Learning German language

Thread: Learning German language

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  1. Nachthart's Avatar

    Nachthart said:

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    seems weird that the word for girl would be nuetral but ok...I can dig it O,o (Yep, I can tell this language is going to be fun @,@)
     
  2. citlalli's Avatar

    citlalli said:

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    Yup, also for me it's still quite strange, you know... girl=100% female... but in german the rules are the rules LOL
    “If cats looked like frogs we'd realize what nasty, cruel little bastards they are. Style. That's what people remember.” ― Terry Pratchett.
     
  3. Nachthart's Avatar

    Nachthart said:

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    Is German your 1st language or did you learn it and if you did how long did it take you?
     
  4. Nachthart's Avatar

    Nachthart said:

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    well....I was going to ask something about the character that replaces "ss" but alas I cannot get it to show up on this here post. I'll figure it out later but until then I'm just going to hope you know what I'm talking about. It looks like a "B"... but newayz do you NOT use it in "Das wasser" "dass" and "muss"? This site I'm on isn't exactly detailed...
     
  5. citlalli's Avatar

    citlalli said:

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    Hi!

    No, german is not my first language. I studied it back home (Mexico) for three years, one hour each day, five days a week; and at the end I had done all the grammar and had a lot of vocabulary but I lacked the practice (you know, I didn't hear or speak any german outside my lesson) and didn't feel comfortable enough with the language.

    However, I think in your case it might be different and take less time, due to the similarities between english and german and also to the fact that you already have a couple of native speakers at hand to try what you learn

    Changing subjects, the letter you asked about (&#223 is called "scharfes s" or "esset" (hehe I don't know if I spelled it correctly). Now, in german you'll find that each gender has its article:

    female: die (Lehrerin, Italienerin, etc.)
    male: der (Lehrer, Italiener, etc.)
    neutral: das (Mädchen, Fräulein, etc.)

    The last one is not to be confused with the word "daß" (old spelling)/"dass" (new spelling) which is the connective "that" in english.

    As for muß, is the same as with daß, ie, old spelling: muß, new spelling: muss.

    I started learning german many years ago and learnt with the old spelling and haven't really bothered with learning the new spelling, so we'll need someone else to jump in in case you want to know more about it. However, I think first we should do more basics (but you're the boss of course!!). Furthermore, in Switzerland they don't use the "ß" at all, they only use "ss".

    And going back to the gender of the words, I heard from one teacher that most words consisting of only one syllable are male (although there are exceptions of course). For example: der Kampf (fight, struggle), der Tisch (table), etc. Unfortunately I heard that after many years of learning the language and I haven't really checked to see how accurate this information is.

    See you later and "viel Spaß beim Lernen" !!
    “If cats looked like frogs we'd realize what nasty, cruel little bastards they are. Style. That's what people remember.” ― Terry Pratchett.
     
  6. Lyssa's Avatar

    Lyssa said:

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    For the new rules of ß (I would spell it 'Eszett' ) you USE it:
    - after 'ei' and other diphtongs => weiß (white)
    - after a long vowel => Fuß (foot)

    If it's a short vowel, you use 'ss':
    Fluss = river
     
  7. citlalli's Avatar

    citlalli said:

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    Hi Lyssa! how have u been? nice to see u around here

    Thanks for the rules; I didn't know about the diphtongs, only about the short and long vowels, but since that doesn't exist in my language I can't really tell the difference so I just decided to forget that rule LOL (mhh...these thing with the short and long vowels is giving me a big headache with arabic )
    “If cats looked like frogs we'd realize what nasty, cruel little bastards they are. Style. That's what people remember.” ― Terry Pratchett.
     
  8. Lyssa's Avatar

    Lyssa said:

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    hey =) I'm on holidays right know =P What about you? Is it still hot in Cairo?

