"What is the Difference"

“Verschieden vs. anders”, “wenn vs. falls”, “kennen vs wissen” – these and other pairs make almost every learner at some point wonder “What the hell is the difference.”
This category collects them all.

In this episode:

A thorough look at the meanings of "allerdings" why you can use it to express contradiction AND agreement. Yeah, I know... German :)

Vocabulary:

no vocab snippet (yet)

In this episode:

A fun look at the meanings and uses of the German word "als" (time, comparison, that third thing). Complete with audio examples and lots and lots of horses :)

Vocabulary:

no vocab snippet (yet)

In this episode:

A fun look at the meanings of "anhalten", and why one word can be about stopping and continuing at the same time. Also: the difference to aufhören.

Vocabulary:

no vocab snippet (yet)

In this episode:

A thorough look at the meaning of "ansehen" and how to use it for looking at things, watching movies and reputation.

Vocabulary:

ansehen, sich ansehen, das Ansehen, ansehnlich, die Ansicht

In this episode:

The difference between "antworten" and "beantworten" is: grammar. Hooray! Today, we'll find out when to use which. Including a little quiz for you.

Vocabulary:

antworten, beantworten, die Antwort

In this episode:

"aufheben" means "to pick up". But it has a second really useful meaning. And a third meaning. This word is definitely a keeper (hint, hint).

Vocabulary:

no vocab snippet (yet)

In this episode:

Today, we'll learn the difference between "aufwachen" and "(auf)wecken" and see when to use which. Special guest: "erwachen"

Vocabulary:

aufwachen, aufwecken, erwachen, wachen, die Wache

In this episode:

A fun look at the various meanings of "ausgehen" and what party night has to do with assumptions. Also: what's up with "rausgehen".

Vocabulary:

no vocab snippet (yet)

In this episode:

A fun look at the meaning of "ausser" and how to use it. Special guests: "bis auf", "ausserdem" and dumb jokes.

Vocabulary:

no vocab snippet (yet)

In this episode:

An enlightening look at the German non-separable verb prefix "be-". We'll find out how it modifies a verb and talk about the most common be-verbs.

Vocabulary:

bestellen, bekommen, sich benehmen, behalten, begreifen, anbehalten, beneiden, vorbereiten, beeindrucken

In this episode:

A thorough, sometimes silly look at the meaning of "bringen" and its various prefix verbs.

Vocabulary:

bringen, beibringen, anbringen, verbringen, umbringen,

In this episode:

A fun look at the structural difference between "das" and "dass" and a quick, easy hack on how to know when to use which.

Vocabulary:

no vocab snippet (yet)

In this episode:

A fun look at the meaning of 'denn', the difference between 'denn' and 'weil' and the real reason why Germans love adding 'denn' to questions.

Vocabulary:

no vocab snippet (yet)

In this episode:

A fun look at the meaning of "die Erfahrung" and if really has something to do with "fahren" (to drive). Also: the difference between erfahren and erleben.

Vocabulary:

die Erfahrung, erfahren (verb), erfahren (adjective), erleben, das Erlebnis

In this episode:

'Only' has three translations in German - nur, erst and einzig-. Today, we'll explore what the differences are between them and see when to use which one.

Vocabulary:

no vocab snippet (yet)

In this episode:

"falls" and "wenn" can both mean "if" in German. Today, we'll find out if there is a difference between the two and how to use "falls" properly.

Vocabulary:

no vocab snippet (yet)

In this episode:

We'll learn about the core meaning of the verb "freuen" and find out how and when to use "sich freuen auf" and "sich freuen über" with lots of examples.

Vocabulary:

freuen, sich freuen über, sich freuen auf

In this episode:

"fühlen" means "to feel". But there's also "sich fühlen" and "sich anfühlen" and all three have distinct meanings. Today, we'll learn how to use them properly.

Vocabulary:

fühlen, sich fühlen, das Gefühl, spüren, sich anfühlen

In this episode:

A fun look at the meanings of "ganz", its super common use as intensifier, a really random twist. And my toilet paper situation #notgood

Vocabulary:

no vocab snippet (yet)

In this episode:

A fun look at the meaning of "umgehen" and what "walking around" has to do with "handling". And also a look at the combo "gehen um" and why it's super useful.

Vocabulary:

gehen um, umgehen

In this episode:

A fun look at the difference between "hinter" and "hinten" and a broader look at some basic principles of talking about location in German.

Vocabulary:

no vocab snippet (yet)

In this episode:

"irgend-" is the German word for "some". So it seems. But it's not that simple. Today, we'll explore irgendwo, irgendwas, irgendwen and so on.

Vocabulary:

irgendein, irgendwas, irgendwo, irgendwann, irgendwie

In this episode:

A fun look at the meaning of "lenken", the difference to "steuern" and how that relates to the German word for "to distract".

Vocabulary:

lenken, der Lenker, ablenken, das Gelenk, das Lenkrad

In this episode:

"merken" can mean "to notice" and "to remember". But not always. Today, we'll find out when and why and we'll talk about the difference to "bemerken".

Vocabulary:

merken, sich merken, bemerken, merkwürdig, anmerken, das Merkmal

In this episode:

wenigstens, mindestens, zumindest - they all mean "at least" but they're not the same. Today, we'll learn what the differences are and how to use them.

Vocabulary:

no vocab snippet (yet)

In this episode:

German has three options for "to like" - mögen, gern and gefallen. Today, we'll find out what the differences are and when to use which one.

