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GAF spricht Deutsch, zumindest hier drinnen...

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A

anonymous_abc

Member
Hieberrr said:
What is the difference between "im" and "am"?

For example: "Wir essen im Restaurant" and "Wir essen am Tisch"

EDIT: I'm assuming "im" = neutral; "am" = masculine?

EDIT2: Duolingo is helping me learn pretty well right now, but I still can't really form my own sentences. I mean, I can for really simple phrases like, "der Mann ist rechts" or some bull**** like that, but nothing really useful. I guess in due time :)
Click to expand...

i would say im is inside, and am is at or next to or so.
 
D

Des0lar

will learn eventually
Hieberrr said:
What is the difference between "im" and "am"?

For example: "Wir essen im Restaurant" and "Wir essen am Tisch"

EDIT: I'm assuming "im" = neutral; "am" = masculine?

EDIT2: Duolingo is helping me learn pretty well right now, but I still can't really form my own sentences. I mean, I can for really simple phrases like, "der Mann ist rechts" or some bull**** like that, but nothing really useful. I guess in due time :)
Click to expand...


"im" is more like "in" in english. Im Restaurant = in the restaurant
Im Haus = In(side) the house
Im Auto = within the car

"Am" is more akin to "at"

Am Bahnhof = At the railstation
Am Morgengrauen = At dawn
Am tisch = at the table

but it is also used in many superlatives like "am ehesten" = "most likely"

Von den drei Buben, war Peter am größten. = Between these three boys, Peter was the largest.

The correct usage of "am" is very difficult though, because in many instances it doesn't make sense to use it from am outsider perspective.

"Am Haus arbeiten" = working on the house (like, when it's still under construction and you help out)
 
K

Krelian

Member
Hieberrr said:
What is the difference between "im" and "am"?

For example: "Wir essen im Restaurant" and "Wir essen am Tisch"

EDIT: I'm assuming "im" = neutral; "am" = masculine?

EDIT2: Duolingo is helping me learn pretty well right now, but I still can't really form my own sentences. I mean, I can for really simple phrases like, "der Mann ist rechts" or some bull**** like that, but nothing really useful. I guess in due time :)
Click to expand...
im = in dem
am = an dem
Think in the restaurant. At the table.
 
P

PS3GamerKyle

Member
ach mein Gott! my german 201 final is on thursday.

I'm not all that worried about it, but I'll still be studying like a madman. It's on the simple past, subjunctive I and II, relative clauses and some more goodies.
 
L

LazyLoki

Member
Des0lar said:
"im" is more like "in" in english. Im Restaurant = in the restaurant
Im Haus = In(side) the house
Im Auto = within the car

"Am" is more akin to "at"

Am Bahnhof = At the railstation
Am Morgengrauen = At dawn
Am tisch = at the table
Click to expand...

Actually it's "Im Morgengrauen" or "am Morgen" ;)
 
U

Ultimatum

Banned
I have to give a presentation about weed tomorrow and I have no idea what to say... Any ideas? My German's pretty bad, so nothing too complicated, but I'm not a beginner

Also, how do you guys cope with the grammar when speaking, I always seem to overcomplicate what I want to say, so then saying it in German becomes quite tricky

Sigh, learning a language is so difficult :p
 
W

Wrayfield

Member
Ultimatum said:
I have to give a presentation about weed tomorrow and I have no idea what to say... Any ideas? My German's pretty bad, so nothing too complicated, but I'm not a beginner

Also, how do you guys cope with the grammar when speaking, I always seem to overcomplicate what I want to say, so then saying it in German becomes quite tricky

Sigh, learning a language is so difficult :p
Click to expand...

Whenever presenting, whichever language, script it. Learn the script. Plan little jokes here and there, and execute. I find this the best way. Some people have the skill to present without preparing much, but for most it's all about preparation.

Edit: It would also give you an opportunity to structure your presentation grammatically correctly.
 
