Category: News

A Sweet Tooth

People often talk about having a “sweet tooth“, but what do you have if you prefer savoury food?

I don’t think it would be wrong to say that, as a nation, the English have got a “sweet tooth”. Brits are famous for their sweet cakes; such as, scones, Victoria sponge cake and apple pie – but the days of eating them everyday, for most people, have gone. Thank goodness!

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False Friend

What is a False Friend?

Before coming to Germany I had never heard of the expression “false friend” before. I soon learnt through my mistakes! There are some words in English which sound or look similar in German, but have a different meaning.  This can cause confusion, if not, on occasions embarrassment.

You can find a list of the most common ones in every English school book or check out the link: www.englisch-hilfen.de.

I once embarrassed myself at a party when a German friend told a joke about  a “Präservativ”.  I thought he was talking about “jam” (Konservierungsmittel) only to be told he was actually talking about condoms!! No wonder I didn’t get the joke!

Here are some False Friends to be aware of:

backside: das Hinterteil         die Rückseite: back

bodybag: der Leichensack     die Bodybag : mono-strap backpack

chef: der Küchenchef                der Chef: boss

gift:  das Geschenk                     das Gift: poison

If a German were sitting  in a restaurant and heard you say: “Did the boss give you a gift for your birthday?”,  he or she may be a little worried!

Kettles

Kettle: “a container or device in which water is boiled, having a lid, a spout and handle”.

I recently received a high tech kettle as a birthday present. It’s great. I can now boil the water at the correct temperature for all my teas. No longer do I have to take the lid off the kettle to wait until I think it’s cooled to 80 degrees. White, yellow, green, black.. all tasting perfect.

A Kloppism

Jürgen Klopp, the German football manager of Premier League club Liverpool , has given a lot of press interviews in English.  His English is actually very good but at times he has caused a little confusion and hilarity amongst journalists.  His use of German idioms or expressions, which he directly translates into English, do not always make sense to an Englishman.

I call this “Klopp-English”  or  kloppism. Maybe the most famous of these was: this is not a “wish concert.” (Das Leben ist kein Wunschkonzert). 

Here is a list of possible kloppisms and the English expression. Do you recognise them?

“Don’t be the offended liver sausage!”- Don’t get in a huff!

“That is jacket like trousers.” – It’s the same difference.         

“Keep the ears stiff” – Keep your chin up.

“Dead trousers” – Nothing happening/doing.

“A soft egg” – A wimp or wussy.

 

Heimweh oder Fernweh?

Whilst it’s easy to translate Heimweh (homesickness) into English, I am really struggling to find an English word to describe Fernweh. Perhaps you can help.

Homesickness: “a feeling of longing for your home during a period of absence from it.“

Example: ” I have lived in Germany for 22 years and have never felt homesick”

Fernweh? 

Maybe we can use these words but I am not convinced.

Wanderlust: “a strong desire to travel.”

Itchy feet: “a sense of boredom or restlessness causing a desire to travel or move on.”

When compared with homesickness these definitions do not seem strong enough. There is no suggestion of pain or heartache.

What do you think?