 Glossary |
| schönen guten Tag |
a very good day to you |
| kurz |
briefly |
| der Augenblick (-e) |
This is another word for a "moment". We would translate it here as "One moment". |
| ich verbinde Sie |
I'll connect you; I'll put you through |
| hallo! |
The informal greeting is used because the two colleagues are on "du"
terms with each other. |
| die Sophie |
Using the definite article is common in colloquial spoken German when asking or giving your name. It simply means "It's Sophie here". |
| geht's dir gut? |
Are you well?; how are things? |
| es geht so |
things are OK |
| folgende(r) |
"the following". Unlike English, the definite article is usually omitted. It takes "strong" adjective endings when not preceded by a definite article. |
| der Vorschlag (pl. - Vorschläge) |
suggestion |
| am Sonnabend |
As Sophie comes from Berlin, she uses the North German word for Saturday. |
| Oktober |
October |
| am Sonnabend, dem elften Oktober |
"On Saturday, the eleventh of October". The reason why "the eleventh of October" is in the dative case will be explained in the following sections. |
| das Konzert (-e) |
concert |
| das Händelkonzert (-e) |
A concert featuring the works of Georg Friedrich Händel. Note the umlaut in his surname - it is invariably omitted in English! |
| das Schloss |
A "castle", "palace" or "stately home". It is also the word for a "lock". |
| Schloss Charlottenburg |
The pleasure mansion or "palace" of Queen Sophie-Charlotte, built in Berlin in 1695. Click here for an introduction to the mansion and its gardens. |
| hören |
to hear, listen to |
| Händel höre ich gern |
"I like listening to Händel". Unlike in English, the object of a German sentence can be placed at the start of a clause or sentence. |
| bestimmt |
certainly; definitely |
| sehenswert |
worth seeing |
| ins Konzert gehen |
to go to the concert |
| allein |
alone; on one's own |
| mitkommen |
This is a separable verb meaning "to come with someone". Unlike in English you do not need to supply a noun or pronoun in German to indicate the person being accompanied. Thus "Ich komme mit" means "I'm coming with you (her/him etc.)". |
| na klar |
"Of course!" You would only use this in conversation amongst friends. A word such as "natürlich" should be used in more formal circumstances. |
| ich komme gerne mit |
I'd be happy to come. |
| toll |
great; excellent |
| die Idee (-n) |
idea |
| die Karte (-n) |
ticket |
| besorgen |
This means "to get". The thing which you are getting (here: "die Karte") is in the accusative case; the person for whom you are getting it (here: "dir") is in the dative case. |
| liegen |
Literally: "to lie". You would use it in this context to say where buildings "are situated". |
der Damm
(pl. - Dämme) |
Normally the word for a "dam" or a "dyke", you will also find it (as here) in names of roads - such as Berlin's most famous street the "Kurfürstendamm". "Spandauer Damm" equates to "Spandau Road". Click here to locate Spandauer Damm on a map of Berlin. |
| hinter |
This is the preposition meaning "behind". It takes the dative case when you are referring to position, and the accusative case when movement in involved. |
| das Museum (pl. - Museen) |
This means "museum". Note the unusual plural. |
| ägyptisch |
Egyptian |
| das Ägyptische Museum |
The Egyptian Museum in Berlin contains one of the most important collections of Egyptian culture, inlcuding works of art from the time of King Echnaton of Tell el-Amarna. Click
here to visit a web-site devoted to the museum. In German only. |
| gegenüber |
This is a preposition meaning "opposite". It always takes the dative case. |
| die Sammlung (-en) |
collection |
| Sammlung Berggruen |
The Berggruen Collection is a private art collection in Berlin containing works of art from the classical modernist period. You can see works by Picasso, Braque, Klee, Laurens and Giacometti here. Click here for more information. |
| oder? |
isn't it?; right? |
| kann sein |
"Could be". Note the use of the modal verb. |
| sich treffen |
"to meet". This is a reflexive verb (see Chapter 10). |
| wo wollen wir uns treffen? |
"Where shall we meet?". This is a set phrase where the modal verb wollen has the sense of implying a future action. |
| vor |
This is the preposition meaning "in front of". It takes the dative case when you are referring to position, and the accusative case when movement is involved. |
| Sophie-Charlotte-Platz |
"Sophie-Charlotte Square". Charlottenburg Palace was Queen Sophie-Charlotte's
pleasure mansion. Click here to locate the underground station at Sophie-Charlotte-Platz on a map of Berlin. |
der Eingang
(pl. - Eingänge) |
entrance |
| am Schlosseingang |
This means "at the entrance to the Palace". German makes a single compound noun out of this concept. |
| sagen wir... |
Shall we say...? |
| abgemacht! |
"Agreed!; done!" The verb "abmachen" is a separable verb meaning "to agree". |
| die Disko (-s) |
"disco". You might also see "die Disco" or "die Diskothek". |
| wollen wir... in die Disko gehen? |
Shall we go to the disco? |
| ach nein |
Oh, no!; no, no! |
| dazu habe ich keine Lust |
I don't feel like doing that; I don't want to do that. |
| tanzen |
This means "to dance". "To go dancing" is thus "tanzen gehen". |
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