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GAF spricht Deutsch, zumindest hier drinnen...

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einige Fragen;

was ist der Unterschied zwischen diese angeblich für englische "thing" bedeutende Worte ?

Sache
Dinge
Gegenstand
Zeug

;'(

Sache = matter; for example "In dieser Sache" = "in this matter", can also be used for some things tho. For example Anziehsachen = clothes

Ding = thing; most literal translation

Gegenstand = object; an physical object

Zeug = stuff; like random stuff on the floor. then there is more specific Zeug like Werkzeug = "work stuff" - tools, Spielzeug = "play stuff"- toys
 

wolfmat

Confirmed Asshole
I can't make any expenses on the level of going to another city right now, and it's not gonna happen in Hamburg, so I can't commit. Sorry! I would if I could!
 

LazyLoki

Member
einige Fragen;

was ist der Unterschied zwischen diese angeblich für englische "thing" bedeutende Worte ?

Sache
Dinge
Gegenstand
Zeug

;'(

I'll try to describe and give a more accurate translation. Saying "thing" is a bit too broad IMO.

Sache - pretty objective, often used in a legal context - case or cause
Dinge - something unspecified, often used as a placeholder - thing
Gegenstand - something tangible, not necesscarily corporeal but also in the sense of subject, for example of a discussion - matter, subject
Zeug - coll. plural of things, but sometimes meaning military equipment like armor or belt /w holster - stuff
 

LazyLoki

Member
I'll try to describe and give a more accurate translation. Saying "thing" is a bit too broad IMO.

Sache - pretty objective, often used in a legal context - case or cause
Dinge - something unspecified, often used as a placeholder - thing
Gegenstand - something tangible, not necesscarily corporeal but also in the sense of subject, for example of a discussion - matter, subject
Zeug - coll. plural of things, but sometimes meaning military equipment like armor or belt /w holster - stuff

Sache = matter; for example "In dieser Sache" = "in this matter", can also be used for some things tho. For example Anziehsachen = clothes

Ding = thing; most literal translation

Gegenstand = object; an physical object

Zeug = stuff; like random stuff on the floor. then there is more specific Zeug like Werkzeug = "work stuff" - tools, Spielzeug = "play stuff"- toys

See, this is why I love my language. Both of us are correct, yet we contradict each other in some parts :D
 
ach so, ich dachte mir, es war etwas ähnlich, aber dann tauchte das Wort Gegenstand zu oft auf und es hat mich richtig verwirrt. ich danke euch, wie immer!!
 
Figured this would be a good place to ask. Hopefully going to Berlin at the end of July for 4 days with my gf. What would you guys say are must see/do things while I'm there?

We like the usual city stuff (good food, museums, architecture, drinking etc) but are probably past our clubbing days! Thanks and sorry for the derailment.
 

wolfmat

Confirmed Asshole
was ist eure Meinung nach Pronomen vor Namen, also "Der Mathew" "Die Claudia"

in letzer Zeit höre ich so oft, "soll wir den Bernd entlassen" usw.

Ich glaub, dass das ne Eigenart von Deutschland südlich von Hannover ist. Besonders die Bayern machen das gern. Manchmal benutzen Berliner das auch. Hier oben bei den Fischköppen hört man das normalerweise nicht.
 

sphinx

the piano man
Ich glaub, dass das ne Eigenart von Deutschland südlich von Hannover ist. Besonders die Bayern machen das gern. Manchmal benutzen Berliner das auch. Hier oben bei den Fischköppen hört man das normalerweise nicht.

In Österreich war jeder "der" oder "die" :D, hier im Nordeutschland wäre so etwas unangemessen.
 
Weiss jemand ob es gibt ein billiger Möglichkeit als Amazon for Deutsche Dinge? z.B. Bücher, DVDs, usw. Amazon ist nicht schlecht aber es ist ein bisschen teuer.
 
Ich glaub, dass das ne Eigenart von Deutschland südlich von Hannover ist. Besonders die Bayern machen das gern. Manchmal benutzen Berliner das auch. Hier oben bei den Fischköppen hört man das normalerweise nicht.

