square meters, first floor, balcony, kitchenette, 500 euros base rent plus additional fees." |
| A: Klingt gut, oder? |
| A: Sounds good, doesn't it? |
| D: Es ist okay. Du solltest dir die Wohnung auf jeden Fall ansehen. In Berlin-Mitte wohnen reiche und arme Leute nebeneinander und heruntergekommene Häuser stehen neben neuen Häusern. |
| D: It's okay. You should have a look at the apartment in any case. In Berlin-Mitte, rich and poor people live next to each other and run-downhouses are next to new houses. |
| A: Natürlich werde ich mir die Wohnung angucken. Aber erst einmal suche ich weitere Möglichkeiten. |
| A: Of course I will look at the apartment. But first I'll look for other possibilities. |
| D: Ja, ohne Aufenthaltserlaubnis und ohne Arbeit wird dir sowieso niemand eine Wohnung vermieten. |
| D: Yes, without a residence permit and without work nobody will rent you an apartment anyway. |
| A: Ich hätte nichts dagegen, in einem alten Haus zu wohnen, solange es nicht heruntergekommen ist. |
| A: I wouldn't mind living in an old house, as long as it's not run-down. |
| D: Alte Häuser sind schöner als neue, aber du bezahlst mehr an Heizkosten. Außerdem haben alte Häuser oft keinen Aufzug, du musst also viel Treppen laufen. |
| D: Old houses are more beautiful than new ones, but you pay more for heating. Besides, old houses often don't have an elevator, so you have to climb stairs a lot. |
| CULTURAL INSIGHTS |
| Judith: Alright, in this dialogue’s apartment ad you heard that it costs 500 euros cold. The word [Kalt] here, in German, refers to [Kaltmiete] that is the base price of renting the apartment. |
| Chuck: But every month you’ll be paying more than that because of the [Nebenkosten] or “the additional costs”. These are things like garbage, sewage disposal, heating, water, maybe a parking spot, maybe even cable TV. |
| Judith: Your landlord will charge you a predetermined amount for these throughout the year as part of your regular rent. The regular rent is the [Warmmiete]. And at the end of the year you may need to pay a little more or maybe you get some money back depending on how much heating and how much water you actually used. It can vary from person to person and the prices can change too. |
| Chuck: One thing you’re unlikely to find is air conditioning. Only cars, malls and some restaurants have that. And besides, even though you don’t have it, you’ll rarely find that you need it because there’s, let’s say one or two weeks a year that you really feel like, “Man, I wish I had an air conditioner”. Pretty much the rest of the time a fan is fine. |
| Judith: Yeah. Besides, the houses are better insulated so if you don’t open the windows around noon, it’s unlikely to get hot. Electricity is not typically included in the [Warmmiete], and neither is the phone or internet. For these you’ll have to make a separate contract with the supplier. You will pay directly to the electricity supplier and not to your landlord. But, again, you pay a standard amount per month and at the end of the year the company will determine if you paid too much or too little. |
| Chuck: German income tax for employees works the same way. Throughout the year part of your salary gets deducted and sent to the tax office before you even see a eurocent, just the way it works in America. And at the end of the year you may get some of it back or have to pay a little extra. It makes it easier to budget as you avoid having to suddenly cough up thousands of euros for the end of the year. But be careful, if you’re a freelancer you have to pay your taxes in one large sum. Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Judith: First word, [Abkürzung]. |
| Chuck: “Abbreviation” or “shortcut”. |
| Judith: [Abkürzung, Abkürzung, die Abkürzung] and the plural is [Abkürzungen]. Next, [Quadrat]. |
| Chuck: Square. |
| Judith: [Quadrat, Quadrat, das Quadrat] and the plural is [Quadrate]. Next, [Erdgeschoss] abbreviated as EG. |
| Chuck: “Ground floor” or “first floor”. |
| Judith: [Erdgeschoss, Erdgeschoss, das Erdgeschoss] it’s neuter. Next, [Balkon]. |
