Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Eric: Expressions to Describe Excelling at Something
Eric: Hi everyone, and welcome back to GermanPod101.com. I'm Eric.
Jennifer: And I'm Jennifer!
Eric: This is Must-Know German Slang Words and Phrases, Season 1, Lesson 12. In this lesson you'll learn how to describe excelling at something.
Eric: Don't be surprised to hear these phrases when Germans want to motivate themselves or compliment others.
SLANG EXPRESSIONS
Eric: The expressions you’ll be learning in this lesson are:
Jennifer: Den inneren Schweinehund überwinden.
Jennifer: Wo ein Wille ist, ist auch ein Weg.
Jennifer: Es faustdick hinter den Ohren haben.
Jennifer: In die Puschen kommen.
Eric: Jennifer, what's our first expression?
Jennifer: Den inneren Schweinehund überwinden.
Eric: Literally, this means "to overcome the inner pig-dog." But when it's used as a slang expression, it means "to overcome your inner laziness."
Jennifer: [SLOW] Den inneren Schweinehund überwinden. [NORMAL] Den inneren Schweinehund überwinden.
Eric: Listeners, please repeat.
Jennifer: Den inneren Schweinehund überwinden.
[pause - 5 sec.]
Eric: Use this slang expression when you stop being lazy. Now let's hear an example sentence.
Jennifer: [NORMAL] Danach war er stolz auf sich, denn er hatte seinen inneren Schweinehund überwunden. [SLOW] Danach war er stolz auf sich, denn er hatte seinen inneren Schweinehund überwunden.
Eric: "After that he was proud of himself, because he had overcome his laziness."
Jennifer: [NORMAL] Danach war er stolz auf sich, denn er hatte seinen inneren Schweinehund überwunden.
Eric: Okay, what's the next expression?
Jennifer: Wo ein Wille ist, ist auch ein Weg.
Eric: This literally means "where there is a will, there's a way." It’s used in the same way as the English expression.
Jennifer: [SLOW] Wo ein Wille ist, ist auch ein Weg. [NORMAL] Wo ein Wille ist, ist auch ein Weg.
Eric: Listeners, please repeat.
Jennifer: Wo ein Wille ist, ist auch ein Weg.
[pause - 5 sec.]
Eric: Use this slang expression when you would like to emphasize that even seemingly impossible things are possible through hard work and dedication. Now let’s hear an example sentence.
Jennifer: [NORMAL] Nichts ist unmöglich im Leben. Wo ein Wille ist, ist auch ein Weg. [SLOW] Nichts ist unmöglich im Leben. Wo ein Wille ist, ist auch ein Weg.
Eric: "Nothing is impossible in life. Where there is a will, there's a way."
Jennifer: [NORMAL] Nichts ist unmöglich im Leben. Wo ein Wille ist, ist auch ein Weg.
Eric: Okay, what's our next expression?
Jennifer: Es faustdick hinter den Ohren haben.
Eric: Literally, this means "to have it fist-thick behind the ears ." But when it's used as a slang expression, it means "to be an intelligent and sly or cunning person."
Jennifer: [SLOW] Es faustdick hinter den Ohren haben. [NORMAL] Es faustdick hinter den Ohren haben.
Eric: Listeners, please repeat.
Jennifer: Es faustdick hinter den Ohren haben.
[pause - 5 sec.]
Eric: Use this slang expression when you want to acknowledge a person for their exceptional feats. Jennifer, can you give us an example?
Jennifer: [NORMAL] Papa hatte es mal ganz faustdick hinter den Ohren. [SLOW] Papa hatte es mal ganz faustdick hinter den Ohren.
Eric: "Your father was once a very cunning person."
Jennifer: [NORMAL] Papa hatte es mal ganz faustdick hinter den Ohren.
Eric: Okay, what's the last expression?
Jennifer: In die Puschen kommen.
Eric: This literally means "getting into slippers." But when it's used as a slang expression, it means "to get one's act together."
Jennifer: [SLOW] In die Puschen kommen. [NORMAL] In die Puschen kommen.
Eric: Listeners, please repeat.
Jennifer: In die Puschen kommen.
[pause - 5 sec.]
Eric: One example of when you might use this slang expression is when someone who was lazy and not productive stops being lazy and cleans up their act. Let's hear this phrase used in an example sentence.
Jennifer: [NORMAL] Manuel kommt morgens nie so richtig in die Puschen. [SLOW] Manuel kommt morgens nie so richtig in die Puschen.
Eric: "Manuel is never productive in the mornings."
Jennifer: [NORMAL] Manuel kommt morgens nie so richtig in die Puschen.
QUIZ
Eric: Okay listeners, are you ready to be quizzed on the expressions you just learned? I’ll describe four situations, and you choose the right expression to use. Are you ready?
Eric: You want to emphasize that you did something that seemed impossible by working hard with dedication. Which slang do you use?
[pause - 5 sec.]
Jennifer: Wo ein Wille ist, ist auch ein Weg.
Eric: "Where there's a will there's a way."
Eric: You want to say that you’ll stop being lazy. Which slang do you use?
[pause - 5 sec.]
Jennifer: Den inneren Schweinehund überwinden.
Eric: "to overcome your inner laziness"
Eric: You met someone lazy and not productive, and you want to advise them to stop being lazy and clean up their act. Which slang do you use?
[pause - 5 sec.]
Jennifer: In die Puschen kommen.
Eric: "to get one's act together"
Eric: You want to acknowledge a person for their exceptional feats. Which slang do you use?
[pause - 5 sec.]
Jennifer: Es faustdick hinter den Ohren haben.
Eric: "to be an intelligent and sly or cunning person"

Outro
Eric: There you have it; you have mastered four German slang expressions! We have more vocab lists available at GermanPod101.com, so be sure to check them out. Thanks everyone, and see you next time!
Jennifer: Bis zum nächsten Mal!

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