7 Questions I have for Germans | american in germany

[@TaeNi95]

Kinda like this: - Lernen (learning in general, like in school) Erlernen (is mostly used to say you have to start to learn something, like a new skill) Ich lerne für die Schule. (I am learning for school.) Ich erlerne die Englische Sprache. (I started to learn English but I am not done.) You may replace erlerne with lerne but not vice versa in most cases. - Öffnen (to open something, e.g. a bottle) Eröffnen (to open a store or start a party) Ich öffne die Flasche. (I open the bottle.) Ich eröffne meinen eigenen Laden. (I open my own store.) Those two can't be swapped. - Forschen (to research, in general) Erforschen (to have a research on smth that is new to you and you just started) Forschen macht Spaß. (Researching is fun.) Im Wald erforschen die Kinder Ameisen. (In the forest the kids are researching ants.) Forschen may be replaced by Erforschen but not vice versa in this sentence. 'Erforschen Ameisen' belongs together, meaning they are researching *on* ants. Only Forschen would be "Die Kinder forschen im Wald." (They are researching in the forest in general.) - Schrecken (is a noun, scare) Erschrecken (to scare someone) Du hast mir einen Schrecken eingejagt! (You gave me a scare!) Ich will dich nächstes Mal erschrecken. (I want to scare you the next time.) Or: Ich habe mich erschreckt! (I was scared.) Erschrecken can not be replaced with Schrecken and vice versa. ... I hope this is somewhat helpful. I am German but I am not a college student in German or something so I just wrote how it feels like to me. I've been watching your videos for years and never commented until now :D

[@talisamya7166]

Ich finde, das ist sehr gut erklärt.

[@Anakianaj]

It's already sort of in your answer, so I thought just adding it here as a comment might be more useful than just making a new one. generally, if you find something added is in front of a verb, such as "er-" it gives a more specific meaning to the verb - and afaik "er-" consistently denotes the 'new-ness' of something. You can usually replace the more specific "er-"-Version with the 'base verb' - but it often makes the sentence longer and sometimes isn't quite as precise/doesn't quite mean what you actually mean. "Ein Laden wird eröffnet" -> "Ein neuer Laden wird öffnen", "Ich erlerne die Englische Sprache" -> "Ich lerne die Englische Sprache, sie ist eine für mich neue Sprache", "Im Wald erforschen die Kinder Ameisen" -> "Die Kinder forschen im Wald zum Thema Ameisen, um ihren Geheimnissen auf den Grund zu gehen" The last two were quite difficult, especially without using other "er-"-words like "erfahren", "ergründen", "erleben" and such. - Much like "erschrecken" they don't have a "base verb" that has the same general meaning (well, you could argue about "leben" - "erleben" I guess - but the others don't really have much in common with their er-less base in terms of meaning.

[@valentinam.7816]

👌

[@MRSRCR]

Not sure if this is helpful but my German husband suggested that with the er it puts the stress on the person doing it and without the er the stress is on the verb

[@chrisX1722]

Ja finde auch, dass es das gut erklärt. Nur würde ich nicht sagen, dass das Forschen gerade erst begonnen hat beim Erforschen... Forschen - Ich forsche an Menschlichen Hirnzellen Erforschen - Ich erforschen das Zusammenspiel aus DNA und Sterblichkeit Erforschen ist also denke ich spezieller, während Forschen eher generell ist

[@maximilianklein2062]

forschen vs erforschen: syntactical difference "forschen" is intransitive (i.e. it can't have an object): Die Wissenschaftlerin forscht. "erforschen" is transitive (i.e. it has to take an object) Die Wissenschaftlerin erforscht Zellstrukturen. öffnen vs eröffnen: semantical difference "öffnen" is used with physical or to some degree tangible things: Ich öffne eine Dose. du öffnest eine Tür. Er öffnet ein Computerprogramm. "eröffnen" is similar to "declare open" and it has a second meaning "reveal/relate sth. to somebody" Maria eröffnete das Buffet. Er eröffnete mir, dass er nicht vorhatte, lange zu bleiben. schrecken vs erschrecken: differences on several levels There are two different verbs under the lexem "erschrecken". The intransitive one (erschrecken, erschrak, erschrocken) and the transitive one (erschrecken, erschreckte, erschreckt) schrecken on the other hand is - at least in modern German - not a word of its own but always part of a prepositional verb like "aufschrecken", "hochschrecken" or "aus dem Bett schrecken". Of course it might depend on the grammar book you are using as I could imagine that some say "schrecken" was a single-word verb that can take "Präpositionalobjekte" but that's just a question of classification. The essential thing is that "schrecken" is almost always part of "something else". That said, there are certain expressions that use "schrecken" as a synonym to "erschrecken" but these are fixed expressions ("Nichts konnte ihn schrecken" or "Lass dich davon nicht schrecken"). You should however not run around and use "schrecken" carelessly as if it were another word for "erschrecken". erlernen vs lernen: partly syntactical, partly semantical, partly no difference at all "lernen" can be used intransitively, "erlernen" is only a transitive verb. If you say "erlernen" you're probably thinking about "a whole new skill" or "the entire learning process", but you can also use "lernen" for that. "lernen" can also mean "to study", "to train" or "to practice"

[@matthiaslangemeyer5483]

dem kann man wohl nichts mehr hinzufügen! well explained!

[@WantedAdventure]

@Maximilian Klein Thanks so much for your comment with this feedback!!

[@fj2657]

"forschen vs erforschen" could also be (roughly) translated to "research v explore" - An explorer (Forscher) usually doesn't research (erforscht) a country/the jungle. ^^

[@boombaby1769]

@ Maximilian Klein Danke, dass Du es so perfekt erklärt hast, dass ich es nun nicht mehr tun muss :-) Das ist wirklich eine Frage, bei der man sehr ins Detail gehen muss.

[@stormyday6889]

If you find plastic cups at a party in Germany, it may probably be either white or transparent. But most Germans are used to go with regular glasses of all kinds rather than using plastics. The drinks always taste better if served in glasses or bottles, even if you leave out the environmental advantages completely.

[@kallejodelbauer2955]

If we had a Party ,we get the best tableware and Glasses for our Guest out of the Cabinett. If Students make a low budget Party,they drink out of the Bottle. But we can drink everywere in public and on the streets and in Biergarten. Your Plasticcups are red because it illegal to drink outside and under 21. And because its illegal you make such a Hype out it.We have 1 liter Mass Jugs fro every 16 year old,thats why we dont need a Plasticcup and because its Garbage for the Nature. The other Stuff that you dont get in the Brain ,are simply Rules in the written words and spoken Words that the old Greeks and Romans had invented. That a Word can have 2 meanings had every Language.English had much more Words with 5-7 meanings then German.An Example ,Jack is a Name, a Jack in the Box,a Lumberjack,a Jackhammer and a Jack to lift a Car. But that only the Language,something that you can learn out of Books or the Net.You have no Content and now you must make a Video of our Language?Every Schoolteacher can tell you why,or you can check it out at self. It give NO Comfort Food.It give Conveniece Food ,that came from french Language. The meaning is bequem ,wich is in english Comfort.But that means Food like a half baked frozen Pizza.The Comfort is that you dont have to make self and save Time or Work.This had every Microwavefood.Thats not the Meal that a Person like at most,which you think ,thats the meaning. It give many differnces between other Countrys,but that learn every kid in school.I give many TVShows or Books in Germany that tells you the reasons.You take one of this Differnces and make a Video of it, and on and on.Why??????????????????????????????????? Watch this kzbin.info/www/bejne/aZXHmqqhqNWLrqc

[@DerKuhtoaster]

About colours: I would say if a colours name ends with a "a" or something similar sounding like "er" , you add an "n". Lila - > Lilanes Silber - > Silbernes At least that's how I do it, so don't take it for granted. It's just the way I think it could work.

[@avaschenk7295]

I‘m not sure about silber but you just leave Lila even if it Sounds a bit weird, so it‘s a „lila Haus“

[@irian42]

Yes, I heard that as well, but I think usually it's just left a "lila" or "rosa" . And I assume the reason is that it would be difficult to pronounce lila-es. A-e is just not very common in German.

[@Hamsterdam91]

Yes I think the n is added to add the es. Like in English family and party the y is changed in plural to add an s, families and parties instead of familys and partys

[@muiggmuigg]

yes...it is definetely "lilanes/silbernes/rosanes Haus"

[@saltysoul1]

Lilanes and silbernes is done a lot in every day language (unfortunately), but in fact it's wrong. Grammatically correct you say "Lila" or "rosa", it stays like this. Or you can add -farbenes, that's also correct. So it's Lila(farbenes) Haus and silberfarbenes Haus.

[@beatrixpastoors1104]

Verben mit der Vorsilbe er sind in der Regel transitiv, d.h. sie werden mit einem Akkusativobjekt benutzt. Ohne das er sind so meistens intransitiv: Ich lerne. Wir schießen. Er forscht. Das sind ohne jede Erweiterung komplette Sätze. Nicht deklinierbare Farbadjektive kann man durch den Zusatz - farben/farbig deklinieren: das rosafarbige/lilafarbige/beigefarbene/magentafarbene Kleid. Bei Silber und Gold kommt immer ein n dran: der Ring ist golden/silbern, sie hat silberne und goldene Ringe. Das n wird aber auch manchmal bei den oben genannten Farben verwendet: ein rosanes Tshirt, ein lilaner Hut. Das Gehirn ist ein anatomischer Begriff, Hirn kann auch im übertragenen Sinn verwendet werden, zb. "Herr, lass Hirn (=Verstand) vom Himmel regnen. Was genau ist denn comfort food? Ist damit das Lieblingsessen in der Kindheit gemeint? Plastikgeschirr und -besteck sind zum Glück auf Partys unüblich. Plastikbecher in Kaffeeautomaten sind braun, sonst immer weiß. Rote habe ich noch nie gesehen. In den Medien wurde auf das zunehmende Umweltproblem durch den Verkauf von coffee to go- Bechern hingewiesen. Auf Volksfesten wird in der Regel ein Pfand erhoben auf Gläser, Trinkbecher und Geschirr, damit man auch bestimmt alles zurückbringt. Funktioniert. Genauso wie bei den Einkaufswagen. Vornamen werden selten in den Plural gesetzt, wenn doch, ist die Endung s am gebräuchlichsten. Lebkuchen usw. im Spätsommer ist für mich ein großes Ärgernis. Ich weigere mich vor der Adventszeit welche zu kaufen. Oft hätte ich gerne noch welche Anfang Januar, wenn die Vorräte an selbstgebackenen Plätzchen aufgebraucht sind, aber dann gibt es schon keine mehr. 😕

[@beatrixpastoors1104]

Da fehlen mehrere Sätze hinter 'zum Glück' . Wollte sagen, dass Plastik in D relativ verpönt ist inzwischen und in den Medien regelmäßig auf das damit verbundene Umweltproblem hingewiesen wird. Trotzdem verbrauchen wir Deutsche mehr Plastik als viele andere Nationen, wegen der Unsitte, ALLE Lebensmittel so anzubieten. Zumindest gibt es neuerdings auch sog. Unverpacktläden, aber noch viel zu wenige. Auch in D ist das Umweltbewusstsein noch arg unterentwickelt, aber offenbar doch schon etwas größer als anderswo.

