Projekt: Von A bis Z (X, Y, Z)

Yes, I am cheating to get this project FINISHED!  3 letters at once...

X, Y, Z - today on the blog.

It all started a long time ago (June 2017) with BUCHSTABE A.

If you want to check out A through W, follow the links on the side bar. >>>

Animals:  die Ziege (goat), das Zebra (zebra), der Zugvogel (a migratory bird), das Zugtier (a draft animal), der Yak (yak)

Food:  Zwiebel (onion), Zwiebelkuchen (onion tart), Ziegenkäse (goat cheese), Zander (a type of fish), *Zigeunerschnitzel (schnitzel, gypsy-style), Zimt (cinnamon), Zitrone (lemon)

source - Nadia Hassani

A wonderful web-site called Spoonfuls of German gives a fun narrative about the political incorrectness of the above pictured *Zigeunerschnitzel (pic from that web-site also), which has been on restaurant menus since the Nazis coined the term "Zigeuner"/gypsy for the Balkan population, specifically the Sinti and Roma poeple group.  I guess now we can call it "Schnitzel with pepper sauce and mushrooms."

Names:  Xavier, Xander, Yvette, Yvonne

Cities:  Xanten, Zeil, Zell, Zweibrücken, Zwickau

Christmas Market in Zwickau

Verbs:  zuhören (to listen), zuhauen (to dig in), zünden (to ignite), zappeln (to fidget), zittern (to shiver, to shake)

Words you may recogize:  Xylofon/xylophone (xylophone) - also called Glockenspiel (although a xylophone has wooden bars and a Glockenspiel has metal tubes or bars).  

Ypsilon - the pronunciation of the German letter Y.  

Zugzwang - a chess term; also means "a tight spot"

Zeitgeist - literally "time spirit" - means spirit of the age

**VOCAB TIDBIT**:  

X-malig is sort of a word  that starts with X --- it literally means "x-times".  This word is used when you have done something infinity times, over and over, umpteen times ... same goes for the term x-fach.

A BONUS CATEGORY - ONE OF MY FAVORITE CANDY BARS:  Yogurette

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And now this project is zu Ende!  (through, brought to a close, Finished!)

Projekt: Von A bis Z (W)

4 more letters to go to complete this Projekt!

Today all things "W" auf Deutsch ...

Animals:  der Wolf (wolf), der Wurm (worm), das Walross (walrus), der Wal (whale), das Welpen (puppy)

Food:  Weisskohl / Weisskraut (cabbage or "white" cabbage), Wirsingkohl (savoy cabbage), die Wurst (sausage), Wienerschnitzel (breaded pork/veal, Vienna-style), Wassermelone (watermelon)

Names:  Wolfgang, Wilhelm, Wilhelmine, Walter, Waltraut, Werner, Wilfried/ Wilfrid

Cities:  Weimar, Würzburg, Wittenberg, Wilhelmshaven, Wiesbaden

MEMORY LANE -
My husband and I lived in Würzburg, Germany from January 1996 until January 1999; my son and I returned in March of 2013 to see where he was born and spent the first 3 months of his life.

^ January 1996 - our first week in Würzburg, entering the "gate" to the Residenz

Looking down on the Main River & city of Würzburg from the Fortress (Festung)

My son at the Residenz, March 2013

My son at what used to be the Army Community Hospital, where he was born - now turned into apartments, after the US Army post closed.

Verbs:  wandern (to wander, to hike), wundern (to wonder), warten (to wait), wetten (to bet)

Words you may recognize:  Wagen (wagon), Waffe (weapon, also Luftwaffe = Air Force)

Companies/brands:  Wella (hair care products), Wüsthof (cutlery), Warsteiner (brewery)

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Projekt: Von A bis Z (V)

Nearing the end - 5 more letters / posts to go!  Today I am blogging all things "V" (pronounced "pfou" auf Deutsch, but in words, usually makes the sound "fé" - as in Volkswagen) that I can think of for the categories below.  Add some words if you think of them!