P

Phantast2k

Member
Colloquial expressions for weed:

- Juff/Jaff (where J is pronounced like the engl. J...must be rooted in Arabic or something), Grass (..)
...everything else is english & depends on texture: dope, piece, shit, hash, mary jane, joana (joint)

smoking weed:
Kiffen (very common), juffen/jaffen, buffen, steinigen (heard that only once in Berlin)
...rest is eng.: killen, rapen (often referred to finishing the joint)

Stonner: Kiffer (again, the most common one), Juffer, Steinmetz (again..the Berlin ppl...)



/I don't really smoke weed...but, well, everyone else around me does.
 
G

Gustav

Banned
Phantast2k said:
Colloquial expressions for weed:

- Juff/Jaff (where J is pronounced like the engl. J...must be rooted in Arabic or something), Grass (..)
...everything else is english & depends on texture: dope, piece, shit, hash, mary jane, joana (joint)

smoking weed:
Kiffen (very common), juffen/jaffen, buffen, steinigen (heard that only once in Berlin)
...rest is eng.: killen, rapen (often referred to finishing the joint)

Stonner: Kiffer (again, the most common one), Juffer, Steinmetz (again..the Berlin ppl...)



/I don't really smoke weed...but, well, everyone else around me does.
Click to expand...

Wow, this is copletely different to what I know.

Words for smoking weed:
kiffen, buffen, jasen (pronounced jah-sen), durchziehen, smoken, Einen rauchen.

Words for joint:
Joint, Tüte, Horn, Spliff

Words for stoners:
Kiffer, Jaser (again: Jah-ser), Raucher
 
V

vitacola

Member
Never heard of "juffen/jaffen", "jahsen" or the terms from Berlin.

@Ultimatum:
Tell them about the law and the execution of it by the police and the courts in Germany and compare it for example to the way the US handles it (if you are living there). Maybe the "possibilities" to get it here. About the new law in the Netherlands, which is in force in all the areas near the German border. They are trying to prevent the "drug tourism" from Germany (and other countries) to the Netherlands and the coffee shops are only allowed to sell to people who are living in the Netherlands and are a member of the "club"/shop now. After that you probably could talk about the possible consequences (e.g. criminal dealers and reinforcing criminal organisations) of it.

(I'm not smoking weed, but I'm interested in the news about it, lol)
 
C

Cheesemeister

Member
Hey, I'm trying to write a letter to an office in Berlin that may have a connection with my ancestors to ask if they happen to have any information. My high school German is very rusty, so I'm sure my feeble attempt is riddled with errors. Would anyone be so kind as to correct what I've written? Thanks in advance.

Title: Die Familie [last name]

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

Ich heiße [my name]. Ich bin Amerikaner in Japan. Entschuldigung weil mein Deutsch ist nicht so gut und ich schreibe zu ihr Büro.

Ich habe meinen Genealogie geforscht und hab in Wilmersdorf mein Ururgroßvater gefunden. Im August [year] hatte [great-great-grandfather's name] (geboren im Jahr [year]) und die Seinigen an die [ship's name] von Hamburg bis New York gekommen. Die Familie gewohnt in [American city name]. [Great-great-grandfather's name]s Vater war [possible great-great-great-grandfather's name] gewesen sein könnte. An den Passagierliste hat seinen Wohnsitz in Wilmersdorf geschreibt.

Auf deise Fakten habe ich in Wilmersdorf [last name]straße und ihr Büro gefunden. Vielleicht habe ich mit [person with the company] gemeinsamen Vorfahren?

Würden Sie so freundlich sein, bitte sagen Sie mich denen fragen kann? Jede Information werde sehr hilfreich sein.

Mit herzlichen Grüßen
[my name]
 
H

Hypertrooper

Member
Cheesemeister said:
Hey, I'm trying to write a letter to an office in Berlin that may have a connection with my ancestors to ask if they happen to have any information. My high school German is very rusty, so I'm sure my feeble attempt is riddled with errors. Would anyone be so kind as to correct what I've written? Thanks in advance.

