Posts in May 2009

Feminine Nouns Continued

Posted by Yohann
May
15
2009

This is part 2 of the feminine noun post. Sometimes, loan words that come from English are used in German. Take a look at some of these foreign word endings:

-isse : die Hornisse (hornet)

-ive : die Initiative (initiative)

-ette : die Serviette (napkin)

-ade : die Parade (parade)

Now here are some groupings of nouns that classifies these nouns as feminine nouns:

1) The names of ships and motorbikes : die Titanic (Titanic)

2) Numbers : die Eins (one)

3) Flowers and Trees : die Rose (rose)

4) German rivers : die Donau (Danube)

Now here are some exceptions:

1) although das Auge (eye) ends in an “e”, it’s not a feminine noun

2) although das Sofa (sofa) ends in “a”, it’s not a feminine noun

3) although der Nomade (nomad) ends in “ade”, it’s not a feminine noun

4) although der Urin (urine) ends in “in”, it’s not a feminine noun (note: words that end in “in” that do not pertain to people may not always be feminine nouns)

5) although das Ei (egg) has an “ei”, it’s not a feminine noun

6) although das Genie (genius) ends in an “ie”, it’s not a feminine noun

7) although der Rhein (Rhine) is a German river, it’s not feminine

 
Posted under Language
Tagged with 		0 Comments | Post a Comment

Feminine Nouns

Posted by Yohann
May
12
2009

Of course the best way is to memorize the “die” as a part of the word. However, there may be cases where you just might not be sure. Here are some noun endings that may indicate that the noun is feminine. I just want to clarify that this isn’t 100% true in all cases, but it’s a good guideline.

-heit : die Freiheit (freedom)

-keit : die Müdigkeit (tiredness)

-tät : die Universität (university)

-ung : die Zeitung (newspaper)

-schaft : die Erbschaft (inheritance)

-ie : die Geographie (geography)

-ik : die Musik (music)

-ei : die Wäscherei (laundry)

-enz : die Frequenz (frequency)

-anz : die Toleranz (tolerance)

-ion : die Kommunikation (communication)

-a : die Pizza (pizza)

-e : die Seuche (epidemic)

-ur : die Konjunktur (economic trend)

-in : die Studentin (student) The “in” is a common feminine noun ending. It indicates female people, occupations and nationalities.

 
Posted under Language
Tagged with 		2 Comments | Post a Comment

New Version of Byki German App for iPhone - Now you can learn List Central lists on the go!

Posted by margie
May
12
2009

New Byki for iPhone v.1.1Byki has already received praise for its slick integration with the iPhone… and with the v1.1 update, the Byki German App for iPhone and iPod Touch just got a whole lot better! This new version is still only $7.99, and includes the original Byki App’s pre-loaded content of approximately 1,000 German words and phrases. But, it adds a whole new dimension by linking to List Central on Byki.com.

You can now have the power to access and download your favorite German vocabulary lists from the List Central community, including hundreds of textbook lists and lists created by other users. The best part is that users who own Byki Deluxe can now use their Byki German iPhone App to study lists that they create themselves!

With the new version of Byki German for iPhone, your learning can now be customized to your interests when you use it in conjunction with Byki.com. Whether you choose lists from the community or lists that you have created yourself with Byki Deluxe, you can now learn them on the go, wherever and whenever you have five minutes to fit in some language learning!

Try it out, and if you like it, leave a comment on the iTunes store and let the rest of the world know how Byki German helps you with your language learning.

Visit Byki German on the Transparent Language (our parent company) Apple App Store

 
Posted under Language
Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , 		0 Comments | Post a Comment

Masculine Nouns

Posted by Yohann
May
9
2009

Every German noun is either masculine, feminine, or neuter. It’s easy to figure out a German noun just by looking at it, because all German nouns are capitalized. Sometimes, it’s obvious as to whether a noun is feminine, masculine or neuter. Take for example, (der Vater) father. Other times there are no logical connections between the gender of the noun and its meaning (das Mädchen) girl.

Sometimes, the endings of a noun can help you determine whether a noun is masculine, feminine, or neuter. This isn’t 100% reliable, but it may be a good place to start; especially if you have absolutely no clue about the gender of a noun. Today we’re just going to look at masculine nouns. You’ll see “der” before the noun. The “der” means “the” in English. Der is a bestimmter Artikel or a definite article.

Nouns ending in -or : Ex: (der Motor) engine

-ismus : (der Kommunismus) communism

-ling : (der Liebling) darling

-ner : (der Schaffner) conductor (as in a train conductor)

-ich : (der Teppich) carpet

-ig : (der Honig) honey

-ast : (der Palast) palace

-ant (der Konsonant) consonant

There are also groups of nouns that can help you determine whether a noun is masculine:

Dates, Months, Seasons : Ex: (der August) August

Names of Cars : (der Mercedes) Mercedes

Compass Directions : (der Süd) south

Precipitation : (der Regen) rain

Drinks : (der Schnaps) Schnaps

Occupations : (der Student) student

Nationality : (der Deutsche) German person

Once again, this grouping isn’t 100% reliable, but it can serve as a general guideline.

 
Posted under Language
Tagged with 		0 Comments | Post a Comment

Der 1. Mai

Posted by Yohann
May
6
2009

Eine Tradition die in vielen Teilen Deutschlands ist der Maibaum (A tradition that is wide spread in many parts of Germany is the May tree). Sometimes the May trees have streamers attached to the branches. Im Rheinland stellen junge Männer einen Maibaum unter das Fenster ihrer Angebeteten (In the Rhineland young men erect a May tree under the window of their loved one.) In Schaltjahren kehrt sich dieser Brauch um. Dann müssen die jungen Frauen Maibäume aufstellen. (In leap years the custom reverses. The young women are supposed to erect May trees.)

Walpurgisnacht or Walpurgis Night is a pagan tradition. Reminds of Goeth’s poem in Faust: „Die Hexen zu dem Brocken ziehn…“ (”To the Brocken the witches ride…”) Walpurgisnacht is the day before May 1st. Teenagers today party into the early hours of the morning, especially on Brocken mountain. They like to tell ghost stories and scare each other with the Brocken spectre phenomenon. A Brocken spectre is a shadow of a person that creates an image of a ghost-like figure. When the moonlight hits a certain angle, a human form can look like a ghost.

Auf die Frage „Was ist für Dich typisch deutsch?“ (To the question, “What is typical of a German?”) Bier und Wurst sind typisch deutsch. (Beer and sausage are typically German). Beer and sausages are a good way to end the May 1st holiday. Guten appetit! (‘bon appétit!)

 
Posted under Culture
Tagged with , 		2 Comments | Post a Comment