Animals:  Vogel (bird), Vieh (cattle, livestock)

Common Names:  Verena, Volker

Cities:  Vilseck (the US Army has a post here, Rose Barracks), Vechta in Lower Saxony (my mother was born here)

Foods:  Vollmilch (whole milk)

verbs:  verlieren (to lose), vergeben (to forgive)

Words you may recognize:  Violet (violet - the color), Vase (in this case, the V is pronounced "ve"),  Volk (the people), Vater (father)

German Companies/Brands:  Volkswagen (vehicles), Villeroy & Boch (ceramics)

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Projekt: Von A bis Z (U)

In June, I began this Projekt A bis Z ... and finally, 5 months later, I am winding it down.  We are on Buchstabe "U". 
  




Animals:  der Uhu (eagle-owl)

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Common Names:  Ute, Ursula, Ulrike, Ulbrecht, Uschi, Uwe

Cities:  Urbach, Ulm

Ulm

the Ulm minster (cathedral) is the tallest church in Germany (768 steps lead to the top!)

***** German Tongue Twister - Zungenbrecher ******

In Ulm, um Ulm, und um Ulm herum wachsen viele Ulmen.

Translation:  In Ulm, around Ulm, and all around Ulm (the city) grew many Ulm (elm) trees. 

******************************************  

Foods:  Underberg (an herbal liquor, used as a digestive, first distilled in 1846)

Verbs:  untersuchen (to inspect), unternehmen (to undertake), 

Words you may recognize:  U-boot (stands for "Unterseeboot" - undersea boat - a submarine)

German companies/brands:  Uhu (adhesive products) - their motto is "der Alleskeber" (the everything-adhesive)

Projekt: Von A bis Z (T)

After a month's pause, I am ready to conquer this Projekt - A bis Z.  Hopefully interrupted with a few holiday posts ... but here we go again:  Der Buchstabe "T"



This is a brainstorm of all things "T" auf Deutsch that I can think of ... feel free to add your own vocabulary.

Animals:  der Tiger (tiger), die Taube (pigeon), der Tausendfüsser (literally "thousand feeter" - centipede), der Tintenfisch (literally "ink fish" - octopus)

Food:  der Tee (tea), die Torte (the cake/tart), der Tunfisch (tuna fish)

Common Names:  Tanja, Thomas, Thorsten (Torsten), Theodor, Theodora

Cities:  Trier, Triberg (in the Black Forest)

Triberg

Verbs:  trinken (to drink), trauern (to mourn), träumen (to dream), tanzen (to dance)

Words you may recognize:  der Traktor (tractor), die Tante (aunt)

German companies/brands:  Tchibo (retail, coffee) <<< a favorite of my Oma's!; T-mobile (telecommunications)

Projekt: Von A bis Z (S)

I am still determined to blog all the way through the alphabet AUF DEUTSCH - Just a few letters to go, and today it is "S" - an easy one!  :)   Can you think of any other words to add?



Animals:  die Schlange (the snake), das Schaf (the sheep), die Schnecke (the snail), die Schildkröte (the turtle), das Schwein (the pig), *Stachelschwein (porcupine)

VOCAB TIDBIT:
*Stachel+schwein - literally means "thorn" or quilled pig

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Food:  Schnitzel (veal or pork cutlet), Schinken (ham), Suppe (soup), Spätzle (German noodles), Spargel (asparagus), Sauerbraten (roast),  **Stachelbeere (gooseberry)

VOCAB TIDBIT:
*Stachel+beere - literally means "thorn" berry

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Common Names:  Stephanie, Stefanie, Stefan, Susanne, Sabine, Sascha, Simone, Simon, Siegfried, Siegrid, Sieglinde, Sebastian, Seppl or Seppel (nickname for Joseph)

Cities:  Siegen, Selingenstadt, Stuttgart, Saarbrücken

Verbs:  singen (to sing), suchen (to seek), studieren (to study), schenken (to give - a gift)

Words you might recognize:  Sieg!  (Victory!), Schule (school), Sohn (son), Samstag & Sontag (Saturday & Sunday), Sauerkraut

German companies/brands:  Siemens (electronics), SIG Sauer (firearms), Schwarzkopf (cosmetics, hair products), Stihl (tools), Storck (candy), Spiegel (media)

Projekt: Von A bis Z (R)

Finally!  An easier letter to blog about!!  I am continuing my posts to blog through the alphabet "auf Deutsch".