Title: Die Familie [last name]

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

Ich heiße [my name]. Ich bin Amerikaner in Japan. Entschuldigung weil mein Deutsch ist nicht so gut und ich schreibe zu ihr Büro.

Ich habe meinen Genealogie geforscht und hab in Wilmersdorf mein Ururgroßvater gefunden. Im August [year] hatte [great-great-grandfather's name] (geboren im Jahr [year]) und die Seinigen an die [ship's name] von Hamburg bis New York gekommen. Die Familie gewohnt in [American city name]. [Great-great-grandfather's name]s Vater war [possible great-great-great-grandfather's name] gewesen sein könnte. An den Passagierliste hat seinen Wohnsitz in Wilmersdorf geschreibt.

Auf deise Fakten habe ich in Wilmersdorf [last name]straße und ihr Büro gefunden. Vielleicht habe ich mit [person with the company] gemeinsamen Vorfahren?

Würden Sie so freundlich sein, bitte sagen Sie mich denen fragen kann? Jede Information werde sehr hilfreich sein.

Mit herzlichen Grüßen
[my name]
Click to expand...
Title: Die Familie [last name]

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

Ich heiße [my name]. Ich bin Amerikaner und lebe in Japan. Entschuldigung Sie, mein Deutsch ist nicht so gut und ich schreibe zu ihren Büro.

Ich habe meine Genealogie erforscht und hab in Wilmersdorf mein Ururgroßvater gefunden. Im August [year] sind [great-great-grandfather's name] (geboren im Jahr [year]) und die Seinigen an die [ship's name] von Hamburg in New York angekommen. Die Familie wohnte in [American city name]. [Great-great-grandfather's name]s Vater hätte [possible great-great-great-grandfather's name] gewesen sein könnten. An den Passagierliste hat er seinen Wohnsitz in Wilmersdorf angegeben.

Auf diese Fakten habe ich in Wilmersdorf [last name]straße und ihr Büro gefunden. Vielleicht habe ich mit [person with the company] gemeinsame Vorfahren?

Würden Sie so freundlich sein, ob Sie für mich fragen könnten? Jede Information und Hilfe wäre sehr hilfreich sein.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen
[my name]
Click to expand...

I tried my best. Overall pretty good. But I fixed somethings. But I'm not sure about few things like the last sentence. Are you trying to ask if you could find a contact person who you can ask or if they could ask for you that specific person?
 
C

Cheesemeister

Member
Hypertrooper said:
I tried my best. Overall pretty good. But I fixed somethings. But I'm not sure about few things like the last sentence. Are you trying to ask if you could find a contact person who you can ask or if they could ask for you that specific person?
Click to expand...

Awesome, thanks for your help! I'm basically trying to ask if they would happen to know if they can confirm a connection with their person (we share a last name, save for the Americanized spelling) or can direct me to someone who might know more. I'm not sure whether or not the company's person is still alive, as they were a founder over 50 years ago. Any information, really.
 
F

Fritz

Member
Cheesemeister said:
Title: Die Familie [last name]

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

Ich heiße [my name]. Ich bin Amerikaner in Japan. Entschuldigung weil mein Deutsch ist nicht so gut und ich schreibe zu ihr Büro.

Ich habe meinen Genealogie geforscht und hab in Wilmersdorf mein Ururgroßvater gefunden. Im August [year] hatte [great-great-grandfather's name] (geboren im Jahr [year]) und die Seinigen an die [ship's name] von Hamburg bis New York gekommen. Die Familie gewohnt in [American city name]. [Great-great-grandfather's name]s Vater war [possible great-great-great-grandfather's name] gewesen sein könnte. An den Passagierliste hat seinen Wohnsitz in Wilmersdorf geschreibt.

Auf deise Fakten habe ich in Wilmersdorf [last name]straße und ihr Büro gefunden. Vielleicht habe ich mit [person with the company] gemeinsamen Vorfahren?

Würden Sie so freundlich sein, bitte sagen Sie mich denen fragen kann? Jede Information werde sehr hilfreich sein.

