INTRODUCTION |
Chuck: Chuck here. Absolute Beginner, Season 1, Lesson 7 – “If It’s Compliments You are Fishing For, Germany May Not Be the Right Pond!” Hello and welcome to GermanPod101.com, where we study German in a fun, educational format. |
Judith: So, brush up on the German that you started learning long ago or start learning today. |
Chuck: Thanks for being here with us for this lesson, [Judith]. What are we looking at today? |
Judith: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to receive compliments in German. |
Chuck: This conversation takes place at the Berlin Tegel Airport. There, Joe and [Anke] are waiting in line for passport control. |
Judith: This is because they’re getting to know each other better, therefore they will be speaking informal German. |
Chuck: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
DIALOGUE |
D: So, jetzt sind wir in Berlin. |
A: Was ist das da vorn? |
D: Das da vorn ist die Passkontrolle. |
A: Ah. Sprechen die Polizisten alle Englisch? |
D: Ja, aber du sprichst ja auch Deutsch. |
A: Hmm, ich lerne noch, ich spreche Deutsch noch nicht so gut. |
D: Dann sprichst du Englisch. Kein Problem. Oder Klingonisch. |
A: Okay... Klingonisch? Seid ihr Deutschen alle Star Trek Fans? |
D: Nein. Nur ein Witz. |
A: Ah. ... |
D: Warten, warten, warten. Ich hasse warten! |
A: Ich hasse es auch. |
D: So, now we are in Berlin. |
A: What is that over there in front? |
D: That in front is passport control. |
A: Ah. Do all policemen speak English. |
D: Yes, but you do also speak German. |
A: Hmm, I'm still learning it, I don't yet speak German very well. |
D: Then you'll speak English. No problem. Or Klingon. |
A: Okay... Klingon? Are you all of you Germans Star Trek fans? |
D: No. Just a joke. |
A: Ah. ... |
D: Waiting, waiting, waiting. I hate waiting! |
A: I hate it, too. |
POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
Judith: Okay, so what should we talk about in our culture point today? |
Chuck: That’s a very nice idea, to think about a culture point. |
Judith: I think we should talk about compliments. |
Chuck: That’s also a good idea. Good job! |
Judith: Joe said that his German is not very good yet, even though it’s clear that he can have a conversation in it. Either he’s very modest or he was fishing for a compliment. |
Chuck: Anyway, you don’t have such luck in Germany. An English speaker might’ve complimented Joe on his language skills, but in Germany compliments usually not as easily earned. |
Judith: Part of it just probably that many Germans speak a foreign language well. So, it doesn’t impress people as much when you do as well. |
Chuck: Or you might get the nice “Oh, you speak German well! For an American.” |
Judith: Well, people from Eastern Europe tend to speak really good German. |
Chuck: Part of it’s also that Germans don’t usually praise any compliments. And more like they focus on the truth. But it also means that if the Germans compliments you, it means a lot more. |
Judith: Yeah. The other thing is, if you compliment a German, he might just continue the conversation. If he believes that what you’ve said was a truthful account of the situation, they he won’t need to thank you for the compliment or he also won’t claim to be to be worse than he knows he is. It’s definitively a difference in cultures. |
Chuck: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
VOCAB LIST |
Chuck: The first word we shall look at is? |
Judith: [jetzt] |
Chuck: “Now”. |
Judith: [jetzt, jetzt] |
Chuck: Next? |
Judith: [da] |
Chuck: “There”. |
Judith: [da, da] |
Chuck: Next? |
Judith: [vorn, vorne] |
Chuck: “In front”. |
Judith: [vorn, vorne, vorn, vorne] |
Chuck: Next? |
Judith: [Pass, Reisepass] |
Chuck: “Passport”. |
Judith: [Pass, Reisepass, Pass, Reisepass] This word is masculine and plural is [Pässe] or [Reisepässe] |
Chuck: Next? |
Judith: [Kontrolle] |
Chuck: “Control”. |
Judith: [Kontrolle, die Kontrolle] and the plural is [Kontrollen] |
Chuck: Next? |
Judith: [Polizist] |
Chuck: “Policemen.” |
Judith: [Polizist, der Polizist] and the plural is [Polizisten] |
Chuck: Next? |
Judith: [lernen] |
Chuck: “To learn” or “study”. |
Judith: [lernen, lernen] |
Chuck: Next? |
Judith: [noch] |
Chuck: “Still”. |
Judith: [noch, noch] |
Chuck: Next? |
Judith: [dann] |
Chuck: “Then”. |
Judith: [dann, dann] |