[@BrokenCurtain]

Ausgezeichnete Erklärung von transitiven Verben, danke. "Comfort Food" ist etwas allgemeiner als "Lieblingsessen aus der Kindheit". Wortwörtlich übersetzt ist das "Wohlfühl-Essen" - aber ich glaube, "Glücklichmacher" trifft es besser. Grundsätzlich handelt es sich dabei um Nahrungsmittel, die Wohlbefinden verursachen. Das kann natürlich durch die Nostalgie verursacht werden, die man empfindet, wenn man ein Gericht aus Kindertagen verzehrt. Muss es aber nicht; Schokolade und Eiscreme sind beispielsweise ebenfalls bekannte Glücklichmacher.

[@lowenzahn3976]

In my mind the Platonic form of a plastic cup is a white, 300 ml plastic cup with ripples on the side: de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Plastikbecher.JPG

[@GrafvonHinkelstein]

In my mind too. I think this are pretty much the standard plastic cups in germany.

[@blackraveness]

Yes. In the 80 and 90 this were used often. For sodas and lemonades also for hot drinks. But they were replaced by papercups with plastic coating and cold drinks were not longer served in this at food trucks

[@karenschafer2827]

Generic cups, LOL! Platonic means not romantic, just a friendship. But I like platonic cups!

[@LythaWausW]

So, the ones you pee in at the doctor: )

[@PepeHub]

Hmm, actually not for me. When it comes to a party memory, I would always think of 0.5l transparent plastic cups. But even these ones were replaced by re-useble hard plastic ones.

[@philicia.]

Party cups are white (and small) in Germany. The brown ones I only see at kiosks for coffee.

[@regenbogentraumerin]

I've been wondering for minutes now what kind of brown cups she meant and it drove me nuts, never seen brown party cups :D But coffe-to-go cups makes sense, thanks!

[@philicia.]

@@regenbogentraumerin Ja, die sind auch aus Plastik und auch so geriffelt, aber kackbraun 🤣 Gibt's nur manchmal am Imbiss, woanders hab ich die auch noch nie gesehen. Coffee-to-go Becher beim Bäcker usw sind ja eher aus Pappe.

[@elsakrawuttke7414]

@@philicia. die braunen geriffelten kommen auch gern aus diesen Kaffeeautomaten heraus...

[@philicia.]

@@elsakrawuttke7414 genau, stimmt.

[@Baccatube79]

There are certain colours that need the suffix -farben when used in the attributive position. Those are lila, orange, rosa etc. The adjectives for silver and golden are "silbern" und "golden", so you can say "ein silbernes Haus" which could, however, also mean that the house was made completely out of actual silver.

[@ACEsParkJunheeWreckedMeHard]

When you say "Lilas Haus" you would reffer to a person called Lila that lives in a house

[@Marc-ox6rz]

Almost. You would refer to a house that belongs to a person named Lila. This is basically the same as the English genetive Lilia's house.

[@tarwod1098]

Never before did I think about this subject but my ears and feeling say: "Lila Haus" or "Lilanes Haus" sound correct. Well, I´d prefer the first option

[@veganplayspiano]

Lilafarbenes works aswell

[@sebastianbattig6063]

Ich würde "lilanes Haus" und "silbernes Haus" sagen.

[@martinsvideos2915]

@@sebastianbattig6063 Das "lilane" Haus ist wohl eher umgangssprachlich oder regional bedingt. "Silbernes" klingt für mich hingegen korrekt...

[@NicoSchurr]

Gehirn is more scientific, Hirn is colloquial

[@chrisX1722]

The color silver in german is "silbern". You would say "ein silbernes Haus."

[@MiciFee97]

The color silver is silber in german. You just put an n between the word and the „es“ because it sounds better. Its just a phonetic thing in the german language. But i cant really come up with other examples like this... its hard to think about the „why“ in your native language 😂

[@irian42]

@@MiciFee97 No, the color (noun) is silver, but the adjective is silberfarben or silbern. There is no adjective silber

[@xar1234]

ItsMeMici Silber is the metal. Silbern is the color.

[@superleisie]

Wasp is right. "Silberfarben" is the correct adjective here. "Silbernes Haus" means that the house is made of silver.

[@irian42]

My German comfort food is probably "Bratkartoffeln" or something reminding me of childhood like "Fischstäbchen"

[@gummiknietschi]

Ich mag Bratkartoffels und Füschstäbchen .. und Schnützel. 😃☝️🥔🍵

[@hunzhurte]

@@gummiknietschi Sprich deutsch oder ich werde die Maßnahme ergreifen, dein halb frittiertes Gesücht plastisch zu verformen.

[@tarwod1098]

A food that magically makes my body feel good is Lentils and Pastinake. A comforting "food" for me is cake, icecream - both with whipped cream - and chocolate

[@mistercornflakes761]

Hallo ich bin deutsch 😂😂😂🇩🇪🇩🇪🇩🇪

[@MaxMustermann-xc4ul]

Chocolate tho😍😁

[@kevinprice2274]

6.: The most common throw-away cups in Germany used to be the small flimsy white plastic ones with serrated sides, that are cheaply available in most grocery stores. They go along with plastic cutlery and paper plates for cheap parties. I expect paper cups to replace them, and I strongly prefer permanent cups.

[@irian42]

Well, *schrecken* doesn't exist as a verb, but with the others there is a noticeable difference. *Erforschen* is used when you research a specific topic, while *forschen* doesn't allow a specific topic. *Eröffnen* is mostly used for the first opening or establishment of something, while *öffnen* means the normal opening process. *Erlernen* implies an end of the learning process, so it's more about the process of acquiring a skill, while *lernen* is a more ongoing thing. So the prefix er means something different every time.

[@Sleepover137]

I would venture to say that the er- makes each of the verbs more specific and limits it's uses.

[@sthenzel]

"Schrecken" als Verb existiert, wird jedoch recht selten noch verwendet. de.wiktionary.org/wiki/schrecken

[@rolandscherer1574]

Wirklich, schrecken ist kein Verb? - Das schreckt mich nicht, ich werde es trotzdem als Verb benutzen.

[@irian42]

@@rolandscherer1574 You are right. Due to the limited cases where you can use it, I just forgot

[@rolandscherer1574]

@@irian42 viel komischer finde ich aber den Unterschied: "Das erschreckt mich" und "Das schreckt mich ab". Warum bleibt einmal die Vorsilbe beim Verb und einmal wandert sie nach hinten? Wer Deutsch lernt, muss masochistisch sein. Aber man kann mit dieser Sprache wunderbare Wortspiele machen.

[@irian42]

In general I avoid pluralizing names, because it sounds usually a bit off...

[@chrisk7736]

Depends on the name. e. g. we had "zwei Stefanies" in class, "zwei Mathias...se? und Markus...se?" und zwei "Michaels" ... so mostly you can pluralize by adding an "s" exept for names that already end or an "s" or "z".

[@missis_jo]

@@chrisk7736 A somewhat outdated way of pluralizing names that end in -s/-z would be to add -ens, just like with Genitiv. Hansens, Franzens, Matthiasens... it is as outdated as it sounds, but you can still find it in songs like: "...Hansens Eisenbahn ist weg, steht nicht mehr am gleichen Fleck..."

[@bigscarysteve]

I once had a "Mad Magazine" calendar for the year 1970. I still remember the entry for July 5th: Christmas season begins in most major department stores. That seemed hilarious back then, but it has also proved prophetic. In the ten years you've been away, Dana, I'd say things in America are getting more like they are in Germany. I'm seeing Christmas stuff appearing in stores in mid-October. I used to work on the receiving dock in a grocery store. I remember getting our store's shipment of Valetine's Day candy in October. Not only was it taking up space in the back room that would've been better served by storing something else, but it was also still hot in the non-temperature controlled back room, so the Valentine's candy probably melted before winter set in.

[@avaschenk7295]

So ich habe das jetzt viele verschiedene Meinungen in den Kommentaren gelesen und gerade ein Mal nachgeschaut. Es heißt „lila Haus“ und „silbernes Haus“.

[@ironwhy]

Der Duden gibt auch "lilanes" als umgangssprachlich korrekte Variante an...

[@avaschenk7295]

IronWhy echt? Das wusste ich nicht.

[@ironwhy]

@@avaschenk7295 Könnte man ja googeln... Trotzdem würde ich "lilanes" nicht benutzen, wenn ich nicht absichtlich "süß" klingen will oder betrunken verzweifelt nach Worten suche...

[@ireneprobst8354]

Ein lilanes Haus und ein rosanes Kleid sind umgangssprachlich möglich, aber kein gutes Deutsch. Besser: ein lila Haus oder ein lilafarbenes Haus und ein rosa Kleid oder ein rosafarbenes Kleid.

[@ironwhy]

@@ireneprobst8354 Interessanterweise würde aber kaum jemand "ein blaufarbenes Kleid" oder ein "grünfarbenes Haus" sagen - auch das wäre wieder kein "gutes" (ich würde eher sagen "schönes") Deutsch.

[@skmel28]

Ad Kostenlos vs kostenfrei: Kostenlos it does not cause costs, whereas kostenfrei means it is not connected with costs (because e.g. somebody else pays) German is a VERY exact language :-)

[@ironwhy]

I would argue against that, since you could always just use "kostenlos" in either circumstance, while you could definitely find the pretty rare word "kostenfrei" used "wrongly" if you would google it and would take the time to analyze every sentence including that word one by one... Just avoid the word "kostenfrei" if you're speaking - but remember that it's a synonym for "kostenlos" if you hear it and you will be absolutely fine!

[@kaiyubee1867]

@Thomas Mohr That´s Bs

[@helloweener2007]

It is the same but kostenfrei is a legal term, kostenlos is everyday language.

[@Seegalgalguntijak]

I would say, these words with "er" in the beginning, are a more complete version. So, "Eröffnen" is if something is new and opened for the first time, with a big opening celebration, and "öffnen" is just on every day at the opening time when they open up the doors. Same with "forschen" and "erforschen" - forschen is kind of without direction or length of how far you go in the research, while "erforschen" is do seek out the whole thing and research it completely. Also lernen and erlernen, lernen is you just study while you're in school or university, but "erlernen" means to learn a complete subject in its entirety, like a language or a skill, while "lernen" can just be an evening of studying for the "erlernen" of the language.

[@maryschumann3920]

Welcome to Germany where "umfahren" ( drive around someone or something) is some else than "umfahren" (driving against someone or something) The accentuation of both words are different. The first "umfahren" is maybe you drive around a traffic jam and on the other hand "umfahren" is maybe some drive into traffic sign .

[@millionsparks96]

One of them is a prefix verb, while the other one is a particle verb. You can see it when conjugating the verbs - "ich umfahre [etw.]" (prefix verb, the prefix um- stays with the verb) vs. "ich fahre [etw.] um" (particle verb, the particle seperates from the verb and moves to the end of the clause)

[@JoJoModding]

The intonation is different. You put stress on the first syllable if you run over someone with a vehicle, and on the second syllable if you drive around someone.

[@Al69BfR]

Iirc the second „umfahren“ is more colloquial language and means „überfahren“ (run over).