Mit herzlichen Grüßen
[my name]
Click to expand...

Betreff: Die Familie [last name]

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

Ich heiße [my name]. Ich bin Amerikaner und lebe in Japan. Ich wende mich an Sie mit der Bitte um eine Auskunft.

Ich habe meinen Familiengeschichte erforscht und habe in Wilmersdorf mein Ururgroßvater gefunden. Im August [year] hatten [great-great-grandfather's name] (geboren im Jahr [year]) und die Seinigen das Schiff [ship's name] von Hamburg nach New York genommen. Die Familie hat über Jahrzehnte (decades?) in [American city name] gelebt. [Great-great-grandfather's name]s Vater war möglicherweise [possible great-great-great-grandfather's name]. In der Passagierliste steht dessen Wohnsitz in Wilmersdorf.

Auf Grundlage dieser Fakten habe ich die [last name]straße in Wilmersdorf und ihr Büro gefunden. Vielleicht habe ich mit [person with the company] gemeinsame Vorfahren?

Ich würde Sie gerne fragen, ob Sie mir den Kontakt zu [person's name] vermitteln oder meine Daten an ihn weitergeben könnten? Jede Information wäre sehr hilfreich.

Mit bestem Dank für Ihre Mühen und herzlichen Grüßen aus Japan.

[my name]


One thing I didn't quite get: Your great-great-great-grandfather's adress was on the passengers list?

Your text was good and would have sufficed but this way it's more in line with German customs.

Sounds interesting btw. I hope you'll get something out of it. I live in Berlin so PM me if I can help you out.
 
C

Cheesemeister

Member
Fritz said:
Betreff: Die Familie [last name]

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

Ich heiße [my name]. Ich bin Amerikaner und lebe in Japan. Ich wende mich an Sie mit der Bitte um eine Auskunft.

Ich habe meinen Familiengeschichte erforscht und habe in Wilmersdorf mein Ururgroßvater gefunden. Im August [year] hatten [great-great-grandfather's name] (geboren im Jahr [year]) und die Seinigen das Schiff [ship's name] von Hamburg nach New York genommen. Die Familie hat über Jahrzehnte (decades?) in [American city name] gelebt. [Great-great-grandfather's name]s Vater war möglicherweise [possible great-great-great-grandfather's name]. In der Passagierliste steht dessen Wohnsitz in Wilmersdorf.

Auf Grundlage dieser Fakten habe ich die [last name]straße in Wilmersdorf und ihr Büro gefunden. Vielleicht habe ich mit [person with the company] gemeinsame Vorfahren?

Ich würde Sie gerne fragen, ob Sie mir den Kontakt zu [person's name] vermitteln oder meine Daten an ihn weitergeben könnten? Jede Information wäre sehr hilfreich.

Mit bestem Dank für Ihre Mühen und herzlichen Grüßen aus Japan.

[my name]


One thing I didn't quite get: Your great-great-great-grandfather's adress was on the passengers list?

Your text was good and would have sufficed but this way it's more in line with German customs.

Sounds interesting btw. I hope you'll get something out of it. I live in Berlin so PM me if I can help you out.
Click to expand...

Tausend Dank! I have verified my great-great-grandfather's name on a passenger list, which also states the neighborhood in Berlin where he lived. I haven't managed to navigate Berlin address books to find the exact place where he lived. The potential name of his father, my great-great-great-grandfather, is hearsay from another researcher.
 
F

Fritz

Member
Cheesemeister said:
Tausend Dank! I have verified my great-great-grandfather's name on a passenger list, which also states the neighborhood in Berlin where he lived. I haven't managed to navigate Berlin address books to find the exact place where he lived. The potential name of his father, my great-great-great-grandfather, is hearsay from another researcher.
Click to expand...

Ah alright!
 
C

Cheesemeister

Member
Also, my relatives descended from my great-great-grandfather in question still live in the named American city. I don't think I'll ask to be put in contact with the person at the company, as they're likely deceased. It's more probable that they would know who to contact.

