Körper und Gesundheit

Hi everyone,

Today I will present you the German words for parts of the body. Furthermore, you will learn how to explain what you are feeling when you are sick and the typical questions and advices from the Doctors!

Some German words for parts of the body are similar or identical to English: ,,der Arm” (arm), ,,die Hand” (hand), ,,der Finger (finger), ,,das Haar” (hair), ,,das Kinn” (chin). But they’re not all that easy!!!!

Körperteile

Das sagt die Ärztin / der Ärzt

For this section, it is recommended to review the use of the modal verbs ,,sollen“, ,,müssen” and ,,dürfen” here.

Deutsch	Englisch
Was fehlt Ihnen?	What is wrong with you?
Wo haben Sie Schmerzen?	Where do you have pain?
Tut das weh?	Does it hurts?
Ich schreibe Ihnen ein Rezept.	I write you a prescription.
Nehmen Sie die Tabletten dreimal am Tag vor/nach dem Essen.	Take the medicine three times a day before/after eating.
Sie sollen nicht fett essen und keinen Wein trinken.	You shall eat no fat, and drink no wine.
Bleiben Sie im Bett.	Stay in Bed.
Sie dürfen nicht rauchen und keinen Alkohol trinken.	Do not smoke or drink alcohol.
Ich schreibe Sie …  Tage krank.	I write you … days sick.

Das sagt die Patientin / der Patient

Deutsch	Englisch
Ich fühle mich nicht gut. / Mir geht es nicht gut.	I am not feeling good.
Meine Brust/Hand/Nase tut weh.	My chest/hand/nose hurts.
Ich habe Zahnschmerzen/Kopfschmerzen/Bauchschmerzen.	I have a toothache/headache/abdominal pain.
Meine Beine/Zähne/Füße tun weh.	My legs/teeth/feet hurt.
Ich habe Grippe/Fieber/Durchfall.	I have the flu/fever/diarrhea.
Ich bin erkältet.	I have a cold.
Wie oft / wann muss ich die Medikamente nehmen?	How often / when should I take the medication?
Darf ich rauchen?	Can I smoke?
Wann darf ich wieder Sport machen?	When can I play sports?
Wie lange muss ich im Bett bleiben?	How long must I stay in bed?
Ich brauche eine Krankschreibung für meinen Arbeitgeber.	I need a sick note for my employer.

With this new vocabulary and some examples, now you know how to explain what you are feeling and what the Doctor says!!

I wish you all have a good healthy life!!! 😀

die Verb-Endungen – Teil 2B

Here I’m again!!! 😀

In the previous post we learned how the modal verb ,,können” can be used to mean “to know”, but it has many other uses. In this post we’ll take a closer look at the verb ,,können” and the other modal verbs in German.

Modal verbs in German are used in much the same way as they are in English.

Modal Verbs

KÖNNEN – KANN

Covers everything between “can” and “be able to” and it even extends into the realm of “having permission”.

Thomas kann fernsehen.	Thomas has the option to watch TV. /Thomas has the permission to watch TV. (the last one only for spoken German)
Er kann gut fahren.	He can drive well.

Sample Idiomatic Expressions:

Sie könnten sich irren.	You could be mistaken.
Das kann man wohl sagen.	You can say that again.
Er kann Deutsch.	He knows German.
Er kann Sie jetzt sprechen.	He can see you now. (doctor, dentist)

WOLLEN – WILL

Maybe the headline is going to make you think that ,,wollen” has something to do with the English “will”, but that is not the case. I mean the origins are the same but the meanings are certainly not. For example:

1. I will drink beer.
2. Ich will Bier trinken.

These 2 sentences just won the German-English-Look-alike award, but the English sentence is future while the German one expresses a desire in present. ,,Wollen” means “to want”… no more, no less…

Ich will ein kaltes Bier trinken.	I want to drink a cold beer.
Sie will nicht gehen.	She doesn’t want to go.
Wir haben sprechen wollen.	We wanted to speak.
Ich hatte gehen wollen.	I had wanted to go.