[@IsleNaK]

Every language has "homophones" (though in case of umfahren it's actually not a a homophone due to the difference in stress, so they are rather homographs..? XD). English: - ruler = Lineal 📐 - ruler (of a country) (though that usage is rather uncommon?) Or should I use... : - stress = psychological distress - stress = emphasized syllabus of a word (Betonung) Russian: - мука (muká) = flour - мука (múka) = agony

[@RH-um7yw]

You could just use violett (→violettes Haus) instead of lila, but I think some people say "lilanes Haus" (which is not grammatically correct) or "Lila Haus"

[@ironwhy]

be careful here for some people "violett" and "lila" are far from being the same color...

[@jelighty8075]

Like IronWhy said. Lila has more blue in it and violet is more red

[@JoJoModding]

Lilanes Haus is correct I would argue, like 'orangenes Haus' or 'goldenes Haus' also is.

[@ironwhy]

@@JoJoModding Depends on how serious or "grown up" you want to sound. "Goldenes" and "silbernes" are definitely correct, since they are derivates of "silbern" (= silberfarbig) and "golden" (= die farbliche Eigenschaft von Gold). "Orangenes" and "lilanes" should be avoided and replaced by "oranges" and "lila" if you don't want to sound like a little kid. (At least if you would write some kind of essay or article - they are however fine if you use them colloquially...)

[@elsakrawuttke7414]

@@jelighty8075 no. Lila and violett are the same word for a group of tones that consist of blueish and redish parts. To me a color like lavender is lila/violett as well as Milka wrapping

[@Olochgu]

I mean, I'm always happy when the stores have Spekulatius, because I love them and i don't need christmas to eat them, but I'm usualy very annoyed about all the christmas stuff when it comes mid- august.

[@cheeky1306]

With the words "öffnen" and "eröffnen", imagine you decide to run your own little cafe. On the first day you open it. (eröffnen) You unlock the door. There is a small celebration, you get presents and everyone wishes you luck and you proudly serve your first guests. On the second day you also open it, (öffnen) that means you also unlock the door, but unfortunately there are no more presents, only guests who want to be served.

[@cheeky1306]

"Eröffnen" can also be used figuratively to indicate that someone is announcing an important change or news."Der Chef eröffnete seinen Angestellten, dass die Firma Konkurs ist" ( "The boss told his employees that the company was bankrupt" )This expression is very formal and is not used in everyday conversation

[@Hans_R._Wahl]

Good example!🙂👍

[@linnuewinnue]

Comfort food: Pasta (or something like that) with cheese and onions...like Käsespätzle or rice pudding with sugar and cinnamon

[@joyflight8599]

Wow, Dana.. this was not a video... this was a firework! ;-)

[@Coco45ize]

The er-prefix kind of expresses the idea of reaching something through a process, more on purpose.

[@MichaEl-rh1kv]

The prefix er- mostly refers to doing something more specific: forschen: generally research; sth. erforschen: to investigate a specific field or question erlernen: to learn some specific skill erschrecken: to startle / scare somebody specific (or yourself) eröffnen: to open up a business (for the first time) or a exhibition OR to disclose sth. to so. You don't use "eröffnen" however if you open a door or a box - that's simply 'öffnen'. Gehirn and Hirn are the same. "Hirn" is simply the shortened (or affectionate ;) ) form. Gehirn is the more academic form and in daily use means always the human brain, while "Hirn" could also be a meal (if you like such innards) - there are some receipts for veal brain, but they are not so popular anymore. And yes, kostenlos and kostenfrei are essentially the same (even there could be some very minor juristic differences). Pluralizing names is mostly done with s. 'Lila' is an old loanword from French 'lilas' (same as lilac in English) which is itself a loanword from arabic or persian where it meaned 'indigo'. Therefore it's still not deflected, so it's simply 'lila Haus'. (If you said 'lilas' most people would understand 'Lila's Haus' - Lila is a given name with hebrew origins meaning 'night', but in some Indian languages it would mean 'beauty', so it's 'dark beauty'.) The adjective to the metal 'Silber' is 'silbern' (for 'Gold' it's 'golden' or 'gülden', for Copper its 'kupfern', for iron='Eisen' it's 'eisern'), so it would be 'silbernes Haus' (or 'goldenes Haus' or 'kupfernes Haus'). You could also say 'silberfarbenes Haus', but that's a bit long if more precise.

[@Matahalii]

Prefix er- (erforschen vs. forschen): With er- prefix the word is pushed to a kind of more total meaning. Eröffnen means that a shop or whatever opens for the first time, maybe with a party. Or a chain opens up new dependencies in different cities. Whereas these shops would open daily every morning since then you would say: "Der Laden öffnet um 8:00". Same with erlernen vs. lernen. If you say :"Ich will den Beruf XY erlernen" means you may start with maybe nothing and (want to) end up with a diploma or a final degree. It is a kind of complete process from start to finish. But that will mean that you have to learn some bits on a daily basis, called "Für den Beruf lernen". Of cause that does not mean you can't get better after the degree, final test or whatever, but you are kind of ready after it .

[@anaccount3127]

5 it would be Lila Haus and silbernes Haus but I don’t know why

[@annabear3553]

for lila I would say lilanes Haus.

[@avaschenk7295]

Anna Bear Yes ist Sounds right but you actually say „lila Haus“

[@littleriot]

I think you can say both "lila Haus" und "lilanes Haus" and same with silver "silber Haus" and "silbernes Haus"

[@rolandscherer1574]

Silber ist ein Material, silbern ist die Farbe.

[@helloweener2007]

@@littleriot You can say lilanes haus and people would understand it because many Germans make thsi mistake too, but it is wrong.

[@thorsten_hein]

My comfort food (Lieblingsessen, favourite food) is green asparagus fried in butter with much salt and some honey. 🙂🙂🙂

[@Cat-uw8lz]

That sounds disgusting and wonderful at the same time and I will definitely try next time we have asparagus ☺️

[@thorsten_hein]

@@Cat-uw8lz 1st) only do it with GREEN asparagus, not with the white one. 2nd) Don't take too much salt, of course, and really only little honey. 3/4 of a teaspoon for 500g.

[@Automatik234]

I remember an american exchange student trying to explain the term comfort food. I think it's more personal here. In Austria, the term "Hausmannskost" exists, which is basically standard cuisine that "should" be availiable everywhere. It's not at all like comfort food, but it's a term, I had to think of after your question. Hausmannskost includes foods like traditional pork rosts and strudels and is basically a kind of standard to see if your pallete fits traditional cuisine.

[@ElRackadusch]

Als Kind hatten wir meist weiße Plastikbecher, aber das ist fast 30 Jahre her. Auf allen Kindergeburtstagen von denen ich jetzt weiß werden Gläser genutzt oder wiederverwendbare Plastikbecher die es dann in allen möglichen Farben gibt.

[@conyravn1493]

I am always totally crazy happy for Christmas. I was so excited to see the last time we visit Germany all merchandise of Christmas time around some shop, even if it was just July..🤩🎄🎅

[@yanalovezuko]

1. The verbs with mit er- are used for the first time. Like eröffnen you say when a shop is new and opens for the first time but öffnen is used when you for example open a window.

[@erictaylor5462]

My favorite comfort food is my own mother's original recipe she called "Garbage Can Casserole" It has chicken and vegetables and some other yummy stuff. I am so glad I had her teach me to make it before she passed. It has proved extremely popular at pot luck parties.

[@eyeofthasky]

*for all Questions related to language structure and origins, consult the english Wiktionary:* Was macht das Präfix {er-} für einen Unterschied? Basically: "Yielding a result" -> en.wiktionary.org/wiki/er-#German English has the same prefix, {or-} (ordeal "Úrteil") if historically stressed, and {a-} (await "erwárten") if not.

[@eyeofthasky]

with *Gehirn* vs. *Hirn* we have the same thing like in *Bein* (today "leg", but orig. "bone" - the same word root as english) vs. *Gebein* ("Gebeine" is oldfashioned for "wholeness of bones / skeletal remains"), the *{ge-}* is a reinforcing prefix, focusing the whole instead of a piece. E.g. want to buy brain @butcher? u buy *Hirn* .. but if talking about it as a functioning unit, etc? you would use *Gehirn* -- mostly Furthermore, in northern german / butchers language, animal brain is called *Bregen* (same root as _brain_ ), _so the real question is:_ at the time our two languages had both words "braign" and "hyrne", what was their difference, and, why did german abandon the former while english the latter ?

[@eyeofthasky]

kostenLOS vs. kostenfrei is a but like in english *"free FROM / OF ..."* , i never really got the difference but you may explain it to us, and i think the same notion is the case for *"-los"* (laking it, but u expect it to be there normally) vs. *"-frei"* (freed of/from it, as it does not normally have it or should normally not have it). nevertheless, i like to say "sinnfrei" instead of "sinnlos" about what many people do/say, cuz the existing world would suggest i am thinking there would have been any valuable sense in the first place, which i do not xD ... z.B. der gute Herr _Tramp(el)_

[@eyeofthasky]

*comfort food* would be somewhat like *"Hausmannskost"* ? at least in the aspect "evoking feelings, quick to make, mostly not as healthy as other things"

[@eyeofthasky]

the plural endings depend on sounds a word ends with -- just as "Auto" does not follow the normal sound rules _("no full vowels at the end!")_ of a german word (as it is not) it gets the *{-s}* plural suffix, as this is kinda the _"if i dont know what else to add to it"_ -suffix .. so treat personal names exactly that x'D *2 Danas* (and cuz it's of the "Auto"-type ending in a full vowel), but even *3 Stefans* etc.

[@eyeofthasky]

if you form an adjective from a noun, you first have to apply and adjectival suffix, mostly *{-n-}* , and then that the grammatical suffixes of inflection -- just like with "Gold" > "golden"/"golden-e(r/s) ...", so with "Silber" > *"silbern-e(r/s) ..."* and similar so *"lilane(r/s) ..."* since it comes originally from a thing, the Lilac flower (only called "Flieder" in german and never Lilak, so the bare form "lilan" does neither exist), or just simply invariable *"lila ..."* -- if you have to use this word for the color. the color purple is a tricky thing, as we use a single word for different hues of colors (e.g. the house you showed is actually not purple but *violet* -- a word not so much used in english, right?) -- but for german all terms are more or less used, just that noone really knows what is the right term for which color, so all are more or less used synonymously nowadays... we have *"Lila"* (lilac), *"Violet"* (for violet flower, "Veilchen"), *"Purpur"* (same word root as purple -- but seldom used nowadays, and often mistakenly used for a dark red ~ scarlet), and there is still this strange word magenta / *"Magenta"* which i think no one uses in casual situations when simply labling a colored item. So in your case you could say "das violette Haus".