Basically, what I want to ask is: "If you would be so kind, could you please tell me if we're related, or refer me to someone who would know more? Any information would be helpful."
 
F

Fritz

Member
Cheesemeister said:
Also, my relatives descended from my great-great-grandfather in question still live in the named American city. I don't think I'll ask to be put in contact with the person at the company, as they're likely deceased. It's more probable that they would know who to contact.

Basically, what I want to ask is: "If you would be so kind, could you please tell me if we're related, or refer me to someone who would know more? Any information would be helpful."
Click to expand...

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

Ich heiße [my name]. Ich bin Amerikaner und lebe in Japan. Ich wende mich an Sie mit der Bitte um eine Auskunft.

Ich habe meinen Familiengeschichte erforscht und in Wilmersdorf mein Ururgroßvater gefunden. Im August [year] hatten [great-great-grandfather's name] (geboren im Jahr [year]) und seine Familie das Schiff [ship's name] von Hamburg nach New York genommen. Die Familie siedelte sich in [American city name] an und lebt dort noch immer. [Great-great-grandfather's name]s Vater war möglicherweise [possible great-great-great-grandfather's name]. In der Passagierliste gab mein Ururgroßvater seinen Wohnsitz mit Wilmersdorf an.

Auf Grundlage dieser Fakten habe ich die [last name]straße in Wilmersdorf und ihr Büro gefunden. Vielleicht habe ich mit [person with the company] gemeinsame Vorfahren?

Ich würde Sie gerne fragen, ob Sie mir den Kontakt zu einer Person vermitteln könnten, die mir in dieser Sache weiterhelfen und eventuell über die Verhältnisse der Familie [family name] Auskunft geben kann? Ich wäre Ihnen für jede Information sehr dankbar.

Kontaktieren Sie mich gerne bei Rückfragen.

Herzlichen Grüßen aus Japan.

[my name]
Click to expand...


I think that covers it. If there's someone from said family still working at the office, he/she might just jump on it. If not, they hopefully can refer you to someone who knows. Let us know if things worked out!
 
C

Cheesemeister

Member
Fritz said:
I think that covers it. If there's someone from said family still working at the office, he/she might just jump on it. If not, they hopefully can refer you to someone who knows. Let us know if things worked out!
Click to expand...

Ausgezeichnet! Danke schön. I'll let you know how it turns out!
 
F

Fritz

Member
Trokil said:
But that's very old fashioned.

In this context however you should use "Freundliche Grüsse"
Click to expand...

No way. Freundliche Grüße is old fashioned. Herzliche Grüße is fine especially for a non-native speaker and much more engaging. It's not like you're applying for a job at a bank (and even then).

I work at a respected law firm and we almost never use "freundliche Grüße".

Patrick Bateman said:
"Mit deutschem Gruße" would be good, too.
Click to expand...

Haha,that would be so uncalled for. Just imagine reading that letter.
 
P

Patrick Bateman

Member
Fritz said:
No way. Freundliche Grüße is old fashioned. Herzliche Grüße is fine especially for a non-native speaker and much more engaging. It's not like you're applying for a job at a bank (and even then).

I work at a respected law firm and we almost never use "freundliche Grüße".
Click to expand...


I find "herzlich" waay more old fashioned than "freundlich".
 
C

Cheesemeister

Member
Sent! I've also sent a similar version to a nearby church on my family name's street that names someone with my family name as one of its founders. In both cases, it really seems like too much of a coincidence to be flat-out wrong. Hopefully somebody will know something. And now we play the waiting game.

Vielen Dank!
 
R

RELAYER

Banned
Question -

Can "ß" be used for any "ss"?

Such as "klassisch -> klaßisch, Regisseur -> Regißeur"

I recently learned the two example words above and they were presented without the umlaut, so I was wondering if there was some specific case where "ss" cannot mean "ß"
 
P

Patrick Bateman

Member
RELAYER said:
Question -

Can "ß" be used for any "ss"?

