Word of the Week
Every Friday, Germany.info and The Week in Germany highlight a different "Word of the Week" in the German language that may serve to surprise, delight or just plain perplex native English speakers.
Dec 16, 2011
| Germany.info
Everyone has heard of the Christmas tree. A visit to most German homes, as well as Christmas markets, will however reveal another item that is quite popular during the holiday season in Germany: a "Weihnachtpyramide," or Christmas pyramid.
Word of the Week
Dec 9, 2011
| Germany.info
Zero-calorie butter, schools without homework, or pigs that fly - that's all just "Zukunftsmusik" (future music). Although it can take on multiple connotations today, this figure of speech was spawned by 19th-century media mockery.
Word of the Week
Dec 2, 2011
| Germany.info
The German Romantic writer Jean Paul, or Johann Paul Friedrich Richter (1763-1825), is credited with first coining the term "Weltschmerz" in his pessimistic novel Selina (1827) to describe Lord Byron's discontent.
Word of the Week
Nov 21, 2011
| Germany.info
If Thanksgiving were an official holiday in Germany, a lot of German employees would most likely turn the Friday right after it into a Brückentag, or "Bridge Day," to create an extended four-day weekend.
Word of the Week
Nov 18, 2011
| Germany.info
With December and the holiday season fast approaching, our thoughts turn to spending time with family and friends. If you get along with your these folks, you may even experience "Vorfreude" - a delicious sense of anticipation of what is yet to come.
Word of the Week