| Chuck: Balcony. |
| Judith: [Balkon, Balkon] This word is masculine, and the plural is [Balkone]. [Einbauküche] abbreviated as EBK. |
| Chuck: “Kitchenette” or “built-in kitchen”. |
| Judith: [Einbauküche, Einbauküche, die Einbauküche] Next, [Neben]. |
| Chuck: “Side”, as in non-main or additional. |
| Judith: [Neben, neben] Next, [Fall]. |
| Chuck: “Case” or “fall”. |
| Judith: [Fall, Fall, der Fall] and the plural is [Fälle]. Next, [Einander]. |
| Chuck: One another. |
| Judith: [Einander, einander] Next, [Heruntergekommen]. |
| Chuck: Run down. |
| Judith: [Heruntergekommen, heruntergekommen] Next, [Nobody]. |
| Chuck: Nobody. |
| Judith: [Niemand, niemand] Next, [Vermieten]. |
| Chuck: To rent out. |
| Judith: [Vermieten, vermieten] Next, [Heizen]. |
| Chuck: “To heat” or “fuel”. |
| Judith: [Heizen, heizen] Next, [Aufzug]. |
| Chuck: Elevator. |
| Judith: [Aufzug, Aufzug, der Aufzug] is masculine, and the plural is [Aufzüge]. Next, [Treppe]. |
| Chuck: Flight of stairs or staircase. |
| Judith: [Treppe, Treppe, die Treppe] and the plural is [Treppen]. |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Chuck: Let’s have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Judith: The first word we’ll look at is [Quadratmeter] |
| Chuck: Square meters. |
| Judith: This is abbreviated as m2. |
| Chuck: You might also see it as QM. |
| Judith: Next, [Auf jeden Fall]. |
| Chuck: In any case. |
| Judith: Then [Einander] |
| Chuck: One another. |
| Judith: This leads to [Nebeneinander]. |
| Chuck: Next to one another. |
| Judith: [Aufeinander] |
| Chuck: On top of one another. |
| Judith: [Miteinander] |
| Chuck: Together or with one another. |
| Judith: And other words. There’s also [Möglichkeiten]. |
| Chuck: Possibilities. |
| Judith: It’s the plural of [Möglichkeit], which is the noun based on [Möglich]. |
| Chuck: Possible. |
| Judith: [Keit] is a common ending for turning adjectives to nouns. Finally, let’s have a look at the sentence [Du bezahlst mehr an Heizkosten] from the dialogue. |
| Chuck: You pay more for heating costs. |
| Judith: Here [An. Du bezahlst mehr an Heizkosten] means “in terms of”. |
| Chuck: As in you pay more in terms of the costs of heating. |
| Judith: That’s the literal way. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Judith: The focus of this lesson is how to form abbreviations. |
| Chuck: The apartment ad they found in this dialogue actually read [Garten Str. 10, 2-ZI.-WHG]. 67 m2 EG, Balkon, EBK, 600 Euros, [plus NK]. |
| Judith: This translates to [Gartenstraße 10, 2-Zimmer-Wohnung, 67 Quadratmeter, Erdgeschoss, Balkon, Einbauküche, 500 Euro kalt plus Nebenkosten]. Classified ads like this are hard to read in German because people need to be concise, hence they use a lot of abbreviations and many of the abbreviations are non-standard. They are created on the spot. Here are possibilities of how to form an abbreviation. |
| Chuck: Use just the first letter and any key letters after that. Consonants are given preference because they carry more weight in Germany. For example, ZI would be [Zimmer] or WHG would be [Wohnung]. |
| Judith: In compound nouns or noun combinations, you would use the first letter of every word. In the abbreviation, each of these letters will be capitalized to indicate that it is this kind of abbreviation. For example EG, both capitalized, stands for [Erdgeschoss], “ground floor”. |
| Chuck: We also see this in elevators. |
| Judith: Yes. And EBK is [Einbauküche], “kitchenette” or “built-in kitchen”. And NK is [Nebenkosten]. |
Outro |
| Chuck: Well, TJADIFT or that just about does it for today. |
| Judith: Ready to test what you just learned? |
| Chuck: Make this lesson’s vocabulary stick by using lesson specific flash cards in the Learning Center. |
| Judith: There’s a reason everyone uses flashcards. |
| Chuck: They work. |
| Judith: They really do help memorization. |
| Chuck: You can get the flashcards for this lesson at. |
| Judith: GermanPod101.com |
| Chuck: See you next week! |
| Judith: Bis nächste Woche! |
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