Sample Idiomatic Expressions:

Das will nicht viel sagen.	That’s of little consequence. That doesn’t mean much.
Er will es nicht gesehen haben.	He claims not to have seen it.
Das hat er nicht gewollt.	That’s not what he intended.

MÜSSEN – MUSS

Now in this case the familiarity is not misleading and ,,müssen” does indeed mean “must” , “to have to” and “to need to do something”.

Ich muss jetzt gehen.	I must leave now.
Ich muss morgen zur Universität gehen.	I have to go to the university tomorrow.
Ich muss dort Deutsch sprechen.	I have to speak German there.
Du musst nicht abwaschen. Ich mache das später.	You don’t need to do the dishes. I’ll do it later.

This is pretty straight forward except for one exception:

I mustn’t  open the window.

This form of “must” doesn’t really mean “not to have to” and consequently it is NOT translated with ,,müssen“. So, if you say

Ich muss nicht das Fenster öffnen.

you are saying that you don’t need to open the window. For the English “must not”, use ,,nicht dürfen“.

Now, can ,,müssen” stand alone? Yes it can. Usually it comes along with ,,mal“. You might want to remember the following example. It is VERY handy for a long car ride.

Ich muss mal.

Everyone will understand it and the driver won’t miss the next chance to stop. Why? The missing part is “to go to the toilet”. 😉

Sample Idiomatic Expressions:

Ich muss nach Hause.	I have to go home.
Muss das sein?	Is that really necessary?
So müsste es immer sein.	That’s how it should be all the time.
Ihr habt sprechen müssen.	You (pl.) had to speak.
Ich hatte sprechen müssen.	I had had to speak.

Note: The old spelling with ,,ß“, as in ,,ich muß” or ,,gemußt“, is no longer used for forms of ,,müssen“.

MÖGEN – MAG

This verb is very important and you will need it every day. Hmm… let’s say it again to give it some more attention from you… lets pretend I don’t know that you are all on Facebook while you’re reading this. “To like” in German is ,,mögen“.

Er mag die Suppe.	He likes the soup.
Ich mag dich. Magst du mich auch?	I like you. Do you like me too?

Sample Idiomatic Expressions:

Das mag wohl sein.	That well may be. / That may be so.
Das mag der Himmel verhütten!	Heaven forbid!
Er mag/mochte etwa 1,3 Meter groß sein.	He must be/must have been about 1.3 meters tall.
Wir haben schwimmen mögen.	We liked to swim.
Ich hatte schwimmen mögen.	I had liked to swim.

,,Mögen” is often used in its subjunctive (,,möchte“) “would like” form:

Ich möchte lieber Kaffee (haben).	I would rather have coffee.
Wir möchten ins Kino.	We’d like to go to the movies.

DÜRFEN – DARF

This word doesn’t really have a relative. It could be translated to “can” or “may”, but the core meaning is “to have the permission to do something”. Anyway, just to make sure…  ,,dürfen” is less formal than the English “may” and it doesn’t mean “may” in sense of “It may rain”. It really only means “to have the permission”.  German kids would ask for permission using ,,dürfen“.

In spoken German you can always use ,,können” instead, so ,,dürfen” is not that extraordinary useful but it is good to know.

Mama, darf ich heute abend fernsehen?	Mom, can I watch TV tonight?
In der Bar kann/darf man rauchen.	In this bar one can/may/is allowed to smoke.
Ihr habt sprechen dürfen.	You (pl.) were allowed to speak.
Ich hatte sprechen dürfen.	I had been allowed to speak.

Sample Idiomatic Expressions:

Was darf es sein?	May I help you? (store clerk)
Wenn ich bitten darf.	If you please.

SOLLEN – SOLL

,,Sollen” means an obligation or constraint that is inflicted by a human being. It always includes that someone told you so. Thus it also includes the option of disobedience.

Something you ,,musst” do might be at times inevitable.

Something you ,,sollst” do, is always up to you in the end.

Note that ,,sollen” is the only one of the special ones that doesn’t change its vowel.

