Seelenfrieden, Lichtermeer, Fingerspitzengefühl, Augenschmaus, Traumtänzer Gedankenwelt, Wundertüte, Zweisamkeit, Sommernachtstraum, Weltenbummler, mucksmäuschenstill, Pustekuchen, Tunichtgut, Wonneproppen, Schäferstündchen, Sektlaune usw. :)

Mutterseelenallein is a very strong word for describing lonliness.

As a German these words don’t really evoke special feelings in me when hearing/reading them. But I can see why someone learning the language can see the poetry in them :)

Mutterseelenallein is being so lonely that feeling there is no one on this earth on your side, no one cares, no one might even know you are alive. That might not be the case, but it is the feeling. I feel you there, hearing it pierces my soul as well.

Er fühlte sich hundeelend, denn er war mutterseelenallein. Yes, very strong expression.

I (German) never thought about the emotional impact of mutterseelenallein... But listening to your description gave me goosebumps 😅😍. It's indeed a powerful word. That shows again how eye-opening it can be to listen to a foreigners point of view 🤓

My favorite German word is Feierabend. Very poetic word, that always makes me smile saying or hearing it :)

schlagen Eine Baum schlagen ist eine alternative Form zu sagen: einen Baum zu fällen. Ein geschlagener oder gefällter Baum liegt nun einmal horizontal auf der Erde, so wie es ein Schlagbaum tut. It refers to a choped down tree because it is also laying horizontal like a Schlagbaum. The standard position of a Schlagbaum is down, a Schranke is up.

As an Austrian who uses German every day, I forgot how beautiful the language actually is

Ich liiiebe das Wort Zeitlupe! Mehr Poesie geht nicht! 😍

Hallo Dana, ich liebe es, dass du mir durch deine Videos immer wieder besondere deutsche Wörter in Erinnerung rufst - die ich zwar alle kenne, aber die einfach im Alltag in den Hintergrund rücken. Die deutsche Sprache kann so viel und es ist schön zu sehen, wie du dich daran erfreust :)

Wow, I'm German native speaker and NEVER used the word "Schlagbaum". I heard of it, but I didn't really know what it was until now, thanks Dana ;) I always used the word "Schranke" instead (maybe Schlagbaum is also a regional thing?). A "Schranke" is always red and white, so if you have Pommes with Ketchup and Mayo it's a "Pommes Schranke" :D but I'm sure you already talked about that

Unwetter is more general than storm. There is the word Sturm for storm as a strong wind. Unwetter can be also heavy rainfall, snow and hail without much wind. Its any severe weather except sunny but too hot and dry weather, which we call Hitzewelle, means wave of heat.

The Schraube in Hubschrauber ist the same as in Schiffsschraube which is propeller in English.

Faultier (sloth) is my favorite german word😂

I am so glad to see your video today. Honestly your smile and energy brightens my day.

The word "Schlag" as in "Schlagbaum" doesnt come from "to hit". The word "Schlag" in german can also have another meaning. It describes kinda "something that has moved from an upward and/or centered position." Like in "Das Schiff hat Schlagseite" means that the ship is tilted to one side. "Abgeschlagen sein" means you are away from a particular position and "Ausschlag haben" doesn't just mean that someone has a skin-disease but can also mean that the pointer of the scale on an instrument of measurement has moved.

Ich mag „atemberaubend,“ „verzaubernd“ und „wunderschön.“ Ein paar Wörter, die ich geil finde. Ein Update: „gediegen” mag ich auch sehr.

Regarding wissbegierig: I would say that "eager" is the weak form of translation for "gierig". I would rather use "greedy" for it. And do you also admire the "darker" sister of the "Wissbegier": The "Neugier" (neugierig = curious) in a good sense or nosy, inquisitional in a negative sense.

What I like in German is combined words that make very logic! And sometimes interesting or beautiful! From France 🇫🇷

These videos are amazing. I hope you guys are staying safe and healthy. PS you are so cool keep being your awesome self.