[@kevinprice2274]

1.: The prefix "er"- to German verbs typically makes them transitive. a. "Forschen" (to research) is (with rare exceptions) always intransitive, (intr) so it cannot have an object. "Erforschen" (to research sth.) is always transitive, (tr) thus requiring an object, usually, and in the case of this verb an accusative one. ("Ich forsche(intr) in der Physik." - "Wen oder was erforschst(tr) Du?" - "Ich erforsche(tr) die Physik der Hochtemperatursupraleiter.") There is no synonymous or interchangeable use for both verbs; you always need to choose the correct one. Simple test: Is the research directed at anything you want to mention as an object of research in your sentence? → "erforschen". If not, → "forschen". b. "Öffnen" (to open sth. or oneself) can make sense as tr ans intr, and "eröffnen" (to make sth. permanently available to the public) should be used tr. They are never interchangeable either, for another reason: They have exclusively different meanings. ("Die Bilbliothek öffnet(intr) Montags um acht Uhr." - "Die Bibliothekarin öffnet(tr) jetzt die Bibliothek." - "Die Stadt hat vor zehn Jahren die Bilbliothek feierlich eröffnet.(tr)") These are the most common uses for those two verbs, but there are more definitions. Trying to come up with a "eröffnen"(intr) sentence, I'm failing. "Die Ausstellung ist eröffnet" eludes the use of the verb "erföffnen" by making it an adjective. "Die Ausstellung eröffnet(intr)." is bad German. The correct usage would be: "Die Kuratorin eröffnet die Ausstellung." I might be wrong, let's look that up in the dictionary. c. "Schrecken"/"erschrecken" have entirely different meanings; the common is shockfrightening. ;) d. "Erlernen" is strictly tr. (to acquire a specific knowledge, skill or profession) whereas "lernen" (to learn/study/train) can be tr. or intr. and is very broad. ("Lernst Du Englisch?" - "Ich lerne Chemie." - "Kind hat gelernt, nicht auf den heißen Herd zu fassen." - "Ich habe Schneider gelernt(tr)" The latter translates to "I'm a certified skilled tailor"; "Ich lerne(intr.) für die Prüfung" translates to I'm studying for the exam.)

[@sailorcat]

I'm trying to answer most of this!^^ 1. "forschen" = to research sth in general (not a specific topic); "in meiner Freizeit forsche ich" "erforschen" = to research a specific topic: "ich erforsche Mineralien" "öffnen" = top open sth (could be anything, like a bottle) "eröffnen" = to open a new store/restaurant/business etc. --> this only refers to the very first opening of the store! So you can only use it, when it's new. If you use "öffnen" (not "eröffnen") for a store, it refers to wether the store is open or closed every day. "erschrecken" = to scare sb (in an immediate way, like a jumpscare); or "sich erschrecken" = to be scared (like when something unexpected or scary happens and you have this moment where you scream etc.) "Schrecken" alone can't be used as a verb, only as a noun. "lernen" = to learn sth in general "erlernen" = more specific; like "Ich habe eine Sprache erlernt". I think you rather use it when you're done with learning something (so it's more used in the past tense). You can also use "lernen" for specific things, like a language and this word is definetely used more often. "Erlernen" sounds very formal. 2. Yes, as far as I know, both word pairs mean the same thing. 3. I don't know a name for comfort food, sorry. I also don't think we have this concept here. 4. You normally just add an "s" to all names. If the name already ends with an "s", or "x", you will add an "e", I think. Like in "Wir haben zwei Tobiase in der Klasse." 5. Germans struggle with this as well. xD You would say "ein lila Haus" or "ein lilafarbenes Haus". Same with "rosa". But many Germans will also say "ein lilanes/rosanes Haus", though this is gramitically incorrect. But it's okay if you use it. xD You would also say "silberne(r/s)". I think these colors have special grammar, because these words are relatively new. My grandma rather says blue or red than "rosa und lila". xD 6. This is just my perspective, but for me, plastic cups are usually white. xD I think this is the most common color. 7. It annoys me so much that they put christmas stuff in the stores so early! You see Halloween stuff pop up, but not very big. It's a pity, since I love Halloween. No one is in a christmas mood now.

[@IceNixie0102]

In the US, Halloween is another big holiday. And it gets bigger constantly. So in August, the stores are starting to gear up on skeleton/witch/ghost stuff. Christmas doesn't start till mid-October.

[@stephanfeinen3923]

Here in Aachen the "Aachener Printen" are available all the time (at least from some traditional makers like "Printen-Klein") and I have them throughout the whole year with a nice cup of tea . The only change during the year is that there are no Schokoladenprinten during summer as it is too hot for the chocolate coating.

[@tinasesselmann8170]

From what I gather, the supermarkets are flooded with Christmas cookies so early because they get the first batches from the factories. That way they don't need the extra storage space to hold onto it longer. There is more space in the US, maybe storage costs are lower. Or the system there works differently, IDK.

[@jonas39328]

Fun fact: a golden house is "güldenes haus". It's a bit outdated though. Most people say "goldenes haus" :)

[@jasonbraun127]

These videos make me realize how little I actually know about the German language and how I just kind of wing it in daily conversations and hope for the best (native speaker btw).

[@WantedAdventure]

@Jason Braun When I started teaching English as a foreign language here in Europe it was similar - teaching the language helped me see so many interesting things about the language I had never noticed before!

[@Gerhard-Martin]

@@WantedAdventure This shows, what only FEW Teachers really understand, actually. 8-/ That learning/teaching cannot be separated and it´s always a mutual Benefit for each Side, at least if it´s consciously used IN THAT Awareness. =) I wish that many more Teachers LEARNT that ! ;-)

[@PegasusNbW]

Gehirn and Hirn are mostly interchangable with Gehirn being more formal; however, there is one exception: If you refer to brain as food, you would always use "Hirn" (e.g, "Hirn mit Ei")

[@thomasschulte4058]

I am always looking forward to seeing those Christmas cookies in stores again, although I don't really eat them. But the thing I love about it are the "Marzipanbrote" and the "Marzipankartoffeln". YES!!

[@Seegalgalguntijak]

With the color, Lila ends on a vowel, so it is a very common slang form to say "lilanes Haus", because you need the -es, not just an s, for that form (don't ask me why, it's just how I've learnd my mother language), and therefore you put an n in between the vowels. EDIT: Right, it would be "silbernes Haus", again, I don't know why, but we usually insert an n, I think not when there is a vowel, but when the last character of the color name is either not an n, or when it's not a short sounding letter like b, d, t, k, g, p but a long one. I think the exception is even when there is no n put into it (at least I remember it like that from my childhood).

[@Seegalgalguntijak]

Or should I have put the EDIT into a reply?

[@thorsten_hein]

About Christmas cookies: most people don‘t like them so early, still it seems ok for the shops to sell them so early. BUT guess what: in Poland supermarkets sell ginger bread for the whole year! 🙈

[@IsleNaK]

As far as I know, people like them so early, as in, supermarkets wouldn't stock them if nobody would buy them. You've got to keep in mind that not every person in Germany is christian, not everyone cares that those cookies are supposed to be "Christmas" cookies. They see them just as regular cookies and that's it. And yeah, ginger bread is available all year long in other East European countries as well. It's not linked to Christmas at (and not every country celebrates Christmas in December anyway, even if they are christian xD)

[@franhunne8929]

Apologies, this takes some time and space 1)forschen is general research, erforschen is focussed on a certain theme öffnen - is opening - eröffnen - is to tell somebody about something (Der Arzt eröffnete der Familie, dass ihr Verwandter verstorben ist), or it is (has TWO meanings, a Teekesselchen, look that one up) or it is to hand over a new or thoroughly renovated building to its intended use (a piece of street, a park - yes, not exactly a building, a museum, a shopping mall etc.) It is mostly about nuances, not a completely different meaning. Those nuances which you know when you are C2 in a language. If you are lucky. (See, to be lucky - innocent expression, to get lucky - not so innocent - English can be baffling, too) - and to show you, that your mother tongue is not so innocent: www.learnenglish.de/pronunciation/pronunciationpoem.html Why does dough and though rhyme, but not through? ;) For Hirn - Gehirn I leave a link: hinative.com/de/questions/6458158 That explains it quite well. Hirn is the older version, the Stammwort. In composited words (Kleinhirn, Stammhirn - parts of the brain) this version is mainly used - or informally. When you talk formally you use Gehirn. Das Gehirn des Menschen wiegt ..., not Das Hirn des Menschen For kostenlos vs kostenfrei - the latter is a technical term from law, at least according to the Duden, the other is more general in use. 3) Comfort food in German? Very personal. Yes, it does exist, but has differing translations: (einfache) Hausmannskost {f} (simple cooking an untrained house wife can do at home) comfort food Futter {n} für die Seele [ugs.] comfort food Trostessen {n} (direct translation) What are comfort food dishes: Anything you know from childhood which gives you pleasure, for my sister that is pasta with preserved cherries and fried bread dices ... no, don't ask, the only thing my mother could cook For me it is more something like mashed potatoes, with creamy spinach and fried eggs. Something my grandma used to make. For others it is a certain kind of stew, as in America, just that we have the world famous pea soup or potato soup (more) that fall into that category. For others it might be Gulasch or other meaty stews. That is a video all in itself. But yes, the concept to eat when you are down, something from your childhood to lighten your mood. 4 Plural of names - yes, like in the US, I'd say, Da kommen die Franziskas - when you have more than one .. 5 LIla - also known as violett - and that follows the rules. But lila is just lila, you would have to add -farben to declinate it: Das lilafarbene Haus And why? As you see from the above example - languages in general are not logical! Do not crow too loudly, English is not any better! Apart from that it doesn't do much declination. Apart from genitiv - Dana's bafflement about the German language is comparable to Mark Twain's. The reasoning behind Lila, Silber and ORANGE is - they are deriven from nouns. Lila - from a French noun - lilas - der Flieder in German. Silber is the metal and Orange is - the fruit. So originally they were used with -farben to make an adjective. Later people just left out -farben.

[@franhunne8929]

6) Plastikbecher- well, usually white - when I hear Plastikbecher, I think of white cups, usually the ones you pee into when you are asked by your doc to leave a urine sample. *yeah, gross, I know particularly for an American, but it is what it is* I do not think about them as party cups so much. That must have been a seventies thing, in the 80s we went mainly green here and used either cardboard cups (with a thin layer of plastic to hold the fluid inside) for single use - or we used reusable things. 7) Spekulatius - some see them as Christmas cookies - some say Fall-cookies - as when the days get colder they go very nicely with a steaming mug of hot chocolate or tea.

[@DrKloebner531]

You use "öffnen" for a box or a can or a door, you use "eröffnen" for an exhibition or a race court ( or give important or even secret information).

[@SatuGustafson]

1. The prefix "er" can add different meanings. It's verbs that express a change as a reaction to pressure/continued effort as in "erweichen", verbs that describe an act of killing or dying as in "erwürgen, erdolchen, ertränken, ertrinken, ersticken", verbs expressing some sort of gain "erlangen, erfahren, erreichen" or verbs expressing an action with a certain aim "erarbeiten, erbetteln" or becoming bigger "erwachsen, erstrecken". Often it's something you do for the first or for the only time. "Erforschen" for example means that you go through with it. You "forsch" until you're done. ;-) 2. The prefix "Ge-" usually means "an accumulation of..." Busch = one bush, Gebüsch = "an accumulation of bushes"; in case of "Ge-hirn" and "Hirn" I think it's a bit like "Darm" and "Gedärm" (Darm = intestine; Gedärm = entrails), so Gehirn just emphasizes that it means the whole thing. 3. Comfort food: we do not really have a word for it but the concept definitely exists. I know some call such foods "Seelentröster". My comfort foods are usually things that remind me of my childhood like Milchreis (rice pudding) or various stews like Grünkohl, Möhreneintopf, Stielmus. Mashed potatoes and gravy works, too. :) 4. Pluralization: There are rules but they are complex and I would have to look them up. Being a native speaker I have the luxury of not having to think about it. :) However, I think names work like loan words from French or English and take an "s". I cannot think of a name that is pluralized differently. "Stefanies, Holgers, Renates, Michaels..." but there could be workarounds when the name ends with an "s" like "Jens". I think the correct version would be an apostrophe at the end but in speech people could add an "e" to make it obvious that it's a plural. That being said, I think words ending with a, i or o usually take an s when pluralized. 5. Some colour adjectives (and other adjectives) that are loan words are not treated like normal adjectives. You do not decline them. You can say "silbernes Haus" though. Lila is different. Some people say "lilanes" but that's wrong and considered horrible style. It's lila Haus, rosa Haus, orange Haus... However, with some Adjectives it just sounds strange (orange, oliv), so usually people add "-farben" at the end. "orangefarbenes Haus", "fliederfarbenes Haus", "türkisfarbenes Haus"... Same goes for "super" or "extra": Das ist ein super Vorschlag (not superer). 6. Cups: I think it's a brand thing. We don't usually have the red Solo cups in Germany. When I think of a single-use plastic cup it's either the brown ones with vertical ribs that are white on the inside that are most often used for hot drinks or the rather thin white ones that have a horizontal ribbing around where you would place your hand. At house parties we usually use real cups and glasses or drink beer from the bottle. In recent years plastic cups have mostly been replaced by paper cups that only have a thin layer of plastic inside. 7. I personally hate seeing Christmas items out in the shops so early because it kind of numbs you or dulls you to the special feeling you have when the season finally arrives if you know what I mean. If you've been walking past Spekulatius in the store for the past 3 months already it's kind of difficult to feel excited about it once Christmas is there. I have embraced Halloween because I like dressing up and my kids love it, too. But I wouldn't want more holidays. It's always a lot of work taking down the decorations and putting up the appropriate ones.

