Viewing 31 posts - 1 through 31 (of 31 total)
  • German
  • molgrips
    Free Member

    Why do I find German loads harder than French?

    Word order seems baffling currently.

    deadlydarcy
    Free Member

    It’s the capitalisation of all nouns that gets me. Though, I suppose that’s just a rule you have to learn. Perhaps it’s just a bit harder when you’re older ❓

    schnullelieber
    Free Member

    verstehe was meinst Ich du ja,

    Or something.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Noun capitalisation helps when trying to pick sentences apart with a dictionary..

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Es ist sehr schwer.

    BigJohn
    Full Member

    Because it doesn’t come from the same Latin roots.

    Michel Thomas is my favourite language teacher – treat yourself to a set of his cds off Amazon.

    But expect Germans (like Spaniards) to puzzle why all these Brits are speaking fairly well – but with a Polish accent

    crispo
    Free Member

    Du geile sau, from one of my favourite german songs!

    RoterStern
    Free Member

    German compund nouns are the worse.For example;
    Donau­dampfschiffahrts­elektrizitäten­haupt­betriebs­werkbau­unterbeamten­gesellschaft

    SaxonRider
    Full Member

    It’s the fact that pronouns decline that always throws me. But then German is a right laugh compared to Ukrainian.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Because it doesn’t come from the same Latin roots.

    Nor does my native language!

    Hairychested
    Free Member

    molgrips, your native language smells of petrol and German is beer fueled.
    [video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFA-rOls8YA[/video]

    mancjon
    Free Member

    Why do I find German loads harder than French?

    Yep, i did both at school and the word order in a sentence in German is just not what we are used to ie. shoving all the verbs to the end of the sentence.

    Not surprisingly failed German o’level and never looked back !

    jimmy
    Full Member

    Noun capitalisation helps when trying to pick sentences apart with a dictionary

    It also helped me understand what a noun actually was. When I was university. Studying German. Which has been of zero use since.

    Wieso lernst du jetzt Deutsch? Man kann was nuetzliches lernen, order? Sicher.

    MrsToast
    Free Member

    Ich bin eine Wellensittich.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Jimmy. Ich bin in Deutschland leben jetzt seit sechs Monaten.

    cranberry
    Free Member

    “Seit sechs Monaten wohne Ich in Deutschland”, no ?

    molgrips
    Free Member

    See? That’s exactly what I am bloody well talking about!

    pistonbroke
    Free Member

    Leben means live in the sense of being alive whereas wohnen means to live as in live in a house. I think the main problem is that English uses so many words which are spelt the same but mean different things. Also in reverse, trying to translate your sentance back into English is the reason why many Germans would say I have been living in Germany since six months. Hope that helps.

    alpinegirl
    Free Member

    I found it harder than French initially but after a few months found it a lot easier – especially the pronounciation. Be thankful you’re in the south where they’re a lot less fussy about the grammar/pronounciation than the north where they speak “proper” Hochdeutsch. I’ve learnt the local Tirolian dialect here and can barely communicate when I’m north of Bavaria.

    Of all the courses/books I used, this book helped me the most with understanding the German grammar:
    Harrap’s German grammar

    br
    Free Member

    tbh I’ve always found that Germans understand me even though I have the words in the wrong order, no different to someone doing the same in English.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Leben means live in the sense of being alive whereas wohnen means to live as in live in a house

    Thanks 🙂

    I think the main problem is that English uses so many words which are spelt the same but mean different things

    That doesn’t really bother me actually. It’s fairly easy to get your head round. Connaitre and savoire, gwybod and nabod in Welsh I think all mean ‘know’ in different senses.

    It’s the word order and the unfamiliarity. I suppose I’ve been exposed to French much more over my life.

    cranberry
    Free Member

    if in doubt, the verb at the end of the sentence stick.

    Also capitalise Fifty percent Of the Words.

    scaredypants
    Full Member

    umlauts to that !

    after me,
    ich mich mir mein,
    du dich …

    Edit: and “auzgezeichnet” – best word ever

    ebygomm
    Free Member

    I thought German was easier than French, but then I was still a youngster when I was learning both. Maybe it’s an age thing?

    Danish is still a complete mystery to me, whether this is age or the language I’ve no idea.

    john_drummer
    Free Member

    IIRC from O-level German – I got a B but it was 30 years ago – the verb is usually the second word in the sentence UNLESS it’s a question OR there’s something at the beginning of the sentence that otherwise modifies it, such as “if” or “when” (both “wenn” IIRC – remember, 30 years) in which case at the end it goes.

    alpin
    Free Member

    Ich bin froh, dass ich nur einmal in meinem Leben deutsch lernen muss. Ätzende Sprache.

    jimmy
    Full Member

    durch fuer gegen ohne um

    aus ausser bei mit seit nach von zu

    Tattoo those lines on your eyelids.

    chickenman
    Full Member

    Jimmy, I think germans will forgive the wrong use of Dative and Accusitive declensions of prepositions in a non native speaker. I lived in Germany for 2 years and found you could make a sound that (if in doubt) could encompass either den, der, des or dem.
    It’s when you try puns in German with 2 very similar words that it gets amusing: You’ll just get your pronounciation corrected! Although a German did once say to me: “Alle Schotton dicht!” which could either mean “All bulkheads are sealed!” or “All Scots are stupid!”. Dude was deff a comic genius (by german standards, of course)..

    Junkyard
    Free Member

    Die Antibabypille

    never forgotten that one

    stumpy01
    Full Member

    Just don’t go around in the winter saying “Ich bin kalt” or the summer saying “Ich bin heiss” (like I did).

    You should say “Mir ist heiss/kalt” – “to me it is hot/cold”.

    If you say “Ich bin…” it means you are frigid or randy.

    clubber
    Free Member

    same in French incidentally, stumpy.. je suis froid, j’ai froid

Viewing 31 posts - 1 through 31 (of 31 total)

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