|
|
Post by Pacifica on Apr 26, 2023 16:52:14 GMT
A thread for anything, any random comments, questions, etc., related to the German language. *** Cool, the German word for "easy/simple" literally means "onefold", like Latin simplex (whence "simple"). en.wiktionary.org/wiki/einfach#German |
|
|
|
Post by Bitmap on Apr 27, 2023 0:20:07 GMT
The noun Fach actually means compartment (it comes from the original meaning 'division') and the suffix -fach came about in that context as well.
This word formation pushed away the old formation on -faltig, which literally means -fold. There's still the word einfältig, but it focussed on a particular meaning in the context of simplicity, which "foolish, stupid." There's also still mannigfaltig, which means manyfold, but it's a rather rare word.
|
|
|
|
Post by Pacifica on Jun 28, 2023 2:19:24 GMT
Is the adjective "schön" as strong as English "beautiful"? It's always translated as "beautiful" in the Duolingo course, and I guess that must be a correct translation at least in some contexts, but I still wonder if it might be more similar to French "beau". "Beau" can translate as "beautiful" sometimes but generally tends to be weaker (more like "pretty" or so, while "beautiful" is sometimes, or even often, better translated as e.g. "magnifique").
|
|
|
|
Post by Pacifica on Jun 28, 2023 2:24:32 GMT
Similarly, is "lecker" as strong as "delicious"? "Delicious" is, again, the automatic Duolingo translation, but I wonder if it might actually be a notch or two below that in terms of emphasis (more like "tasty" or "good (in respect to taste)").
|
|
|
|
Post by Bitmap on Jun 28, 2023 13:39:59 GMT
Is the adjective "schön" as strong as English "beautiful"? It's always translated as "beautiful" in the Duolingo course, and I guess that must be a correct translation at least in some contexts, but I still wonder if it might be more similar to French "beau". "Beau" can translate as "beautiful" sometimes but generally tends to be weaker (more like "pretty" or so, while "beautiful" is sometimes, or even often, better translated as e.g. "magnifique"). In the third person, it seems like the most obvious translation to me ... that's a beautiful girl = das ist ein schönes Mädchen. It may feel a bit flat when you want to use it as a compliment. In cases where the beauty deserves more emphasis, you'de probably go with wunderschön. |
|
|
|
Post by Bitmap on Jun 28, 2023 13:45:46 GMT
Similarly, is "lecker" as strong as "delicious"? "Delicious" is, again, the automatic Duolingo translation, but I wonder if it might actually be a notch or two below that in terms of emphasis (more like "tasty" or "good (in respect to taste)"). Lecker pretty much covers all of that spectrum. It's a word you can't really go wrong with. |
|
|
|
Post by Etaoin Shrdlu on Jun 28, 2023 14:21:45 GMT
I was thinking about 'tasty', and now I'm wondering when people actually use it. It sounds too weak to express approval: if someone cooked you a meal and you wanted to say that you enjoyed it, saying that it was tasty rather than delicious would sound almost insulting, at least to my ear. Perhaps you might employ it if you were suggesting something you had discovered and were recommending to someone else: 'I tried vindaloo curry paste on cheese sandwiches, and found it quite tasty.'
|
|
|
|
Post by Pacifica on Jun 28, 2023 21:39:09 GMT
Interesting stuff. Thank you guys.
|
|
|
|
Post by Bitmap on Jun 29, 2023 1:19:27 GMT
There may also be some cultural difference ... if somebody asks you, "How is your food?" and you answer, "It's good", it usually means that it's good in German while in English it means that it's crap.
|
|
kizolk
Indecisive 
Posts: 5,666
|
Post by kizolk on Jun 29, 2023 7:56:47 GMT
'I tried vindaloo curry paste on cheese sandwiches, and found it quite tasty.' It reminds me a bit of the ambiguity of the word "spicy". It's annoying that both in French in English, you can never be sure whether someone means that a meal has spices in it (maybe an unusually large number or amount of spices, or "exotic" ones), or that it provokes a burning sensation in the mouth. There may also be some cultural difference ... if somebody asks you, "How is your food?" and you answer, "It's good", it usually means that it's good in German while in English it means that it's crap. I'd say the same about French, depending on the context. A flat "c'est bon" isn't the expected compliment if the person who cooked asks you how it was. You would usually at least add an adverb, or use a different word or expression altogether. |
|
kizolk
Indecisive
Posts: 5,666
|
Post by kizolk on Jun 29, 2023 9:12:26 GMT
Although I guess it says more about my manners than about the inadequacy of "c'est bon" as a response. And of course, your tone of voice in saying it, and what you say before or after it (as opposed to just saying "c'est bon" and leaving it at that), would be important factors.
|
|
|
|
Post by Pacifica on Jul 18, 2023 16:34:40 GMT
A funny pair of false friends: "wo", meaning "where", looks more like "who" and "wer", meaning "who", looks (and even sounds) more like "where". I think I got tricked once or twice when I wasn't thinking. I imagine confusion between those two words must be a common mistake among English-speaking students.
|
|
kizolk
Indecisive
Posts: 5,666
|
Post by kizolk on Jul 18, 2023 16:57:52 GMT
I think I got tricked once or twice when I wasn't thinking. I imagine confusion between those two words must be a common mistake among English-speaking students. It definitely happened to me! |
|
|
|
Post by Bitmap on Jul 20, 2023 6:01:45 GMT
A funny pair of false friends: "wo", meaning "where", looks more like "who" and "wer", meaning "who", looks (and even sounds) more like "where". I think I got tricked once or twice when I wasn't thinking. I imagine confusion between those two words must be a common mistake among English-speaking students. It's not a very common error that I see a lot, but when I was a child and we were on holiday somewhere and wanted to rent bicycles, my father actually asked somebody, "Who is t he bike?" Then again, he never had English in school. |
|
|
|
Post by Pacifica on Aug 19, 2023 8:56:55 GMT
I sometimes get tricked by Latin-derived German nouns that don't have the same gender that they had in Latin. A while ago I made "Spiegel" neuter (while it's masculine), and just now I made "Fenster" feminine (while it's neuter).
|
|