"Schlagbaum": To understand the meaning of "schlag", you have to reverse the compound words - "Baumschlag" (tree-felling). In this sense the word "schlag" describes the falling movement of the barrier.

Backpfeifengesicht is my favorite German word 😁

I think Im going to take a look at deutschakademie and see if I can learn some German. Thank you for mentioning it.

Dear Dana, I believe „mutterseelenallein“ should not translate to „mother souls allone“, as the „N“ in the part „seelen“ is NOT indicative of a Plural, but only needed to avoid the „collision“ of two vovels. „mutterseele-allein“ would be hard or next to impossible to pronounce, so the N is used to combine both words. A better translations would be „mother‘s soul - alone“. „Mutterseele“ in this context is used similar to „mother earth“ or „Muttersprache“. Other sources claim it comes from the French „moi tout seul“ (me entirely alone) and made it‘s way into German as „mutterseele-n-allein“.

I think the word Schlagbaum comes out of times, where they literally used trees ass a barrier, maybe they called it Schlagbaum due to the beating sound if they let the bar or tree down. At earlier times such barriers got used to enter to a city or another state, you have first to stop and explain you, where come you from and what do you want and even in earlier days to pay taxes or residency permit.

I haven't seen your video yet but I'm expecting "Gugelhupf" and "Purzelbaum" at the least ☝️😄

Thank you, beautiful wors!

Reiselustig! It puzzles me that there is no exact translation for this word in English, yet it's a very simple word meaning travel-loving.

I can't remember if you mentioned Schadenfreude, but that's one I really like. It explains exactly what it means.

I like ´Der Schmetterling´. It sounds aggressive, but in fact is the good combination between fragile/tiny, and beautiful powerful force of nature 🦋🦋🦋

Tolles video Dana. Ich würde dass Word Schlagsahne als Beschreibungshilfe für Schlagschranke verwenden.

Your accent sounds like another language and it's Just BEAUTIFULL. Greetings from Brazil! :)

👍🔝🥇 BTW every single German word is beautiful!!! 😁

In the Netherlands we know this word too. Moederziel alleen. IT is a very intense feeling of loneliness

mutterseelenallein is like walking alone into a forest and even the animals are missing... complete silence .. complete loneliness.

„Baum“ is not only a tree, but also a boom (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boom_(sailing), a beam or bar.

Hello! I discovered a faszination for certain words in russian. I like words with the strong "ch" sound and almost everything that ends with "i" sound. Thats just beautiful to my german ears. I can comprehend your love for german words! 🇩🇪👌🇺🇸

I love the word Hingucker (eye catcher).

I really like "Leidenschaft". Es ist die Leidenschaft die leiden schafft.

*Schlagbaum:* My guess is, that in the middle ages or even prior, that literally thin, straight trees were used as boom gates to close off paths...and the "schlag" part probably originates from "zuschlagen" (to slam something down or shut) or even "erschlagen" (to strike down on someone/something). P.S. "Schlag" could also be short for "Abschlag" and it means something like a payment or toll. A boom gate where you need to pay a toll to pass. Ein "Abschlagbaum" über einer Straße / Brücke oder vor einem Tor.

Sorry, cannot find the Gänsefüßchen, i. e. quotation mark, for the German words.

Frühlingsgefühle 😍💓🌸🌄

"Unwetter" also has a broader meaning, if you combine it with "Warnung" (engl. warning, alert). So, an "Unwetterwarnung" does not necessarily refer to a storm. It can also be about extremely low temperatures, extremely yielding and long lasting rain (leading to floods) or about massive amounts of fresh snow or even about "Glatteis" (glaze? black ice?) leading to traffic hazards.

I think the noun Schrauber is more refering to the verb schrauben / etwas schrauben, what is a forwarding rotating movement. And less about a Drillingmachine or a screwdriver. :)

I think the "Schlag"-part in "Schlagbaum" origins from "Verschlag" wich means something like "hut" and probably refers to the booth/cabin/hut of the staff who maintain the barrier

mundfaul is definitely more poetic than Mundfäule ....... 🤭

I was thinking about this and the translation is more poetic - a dream tree, a tree that stands out and draws people to it because of its presence. You get this feeling with a lovely Christmas tree - the famous tannenbaum, beloved of German poets. The right tree is a delight to the eyes and it speaks to the soul.