[@stephanweinberger]

"er..." is typically applied to a more *specific* thing/subject. Eg. "rechnen lernen" = learn maths (in general). "einen Beruf erlernen" = to learn a specific trade "das Museum öffnen" = to open the museum (as in 'unlocking the door'), "das Museum eröffnen" = to declare the museum open (i.e. a specific, memorable event)

[@LupinoArts]

The productive plural ending in German is the same as in english: new words are always pluralised by adding -s, unless some form of phonetic or semantic adaptions are made by the speakers ( sounds like/means something similar to , so the plural of is formed like that of ).

[@TypoKnig]

American checking in from the US. I’ve seen reports of Christmas decorations going up, and a few items in stores. Normally I’d complain about holiday creep, but in 2020 I say do whatever makes you happy, as long as it does no harm. Christmas in September does no harm.

[@Dr4g0nCl0ud]

oh no, here in America (I've seen it here in AZ, but friends/family in other places have seen it too) Christmas stuff is already showing up all over in Sept... Lowe's has more Christmas stuff than Halloween right now!

[@kettenfett]

some thoughts: - "arme Ritter" is a comfort food to me - rotes, gelbes, _lilanes / violettes_ haus, silbernes haus - is what i would say to make it consistent. - i know red solo cups only from that Toby Keith song. we use white ones, if at all. - i don't mind the christmas stuff. it seems to sell, else they wouldn't do it right? :)

[@smu4242]

I don't know of a direct translation of "comfort food", so I checked my dictionary, and it suggested Futter für die Seele which I think is quiet nice :D Definitely not wide spread though.

[@annstieler4117]

Would comfort food not be equivalent to "Gut Bürgerliche Küche "🤷‍♀️ maybe

[@IsleNaK]

@@annstieler4117 I don't think so...? Comfort food is food that you eat when you are feeling down..? 🤔 Gut bürgerliche Küche is more like homemade food (Hausmannskost)...? Comfort food could be something like "Nervenfutter" (though not 100% the same). Or it could be something labeled as "genau wie bei Oma"? Something that makes you feel better

[@martinsvideos2915]

In den letzten 5 Jahren hat sich im deutschen Internet die wundervolle Übersetzung "Soul Food" für comfort food etabliert *lach*

[@ZoggFromBetelgeuse]

Question 1) Interesting question, I never thought about it. I think "er-" indicates opening/acquiring of something new, like the exploration of a new land. (a) It can be used in the sense "starting something new": - "Eröffnen": A shop owner opens their shop every day, but the first day they "er-open" it, because it's new - "Erkennen": Similar. When you recongize something, or acquire deeper knowledge of it, you "start knowing" it, so you "er-know" it. (Interestingly, this is used as an expression for sex in German bible translations.) - "Erschrecken": You can be permanently in terror (say, in a dark forest infested by wererabbits). But when the terror comes suddenly , you "er-terror" ("Ich erschrecke"). Similarly, when you suddenly frighten someone else, you "er-frighten" them ("Ich erschrecke ihn"). Note that these two are different verbs with different past tenses, you say "Ich erschrak", but "Ich erschreckte ihn". (b) Oftentimes it's used for the whole exploration from start to completion: - "Erlernen": A student learns every day, but if you want to emphatize aquiring of a wholly new bunch of knowledge - the base of analysis, a new language - they "er-learn" it. - "Erforschen": When you research a new subject, you "er-research" it. - "Erkunden": In a foreign land, you acquire knowledge (die Kunde, not to confound with "der Kunde", client). But when you explore an unknown land, you "er-knowledge" it. - "Erobern": There is no verb "obern", but "ober" means "over". When a general conquers a land so he gains control _over_ it, he "er-overs" it.

[@tom-el-tom]

Dear Dana! In Deutschland wird die Sprache auch benutzt, um Bildung oder Niveau zu zeigen oder vorzutäuschen. So sterben Menschen zum Beispiel, die Polizei spricht dann aber von VERsterben. So ähnlich ist das, glaube ich, mit dem lernen vs. erlernen. Anders ist es mit dem Öffnen: ein Geschäft z.B. öffnet jeden Morgen, aber es ERöffnet nur ein Mal, nämlich beim ersten Mal. Kostenfrei ist eigentlich das gleiche wie kostenlos. Kostenfrei ist vielleicht etwas, das normalerweise etwas kostet, während kostenlos etwas ist, das von vornherein nichts kosten sollte. Mein comfort food, also Lieblingsessen, sind z.B. Kartoffelpuffer. In german you can pluralize words in 100 ways - das stimmt und ich habe noch kein Schema erkannt und ich glaube, dass das eines der Merkmale am Deutschen ist, das Ausländer zur Verzweiflung treibt :-( Die Frage nach den Farben: Es ist interessant, dass es in Dialekten - z.B. in dem, in dem ich aufgewachsen bin - durchaus LILANES Haus oder ROSANES Kleid heißt. Dialekt gilt aber immer als zweitklassig. Oben schrieb ich ja schon, dass in Deutschland Sprache benutzt wird, um Bildung zu zeigen oder vorzutäuschen, und dazu kann auch dienen, Sprache komplizierter als nötig zu machen > Wir Gebildeten sagen dann grünes und lila X statt grünes und lilanes, aber silbernes und nicht silber. Weihnachtszeug im August, oder genauer gesagt: vor Ende November, finde ich Schwachsinn und ich kann dir nicht sagen, was das soll.

[@bilingualkaraoke8665]

In the examples you named, the prefiy "er" is used to indicate that the verb is definitely used "transitively", meaning it needs an accusative case object. With some verbs, it could be still used that way (like "(er)lernen") even without the prefix. (Like you said: With "Ich (er)lerne die deutsche Sprache)" both variations are correct) But IF you use the verb WITH the prefix "er", you MUST use it with an object in the accusative case. If someone is asking me "What are you doing", I can answer unspecificly "Ich lerne" (I'm studying). I don't have to specify what I am studying for (like an exam, for instance) or what subject I'm studying. However, if I start my answer mit "ich erlerne", I have to complete the sentence with an accusative case object. You can check for it with a question starting with "Wen oder was ...?" "Wen oder was erlernst du?" Answer: "Die deutsche Sprache" Same with "(er)forschen": "Ich forsche" = "I'm doing research" meaning "That's what I generally do when I'm at work" or "That's what I do for a living" "Ich erforsche." = incomplete answer. Needs follow-up question: "Whom or what are you doing research on?" - "The weird peculiarities of the German language" 😉 There are also the matters of commitment and formality "Ich lerne Deutsch" sounds less formal and less committed. "I'm learning German ... but I don't know for how long I'll keep at it, or how advanced I'll get eventually" "Ich erlerne die deutsche Sprache" ("btw, "Ich erlerne Deutsch" would sound kind of weird, at least to my native German ears) sounds much more formal and also more commited. In German, you would more likely expect it to be followed by an expression like "... so gut ich nur kann" (I'm learning German and I'm trying to get as good at it as possible) than with the more informal "Ich lerne Deutsch" Unfortuately, this explanation is only valid for this particular type of verbs. With other verbs, the prefix "er" can mean "dying from" (e.g. "ertrinken") or "killing by" e.g. ("erhängen") In that cases, the explanation above doesn't apply at all. I'm sorry, I'm not really good at explaining grammar issues in English.

[@flowerdolphin5648]

My ultimate comfort food is my mom's carrot egg soup. It's literally the best, I always ask for it when I'm unwell & she delivers it hot, straight to my apartment door. Love her for that. We don't really have a word for this concept though. Maybe Wohlfühlessen which is a direct translation, but I don't know if it's the same thing, since I always just say comfort food. All of my friends know what it is, since all of them speak English.

[@katjabregenzer4031]

Hi you motivated me to my first KZbin comment ever 😂 so here are some thoughts: - plastic cups: I think it really depends on the size of the party. If you just throwing an event for a couple of people you would probably try to manage it with the glasses you have at home. But on bigger events you either have the smaller (0.2l) white cups or a lot more drinks from glass or plastic bottles. - comfort food: I can't really think of a German word for it, but for me (since moving out at least) it has a lot to do with little efforts and time in preparing as possible. Often times that means some sort of pasta.. Also lots of cheese and cream should probably be part of my definition, the kinda food that produces food coma. - holidays: I've seen that stuff so often so early and really don't like to think about Christmas already during early fall. I really wonder who buys them, because I suppose they wouldn't be in a store if there wouldn't be a demand for it. Your theory about the US holiday season makes sense but I'm actually a German living in Sweden since 2 years ago and even though there aren't any holidays during the fall, Christmas stuff doesn't get displayed earlier than maybe November. I think in Germany someone might have just tried to sell them earlier to get more profit and they got bought and that started this weird trend. Generally I need to say thanks for your content. It's fun seeing someone else doing the international move but with a totally different perspective. I was also totally digging your 'being a woman' series! So no stress, but I would be super happy to see more of that!

[@WantedAdventure]

@Katja Bregenzer Thanks so much for your comment...and congratulations on your first KZbin comment ever!!🤩🎉🌟✨ Really interesting to hear how it is with the Christmas stuff in Sweden! And the kind of creamy pasta comfort food you described definitely sounds delicious. I'm glad to hear you've been enjoying the videos and also the Being A Woman series!! Thanks for that feedback😊

[@Gerhard-Martin]

@@WantedAdventure I guess it´s also been YOUR Videos, that I have first commented, Dana. =) You have something "convincing" & "challenging" about your Messages ! =D haha

[@Automatik234]

Verbs with the er- prefix can be compared to the aspect system in some other language, where one aspect implies that an action is (or is going to be) finished, while the other aspect doesn't take any specific time or generally isn't very specific. English uses tenses to explain those concepts. The prefix Ge- mostly implies some kind of collection or mass, like Gehirn → basically a mass of brain matter and Gefieder (Ge- + Feder) → a collection of feathers, meaning all of the feathers of a bird etc...