    Well for the difference of long and short vowel it's like the rule to know if there is 'ie' or just 'i' in a verb!
    => lieben with 'ie' because long iii sound
    => schicken with 'i'
     
  9. citlalli's Avatar

    citlalli said:

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    What?! How can you be on holidays again if your school term just started? You are a Glückspilz

    I'm still quite busy here, but very happy, you know I love this country. Regarding the weather, well, it rained last friday (something rather unusual over here) and it's cooled down a bit since then. However it's still much warmer than at home (with "home" I mean Germany in this case)

    Dear Lyssa, yeeeees, I'm not so silly, I can see the difference in the short/long vowels in the examples you gave (schicken, lieben)... but I can't hear it for example in Fluß and Fuß...in both cases the "u" sounds the same to me !!! Luckily for me the difference between short and long vowels in arabic is much more stressed and I'm finally learning to distinguish it I hope that will help me to one day be able to tell the difference in other languages too XD

    Well... have a nice sunday!!!
    Last edited by citlalli; 10-26-2008 at 03:08 AM.
    “If cats looked like frogs we'd realize what nasty, cruel little bastards they are. Style. That's what people remember.” ― Terry Pratchett.
     
  10. Nene's Avatar

    Nene said:

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    Lol! It's really funny to read "it rained last Friday", which wouldn't be that unusual in Ireland as we get rain over here even 5 times a day!...

    Anyway, getting back to "scharfes s", I didn't have a clue there is a rule when to use it. Thanks a lot for the useful info!!!

    Enjoy your holidays Lyssa!
    Mivel mindig az okos enged, már rég a hülyék uralkodnak...
     
  11. citlalli's Avatar

    citlalli said:

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    Hahaha... yup! I know what you mean since in my other "homes" rain is nothing unusual at all and we even get fed up with it; but here it's much liked and appreciated as it's so scarce, and it was the main topic of discussion next day "did you see it rained ?!!" LOL

    *Sorry for getting offtopic dear mods
    “If cats looked like frogs we'd realize what nasty, cruel little bastards they are. Style. That's what people remember.” ― Terry Pratchett.
     
  12. Lyssa's Avatar

    Lyssa said:

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    Hey that was sooo long! I needed holidays since the year started ... =D & it's only for 10 days, they're so mean =S

    Rain?! We were told there are only 3 minutes of it the whole year in Egypt! lol

    for Fluss and Fuß, maybe it's more difficult with U for you lol think a river is fast so short u ? XD

    oh & thanks Nene I will =) when I'll have finished my homework ...
     
  13. citlalli's Avatar

    citlalli said:

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    haha... thanks for the "river is fast"-tip

    I've been repeating both words in my head all day long, and I think I can perceive a tiny but nonetheless existing difference in the "u"

    Do you have any plans for your holidays?
    “If cats looked like frogs we'd realize what nasty, cruel little bastards they are. Style. That's what people remember.” ― Terry Pratchett.
     
  14. Lyssa's Avatar

    Lyssa said:

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    LOL! that's great
    it's not that difficult you see ^^

    as they're so short: take some rest, do my homework ( I know you're diyng to read my newest comentario haha XD ), read many books & I don't know yet exactly what else lol
     
  15. citlalli's Avatar

    citlalli said:

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    Sounds good enough to me You know, we normally get a week free between terms, but there are some non muslim students at school, thus they have designed the schedule so that we finish before Christmas and they can go back home in time... which means that this time we'll only have 3 days off .... the only good thing about it is that it will be around my birthday

    PS. I'm looking forward to reading your next "comentario" XD
    “If cats looked like frogs we'd realize what nasty, cruel little bastards they are. Style. That's what people remember.” ― Terry Pratchett.
     
  16. Lyssa's Avatar

    Lyssa said:

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    ah I see! that's great you can choose your holidays! lol
    the thing is it's just flying away when there is no school! time goes by soo fast! XD
     
  17. justinelove said:

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    i was wondering if you guys can give me a little help with translation...

    danke für alles mausii
    ich liebe diich
    abf x3

    thanks...
     
  18. Steena's Avatar

    Steena said:

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    Hi justinelove, the sentence you stated would be something like "thanks for everything, dear. I love you" "abf" stands for "best friend" among German youths
    होता है जो होना है ... वक़्त ही शायद खुदा है ...
    कौन कहता है आदमी अपनी किस्मत खुद लिखता है?
     
  19. justinelove said:

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    thank you... appreciate it...
     
  20. Steena's Avatar

    Steena said:

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    No problem if you need any more help, just come back.
    होता है जो होना है ... वक़्त ही शायद खुदा है ...
    कौन कहता है आदमी अपनी किस्मत खुद लिखता है?