Today I am brainstorming through all things "R":




Foods:  Rotkohl (red cabbage), Rosenkohl (brussel sprouts - literally rose cabbage), Radieschen (radishes), Rindfleisch (beef)

VOCAB TIDBIT:
Blumenkohl (literally flower cabbage) is cauliflower.   Kohlrabi is the same in German and English.  Just some cabbage trivia!

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Animals:  die Ratte (rat), der Rabe (the raven)

Common Names:  Renate, Reinhart, Reiner, Ralf, Regina,

Cities:  Regensburg, Ravensburg

Ravensburg

Words you might recognize:  der Ring (the ring), Reis (rice)

Verbs:  riechen (to smell); reichen (to reach), rauchen (to smoke), reiben (to rub)

German brands/companies:  REWE (retail, grocery), Ravensburger (toys, games, puzzles)

From the Ravensburger website:

The perfect fit with Ravensburger Puzzles

Since 1891 we've been making the world's finest puzzles in Ravensburg, Germany. Our attention to detail has made Ravensburger the world's greatest puzzle brand! We use an exclusively developed, extra-thick cardboard combined with our fine, linen-structured paper to create a glare-free puzzle image for a quality you can see and feel. Our steel cutting tools are designed and crafted by hand. This ensures that no two pieces are alike and guarantees a perfect interlocking fit. Enjoy Ravensburger quality with this family-friendly activity today!

Projekt: Von A bis Z (Q)

I have been dreading this one:  blogging all things German with the letter Q.....  It is not a commonly used letter auf Deutsch.

Foods:  Quark (a yogurt/cottage cheese style soft dairy product, which is finally reaching the United States); Quitte (Quince fruit - which is a pear-apple type fruit)

Animals:  Qualle (jellyfish)

Common Names:  NONE that I could find

Cities:  Quackenbrück, Querfurt, Quierscheid

Words you might recognize:  none that I can think of!

Verbs: *quetschen (to squeeze); quietschen (to squeek)

German companies/brands:  Quelle (a catalog retailer)

VOCAB TIDBIT
An accordion is sometimes called a "squeeze box" in English.  In German, it is called a Quetschenkommode  (a Kommode is a piece of furniture like a wardrobe).  It is also called a Akkordeon and a Ziehharmonika (ziehen is the verb "to pull" and harmonika is harmonica.)

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Projekt: Von A bis Z (P)

Blogging through the alphabet - AUF DEUTSCH

Letter of the day:  P

FOODS:  *Pfirsich (peach); *Pfannekuchen (pancake); *Pflaume (plum); Pute (turkey); Plätzchen (cookie)

ANIMALS:  der Pinguin (penguin); das *Pferd (horse)

COMMON NAMES:  Peter, Petra, Paul, Pauline, Phillip

CITIES:  Passau, Pegnitz, Pressath, Potsdam

Schloss (castle) Sanssouci - in Potsdam, a city bordering Berlin

WORDS YOU MIGHT RECOGNIZE:  der Pirat (pirate); die Polizei (police); der Poltergeist

VERBS:  plaudern (to chat); packen (to pack); *pflanzen (to plant); putzen (to clean)

GERMAN BRANDS/COMPANIES:  Porsche (vehicles), Puma (athletic wear)

VOCAB TIDBIT: ***********
The German sound "*PF" is used in a lot of words, as evidenced above - here are some more - Pfund (pound), Pfennig (penny), Pfeil (arrow), as well as IN words such as TroPFen (drop) and KoPF (head).

Although the German 'pf' sound is written as two letters, it should be articulated as one single sound. It is called an affricate, which means that is made up of an quick explosion at the start of the sound's articulation - the 'p' stage -, immediately followed by a slow fricative closure - the 'f' stage.