[@ninakiefl625]

My dad is one of the people who like to buy Spekulatius in September. He tells me he does it because they always sell out too fast in winter and he often can't get them then. The problem with that reasoning is only that he can't wait to eat them in winter and then again, he doesn't have Spekulatius in winter if they are sold out. 😅

[@windhelmguard5295]

the "erverb" thing is a matter is based on whether or not the verb refers to something specific. for example if you want to state that someone murders, in a sentence where the victim isn't specified you say "er mordet." in a sentence where the victim is specified you say "er ermordet (insert victim)" if a colour ends in a way where just adding "es" doesn't sound right, you ad"nes" or "enes"instead so it becomes: "lilanes" or "silbernes" und "goldenes" as for "party cups" we don't do that here, we either use real glass, or we just drink from the bottle. some old school people may also use stone jugs, but that is the exception. as for the christmas cookies, you have to keep iin mind that we don't celebrate thanksgiving, or halloween, so between summer and christmas we have absolutely nothing to be exited about, hence why christmas stuff starts showing up in late august already.

[@JoJoModding]

1. The "er" prefix does make a difference, but it's kinda dependant on the word. For example, "Ich erforsche etwas" means you explore something, while "Ich forsche *an* etwas" means you research something. Also, the past case has different semantics - "Ich habe an etwas geforscht" means you did some research about something, but "Ich habe etwas erforscht" means you're done researching. Finden means to find, erfinden means to invent. It's just different. Similarly, "eröffnen" is more like the initial opening. Like you can "eröffnen" a store, but you "öffnen" a door. If you switch it it's wrong. "Schrecken" is usually not used at all. You can say "Ich schreckte auf" (I rose up in shock) but it's kinda archaic. "Erschrecken" means to shock/frighten someone (like as part of a prank or whatnot). Similarly, if you have "erlernt" something you're an expert (because you're done learning), but if you are "am lernen", you're still studying. If you say you're "etwas am erlernen" you mean to become an expert but if you're just "etwas am lernen" it's like schoolwork - you don't really care, you just need to know the basics. 2. Hirn=Gehirn, the former is a bit more colloquial. And kostenlos=kostenfrei 3. I never heard of comfort food in Germany. I guess mashed potatoes, or carrots and peas might count. At least that's what my mother made when I was ill as a child. 4. Names are usually not pluralized. It's weird if you do. Avoid if you can. If you have to, the names have different plurals like all other words do. Like "3 Johannese, 4 Leons, 5 Peter, ..." Usually you just stick an -s on the name, though, I guess 5. Ein lilanes Haus, ein silbernes Haus, ein goldenes Haus. Though you could say "Ein lila Haus". Does not work for gold/silver. The name of the color and the adjective are different. 6. We have white single-use plastic "Becher" for parties. However we don't do "hot drink parties", it's usually beer so there isn't a market for single-use cups really. Except for coffee vending mashines. 7. Yeah, the christmas thing is a bit weird. And we don't really have holidays inbetween now and Christmas. It's a bit sad because there's quite a stretch without any holidays (well, Germany/Reunification Day is a bank holiday on October 3rd, but we don't really celebrate that). And bringing Spekulatius to a pool party would be a great idea since you can eat that all year, it does not cease to be awesome.

[@EvenxBreak]

I've never been to a party as big as in American movies, but at the parties I've been too we either just had normal glasses to drink from or (usually if it was outside) small white plastic cups. From what I've gathered from movies though, those red plastic cups are usually used for beer in America. In Germany people just drink beer from the bottle, so no cups needed.

[@Ulrich.Bierwisch]

I'm from Aachen, where the Printen are coming from (and a lot of the other things too). Printen might be a Christmas thing in most of the world but in Aachen, you get them all year long. I personally like Lebkuchen a lot but unfortunately this is limited to the Christmas time.

[@stephanfeinen3923]

Yes, Klein-Printen are the best and you can buy them throughout the year.

[@merle5562]

I'm also from Aachen😍

[@1anna1]

lol never thought about plastic cups before. But the ones that are mainly came to my mind are the standard ones in either see through or white. I don't even know how much fit in those. like 150-200ml ? I've never been to an american sized house party. the only one I can remember was a birthday a couple of years ago and although they had plastic cups, we pretty much hold onto them until they eventually ripped. every other birthday/"party" was decent sized, so everyone had their own glass

[@OlafMunderlohFotografie]

Der „Schrecken“ wird meist als Nomen verwendet. Als Verb benutzt man in der Regel „erschrecken“. Umgangssprachlich spricht man häufig von erforschen. Dabei bezieht es sich meist um einen konkreten Forschungsanlass. „Ich erforsche die Insekten in meinem Garten“. „Forschen wird meist im wissenschaftlichen, universitären Kontext benutzt und kann auch allgemeiner gefasst sein: „Professor X forscht an der Uni XYZ“

[@SimeonFail]

At Parties we normaly drink beer out of the Bottles and for "mischen" we use normal glas. But you can buy these Redcubs for Beerpong. But we usually clean them and use them for the next party

[@derbgentler3868]

_Christmas cookies_ (etc.) only as early as the first weekend of "Advent" (the beginning of the Christmas season). - And only until the 13th of January (the end of the Christmas season).

[@sizanogreen9900]

back when I still ate normal stuff I loved spekulatius and dominosteine and all the other christmas treats so while I was bothered by the untimely christmas stuff I very much enjoyed the snacks.

[@howardpope3932]

In opposite to "erschrecken" "Schrecken" is not a verb but a noun. It means "horror", "terror", "fright" or "scare".

[@realCevra]

1. the "er-" prefix generally denotes that something will definitely be achieved on top of a mere activity. "deutsch lernen" doesn't necessarily include that after the process you know german, but "deutsch erlernen" does. some of the "er-" and some of the without "er-" forms lost their use however, so "schrecken" is only used regionally, and "eröffnen" is rarely used as "er-öffnen" (like in "einen leichnam eröffnen") rather than for a new meaning as in open events, stores etc. 2. hirn is the original middle high german word for (one) brain, gehirn describes the sum of all of your brains, like you use horn for one horn and gehörn for an ensemble of horns. hirn and gehirn can be used interchangeably, but you'd never say kleingehirn, always kleinhirn since there is only one of those. kostenfrei means without any costs, kostenlos means something has no costs. the difference is obviously that you can have costs along the way but ultimately there is no or almost no cost. if something won't ever cost you anything, not even along the way, it's kostenfrei, otherwise it's kostenlos. but both can be used interchangeably 3. i think the typical old german comfort food is "süßer hirsebrei", sweet millet gruel, as in grimms' fairy tale "der süße brei", i don't think nowadays there is such a thing as a typical german comfort food, but mine is "apfelklöße in butter mit zimt und zucker" 4. plurals of names are mostly done with an -s, like in the english language. plurals of other nouns (and some names) depend on the stem of the word, usually if it stems from old high german it's not done just with an -s, mostly germanized foreign nouns are pluralized with an -s i think 5. colors as adjectives don't use their noun form as the initial point to build the adjective, but the "likeness" form, which is the same for most colors but not for every color. for example "like gold" is golden, "like silver" is silbern, "like green" is grün, then you add -er/-e/-es (depends on the genus of the noun) and you have the adjective (goldenes, silbernes, grünes, lilanes), same with lila and lilan and lilanes, although lilan is not used 6. traditional one-use plastic cups are white in germany and unless they got banned you can find them in any store, only ... white is not a color, so ... we don't have a typical "color" of plastic single use cups 7. we don't have enough holidays/holy days between summer and christmas? really? please ... depending on where you want to start (let's take first of august), and if you don't take into account that every one of our sundays is a holy day, germans have 17 (yes, seventeen) holy days until christmas. those are in order "verklärung des herrn", "mariä himmelfahrt", "kreuzerhöhung", "erntedankfest" (this is the original thanksgiving), "michaelis", "schutzengelfest", "reformationstag", "allerheiligen" (the evening before this one is halloween), "allerseelen", "martinstag" (where we do/did kind of what is done on halloween, kids running/marching around getting candy eventually), "buß- und bettag", "Gedenktag Unserer Lieben Frau in Jerusalem", "totensonntag", "erster advent", "zweiter advent", "dritter advent", "vierter advent", and those are only the liturgical holy days (except the advents), so something like "sankt nikolaus" isn't even on the list, not to mention all our pagan and other regional, annual celebration days like "sonnenwende", "lichterfest", "schützenfest", etc, etc it all comes down to what you want to celebrate. there are enough opportunities and depending on where you live in germany, you'll see great festivities all the time. the thing with supermarkets' christmas hype is just marketing, like valentine's day. if you like dominos there's no reason to buy and eat them only for christmas

[@androlsaibot]

"er-" can mean a lot of different things as a prefix of German verbs. It can mean that the action is applied explicitly to a given object, like in erlernen, erschießen, erforschen, erkunden, ergreifen. Or it can mean that something leads to death, as in ertrinken, erliegen, ersticken, erfrieren

[@MrFlo5787]

The er-versions of words usually are a bit more specific. Lernen / erlernen: Kinder gehen in die Schule um (neues) zu lernen / Kids go to school, to learn (new things). Jugendliche gehen in die Fahrschule um das Fahren zu erlernen / Teenagers go to driving school to learn how to drive. Öffnen / eröffnen: When someone opens a new business, you could say "einen Laden eröffnen" when they open a store (as in launchiung the business). When they open it every morning afterwards, you would say "den Laden öffnen". Hirn is just a more everyday common used term, Gehirn is the more corret one, but yes both mean brain. I dont think there is a word for comfort food in German, but the concepts exists without that word (which is odd, considering how many very specific words we have). With names you can be creative. You can use the s version as in "die Schmidts haben ein neues Auto" (the Smiths have a new car), but you can also use an e for most names, or for names that end on an s anyway you could add "ens" to build the plural. In Germany we have white and clear plastic cups (and with funny prints, especially smaller sizes for kids). Red ones are actually available in a few stores when "American" events like Halloween or the Super Bowl are coming up. Because its not a true Super Bowl party without "American" plastic cups. What kind of cup is used depends on the time, place and type of the event. I am very willing to enjoy Spekulatius and Lebkuchen alongside a nice cup of tea as soon as the weather gets cold and nasty, be it september or december. And then i am willing to drag this until the weather turns back to spring.

[@Dainsear]

You can say that roughly the "er" in front of the verb indicates doing it for the first time. You can open the shop every morning "den Laden jeden Morgen öffnen", when it is new you can open it for the first time only once "der Laden wird eröffnet". Apart from that "Schrecken" is a noun and "erschrecken" a verb. Gehirn and Hirn means the same but "Hirn" is more informal. In news or scientific articels "Gehirn" is used more often because it is a bit more formal.

[@chrisk7736]

"schrecken" can also be a verb: "Das schreckt mich nicht", meaning "I'm not scared of that". But in that case you could also say "das erschreckt mich nicht".

[@silentkiel]

Just a few days ago I ate some grilled sausages with really fresh gingerbread, and it tasted very delicious.