Ach so, findet dann Stromberg in Süd-De statt?

Ein Berliner hat mir eben gestern gesagt, es ist unhöflich, rüppelhaft und verniedlichend, das zu tun, wohingegen ist meine eigene Erfahrung und die Meinung meiner eigenen Professorin zu "Nicht formalles, aber nicht gerade schlechtes" geneigt
 

Fritz

Member
Figured this would be a good place to ask. Hopefully going to Berlin at the end of July for 4 days with my gf. What would you guys say are must see/do things while I'm there?

We like the usual city stuff (good food, museums, architecture, drinking etc) but are probably past our clubbing days! Thanks and sorry for the derailment.

Check out this thread You two will have a blast.
 
I think spiegel wrote something ala "people who look foreign". So it's not the skin colour alone. And it's supposed to fit for the controls on Germany's eastern border.
 

wolfmat

Confirmed Asshole
Deutsch-GAF's opinion?
Police can demand ID without giving a specific reason in Germany. It suffices to reference a supposed misdemeanor or felony. How ID is then sufficiently given depends on the circumstances, we won't go into that because it's nebulous and weird.
Obviously, if someone's crossing the border and exhibits certain characteristics, there's a possible felony. So I think this is righteous in regards to the law of the land.

I don't think it's cool beans though. It amounts to profiling. I guess it is the right tool for the job. What I want to say is I wouldn't want to be border police.
 

m3r4

Dufter Typ taking lurking to the next level
In Österreich war jeder "der" oder "die" :D, hier im Nordeutschland wäre so etwas unangemessen.

In Trier sind alle Kerle "en" und die Frauen "et". Also, en Patrick kommt heute auf die Party. Et Jenny kommt nit.

... Nein, ich bin kein Trierer.
 

Gala

Member
In Trier sind alle Kerle "en" oder "et". Also, en Patrick kommt heute auf die Party. Et Jenny kommt nit.

... Nein, ich bin kein Trierer.

Das hab ich hier noch nie gehört. Aber meine Freunde können auch alle Hochdeutsch oder geben sich mühe.

Viel schlimmer ist das in Trier mit "holen". Da zuck ich jedes Mal zusammen.
 

meadowrag

Banned
What is the difference between...

1. duften and riechen
2. satt and voll
3. abspuelen and waschen
4. fertig and bereit
5. leihen and ausleihen
6. fern and weit
7. spaet and verspaetet
8. sitzen and sich hinsetzen
 

snap0212

Member
What is the difference between...

1. duften and riechen
I'd probably use 'duften' only when I'm talking about good smells (flowers or something like that) or when I'm talking about a bad smell sarcastically. You can use both words though.

2. satt and voll
Satt is only used when you want to express that you're not hungry anymore. Voll can be used for anything (a can, a glass of water). You can use voll as well when talking about your stomach.

Both satt and voll can be used to express something completely different though. For example. "I'm sick of X" could be translated to "Ich habe X satt" oder "Ich hab' die Schnauze voll von X" (slang).

3. abspuelen and waschen
Abspülen means that you clean the surface of something. It's usually used when you're talking about dishes. I can't think of anything else where I'd use abspülen. You'd say “waschen” (car, clothes, your face, etc.).


4. fertig and bereit
Fertig means you've finished something. Bereit means you're ready (to do something else).

5. leihen and ausleihen
No difference.

6. fern and weit
No difference.

7. spaet and verspaetet
You'd use “spät” to say that you'll be home late (for example). They didn't expect you at a certain time but you already know you won't make it.
Verspätet indicates that there was a time when you/something should have been somewhere... but wasn't.

8. sitzen and sich hinsetzen
Sitzen is just sitting down (doing nothing). Sich hinsetzen is what you have to do before (to sit down).