Chuck: Next? |
Judith: [ein] |
Chuck: “A” or “an”. |
Judith: [ein, ein] This word changes according to gender, number and case of the following noun. |
Chuck: Next? |
Judith: [Witz] |
Chuck: “Joke”. |
Judith: [Witz, Witz] This word is masculine and the plural is [Witze] |
Chuck: Next? |
Judith: [warten] |
Chuck: “To wait”. |
Judith: [warten, warten] |
Chuck: Next? |
Judith: [hassen] |
Chuck: “To hate”. |
Judith: [hassen, hassen] |
VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
Chuck: Let’s have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
Judith: The first word we’ll look at is [Passkontrolle]. This is a compound noun based on [Pass] |
Chuck: “Passport”. |
Judith: And [Kontrolle] |
Chuck: “Control”. |
Judith: In German, we like to write this as one long word rather than two separate ones like “passport control”, in English. |
Chuck: Generally, you’ll find a lot of long compound nouns in German. Well, because they’re fun or else the Germans do it. To make things easier, you can already keep in mind the gender of the compound noun is based on the last mentioned noun. So, in this case, [Kontrolle] is feminine, and that makes the entire noun [Passkontrolle], feminine. |
Judith: Second thing we should look at is the phrase [Nur ein Witz]. This German expression is roughly equivalent to “Don’t hurt me. It’s just a joke”. |
Chuck: Well, the last part of that it is. |
Judith: Yeah. Not the [ein] in there, that’s the indefinite article. As we shall note plenty of times in the future, [ein] also requires different endings depending on the gender of the noun that follows. For example, “a control” is [eine Kontrolle], because [Kontrolle] is feminine, so we see an [eine]. |
Lesson focus
|
Chuck: The focus of this lesson are the forms of the irregular verb [sein], “to be”. This lesson was mostly a review lesson. However, we sneaked in the last two remaining forms of the irregular verb [sein], “to be”. Did you notice it? |
Judith: They are [Du bist] |
Chuck: “You are” – informally. |
Judith: And [Ihr seid] |
Chuck: “You are” as in several people. So, can you remind us of all the forms with [sein]? |
Judith: Sure. [Ich bin] |
Chuck: “I am”. |
Judith: [Du bist] |
Chuck: “You are”. |
Judith: [Es ist] |
Chuck: “It is”. |
Judith: [Wir sind] |
Chuck: “We are”. |
Judith: [Ihr] |
Chuck: “You all are”. |
Judith: [sie sind] |
Chuck: “They are”. [sie sind], “they are” is of course the same as [Sie sind], “you are” – formally. The only thing different is that the German word [Sie] is capitalized with the “s” at the beginning, when it’s a formal address. But, unfortunately you can’t tell while you’re speaking. Well, that just about does it for today. Before we go, I want to tell you about a way you that can improve your pronunciation drastically. |
Outro
|
Judith: The voice recording tool. |
Chuck: Yes, the voice recording tool in the premium learning center. |
Judith: Record your voice with a click of a button. |
Chuck: Play back just as easily. |
Judith: So, you record your voice and then you listen to it. |
Chuck: Compare it to the native speakers. |
Judith: And adjust your pronunciation. |
Chuck: This will help you improve your pronunciation fast. So, see you next week! |
Judith: [Bis nächste Woche] |
-- |
Comments
HideWhat are your experiences with compliments?
Ich sprechen Deutsch noch nicht So gut🌼
Hi Christopher Panetta!
Thank you for your comment.
Have you tried clicking the large play button on the main player? The audio is playing properly on our end.
If you have any questions or need further assistance, please email us at contactus@GermanPod101.com.
Danke! (Thank you!)
Team GermanPod101.com
The full lesson is definitely missing from this one. There a couple where the full lesson is there and then some where it's a minute long and only dialogue is there.
Hello David,
Thank you for taking the time to write to us!
To review your case more closely, I suggest you contact our support team at contactus@GermanPod101.com.
Sincerely,
Ali
Team GermanPod101.com
Hi David,
Thank you for getting back to us.
I will contact our team to find out if the format has changed recently.
Apart from that though, your comment sounds a little like you are not subscribed
anymore (?), in which case that may be the reason for not being able to access the same
content.