[@nriamond8010]

My thoughts as a Germanist are: (quite long ...) 1) Words with the prefix „er-“ usually have a more profound/far-reaching/expanded meaning than the word without - sometimes they are the old-fashioned version of a word because nowadays, the meaning of the verb has widened. A good example for the expanded meaning might be the difference between „hören“/“erhören“: „Erhören“ means „to hear AND react to the heard issue“, usually used for „eine Bitte erhören/ein Gebet erhören“. Or „klären/erklären“: „Klären“ means to clarify sth./clear sth. Up“, while „erklären“ means „to explain sth.“ (you have successfully clarified something and now you're giving your knowledge to someone else) lernen/erlernen: I can't think of a sentence where you could NOT replace „erlernen“ by „lernen“. But „erlernen“ has a deeper meaning, it means „to master something“. It's used mostly for „ein Handwerk/eine Sprache/ein Musikinstrument erlernen“ and which those three words it's almost a phrase. It sounds quite formal, though. forschen/erforschen: You can NOT replace „erforschen“ by „forschen“, but it's a bit similar to lernen/erlernen: „Erforschen“ means „to completely investigate something“ while „forschen“ refers more to a specific topic you are researching. Grammatically, it's a bit different: „Ich forsche an/über etwas.“, but „Ich erforsche eine Sache.“ schrecken/erschrecken: „Schrecken“ as a verb is old-fashioned and hardly ever used nowadays. You could say „Das schreckt mich nicht“, but really, you don't have to think about this word. öffnen/eröffnen: „Eröffnen“ means specifically to start a business. Also, it's an old-fashioned expression for „to reveal something to a person“: „Sie eröffnete ihm, dass sie schwanger war.“ But that's not used very often and sounds quite formal. There is also „retten/erretten“ and they mean the same. „Erretten“ is an old-fashioned word which you only see in biblical texts anymore. Sometimes words just lose their prefix. And sometimes two words have different meanings and then the language changes and the people start to use one of the words for both meanings. 2) „Hirn“ and „Gehirn“ mean exactly the same thing, yes. There might be a slight difference as „Hirn“ sounds a little more scientific and „Gehirn“ is more something you would say in a non-scientific context, but it might also be just regional differences and the difference is tiny. Kostenlos/kostenfrei: The meaning is identical (you can also say „gratis“): „Kostenfrei“ in my eyes is a VERY formal/bureaucratic word and only used in formal/written language. 3) Yes, the concept of comfort food exists. In my case, that would be liquid and hot chocolate pudding which my parents called „chocolate soup“ when I was a kid. I'm not sure the German language has a word for the concept, though. 4) We also usually pluralize names with an s: Zwei Annikas, drei Richards, vier Daniels, fünf Christines … except when the names already with an s. Then we get a bit creativ and people might use different versions: Ein Jens, zwei Jense. Ein Hans, zwei Hanse/Hänse. Ein Markus, zwei Markusse. 5) „Ein lilafarbenes Haus“ (more formal) or „ein lila Haus“. Very informal is „Ein lilanes Haus“, not grammatically correct, but a lot of people say this. „Lila“ and „rosa“ are imported words from other languages and they always are a bit difficult to integrate into the German grammar. German adjectives don't end on -a, so we need an -n- to fill in. With silver, it's a bit different: „Silber“ is originally not a colour, but a material. It should be „silberfarben“ (= the colour of silver), but today, everyone just says „silber(n)“ instead. The adjective „silbern“ originally means „made of silver“ and not „has the colour of silver“, but nobody cares today and so youl would say „ein silbernes Haus“. Except maybe in formal language where I might use „ein silberfarbenes Haus“. Same with „gold(en)“. 6) We have white plastic cups which are much smaller than the big American red ones and quite shitty to use because they are very unstable. I hate them, but luckily, we use plastic cups very rarely (I see them mostly if someone moves house and people help and you just can't reach your glasses because they are already packed). Some people use plastic cups at parties, but if you only have a few people at your home, you usually use glasses. At outdoor festivals where drinks are sold, you usually get a glass and have to pay for a deposit which you get back if you return the glass. 7) I could eat christmas sweets all year round and yes, I might buy Spekulatius in August :D but some of them are chocolate covered which is a bit problematic in the summer. Yes, I would like some fall holidays. My birthday is in October, though, so I have something to look forward in the fall. „Going back to school“ is not such a big thing in Germany because of the rotating summer holidays (which also are just 6 weeks long and not several month like in other countries and let's not talk about how Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg weasled out of the shitty rotation system with feeble excuses).

[@WantedAdventure]

@Nria Mond Thank you for your feedback to my questions! Ah yes, "klären" and "erklären"!! I feel like I've usually heard "klären" used in the past tense. Like, "sie hat alles geklärt."

[@aaarghh2177]

@@WantedAdventure klären - abklären - aufklären - erklären - verklären

[@darkfrostwitch]

Wall of text incoming!! ^^° 1st q: I... can't even describe the difference in German, but there IS a very nuanced difference! I use them differently, but I can't explain it xD 2nd q: Those are indeed used interchangably as for as I know, yea. 3rd q: Honestly my comfort foods are spiral noodles with tomato sauce as well as potatoes, spinach and Fischstäbchen. I don't think there's a common word for "comfort food"? Also a comfort food tends to be something attached to a warm/good memory I guess, and since Germany has quite a ramge of sifferent foods, there are probably different comfort foods in different regions. ^^ 4th q: I think you got that right! I tend to just put an -s if I pluralize a name (1 Natalie, 2 Natalies) or -se if it ends with an s (1 Andreas, 2 Andreasse (that looks wrong when written out but that's how I do it xD)) 5th q: Lila is a tricky word for sure. You'd definitely say silbernes Haus, aber lilanes Haus sounds wrong sooo... uh, lilafarbenes Haus maybe?? Sometimes German is just a game of 'what sounds right' for me :'D But yea, silbernes Haus. Dunno why the n is there, but it is *shrugs* 6th q: Most parties I went to just had cheap Ikea glasses or general clear glasses. Plastic cups are mostly clear or white for parties I think?? The brown ones are mostly for coffee or hot chocolate I think. Maybe green for football-related events. But no, I don't think we have the typical red solo cup :D 7th q: As long as it's just cookies I'm actually kinda happy because my favorite cookies are only sold around christmas time :D I do think August/September are too early though. Should be october tbh. I also don't really want any other holidays - so many important ones in just the last few months is too much imo. Could just be me though ^^° Alrighty, sorry for the wall of text but I had some time and wanted to answer everything :D

[@xrenax2285]

About the colors, it's "silbernes Haus" for silver. And because of that, most people think it would also be "lilanes Haus" and "rosanes Haus", although officially, the colors with an a - ending become "lilafarbenes" and "rosafarbenes Haus" OR just stay how they are = "Lila Haus/ Rosa Haus." But colloquialy, you wouldn't do anything wrong saying lilanes Haus.

[@Seegalgalguntijak]

OK, I haven't much experience with parties, and I know plastic cups basically only from coffee vending machines, and they are of course brown. But the most "single use" kind of cups that come to my mind aren't even made out of plastic, but out of cardboard, layered with some very thin plastic film as a composit material (or maybe even better now, without the plastic and some other technology) in order to not soak the cardboard. So they are mostly white, at least on the inside, but usually printed with the logos or colors from the place you're getting them at, like a coffee place will have cups with coffee beans and a brown theme, McDonalds has them with red and yellow and their logo on it, and so on.

[@chrisrogers3787]

First! Love your vids! Hello from the USA 🇺🇸

[@blackraveness]

When some colour ends on a vocal we put in a 'ne' to fit the s or r on the back. The same with "silber" it ends akkustical on an 'a' so we say "lilanes, lilaner, silberner, silbernes" but there are also exeptions like blau.

[@77dreimaldie0]

You may find lilaes, silberes, or oranges Haus in informal conversation, but for "good" German you will add an n (e.g. lilaNes), to avoid a glottal stop between the vowels. [Silber ends in the vowel ə] Some, like oranges and blaues have been lexicalized, dropping the glottal stop. This is fascinating, since oranges introduces a completely new syllable doing so

[@uncommonsense3630]

Hi, here the answers to your questions (I'm German, but no linguistic expert): 1) forschen=researching (no need to specify field/area/topic of research to complete sentence) erforschen=researching (but need specific field/area/topic of research to complete sentence) -> same with lernen=erlernen Also erlernen or erforschen is when you learn/research something new to you and normally also from scratch. -- (irgendwas) öffnen=to open (smth) (Geschäft) eröffnen= (shop) opening: opening/inauguration of shop, while "Geschäft öffnen" means to open a shop eg 8am (Spiel) eröffnen= start game/match (in contrast to: Spiel öffnen would mean to open a game, like opening box to get the game out) -- schrecken = scare/scared or fear/feared (not commonly used in general) erschrecken= to suddenly be scared by smth (occurs suddenly) -- 2) Gehirn=medical description of entirety of brain and more "noble" word to describe the organ for thinking Hirn=more "colloquial" term often used today in meals ("Kalbshirn" etc) or also used to describe parts of the brain (Kleinhirn, Stammhirn, etc). Today it can actually be used interchangeably. As in many cases the composition with Ge- (Gestirn/Stern, Gefild/Feld, Gewässer/Wasser, etc) describes the more complete and the more "noble" form. -- kostenlos=at no charge kostenfrei=free of charge Can be used interchangeably and as synonyms. While kostenlos belongs to the general standard language, kostenfrei (according to Duden) originates from the legal language. -- 3) Comfort food=Wohlfühlessen/Wohlfühlspeise Generally not commonly used in German language. Most people will refer to the "comfort" part as the comfort or pleasure one feels when "eating" the food and not the comfort in "cooking/preparing" the food.. -- 4) Plural of names comes mostly with an "s" at the end, so: "wir haben 3 Michaels, 2 Simones und 4 Janas". When name ends with "s", like eg Johannes or Thomas, you usually say "wir haben 3 Johannes und 3 Thomas" but more commonly you paraphrase it when name ends with "s" to say "wir haben 3 Leute mit dem Namen Johannes" "or "wir haben 3 Leute namens Johannes". -- 5) Colors, in your example with "Haus": When using colors ending with "a", like lila, rosa or with the ending "r", as in pupur, ocker, silber, then you add "nes" at the end of the color: lilanes, rosanes, purpurnes, ockernes, silbernes Haus.. For all other colors you use the ending "es", grünes, blaues, rotes Haus. -- 6) Plastic cups in Germany are usually white or transparent and only for coffee often times brown or black (but only outside). The reason for this is that one can see through the color of drink served, as there are normally different beverages served (orange juice, champagne, red wine white wine, etc). If the cup had a color, then one can not easily recognize the content. Also white or transparent cups symbolize cleanliness. We use red "American" cups only for beer pong. ;) Yes, we normally use normal glasses (we usually have wine glass sets or Champagne glas sets for festive occasions).. -- 7) There are always some Christmas things popping up in supermarket too early. I assume, that since we only have two big Christian festivities (Easter and Christmas) you will always find either Christmas goods or Easter goods in the super market to remind everyone, which big Christian holiday is coming up next. Also it could be that many Germans tend to buy things off-season to always have something prepared, when season approaches and things are usually cheaper.. Also we have "Nikolaustag" and typically a Christmas dinner with colleagues from work that are normally celebrated long before the actual events and you might want to have things available then too.. Halloween, Octoberfest, Valentine's day, Carnival are the other bigger events good for specific marketing...

