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1500 questions
19
votes
5 answers

Is 'Grüß Gott' greeting in Bavaria religious-neutral?

'Grüß Gott' is often used as greeting on Bavarian trails. From my limited experience, it's most often used by older people, younger use 'Hallo' more often. I don't feel 'Hallo' is very adequate to greet older people, so I'd find 'Grüß Gott' better,…
user1690
19
votes
2 answers

Ich mache in...

Woher genau kommt denn eigentlich der Ausdruck "Ich mache in [Immobilien]"? Das klingt für mich lediglich unhygienisch. Wo/wann wird dieser Ausdruck einem "Ich bin [Makler]" oder "Ich arbeite als [Makler]" bevorzugt?
deceze
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19
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7 answers

Why is "bleiben" conjugated as "bleibet" in the Bach choral "Jesus bleibet meine Freude"?

My German is very basic (at best) but I sometimes have to write little blurbs about music and sometimes the music I write about is German. Since it's getting close to Christmas, I needed to write something about the Bach chorale Jesus bleibet meine…
rici
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19
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1 answer

What connotations does "Danke Schön" carry?

Guten abend! While learning German I've heard several different forms of "thank you", notably "danke schön". German teachers have previously told me this means "thank you very much" or simply "thank you", and have instructed me to use it as I would…
Robbie
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19
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6 answers

Is there a practical difference between "e" and "ä"?

The graphemes and <ä> share only the phoneme /ε/. In practice, do people make and notice the difference of the rest of the phonemes? Which problems, if any, would not bothering to make such difference lead to?
c.p.
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19
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4 answers

Why do “Meer” and “See” have swapped meanings from their Dutch counterparts?

In German das Meer means the sea – zee in Dutch. Die See means the lake – meer in Dutch. We see that these words are used reciprocal to the Dutch words for sea and lake. Why is that? Meer in Dutch means more too. Does the German meer has a…
Deschele Schilder
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19
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4 answers

Welche Bedeutung hat das Wort "an", wenn es eine Speise beschreibt?

Vor allem in der Haute Cuisine werden Speisen derweil mit dem Wort "an" bezeichnet. Wie mir scheint, besonders häufig in Verbindung mit Saucen. Beispielsweise könnte man die klassische Kombination von Spargel und Sauce Hollandaise als "Spargel an…
bitmask
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19
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8 answers

The exact German word for addressing a woman with higher academic/social status (The applicability of the term 'Frau')

I am a native Sinhalese Speaker. Currently, I am learning German at the University. I am much obliged if a native German-speaking person can answer my problem, please. My problem: In the English language when addressing a woman with higher…
Pawara Siriwardhane
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19
votes
5 answers

Feminine noun with suffix -ung that is not the result of a "Verb to Noun process"

Do you know any example of German noun that is Feminine Ends on ung Is not the result of taking the word stem of a verb and adding the suffix ung Or can you prove that such a word does not exist? Just to clarify, I am not asking for an example…
AfterMath
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19
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3 answers

Difference between "bieten" and "anbieten"

Is there a difference between the verbs "bieten" and "anbieten" in sense "to offer"?
dmitru
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19
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3 answers

How come that “stimmt so” means “keep the change”?

I would like to know how do those 2 words, stimmt and so, when used together, mean keep the change?
Ahmed Mohaisen
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19
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10 answers

How do I say "quirky" in German without sounding derogatory?

I've looked up a few translations of the word "quirky" as they all seem to have a bit of a negative connotation attached to them (e.g., skurril, verschroben, eigenartig, and sonderbar). How can I convey a more positive image in German? Example…
TheJanzap
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19
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6 answers

How is the familiar "You" (Du) used in online conversations?

I remain fairly fluent in German from my experience living in Germany back in the 70's and 80's. However, the use of familiar "Du" among relative strangers online surprised me when I recently read posts on a genealogy board. Is there some general…
Cyberherbalist
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19
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5 answers

How to differentiate between sie (they) and sie (she)?

I am starting to learn German and I'm trying out Duolingo, I've faced this problem several times. If I understand correctly "sie" means both she and they. So if there is no context, can I distinguish between the both? See this example: Could I have…
Trufa
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19
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1 answer

What is a "Schnorrbrief"?

I received a letter addressed to the previous tenant and I asked her if she wants me to forward it to her. In the end she told me it is just some Schnorrbrief from Uganda. Do you have any idea what a Schnorrbrief is? I cannot find it in the…
Martin Drozdik
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