I think Schlagbaum can also be one of these that don't go up and down, but concrete ones that roll to the side with a wheel connected, it can withdraw into a concrete encasing or a wall to let people pass and when put on a slightly descending ground can make use of gravity to roll back into its close position where it well may it the opposite wall with its own weight, this explanation would technically maybe make sense -at least to me :-)

How about the word "Pumpernickel"? Dana, you know what that is? It is a very dark type of bread, quite common in germany. Have you had any? Fun part, here's where the word comes from: It goes back to the times of Napoleon. When the french had invaded the western & northern parts of germany, in which this type of beard is very common, it was offered to french soldiers as field rations. The french whoever, who prefer white bread and croissants, found it inedible. Their comment on that bread was: "C'est pain pour Nicole" = "that's bread for Nicole", and Nicole was how Napoleon named his horse. "Pain pour Nicole" >>> "Pumpernickel". I find that story hilarious. :-D

Instead of mundfaul, you also can say maulfaul. I think it‘s more common in the south. And it‘s a little bit harder.

"Schlagen" has a variety of translations, including "beating" (sports team a beats team b). In this case "einen Baum schlagen" means "chopping a tree" and a Schlagbaum falls straight into one direction, as a newly chopped tree does.

Baum does not only mean tree, it also used to mean pole. For instance, the pole on a ship, where the sails are mounted to, is called a Mastbaum. The second meaning has vanished a little in German, you only have the composite words left, where the second meaning is preserved like Schlagbaum or Mastmaum. And Germans don't use Schlagbaum that much, they prefer to call it Schranke, which originally means limit. But interestingly, the German word Schlagbaum is preserved in Russian as a loan word. (Another interesting loan word in Russian is voksal, which means train station. It comes from English, and the original spelling is Vauxhall. When the Russian czar wanted the first train line going from St. Petersburg to his summer residence Czarskoye Zelo, he imagined the stations to look like London's Vauxhall terminal. Hence he ordered his engineers to build two Vauxhalls at the ends.)

Mein Lieblingswort ist "Napf". I love the sound.

Ich mag z. B. "atemberaubend", "Zweisamkeit", aber tatsächlich auch zwei der Wörter, die du in die Infobox geschrieben hast, nämlich "fremdschämen" und "Faultier", was auch damit zusammen hängt, dass ich eine besondere Verbindung zu diesen Tieren habe

Hi Dana, versuche mal im nächsten Clip den Unterschied zwischen einem Gabelstapler und einem Hochstapler herauszufinden :-) . Ich LIEBE Deine Videos, u.a. weil Du so mitreißend bist und mich zum Nachdenken über meine Sprache bringst. Im ersten Video, das ich von Dir sah, hast Du das Wort Handschuh beschrieben. Ich habe das Wort vorher nie bewusst wahrgenommen und sehe es nun ganz anders. Vielen Dank!!! You' re awesome!!!

Actually, the thingy in the front of the drill is a Schrauberbit, or Schraub-Bit, because to drill would be bohren, and that would be a bit with which you would actually drill a hole and not one with which you could screw something in. So the Hubschrauber, to go back on topic, would more be something like a "lifting screwer" if that second word exists.

Love you for sharing my love for the word „Hubschrauber“! 🤗🌈🚁 Mutterseelenallein is the lonelinest loneliness.... with a lot of sadness.... and it IS quite poetic. Maulfaul mag ich noch lieber als mundfaul - because of the sound! 😂 Wissbegierig und Unwetter are very great choices as well. I like Sonnenschein, Mondschein, Tauwetter, Gewitter, Fingerbeere, Naturtalent, Weltenbummler.....