[@DerULF1]

About "kostenlos" vs. "kostenfrei": Usually a german adjective suffixed by "frei" describes something that you like to be that way. E.g. copper may be "sauerstofffrei" because this is better for sending electrical signals over the wire, whereas a lake may be "sauerstofflos" when you can't find any fish in there. So the suffixes "frei" and "los" may give you a hint whether or not the speaker likes the property of the thing being described. Unfortunately however this is only a general rule and in the day to day talking many people aren't aware of that difference. So especially "kostenlos" and "kostenfrei" are used interchangeably.

[@oliverkersting2852]

The prefix er- deepens the meaning of a word or makes it more abstract. Öffnen means e.g. to open a box. Eröffnen is used in to open a business. The business is still open, wenn the front door isn't. You needn't to physically open something to do eröffnen. E.g.: "Ich eröffne einen Buchladen!" "I'm starting a business of a bookstore!" vs. "Ich öffne den Buchladen!" "It's 9:30 a.m., I'm opening the shop, customers may enter now, for the shop's door is open!" Lernen is the actual activity of learning, erlernen is more the entire process. "Ich lerne Englisch!" "I'm sitting there staring at the vocabulary!" vs. "Ich erlerne die englische Sprache!" "I'm learning the language, I subscribed to weekly lessons, I scheduled learning the vocabulary and are making progress. But NOW I'm sitting in the park and enjoying the sun. The next lesson starts in 35 Minutes." 'Hirn" is one of the brain like Kleinhirn, Großhirn, etc., but "Gehirn" is the entire brain. But usually they are interchangeable. "Kostenlos" has a slightly different focus than "kostenfrei". "Kostenlos" focuses on the fact you don't have to pay for it. "Kostenfrei" focuses on the fact that someone else payed for you. I don't really get the concept of comfort food. Maybe I got it wrong but it sounds like "I've gotten not enough time, so I made not a real meal today." That's what we call it. Pluralization of names goes by an ending -s. As an age old way female names can replace the ending -e or -a with -en, but that will today only be used to relate to different appearances of St. Mary, like in "Marien-Erscheinungen". There are some "younger" colours, which came from other languages: orange, rosa and lila. They aren't flectated. It's a lila Haus. The adjectiv to "Silber" is "silbern". So you can have "ein silbernes Auto". Party Cubs as one way cubs aren't very common anymore. Usually they are white, but there are ones with 'Happy Birthday' written on them. The brown ones are usually from a coffee machine. I suppose the machine was broken or gone, but the cubs were left in the storage.

[@oliverkersting2852]

You are right, german X-mas hasn't any competition to stop it from starting earlier and earlier every year, except Easter. Now way for ginger bread in the stores before April. But I like it. So I don't need to drive to the Netherlands or the city of Aachen to get my favourite kinds of ginger bread. 🎵🎶Ginger bread, ginger bread, ginger all the way...🎶🎵

[@karinland8533]

Why use plastic cups at parties? We use glases. My comfort food is Grießnockerlsuppe.

[@karinbirkenbihl2053]

Just bought some, but the Griessnockerln my mother made were definitely better!

[@chrom0xide123]

I think some Germans may be also confused about the purple house. So I think the most formal version is "lilafarbenes Haus". Children sometimes say "lilanes Haus", but I don't know if this can also be used. "lila Haus" sounds for me also familiar. Or also "violettes Haus" to don't use the term "lila". (there may be a difference between purple and violett, but many people don't care) The usual plastic-cup-color for me is just white or transparent. Or also paper cups that are white. Like the ones from McDonalds. Depends also on the party, it is also not unusual to have regular glass on bigger parties. I don't care about christmas stuff in August/September, because it is there for years. I am not sure if it really becomes earlier, because I can't remember the time when this started. I think it my be since 10-15 years minimum. But halloween- and octoberfest-stuff became bigger over the years. (I mean outside of bavaria). When I was a child i knew halloween just from american movies and didn't know of the existence of an octoberfest. Thanksgiving is something that is marked in german calendars, but there is no party for this in my region.

[@georgejuenger]

1) There are syntactical differences, but also semantical differences which I find more interesting. The prefix "er-" indicates a more focused, target-oriented action, referring directly to the object, and often underlines that you create something new, in the widest sense, or penetrate it more thoroughly, maybe to possess it. Clearly these nuances are also reflected by the fact that verbs with "er" are usually transitive. 2) "Hirn" and "Gehirn" refer to the same thing. The prefix "Ge-" sometimes has historically a slightly depreciatory, or at least less elegant tone, or, as an example, there are constellations where adding the prefix has the impact of subsuming living beings under a class of indiscriminate objects, or it underlines the vague nature and unspecific randomness of a thing or actually of a plurality of things. Yet, regarding "Gehirn" especially, the variant with the prefix is actually nowadays the more articulate word ("Hirn" is still prefered in composite words). The next one is subtle to me. "Kostenlos" is the more common word and slightly more informal. It seems to fit better for things, and "kostenfrei" better applies to services. 3) There is probably no exact correspondence. Some expressions cover certain aspects of comfort food. "Hausmannskost" is old-fashioned, homemade and somewhat provincial food that often contains much fat, "Nervennahrung" is mostly for fabricated food with much sugar and no remorse (with the more or less ironically proclaimed purpose of gaining the energy to be fit for certain tasks). 4) Since we are speaking of names I would say such plurals tend to have a somewhat laconic tone, since you basically seem to identify different people simply because of the identity of their names, as if that name fully characterized them. It is certainly possible to apply the same plural rules as for other words, but the more the root of the word is distorted by the plural, the more ironic the plural word seems to sound. 5) The trouble seems to stem from the fact that "lila" ends with an "a", same for "umbra". The suffix "er/ es/ e" (instead of mere "s") seems to be requisite for the application of adjectives. And since we have base adjectives like "silbern" and "golden", the "n" in e.g. "silbernes Haus" should not be omitted.

[@ruralrebeltory7474]

I am so ready for the Christmas Season here in UK 🇬🇧 !!!!

[@itsgorani9133]

1) "er-" or "no er-" + verb? I think there is a bit of context involved. In the context of learning, "erlernen" means that you did not have the skill before, while "lernen" kind of describes the process of learning. "eröffnen" is opening a shop/business for the first time, while "öffnen" has been done before (e.g. the shop opens every weekday at 9 a.m.) 2) Gehirn I think "Hirn" is mostly used in composite nouns, like "Großhirn" or "Hirnstamm"; I personally don't make a difference with "kostenfrei" and "kostenlos" 3) Comfort food "Leibgericht", if it is something you like a lot (or "Lieblingsessen) 4) Pluralising Names "Alle Lenas und Leas sind jetzt mal leise!" I think I use that quite often, so names will get the same treatment as in English 5) Colours I don't have a good answer for that. Perhaps the Duden has a useful rule on that. :D 6) Party cups? White, same with throw away cuttlery 7) Christmas food I think it has moved quite drastically during my lifetime towards October and September. When I was a child, I remember that christmas foods like Spekulatius and Lebkuchen started appearing after Allerheiligen in the first week of November

[@frozenmadness]

For the plural of names, we normally add an "s", just like in English. And Christmas cookies in August are an awful thing, but apparently people buy them (otherwise they won't be available).

[@Al69BfR]

I heard and read „kostenfrei“ more in the context of using something is free of costs. I.e. in hotels: „Die Benutzung des Internets ist kostenfrei“. While „kostenlos“ is more related to an object or a thing. But „kostenfrei“ is more related to a specific action or something you can’t hold in your hand. „Das Handy gibt es kostenlos zum Vertrag dazu und die ersten 100 SMS sind kostenfrei“.

[@ThomasKossatz]

There is a reason for Christmas Cookies in August. The storage must be completely sold in November, so they can make room for Easter Eggs.

[@HagenvonEitzen]

Pluralization of Names: I guess the most *productive* ending (i.e., "s") applies to all names (as for anything "new" you want to pluralize): zwei Annas, Bertas, Peters, Karls, Herberts, Kevins, Chantals, Manfreds, Friedrichs, Ingeborgs, Stefans, Baracks, Aysches, Mehmeds, Jeanettes, Kofis, Nikos, Narutos, Antonios, Zitas, ... -- with some problems with names ending on "s" or "z" or "x" already Plastic party cups are usually white or transparent in my memory --- EDIT: Upon second reading of my list above, I'd like to change my mind for names ending in "er" and switch to no ending for these (in nominative). This is however the most productive rule for new word ending like that, even though this usually applies to words derived from verbs (i.e., the new German word "influencer" is treated like "Bauer", "Lehrer", "Staubsaugervertreter"). But I must admit that I noticed this gut feeling only when I tried to use different cases ("Gestern war ich mit zwei Bertas in der Kneipe" but "mit zwei Petern, Dietern, Waltern"; exception to the exception: "mit zwei Chers" - I suppose)

[@lizben3463]

My comfort foods are Käsespätzle, mashed potatoes with spinach and fried eggs or fish fingers, my grandma's delicious potato soup or simply noodles with tomato sauce ❤

[@WantedAdventure]

Käsespätzle!!!🤩🤩🤩

[@lizben3463]

@@WantedAdventure they're the best thing ever 😋😋😋

[@Oceanborn712]

forschen is doing research while erforschen is researching something specific öffnen means to open in a mechanical sense, anything from opening a tin can or a bottle, to a door or gate. Eröffnen is used for less "mechanical" openings such as opening a business as in establishing a new store somewhere, or opening a new bank account etc. 'Schrecken' is a noun meaning haunt or scare but can be used as part of a phrase such as "einen Schrecken einjagen" for to scare someone while erschrecken is just a plain old verb for scaring someone or 'sich erschrecken' if someone is scared by something. "Ich erschrecke Leute indem ich um die Ecke springe und buh schreie" vs "Er sprang um die Ecke und rief buh. Ich habe mich so erschrocken" lernen is learning in general, both in the sense of studying as well as picking up knowledge from experiencing things, while erlernen is more about learning a skill or craft Gehirn and hirn are the same thing. Kostenlos and kostenfrei are pretty much the same as well but I don't usually see kostenfrei being used anywhere. I don't really know how names are officially meant to be pluralized, I'd just use whatever sounds right. Stefans, Andrease etc. Although I'd usually say "there's 3 people named Daniel at my office". Colors: Lila haus or lilanes Haus. Silbernes Haus. For lila I really don't know, but the adjective for Silver, actually is silbern. Regarding the cups... I am having difficulty imagining what brown cups you are thinking of. I just went to Amazon and looked up "Plastikbecher" and "Partybecher" and it just keeps showing me two kinds of pastic cups. The common one time use white ones (although there's also some alternative colors available for those, mostly blue and red), and the more sturdy hard plastic ones that aren't meant to be thrown away. But usually we just use regular glasses and mugs :o Those seasonal items are kinda stupid, yea. It's like as soon as Christmas is over, stores stock Easter items, then there's a short break and suddenly there's Christmas stuff. I've been walking past this Christmas sweets shelf in my local Norma for months now. Must have started in June. July at the very least. It's pretty dumb and I don't understand why but I'm not really complaining about more time to buy those lovely marzipan cookies that taste really great even though they always give me diarrhea right away xD

[@jensgoerke3819]

Kostenlos and Kostenfrei seem to be "no cost", but Kostenlos can be used for the first free month of a 2 year contract, usually to rope in customers to pay more in the long run. Kostenfrei would be used if you let a friend live with you for free to tide them over a bad time, but you'd still expect that friend to do their share and to do their best to remedy their situation.