Vokabeln

(Note: There are no swear words in this post.)

Are you surprised that you should learn German swear words? You shouldn’t be.

What German language lover or German learner doesn't want to learn German swear words?!

German, like every language, has its own profanity.

It's plain offensive.

So why would I teach you swear words in German? Why would I enable you to potentially offend someone?!

There are two reasons why it's actually a good idea to learn German swear words, and they're going to ma…

There are so many funny words in German and sometimes their meanings are straight-forward, sometimes they are words we might wish we had as English speakers!

Here are 7 funny German words, including two funny German words for animals (real or imagined?!), with slow pronunciation and the meanings of the words.

This episode is great for learners at the A1, A2, and B1 levels.

N.B. While the GermanWithNicole.com Podcast no longer exists, you can still hear all of the audios here on the blog. Th…

Yes, German vocabulary learning is the featured topic right now because the most important part of learning German is learning how to learn it.

Vocabulary learning is a HUGE part of that!

N.B. While the GermanWithNicole.com Podcast no longer exists, you can still hear all of the audios here on the blog. The audios are available on the blog posts published between August 1, 2021 and October 1, 2024. Viel Spaß beim Hören!

This is what you'll hear in this episode:

• A realization a client o…

A lot of what you might read on the internet on how to learn German vocabulary words is really a lot of hot air & hooey.

In this episode we'll bust 5 myths on vocabulary learning and give you a clearer picture of why vocabulary learning is important.

After all, if you don't know what the words mean...you'll be up a creek without a paddle.

The 5 Myths:

1. You only need to learn 3,000 words to truly speak German!

2. Vocabulary isn't as important as grammar.

3. Learning vocabulary is as bo…

Holidays mean greetings.

In Germany that means many holiday greetings. For different people.

When do you say what to whom?

Learn in this episode of the GermanWithNicole.com Podcast:

• How to wish someone a nice Advent in German

• How to say Happy Hannukah in German

• How to say Good Yule in German

• How to say Happy Holidays in German

• How to say Merry Christmas in German

• How to say Happy New Year in German

• and a couple more.

AND you'll learn when to say which g…

Learning to say thank you and you're welcome in German is really important, as it's part of good manners in German culture and it's also really easy to learn.

Danke. = Thank you.

Bitte. = You're welcome.

But do you hesitate to say them?

I used to hesitate, too, until I attended a soccer game (Schalke 04 - Glück auf!) and the crowd taught me the importance of "Danke" and "Bitte."

Ein Fußballspiel, eine Bratwurst, danke und bitte.

Los geht's!

N.B. While the GermanWithNicole.com Podcast no…

You probably enjoy those lists of German words that can't be translated into English as much as I do.

They go around the internet again and again, but have you noticed they're usually the same words?

This word, schräg, never shows up on one, and it deserves to be on every list.

In this episode you'll learn all about the word schräg.

You'll learn what it means, how to pronounce it, and how to use the word schräg.

Und machen Sie Ihre Hausaufgaben! (Do your German homework.)

N.B. While the …

When should you use 'arbeiten' and when should you use 'funktionieren'?

All the answers are in this episode!

You'll learn these two verbs in the context of wine harvest, too, because it's wine harvest time.

Learning to differentiate synonyms in German works really well when you use context.

This way you can easily build a picture in your mind that will help you for all of your German learning.

If it helps, you can even draw yourself a little sketch of a scene you'll hear in this episode.

A…

Synonyms in German function differently--they overlap differently--than in English.

Well, of course they do, right? Because it's a different language.

A lot of German learners - A1, A2 and B1-level learners confuse the verbs meinen, bedeuten, and heißen because in English they all mean "to mean."

bedeuten = to mean

heißen = to mean (also means "to be called," which you'll hear as well today)

meinen = to mean

UGH!

The good news is, there are ways to tell them apart and you'll learn them in…

Summer vacation (or summer holidays) are drawing to a close for loads of people in the northern hemisphere.

So what are these called in German?

Das sind die Ferien.

And why is that word so frequently confused with "feiern"?

Because they are so similar.

In this episode of the GermanWithNicole.com podcast you'll learn how to pronounce these two words, which article you should use with Ferien (it's simpler than you might think), and a couple of example sentences so you can remember which word …