Hope I could help. :)
 
sich tun
geschehen
passieren

was sind denn die Unterschiede? :'( ich benutzte normalerweise geschehen mit Menschen, Passieren mit Ereignissen und sich tun gar nicht
 

FoxSpirit

Junior Member
sich tun
geschehen
passieren

was sind denn die Unterschiede? :'( ich benutzte normalerweise geschehen mit Menschen, Passieren mit Ereignissen und sich tun gar nicht
*sich tun
Usually used to describe the liveliness of a place. "Hier tut sich gar nichts", "Nothing is going on here". Very narrow.
*passieren
Basically "Something is happening". "Was ist mit Dir passiert?" "What's happened to you?".
*geschehen
Basically same. "Was ist mit Dir geschehen?"

It's more easily explained if you give some sample sentences where we can say "right or wrong" if it's as subtle as this.
 
Yeah, it's kind of like the difference between occurring and happening, both are similar, yet don't work in some contexts. For instance:

- and then it occurred to me
- The happening in Woodstock
- what's happening?

Also: passierte (uh...) Tomaten = fermented tomatoes (if I'm correct). So there's that too.

/edit
But I guess occurring would translate to "auftreten" for the most part. So there you go, a third verb in that group, lol
 

Acrylamid

Member
Dann gibt es auch noch
vorgehen
und
stattfinden.

Aber die Unterschiede zwischen den fünf Begriffen sind sehr klein. Stattfinden ist wohl die förmlichste bzw. "offiziellste" Formulierung, "vorgehen" klingt eher negativ/zwielichtig (nach meinem Sprachgefühl).
 
danke! ich weiss's immer zu schaetzen


schnallen
kapieren
peilen
durchblicken
raffen

diese Worte habe ich seit lang als "verstehen" gekannt, aber ich kenn nur ansatzweise ihre Feinheiten.

bzw. sage ich, wenn ich erst eben etwas verstehe, "ahh jetzt hab ich kapiert" aber ansonsten ich vermeide diese denn ich will niemanden beleidigen, indem ich Sozialeschichte überschreite, oder nicht verstanden werden denn sie einfach zu 'eng' zu Kontext verbunden sind.

durchblicken würde ich eher als ne Entsprechung zu "begreifen/erfassen" benutzen, habe ich recht?

Konnt ihr mir zeigen, wo's damit lang geht mit diesen Synonymen zu "Verstehen"?



Des Weiteren habe ich in letzer Zeit mitgekriegt, dass ich halt "insofern" und "wobei" nicht schnalle. Nicht im Sinn von "Wobei hast du sie erwischt?" sondern "blah blah blaht, wobei wir blah blahen"
 
Schnallen, kapieren, raffen, peilen are all colloqial terms for verstehen. There isn't really a difference between them. You can use them as you want.

Durchblicken is a bit more complex. I don't think its that often used as a verb for verstehen expect if you don't understand something "ich blicke hier nicht durch!" would be a common sentence that you hear from someone who desperately tries to understand something. Mostly used in the context of not having the overview of a situation. Durchblick when you translate it literally means a view through something.
One context where durchblicken is good is if someone earlier already came to you and you told him that you don't understand something. Now he's back, meanwhile you understood the problem or situation and now you can say "Ich blicke jetzt viel besser durch " (literal translation "I view through much better now")
 
Is there a good place for important german business phrases? I might be getting a job soon where I would have to talk to people in german through email and on the phone.

Also, is there another way to say how are you than wie geht's? Would you say that in a business environment or is there something more formal you would say? Thanks!
 

Fritz

Member
Wie geht es Ihnen?

Just the long version of Wie geht's?

I don't really know about any good books for reference though.
 
Wie geht es Ihnen?

Just the long version of Wie geht's?

I don't really know about any good books for reference though.

Well, it is not just a long version - it is a more polite/formal version, you are using Sie after all (used to address people formally - Mr. Ms. Mrs.).

Especially in business context it is always good to go with Wie geht es Ihnen.
 
My pleasure!

I started using http://www.linguee.de/deutsch-englisch/search for work related stuff. It's cool because it uses existing texts for reference and it's great for looking up phrases. It basically gives you a couple of examples of how others have translated the word/phrase.