Vocabulary:

no vocab snippet (yet)

In this episode:

A quick look at the meaning of "ob", a quick hack to know if it's a translation for "if" and a longer analysis, for nerds :)

Vocabulary:

no vocab snippet (yet)

In this episode:

A fun look at the meaning of "paar" and it's brother with a captital P and how to use them as translations for "pair" and "couple". Oh and "few".

Vocabulary:

paar, das Paar, das Pärchen, Pärchenabend

In this episode:

We'll learn about "raten" and why it is guessing and giving advice at the same time. Also: lots of really useful prefix versions and other nice words.

Vocabulary:

raten, der Rat, beraten, verraten, erraten, das Rätsel

In this episode:

A thorough look at the meaning and grammar of "reichen" and what "handing" has to do with "being enough" and "areas".

Vocabulary:

reichen, ausreichen, erreichen, der Bereich, hinreichend, ausreichend

In this episode:

A fun look at the origin and meaning of "ruhig" and why the sentence "Sei ruhig laut." actually makes sense. Also: die Ruhe and German for "Leave me alone!"

Vocabulary:

ruhig, die Ruhe, still, leise

In this episode:

Schatz means treasure. Schätzen means to estimate. Today, we'll find out why and go over the various useful prefix verbs of "schätzen".

Vocabulary:

schätzen, der Schatz, sich verschätzen, schätzungsweise, überschätzen, einschätzen, unterschätzen,

In this episode:

"sondern" and "aber" are both translations for "but". Today, we'll learn, what idea "sondern" expresses and what the difference is to "aber".

Vocabulary:

no vocab snippet (yet)

In this episode:

We'll look at the meaning of "stimmen" and what "voice" has to do with being right and voting. And the meaning of the idiomatic German "stimmt".

Vocabulary:

die Stimme, stimmen, die Stimmung, bestimmen, bestimmt, abstimmen, verstimmen,

In this episode:

Today, we'll take a look at the meaning of "suchen" and go over all its useful prefix versions and see what visiting, trying and choosing has to do with search.

Vocabulary:

suchen, die Suche, versuchen, der Versuch, aussuchen, durchsuchen, untersuchen, besuchen, der Besuch

In this episode:

The German word "Teil" has two genders. Today, we'll find out why and what they mean and we'll go over the most useful compound nouns with Teil.

Vocabulary:

das Teil, der Teil, der Großteil, das Gegenteil, der Vorteil, vorteilhaft, der Nachteil

In this episode:

A thorough look at the meaning of "teilen", how that shows in the different prefix versions and why an SMS is also called "Kurzmitteilung" in German.

Vocabulary:

teilen, verteilen, aufteilen, einteilen, austeilen, mitteilen, die Mitteilung, zum Teil

In this episode:

A fun look at the meaning and origin of "trotzdem" and a breakdown of when to use "trotz", "trotzdem" and "obwohl". Of course with audio examples :)

Vocabulary:

no vocab snippet (yet)

In this episode:

A fun look at the meaning of "überhaupt" - one of the German options for "at all". We'll learn how to use it and why it means what it means.

Vocabulary:

no vocab snippet (yet)

In this episode:

A fun look at the meaning of "überlegen", the surprising logic behind the meaning and the difference to "nachdenken".

Vocabulary:

no vocab snippet (yet)

In this episode:

All three words are translations for "different" and mixing them up can actually get confusing. Today, we'll learn when to use which, and why :).

Vocabulary:

no vocab snippet (yet)

In this episode:

A fun look at the meaning of "die Wahl" and the verb "wählen" and the difference to "aussuchen". And a boring look at the German political system :).

Vocabulary:

die Wahl, wählen, wählerisch, die Auswahl

In this episode:

A quick and easy hack for the difference between "wenn" or "wann" in German. And then: a detailed look at what's actually going on - for the nerds :).

Vocabulary:

no vocab snippet (yet)

In this episode:

A fun look at the "warten" and its prefix versions. We'll learn about the two(!!) meanings of "warten" and see how they tie in with expectations.

Vocabulary:

warten, abwarten, erwarten, die Erwartung, die Wartungsarbeit, der Torwart

In this episode:

A fun look at the meaning and use of "werben" and its family and why applying for a job in German is about advertising yourself.... literally.

Vocabulary:

werben, die Werbung, sich bewerben, die Bewerbung, erwerben, erwerbslos

In this episode:

A fun look at the meaning of "wirken" and its related words. We'll learn about the difference to "scheinen" and what work has to do with reality :)

Vocabulary:

wirken, die Wirkung, wirklich, bewirken, die Wirklichkeit

In this episode:

'wissen' and 'kennen' both mean 'to know'. Today, we'll learn a really easy way to tell them apart. And no: it's not the kind of knowing as you usually hear.

Vocabulary:

no vocab snippet (yet)

In this episode:

A fun look at the origin and meaning of "der Zweck" and its related words.

Vocabulary:

der Zweck, die Zweckehe, die Reißzwecke, bezwecken, zwecks, zwecklos

In this episode:

A fun look at "Zweifel" and what the number two has to do with "doubt". Also, we'll learn about how to properly doubt something and how to despair in German :)

Vocabulary:

zweifel, zweifeln, zweifellos, bezweifeln, anzweifeln, verzweifeln

In this episode:

A quick look at the meaning of "zwischen" and some related words, particularly "zwischendurch" and "inzwischen" and how that's different to "während".

Vocabulary:

zwischen, dazwischen, inzwischen, zwischendurch, der Zwischenstop, während, derweil