If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us again. 😉
Yours sincerely,
Reinhard
Team GermanPod101.com
Hello,
Are the full audio lessons available or only the dialogue? I previously subscribed to the podcasts of Germanpod101 and enjoyed listening to the full lesson (dialogue, lesson notes, cultural insights) while away from the computer. It seems that only the dialogue is available as audio now.
Vielen dank!
David
Hi Kenna,
Thank you so much for your nice feedback!❤️
But remember, at the end of the day it's all due to your hard work.
Keep it up! 😉
And if you ever have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us again.
Kind regards,
Reinhard
Team GermanPod101.com
hello I'm Kenna and I'm 12 it was hard then but know is is easy
I got you guys thank you so much.😄
Hi Emily,
Thanks for getting back to us.
And a special thank you for your kind words.
Glad you enjoy our lessons and benefit from them! 👍😉
If you ever have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us again.
Kind regards,
Reinhard
Team GermanPod101.com
Danke schön. Sie sind/Ihr seid sehr hilfreich.
Hallo zahra,
Please send us a message to contactus@GermanPod101.com with information on your country of residence and we will look into the issue.
Mit freundlichen Grüßen,
Levente
Team GermanPod101.com
hello.I suppose because of sanction I could not use and upgrade premium what should I do now?
can you help me
it would be interesting if I could use GermanPod101 again
Hallo robert groulx,
Danke schön for posting. We are very happy to have you here. Let us know if you have any questions.
Mit freundlichen Grüßen,
Levente
Team GermanPod101.com
thank you for the lesson transcript
favorite phrase is .. Klingonisch? Seid ihr Deutschen alle Star Trek Fans?
robert
Hi Brian,
Thank you for posting! And a nice long message at that.😉
I agree with you. Please allow me, however, to make a few
tiny little changes to your sentences in order to help you improve your
German:
Ich finde, dass es darauf ankommt, wer die Person ist. Wenn man die Person kennt, dann gibt man vielleicht mehr Komplimente als wenn es ein Fremder ist. Jeder mag Komplimente, aber ich stimme Chuck zu hier...Wenn ein Kompliment nicht zu oft gegeben wird ,dann bedeutet das viel mehr. Deutsch ist trotzdem schwerer als Englisch, deshalb sollte der deutschsprechende dem deutschlerner mehr Komplimente machen. :-)
If you have any questions, please let us know.
Kind regards,
Reinhard
Team GermanPod101.com
Ich finde, dass es darauf an kommt, wer den PersonInnen ist. Wenn man der PersonInnen weiß, dann gibt vielleicht mehr Komplimente als wenn man einen Fremde ist. Jeder mag Komplimente, aber ich stimme mit Chuck hier...Wenn ein Kompliment nicht zu viel gegeben,dann bedeutet das sehr mehr. Deutsch ist trotzdem schwerer als Englisch, deshalb sollen der deutschersprecher zu den deutscherlerner mehr komplimente machen. :-)
Hi Brooklyn,
Please remember that not the thing but the word, has the gender in German.
English words have genders too but they are, admittedly, more obvious. That is because in English, gender refers to the actual gender of the noun. “Girl” is a feminine word, “boy” is masculine, and “table” is neutral. A girl is female, a boy is male, and a table is an inanimate object.
In the German language this is different: gender is defined by the meaning and the form of the word, not by the gender of the noun.
To know whether a word is masculine, look for the following word endings:
-ich, -ig, -er, -el, -ling, -ner, -eich, -ismus, -or, -us, -ant
With feminine German nouns the word endings would be:
-e, -ie, -heit, -keit, – schaft, -tät, -ur, -tion, -ung, -ei, -in, -ik
Last, but not least, neutral German nouns:
-chen, -lein, -en, -il, -ma, -tel, -o, -nis, -tum, -um, -ment,
Thank you.
If you have any further questions, please let us know.
Kind regards,
Reinhard
Team GermanPod101.com
Hi.
Why is control or rather, 'Kontrolle' feminine?
Please could you explain how to make the difference?
Thanks
Hi Phil,
Thank you very much for your question! ?
In German "Polizist" means "Policeman", whereas the plural form "Polizisten" means "Policemen" in Englisch. It is indeed a very subtle difference. I hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any questions.
Kind regards,
Albert
Team GermanPod101.com
If Polizist is “Policemen”, which is plural, how can there be a plural of a plural (Polizisten)?
Thanks
Phil