Learn expressions that involve animals
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
| INTRODUCTION |
| Eric: Expressions that Involve Animals |
| Eric: Hi everyone, and welcome back to GermanPod101.com. I'm Eric. |
| Jennifer: And I'm Jennifer! |
| Eric: This is Must-Know German Slang Words and Phrases, Season 1, Lesson 23. In this lesson you'll learn expressions that involve animals. German people like to make references to animals in their expressions - for example when they're feeling surprised, hurt, or disappointed. |
| SLANG EXPRESSIONS |
| Eric: The expressions you’ll be learning in this lesson are: |
| Jennifer: Von der Tarantel gestochen. |
| Jennifer: Dort steppt der Bär. |
| Jennifer: Den Sündenbock spielen. |
| Jennifer: Die Katze aus dem Sack lassen. |
| Eric: Jennifer, what's our first expression? |
| Jennifer: Von der Tarantel gestochen. |
| Eric: Which literally means "stung by a tarantula." But when it's used as a slang expression, it means "to react very surprised." |
| Jennifer: [SLOW] Von der Tarantel gestochen. [NORMAL] Von der Tarantel gestochen. |
| Eric: Listeners, please repeat. |
| Jennifer: Von der Tarantel gestochen. |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| Eric: Use this slang expression when someone is shocked, almost too much, by a situation. Now let's hear an example sentence. |
| Jennifer: [NORMAL] Warum reagierst du so als ob dich eine Tarantel gestochen hätte? [SLOW] Warum reagierst du so als ob dich eine Tarantel gestochen hätte? |
| Eric: "Why do you react like you just saw a ghost?" |
| Jennifer: [NORMAL] Warum reagierst du so als ob dich eine Tarantel gestochen hätte? |
| Eric: Okay, what's the next expression? |
| Jennifer: Dort steppt der Bär. |
| Eric: This literally means "there steps the bear." But when it's used as a slang expression, it means "there is something exciting going on over there." |
| Jennifer: [SLOW] Dort steppt der Bär. [NORMAL] Dort steppt der Bär. |
| Eric: Listeners, please repeat. |
| Jennifer: Dort steppt der Bär. |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| Eric: Use this slang expression when you want to point out that something amusing, for example a party, is going on. |
| Eric : Now let's hear an example sentence. |
| Jennifer: [NORMAL] Man geht nach Köln, um das Nachtleben zu genießen. Denn dort steppt der Bär. [SLOW] Man geht nach Köln, um das Nachtleben zu genießen. Denn dort steppt der Bär. |
| Eric: "To enjoy the nightlife you have to go to Cologne, since all the excitement is over there." |
| Jennifer: [NORMAL] Man geht nach Köln, um das Nachtleben zu genießen. Denn dort steppt der Bär. |
| Eric: Okay, what's our next expression? |
| Jennifer: Den Sündenbock spielen. |
| Eric: Which literally means "to play scapegoat." It’s used in the same way as the English expression. |
| Jennifer: [SLOW] Den Sündenbock spielen. [NORMAL] Den Sündenbock spielen. |
| Eric: Listeners, please repeat. |
| Jennifer: Den Sündenbock spielen. |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| Eric: Use this slang expression when you get punished or blamed for the misconduct of somebody else. Now let's hear an example sentence. |
| Jennifer: [NORMAL] Wieso muss ich immer für alles den Sündenbock spielen? [SLOW] Wieso muss ich immer für alles den Sündenbock spielen? |
| Eric: "Why do I always have to be the scapegoat for everything?" |
| Jennifer: [NORMAL] Wieso muss ich immer für alles den Sündenbock spielen? |
| Eric: Okay, what's the last expression? |
| Jennifer: Die Katze aus dem Sack lassen. |
| Eric: This literally means "to let the cat out of the bag." But when it's used as a slang expression, it means "to surprise people with something." |
| Jennifer: [SLOW] Die Katze aus dem Sack lassen. [NORMAL] Die Katze aus dem Sack lassen. |
| Eric: Listeners, please repeat. |
| Jennifer: Die Katze aus dem Sack lassen. |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| Eric: Use this slang expression when you want to surprise people with something totally unexpected. Now let's hear an example sentence. |
| Jennifer: [NORMAL] Auf der CeBit Messe in Hannover hat Intel mal wieder die Katze aus dem Sack gelassen und neue Prozessoren vorgestellt. [SLOW] Auf der CeBit Messe in Hannover hat Intel mal wieder die Katze aus dem Sack gelassen und neue Prozessoren vorgestellt. |
| Eric: "At the CeBit Fair in Hannover, Intel has let the cat out of the bag once again and introduced new processors." |
| Jennifer: [NORMAL] Auf der CeBit Messe in Hannover hat Intel mal wieder die Katze aus dem Sack gelassen und neue Prozessoren vorgestellt. |
| QUIZ |
| Eric: Okay listeners, are you ready to be quizzed on the expressions you just learned? I’ll describe four situations, and you choose the right expression to use. Are you ready? |
| Eric: You want to point out that something amazing is going on. Which slang do you use? |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| Jennifer: Dort steppt der Bär. |
| Eric: "there is something exciting going on over there" |
| Eric: You see someone reacting shocked. Which slang do you use? |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| Jennifer: Von der Tarantel gestochen. |
| Eric: "react very surprised" |
| Eric: You want to surprise people with something totally unexpected. Which slang do you use? |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| Jennifer: Die Katze aus dem Sack lassen. |
| Eric: "To surprise people with something" |
| Eric: You get punished or blamed for the misconduct of somebody else. Which slang do you use? |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| Jennifer: Den Sündenbock spielen. |
| Eric: "to be a scapegoat" |
Outro |
|---|
| Eric: There you have it; you have mastered four German slang expressions! We have more vocab lists available at GermanPod101.com, so be sure to check them out. Thanks everyone, and see you next time! |
| Jennifer: Bis zum nächsten Mal! |
Comments
Hide