I've heard that Mutterseelenallein is somehow derived from French, "Moi trés seule" or something along those lines A Schlagbaum is falling down and hitting its other Part on the ground

Schlagbaum comes from blocking dirt roads of forrests or agriculture areas, they were actually made from real thin trees directly out of the forrest they are protecting. The word Schlag is also an old word for a forrest area to harvest wood from. A Holzschlag. So the dirt road to the Schlag was secured from a Baum (tree) - the Schlagbaum.

What do you think about Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz?

"Unwetter" The prefix "un" often has a negating meaning similar to English: "nötig/unnötig" = "necessary/unnecessary". But sometimes it has a reinforcing meaning, as you can see in "Untiefe" (Die Untiefen der Meere = The depths of the seas). In this sense "Unwetter" equals extreme weather.

Okay maybe I don't follow u regularly that I would know, but I always thought u can speak german already :D I member some videos I saw where u talked german with ur hubby and it sounded already pretty good :D Are u just refining/ polishing ur skills or are u really learning basics?

mutterseelenallein once was emotionally loaded. Mutterseele as a step further than Menschenseele, basically "away from all kind souls", bringing darkness, coldness, fear, etc. But it's used very trivial nowadays, just to express somebody was on their own.

'Schrauben' could not only refer to the drilling part, but also to the type of motion, that turning in circles, pivoting, pirouetting, which is exactly what the blades of a helicopter does, doesn't it? BTW you could also use "Heikopter" in German, it's one of those German words like "Rettungswagen" or "Krankenhaus" (which could be called "Ambulanz" and "Hospital" or "Klinik" , too) where there's a "German only" version and one which is quite similar to the words' versions in other European core languages of the same family, like in English, French, Italian or Spanish, where these words often stem from Latin or Greek roots. (BTW, been curious and looked up "Helikopter" in Wikipedia, and that words a combination between helix (aka "spiral") and the verb pteron (aka "to fly), so that would be a "Spiralflieger" in German, had they translated it in a more literal way :) I'd also add that that prefix "Un-" in "Unwetter" or "Unkraut" is used to put a more neutral or positive word into a more negative light, like it is unwanted or unwelcome. I would actually say, that Unwetter, is a bit more than just a storm (which is just "Sturm" in German, I guess those words, again, do share the same, probably Germanic roots :3), it's more defined like a really unusual, extreme situation wheather-wise and could be used for a variety of extreme weather conditions and situations like blizzards or snowstorms, taifuns, hurricane or tornadoes, rain-, thunder- and hale storms.

Ein Schlag ist auch die Bezeichnung für: Flurstück, Flur, Feld, Feldstück, Acker, Ackerstück, (Feld, Wiese oder Waldstück). Dabei wurde ein Baum (geschlagen) gefällt und diente liegend als Abgrenzung. Diese Funktion des Begriffes wurde dann übertragen auf die Schranke.

I love the word "Schneebesen". It is so funny, because you can't sweep snow with it.

Kummerspeck. The extra weight you put on when you break up with someone. Truly German: ignorantly on the point, harsh and precise ... yet a cute way of putting it. Also even though it's not a single word but rather saying: Schauen wir mal, dann sehen wir schon. It's a 50:50 of anxiety and optimism, I can't even try to explain it :D

When you cut a tree it can be also referred in german as "einen Baum schlagen" and the tree falling down has the same motion as the "schlagbaum" (even though most people I know refer to them as Schranke)

I suggest Wasserhose ('water pant') for a waterspout. Why pant? Because it looks like the leg of a pair of pants... There's also Windhose for a landspout (usually fo something smaller than an actual tornado).

I am not sure if this is correct but to me a Schlagbaum conjures up the image of a tree that is falling down after it was cut down. The German term for cutting down a tree is “einen Baum schlagen.” So, the barrier comes down to block traffic... it comes down like a cut tree.

the prefix "un" means something bad with the connotation of being dangerous or annoying. Unwetter - Storm, Untiefe - shoal, Ungeziefer - vermin, Unmut - mild anger, (zur) Unzeit - at the wrong time. You have that one in english, untidy, unhappy etc.

