Learn old-fashioned slang expressions
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Eric: Old-fashioned German Slang Expressions |
| 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 6. In this lesson you'll learn old-fashioned German slang expressions. |
| Eric: Older people are fond of these types of expressions. But if you feel like saying them, go ahead, because young adults use them once in awhile too. |
| SLANG EXPRESSIONS |
| Eric: The expressions you’ll be learning in this lesson are: |
| Jennifer: Mit jemandem Tacheles reden. |
| Jennifer: Den Wald vor lauter Bäumen nicht sehen. |
| Jennifer: Jemanden durch den Kakao ziehen. |
| Jennifer: Tomaten auf den Augen haben. |
| Eric: Jennifer, what's our first expression? |
| Jennifer: Mit jemandem Tacheles reden. |
| Eric: It means "to have a straight talk with somebody." |
| Jennifer: [SLOW] Mit jemandem Tacheles reden. [NORMAL] Mit jemandem Tacheles reden. |
| Eric: Listeners, please repeat. |
| Jennifer: Mit jemandem Tacheles reden. |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| Eric: Use this slang expression when you have to talk to somebody directly and openly. Let's hear it in an example sentence. |
| Jennifer: [NORMAL] Jetzt wird erstmal Tacheles geredet. [SLOW] Jetzt wird erstmal Tacheles geredet. |
| Eric: "Now we have to have a straight talk about something." |
| Jennifer: [NORMAL] Jetzt wird erstmal Tacheles geredet. |
| Eric: Okay, what's the next expression? |
| Jennifer: Den Wald vor lauter Bäumen nicht sehen. |
| Eric: This literally means "to be unable to see the wood for the trees." When it's used as a slang expression, it means "to not see the point or main idea." |
| Jennifer: [SLOW] Den Wald vor lauter Bäumen nicht sehen. [NORMAL] Den Wald vor lauter Bäumen nicht sehen. |
| Eric: Listeners, please repeat. |
| Jennifer: Den Wald vor lauter Bäumen nicht sehen. |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| Eric: Use this slang expression when the main problem is unclear because there are too many distractions. Now let's hear an example sentence. |
| Jennifer: [NORMAL] In Mathe seh ich den Wald vor lauter Bäumen nicht. [SLOW] In Mathe seh ich den Wald vor lauter Bäumen nicht. |
| Eric: "In math, I can't see the main problem because there is too much going on." |
| Jennifer: [NORMAL] In Mathe seh ich den Wald vor lauter Bäumen nicht. |
| Eric: Okay, what's our next expression? |
| Jennifer: Jemanden durch den Kakao ziehen. |
| Eric: Literally, this means "to pull somebody through cacao." But when it's used as a slang expression, it means "to make fun of someone; to pull someone's leg." |
| Jennifer: [SLOW] Jemanden durch den Kakao ziehen. [NORMAL] Jemanden durch den Kakao ziehen. |
| Eric: Listeners, please repeat. |
| Jennifer: Jemanden durch den Kakao ziehen. |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| Eric: Use this slang expression when you don't like a person and want to make fun of him or her. The phrase originated about a hundred years ago. At that time it sounded a bit harsh. |
| Jennifer: That’s because instead of using the word "cacao," the German word "Dreck" for "mud" was used. |
| Eric : Now let's hear an example sentence. |
| Jennifer: [NORMAL] Er zieht dich nur durch den Kakao. [SLOW] Er zieht dich nur durch den Kakao. |
| Eric: "He isn't taking you seriously." |
| Jennifer: [NORMAL] Er zieht dich nur durch den Kakao. |
| Eric: Okay, what's the last expression? |
| Jennifer: Tomaten auf den Augen haben. |
| Eric: literally meaning "to have tomatoes on the eyes." When it's used as a slang expression, it means "to be blind to something, not understand something." |
| Jennifer: [SLOW] Tomaten auf den Augen haben. [NORMAL] Tomaten auf den Augen haben. |
| Eric: Listeners, please repeat. |
| Jennifer: Tomaten auf den Augen haben. |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| Eric: Use this slang expression when you realize that someone does not understand something at all. It can also be used If someone does not recognize something by sight. Let's hear it in a sentence. |
| Jennifer: [NORMAL] Wenn du das hier nicht verstehst, hast du wohl Tomaten auf den Augen. [SLOW] Wenn du das hier nicht verstehst, hast du wohl Tomaten auf den Augen. |
| Eric: "If you can't understand this, you must be really blind." |
| Jennifer: [NORMAL] Wenn du das hier nicht verstehst, hast du wohl Tomaten auf den Augen. |
| 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 can’t see the main problem, because there are too many distractions. Which slang do you use? |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| Jennifer: Den Wald vor lauter Bäumen nicht sehen. |
| Eric: "to not see the point, main idea" |
| Eric: You want to talk about speaking with someone directly and openly. Which slang do you use? |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| Jennifer: Mit jemandem Tacheles reden. |
| Eric: "to have a straight talk with somebody" |
| Eric: You realized that someone doesn’t understand what you are saying at all. Which slang do you use? |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| Jennifer: Tomaten auf den Augen haben. |
| Eric: "to be blind to something, not understand something" |
| Eric: You want to describe when a person is making fun of someone you don’t like. Which slang do you use? |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| Jennifer: Jemanden durch den Kakao ziehen. |
| Eric: "to make fun of someone; to pull someone's leg" |
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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