Whether you are learning German “just because” or because you are planning to visit — or move to — Germany, getting familiar with some of the basics of German language is not only helpful in day-to-day life, but can also enhance your experience in a plethora of ways. In this blog post I’d like to …
100+ Common German Phrases and Expressions to Sound Like a Native SpeakerRead More »
Prepositions are an important part of learning any language. They link two elements of a sentence together. In English, we use prepositions such as on, with, and to very frequently. These little words serve a big purpose in making sentences more meaningful and thoughts more complete. When learning French, prepositions are essential to your fluency. Without …
We’re happy to announce Clozemaster can now be integrated into Beeminder! Beeminder is a great way to keep up motivation and stay committed to your language learning goals, and the folks over at Beeminder have prepared a guest post to tell you all about it. You can also check out our announcement on their blog …
The Holidays are more or less right around the corner — close enough, in fact, to perk up a bit if all of your preparations happen at the last minute like mine usually do (hey, no judgment!). But before going into a tizzy about your Holiday to-do list for this year, let’s take a moment …
“Merry Christmas” in German – Holiday Traditions and GreetingsRead More »
When Elize was learning new vocabulary, I remember that she would always place a notebook with a big list of words in front of her. She was meticulously noting everything down: words from her course book, from the songs she was listening to lately or words she heard me say during our lesson. Despite her …
It’s difficult to communicate much with people in countries such as Portugal and Brazil if you don’t know the words for the days of the week (dias da semana) in Portuguese. Whether you are hoping to meet (encontrar) people, buy tickets (ingressos) for a party or find out what day the of carnival you are …
Whether you’re from the United States, from Poland or from Brazil – celebrating your birthday in your home country surely comes with a variety of different and interesting traditions. Obviously, Germany also has a lot of customs and rituals to celebrate your or someone else’s special day. Some will look quite familiar, and some of …
“Happy Birthday” in German – Wishes, Traditions and TriviaRead More »
Whether you want to tell people about your family constellation or how many pets you own, you most likely won’t be able to accomplish that without using the German verb “haben” (to have). But apart from these situations, the word “haben” is used for so much more: it additionally serves as a “helper verb” for …
A Complete Guide to the Conjugation of the German Verb “Haben”Read More »
Being able to show our appreciation when someone does something for us is important – especially if we’re in a foreign country (um país estrangeiro). It’s important to be polite so that people get the right impression of us, and one of the most important ways to be polite is by knowing how to say …
All the Essential Ways to Say “Thank You” in PortugueseRead More »
“Sein oder Nichtsein, das ist hier die Frage” (To be or not to be, that is the question) — whether you’re into Shakespeare or not, the famous line from Hamlet, written in 1600 (or possibly 1602), is the perfect opener for today’s topic: the conjugation of the German verb “sein”. This will not only come …
Conjugation of the German Verb “Sein”: A Crash CourseRead More »