Such as "klassisch -> klaßisch, Regisseur -> Regißeur"

I recently learned the two example words above and they were presented without the umlaut, so I was wondering if there was some specific case where "ss" cannot mean "ß"
Click to expand...


You use ß only for words you could not divide into two and with a long pronounciation. E.g. "Gruß". You would never write "Gruss". "Klassisch" and "Regisseur" don't work with ß and never did.

You also need to pay attention to the short pronounciation for words like "Kuss" or "Fluss". You can't use ß for those, so this type of words are (almost) always written with ss.
 
P

Phantast2k

Member
Zaraki_Kenpachi said:
Does anyone know what something like Peterhäuser means? Or sounds like that? From the context it seems like a coffee house almost?
Click to expand...


Wut?
iJTEz.jpg
?? lol
> Starbucks
 
C

Cheesemeister

Member
Today I got a kindly reply from a person with the church, who was kind enough to forward my message to the church archives. I received a further reply from the archives saying that the records are on microfilm, and directing me to contact one of several professional researchers on the list provided.

After a bit of my own muddling through the 19th century Berlin address books, I found the entries for my last name, but only somewhat illegible first initials for the heads of households are given with their professions and addresses. Just looking at the decade of my great-great-grandfather's departure to America, the only listings clearly in the neighborhood from the passenger list appear after the year of departure.

As access to archives appears to cost 30 Euro, I'd probably best hire a researcher.

Vielen Dank!
 
F

Fritz

Member
Zaraki_Kenpachi said:
http://www.dw.de/dw/0,,2055,00.html

It's from that page, in the video called "coworking - Modernes Arbeiten"

I guess it's just a company name then.
Click to expand...

There is a popular co-working space called Betahaus. That's probably it but that's just the name of that particular house. I will have a look at the vid in a minute.

Edit: Yeah, that's it. You can see it written on the facade when they show the building in the beginning. When I first heard i was kinda baffled as well though. The Betahaus is awesome by the way. I've been to some good parties and exhibitions there.
 
H

Hieberrr

Member
Cooooool, I ran across an old German lady in Toronto yesterday who was wow'd at hotdogs
KuGsj.gif


She pointed at the pork sausage and was like, "Was ist das? Ist das Schwein?"

I find it fascinating when I i encounter German speakers in Canada.
 
P

Phantast2k

Member
Da fehlt ein L. Hauptschlussabschul!

- Halo gibt es übrigens auch im dt. Sprachgebrauch: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_(Astronomie)

- Halo ist eine miese Spielserie/Franchise und ich hoffe den Dreck gibt es bald nicht mehr. Aber Microsoft wird da sicher was dagegen haben.


Mhh, ich glaub ich könnte einen Job als "Host" bei der Gamescom bekommen - wäre dann mein absolut letzter Studijob :O
Soll ich oder soll ich nicht...
 
F

Fritz

Member
Phantast2k said:
Da fehlt ein L. Hauptschlussabschul!

- Halo gibt es übrigens auch im dt. Sprachgebrauch: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_(Astronomie)

- Halo ist eine miese Spielserie/Franchise und ich hoffe den Dreck gibt es bald nicht mehr. Aber Microsoft wird da sicher was dagegen haben.


Mhh, ich glaub ich könnte einen Job als "Host" bei der Gamescom bekommen - wäre dann mein absolut letzter Studijob :O
Soll ich oder soll ich nicht...
Click to expand...

Such dir nen richtigen Job, Student!
 
P

Phantast2k

Member
Fritz said:
Such dir nen richtigen Job, Student!
Click to expand...
Ich schreib' ja schon fleißig Bewerbungen :p
Ne, aber Catering & co. (als Zeitarbeit) ist gar nicht so schlimm. Wegen der freien Zeiteinteilung würde ich solche Jobs, als (nunmehr fast schon ehemaliger) Studi, irgendeinem Büro-Job mit regelmäßigen Arbeitszeiten & vllt. 1-2€/st. mehr, immer noch vorziehen.

Mhh, hast du dein Studileben-lang nur in einer Anwaltskanzlei malocht?
 
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