"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, 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 110% non-boring look at the German word for boredom, why it's important not to say you're "langweilig" and a couple of glances at die Laune and die Stimmung.
Vocabulary:
die Langeweile, gelangweilt, langweilig, die Stimmung, die Laune
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:
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
