German für Dummies

Paulina Christensen, Anne Fox, Wendy Forster

• Publisher: Wiley-VCH
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9783527825004
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: German Language
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

"German für Dummies" bietet einen leichten Einstieg in die deutsche Sprache. Das Buch ist in Englisch geschrieben. Hier lernen Sie alles Wissenswerte zur Grammatik und zur Konjugation der Verben. Mit kleinen Übungen können Sie das Erlernte festigen. Im Mini-Wörterbuch finden Sie die wichtigsten Vokabeln. Und die beiliegende CD mit Dialogbeispielen aus dem richtigen Leben hilft Ihnen, die Aussprache zu erlernen.

Part I

Getting Started

IN THIS PART …

You have to start somewhere, but we bet that you know a lot more German than you think. Don't think so? Then check out Chapter 1. Chapter 2 covers some nuts-and-bolts grammar info that, well, you need to absorb. But don't worry — we make it fun. The other chapters get you up to speed with some basic expressions and vocabulary you can use right away, such as saying hello and goodbye, expressing numbers, time, and measurements, or talking about your family. Jetzt geht's los! (yêtst geyts lohs!) (Here we go!)

Chapter 1

You Already Know a Little German

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Recognizing the German you already know
• Spotting words that aren't what they seem
• Using German idioms

The best way to learn a new language is to jump right in — no pussyfooting around. In this chapter, you get a head start in German by seeing some of the language you're already familiar with. You also find out some popular German expressions, and you get the hang of why you need to be careful with what are called “false friends,” that is, words that seem to be the same in both languages but actually have different meanings.

The German You Know

Because both German and English belong to the group of Germanic languages, quite a few words are either identical or similar in both languages. Words that share a common source are called cognates. Another group of words common to German and English stem from Latin-based words that English speakers are familiar with. Many of these have direct equivalents in German, for example, nouns that end in “-tion.”

Friendly allies (perfect cognates)

The following words are spelled the same way and have the same meaning in German and in English. The only differences are the pronunciation, as shown in parentheses, as well as the fact that in German, nouns are always capitalized. In addition, German nouns have one of three genders, as seen on this list by the words der (masculine), die (feminine), and das (neuter) in front of each noun. See Chapter 2 for details on what gender is all about and go to Chapter 3 for information on the pronunciation key for each word presented in this book. In a few instances, the German and English pronunciation for the word is the same, so you'll see the English word in the pronunciation (followed by the notation “as in English.”)

• der Arm (dêr ârm)
• der Bandit (dêr bân-deet)
• die Bank (dee bânk)
• die Basis (dee bah-zis)
• blind (blint)
• die Butter (dee boot-er)
• digital (di-gi-tâl)
• elegant (êl-ê-gânt)
• die Emotion (dee ê-moh-tsee-ohn)
• emotional (ê-moh-tsee-oh-nahl)
• der Finger (dêr fing-er)
• die Hand (dee hânt)
• das Hotel (dâs hotel [as in English])
• die Inspiration (dee in-spi-râ-tsee-ohn)
• international (in-ter-nâ-tsee-oh-nahl)
• irrational (ir-râ-tsee-oh-nahl)
• legal (ley-gahl)
• liberal (lee-bêr-ahl)
• der Mast (dêr mast)
• die Mine (dee meen-e)
• modern (moh-dêrn)
• der Moment (dêr moh-mênt)
• die Motivation (dee moh-ti-vâ-tsee-ohn)
• das Museum (dâs mooh-zey-oohm)
• der Name (dêr nah-me)
• die Nation (dee nâ-tsee-ohn)
• normal (nor-mahl)
• die Olive (dee oh-lee-ve)
• parallel (pâr-â-leyl)
• das Problem (dâs proh-bleym)
• der...