Projekt: Von A bis Z (O)

Moving along w/ blogging through the Alphabet AUF DEUTSCH - Heute/today "O":




FOODS:  die Orange (the orange), das Obst (the fruit), die Obsttorte (the fruit tort); Oblaten (a wafer specialty eaten alone or used with gingerbread)

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ANIMALS:  das Orangutan (the orangatan) - pronounced "Or-ang-ooo-tan" auf Deutsch; das Ochse (the ox)

COMMON NAMES:  Otto, Oliver, Olivia

CITIES:   Offenbach, Oberammergau, Osnabrück

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Oberammergau is a lovely town in Southern Germany, home of a famous Passion Play, first performed in 1634.  It is now only performed every 10 years - the next performance is in 2020.

WORDS YOU MAY RECOGNIZE:  der Omnibus (omni-bus), der Ofen (the oven), Ostern (Easter)

VERBS:  opfern (to offer); operieren (to operate); öffnen (to open)

COMMON BRANDS/COMPANIES:  Oetker (food/baking), Opel (automobiles - owned by GM)

Projekt: Von A bis Z (N)

I haven't given up ... I am going to finish blogging through the alphabet AUF DEUTSCH!
Can you think of any words to add?

Today's letter is "N".   Follow the links to the other letters from the sidebar >>>.



FOODS:  Nuss (nut), Nudeln (noodles)

ANIMALS:  *Nagetier (rodent), **Nashorn (rhinoceros), ***Nilpferd (hippopotamus)

VOCAB TIDBITS:
*Nagetier literally mean gnawing animal.  A perfect way to describe a rodent who chews its way through wood, cloth, wiring, and just about anything to find material for nesting.

**Nashorn literally means nose-horn, which makes perfect sense for describing a rhino.  (Nas' is short for Nase = nose)

***Nilpferd literally means Nile-horse since this species is known to graze along the banks of Egypt's Nile River.  Another word for hippo in German is "Flusspferd" which means river horse.

COMMON NAMES:  Norbert, Nikolas, Nicola,

CITIES:  Nürnberg (Englsih spelling:  Nuremberg), Neu-Isenburg, Neustadt, Nördlingen

Nürnberg's Imperial Castle

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Words you may recognize:  der Name (the name), die Nase (the nose), das Nest (the nest)

verbs:  nehmen (to take), naschen (to snack)

German brands/companies:  NORMA (discount store)

Projekt: Von A bis Z (M)

14 more letters to go!  Today's letter is M.  All things M - blogged without a lot of editing - just words and cities and companies.  Can you think of any more to add?




Foods:  Mais (corn), Milch (milk), Melone (melon), Mandel (almond)

Animals:  die Maus (the mouse); das Murmeltier (the ground hog); der *Maulwurf (the mole)

*Maulwurf -- VOCAB TIDBIT:
Maul is the word used for an animal's mouth (as opposed to Mund, which is a human's mouth).  The verb werfen means "to throw" ... wurf is a shortened form of its present participle.  So the Maulwurf kind of means "mouth-throw" ... in other words a mole uses his mouth (nose - along with its paws) to throw (dirt) and tunnel.  

Common Names:  Maria, Marianne, Maximillian, Michael, Meike, Marta, Margarethe, Marga, Margret, Marion, Margot, Martin

Cities:  Mainz, Meersburg, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Michelstadt

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The "famous" city hall of Michelstadt in the Odenwald

Words you may recognize:  die Maschine (the machine), die Mayonnaise (the mayonaise), der Moment (the moment), das Museum (the museum)

verbs:  mieten (to rent), müssen (to have to; must), machen (to make), mahlen (to draw), **mamphen (to munch)

German brands/companies:  Mercedes (automobiles), Meissen (porcelain), Merck (pharmaceuticals), Miele (appliances), Montblanc (pens and luxury goods)

Tongue Twister with M: 
Mama mag morgens meistens Milch mit Marmelade **mampfen.

(Mommy likes in the morning mostly to munch on milk with marmalade)