Reading my mother-in-laws blog I was reminded how much I enjoyed learning to speak German. It was a challenge learning another language but it was rewarding as well.
I served a two year LDS mission in central Germany and found the area to be gorgeous and the people to be very warm and kind. It certainly helped bridge a portion of the culture gap when I was able to speak their native language.
Over the years, I’ve enjoyed coming across words that have slipped into the English language. Here are a few such words as well as a few others that make me laugh:
Schadenfreude – a German once described this to me as, “It’s not enough that I win, but you must fail”. It fits quite well with the more traditional definition of “finding joy in another person’s sorrow”.
Zeitgeist – Yes, it’s a bit trendy these days. It’s even the name of a great coffee shop in Seattle’s Pioneer Square district. Loosely defined as “the spirit of the times”
Staubsauger – This word for vacuum means “dust sucker” when translated directly. I still find that humorous after all these years.
Scheissfreundlich – You can break it down yourself for the direct translation but this word means “overly nice” but a bit stronger. There’s something about how it flows off the tongue that makes it perfect in use.
Mach doch keine Pee Pee in der Kuche – It’s the equivalent of “Hey, hold your horses!” but directly translated it means, “Don’t pee in the kitchen”.
Schlag Sahne – Simply means whipped cream. But the word “Schlag” is used so often it just sounds funny to me. “Schlag” also means to punch or beat or hit. How about some punched cream on that pie?
If you speak German you may enjoy this passage from Mark Twain called “The Awful German Language“.
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