Mein Arzt hat gesagt, ich soll viel trinken.	My doctor said, I have to drink a lot.
Ich bin aufgeregt. Ich soll morgen ein Referat halten.	I am nervous. I have to do a presentation tomorrow.
Soll ich Thomas zu meiner Party einladen?	Should I invite Thomas to my party?
Er soll reich sein.	He’s supposed to be rich. / It’s said that he’s rich.
Wir haben gehen sollen.	We should have gone.

Sample Idiomatic Expressions:

Das Buch soll sehr gut sein.	The book is said to be very good.
Du sollst damit sofort aufhören!	You’re to stop that right now!
Was soll das (heißen)?	What’s that supposed to mean? What’s the idea?
Es soll nicht wieder vorkommen.	It won’t happen again.

NOTES!

1. The first difference in the conjugation are the endings you have to add to the stem. Only ,,ich” and ,,er” lose their endings and the forms end up being identical. The rest is as you already learned it. But please absorb the special endings as well, because you need those for the real past all the time.
2. Note that each modal verb (except for ,,sollen“) has two basic forms, a singular form and a plural form.

die Verb-Endungen – Teil 2A

Howdy stranger!!! 🙂

In the last post I’ve talked about how to conjugate 99.999 % percent of all German verbs in present tense… and today we are going to deal with the remaining 0.001%. This post is divided in 2 parts:

Teil 2A – The 3 German Verbs for “to know”

Teil 2B – Modal Verbs

The 3 German Verbs for “to know”

Yes, there really are 3 German verbs that can be translated as “to know” in English!!! The two main German verbs that mean “to know” are ,,kennen” (“to know a person, be familiar with”) and ,,wissen” (“to know a fact, know when/how”). A third verb, ,,können“, is a modal verb that express the idea of knowing how to do something. Often such sentences can also be translated using “can” or “is able to”.

KENNEN

Knowing PEOPLE or being familiar with things.

Possible ‘thing’ objects of kennen:
Ich kenne… das Buch, den Film, das Lied, die Gruppe, den Schauspieler, die Stadt, usw.
I know (am familiar with)… the book, the movie, the song, the group, the actor, the city, etc.

Sample sentences:

Ich kenne ihn nur vom Ansehen.	I only know him by sight.
Sie kennt mich nur dem Namen nach.	She only knows me by name.
Ich kenne Anna schon seit Jahren.	I’ve known Anna for years.
Kennst du ihn/sie?	Do you know him/her?
Den Film kenne ich nicht.	I don’t know that film.

Idioms/expressions:

Das kenne ich schon.	I’ve heard that (all/one) before.
Das kennen wir hier nicht.	We don’t put up with that here.
Sie kennen keine Armut.	They don’t have/know any poverty.
Ich kenne mich hier nicht aus.1	I don’t know my way around here.
Wir lernten uns in Berlin kennen.2	We met in Berlin.

1 sich auskennen = to know one’s way around

2 kennen lernen = to become acquainted, get to know

WISSEN – WEISS

Knowing information, FACTS.

Although it is not a modal verb, the conjugation of the irregular verb wissen follows the same pattern as the modal verbs.

Often used with interrogatives: wann, wie, wo, warum, usw.

Sample sentences:

Wer weiß?	Who knows?
Ich weiß, wo er ist.	I know where he is.
Wissen Sie, wie spät es ist?	Do you know (have) the time?
Ich weiß (es) nicht.	I don’t know.
Weißt du, wann der Zug abfährt?	Do you know when the train is departing?

Idioms/expressions:

Sie weiß immer alles besser.	She always knows better.
Was ich nicht weiß, macht mich nicht heiß.	What I don’t know won’t hurt me.
Ich weiß nichts davon.	I don’t know anything about it.
Ich weiß Bescheid.	I know about it. (I’ve been informed.)

KÖNNEN – KANN

knowing HOW to do something.

Usually used with languages, implying someone “can” speak, read, write and understand it. Otherwise limited to “can” or “to be able.”

Sample sentences:

Er kann schwimmen.	He knows how to swim.
Können Sie Englisch?	Do you know English?
Er kann Deutsch.	He knows German.

Idioms/expressions:

Man kann nie wissen.

You (just) never know.

Next time, I will talk about Modal Verbs in German.
Till then take care. 😉