Ah, interesting. I've always used dict.cc and it doesn't really handle phrases that well, I didn't know Linguee was pretty good at translating phrases. I found something on about.com but it was just like 5 sentences and the rest was just random vocabulary. :/

Once I finish my thesis paper next week I have to start cramming german again. :p
 

Mlatador

Banned
1. duften and riechen
duften is only used for scents that smell good (the meaning of this word actually has a strong emphasis on "smelling VERY GOOD"). flowers, fragrances, parfume, good meals etc. The cannotation is positive.


riechen just means "smelling". it's used to describe all kinds of scents, good, bad or weired smelling ones. riechen itself is neutral. It's like saying "it smells". Now what? How does it smell? Good, bad, funny. RIECHEN just describes that you've noticed a certain smell. You additionally need an adjective to make it clear.

2. satt and voll

if you decribe the state of not being hungry

SATT= not being hungry anymore (is also used in certain phrasal verbs) is a little - just a little - bit more formal compared to voll.

VOLL= literal meaning: full.

3. abspuelen and waschen

abspülenl iteral= to swill
abspülen or better spülen colloquial = washing the dishes.

waschen= to wash (cloth, your car, etc).

BTW: washing the dishes = Geschirr spülen or Geschirr abspülen. Here may be a slight difference though. The first describes the whole act (from start to finish = washing the dishes). The meaning of the second one focuses more on the act of cleaning or rinsing a surface (in this case dishes). U can use both, but if you know the difference, of course use the first.

4. fertig and bereit

1st means "finished" second "ready"

5. leihen and ausleihen
lend and borrow

6. fern and weit
far and wide

7. spaet and verspaetet

late (as in "hurry up, it's late") and the second (delayed and being late.

8. sitzen and sich hinsetzen

sitting and to sit down
 
1. duften and riechen
duften is only used for scents that smell good (the meaning of this word actually has a strong emphasis on "smelling VERY GOOD"). flowers, fragrances, parfume, good meals etc. The cannotation is positive.


riechen just means "smelling". it's used to describe all kinds of scents, good, bad or weired smelling ones. riechen itself is neutral. It's like saying "it smells". Now what? How does it smell? Good, bad, funny. RIECHEN just describes that you've noticed a certain smell. You additionally need an adjective to make it clear.

2. satt and voll

basically means the same.

SATT is a little - just a little - bit more formal.

3. abspuelen and waschen

abspülenl iteral= to swill
abspülen colloquial = washing the dishes.

waschen= to wash (cloth, your car, etc).

BTW: washing the dishes = Geschirr spülen

4. fertig and bereit

1st means "finished" second "ready"

5. leihen and ausleihen
lend and borrow

6. fern and weit
far and wide

7. spaet and verspaetet

late (as in "hurry up, it's late") and the second (delayed and being late.

8. sitzen and sich hinsetzen

sitting and to sit down

hinsetzen is referring to yourself sitting down or like giving a command? z.B. Setzen Sie sich nicht Setzen Sie hin? (I'm assuming hinsetzen isn't reflexive?)
 

Mlatador

Banned
hinsetzen is referring to yourself sitting down or like giving a command? z.B. Setzen Sie sich nicht Setzen Sie hin? (I'm assuming hinsetzen isn't reflexive?)

hinsetzen (adj) = taking a seat/to sit down

sitzen = sitting

It is reflexive.

Setzen Sie sich bitte hin= Please sit down.
Setzen Sie sich bitte = Please take a seat.
(both are almost the same. If you talk to your Boss, you're going to use "please take a seat" instead of "please sit down" I guess, cuz it sounds more polite.)

Ich setze mich hin = I'm taking a seat.
Er setzt sich hin = He's taking a seat.

Ich sitze = I sit
Er sitzt= He sits



It is can also be used as an Imperativ (giving an order) = hinsetzen!!!

I hope it's clear now.
 
Alright, I have another question even though I'm sure you're all asleep. How do you PS in german? Like when you're writing an email or letter and you want to add something you write PS, I'm assuming it's different letters in German? Thanks!
 
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