Heya. Mutterseelenallein is like being the only light in a void of darkness. I would rather use utterly alone, instead of all alone. Utterly sounds stronger.

Ich mag besonders schäfchenwolkenschwer, fuchsteufelswild, regenbogenbunt, laut- malerisch, zuckersüß, sonnendurchflutet, mehrteilig, windschief...

We say "Der Zeiger schlägt" to referrer to a clock's hand ticking. "Schlagen" can also be used to refer to things moving up and down. Like with wings. "Flügelschläge". Hence why it's called Schlagbaum.

The english language has several describing and handy words, too. The first one I can think of is: runaway This describes perfectly what e.g. a teenager does, if overwhelming problems occur. In a mentally or even in a physically way.

Dana.... wie immer klasse...... by the way... there is Unmensch, Untier, Unzeit, ----

Sehr schönes Thema, gut erzählt. Ein Baum wird wenn er gefällt wird, heißt es man geht in Schlagen, die Bewegung mit dem Beil kommt einem Schlagen mit der Hand gleich. Dann fällt der Baum sehr schnell. Das ist der Vorteil bei einer solchen Schranke, gerade an Bahnübergängen wo es sehr schnell gehen muss. Es gibt neben Mundfaul, auch das mehr umgangssprachliche Wort Maulfaul. Meint aber das gleiche.

Sommersprossen. Summer sprouts? 😄

My favourite word is "Mäander" (which means exactly the same than English "meander") but the meaning is so beautiful and I collect words with "äa".

Love you

I suppose, the "schlagen" in Schlagbaum refers to the motion the pole is doing upon operation, like schlagen = to beat. The word occurs also in more remotely related words like "Briefumschlag", where it also refers to this motion (more of wrapping here).

I'm german and when i think about "mutterseelenallein" i just remember my grandma tells me the story of "Hänsel und Gretel" xD

Hi, "Der Schlagbaum" is simply a chopped tree to secure military camps or borders. In a narrow sense it is the tree across a path or street, which can be lifted to give free way. Another expression for the same object is "Schranke", which will be used to secure a railway crossing. The "Schlagbaum" as a term instead is used mainly at the entrance of military camps or borders. The term "einen Baum schlagen" is simply chopping a tree, it is still used in "einen Weihnachtsbaum schlagen", which can be translated into chopping or getting a christmas tree. "Mutterseelenallein", the lonlyness of a mothers soul, well, I guess that kind of feeling is in the imagination of the words themselves: When the kids are out of the house, the man at work or at war and she has to deal with everything on her own suddenly, and no one to give her comfort. This kind of feeling is expressed.

Ahoj bavorská princezna, rád tě zase vidím. Jste pozitivní a veselá žena. Bitte erlaube mir, dir zu deiner guten Arbeit zu gratulieren. Bis zum nächsten Mal, alles Gute!

Mutterseelen allein ist "eingedeutscht" vom französischen "moi tout seul"- was "ich alleine" bedeutet.

I prefer the more strong worded „maulfaul“ over „mundfaul“. 😉 But while listening to you pronouncing german words, another imho beautiful german word comes to my mind: „Zungenschlag“, which literally means tongue hit or beat of the tongue. Among other meanings it is used as another word to describe an accent.

I love the word Wollknäuel 🧶

Hubschrau-Bär... 😅 when my kids were in kindergarten we made fun that after the month of August (a roman emperor 😉) the Bärenmonate would start: Septem-Bär * Okto-Bär * Novem-Bär and Dezem-Bär. 🤣

Landratte, Tragschrauber, Schallplatte, Rundfunk, Stehlampe, Fußabtreter, Rollschuh(e), Tretroller, unwegsam, sich verlaufen, ...

I love the words:" Wortklauberei" which means you cling to the exact meaning of something that was said and "tohuwabohu" it means a total mess or chaos 😄

For me the word 'Überhaupt' is very special. I do have no proper English (or Dutch) translation for it, however I do know what is means in German. Maybe that's also one for you to explain in English.

Mutterseelenallein = before my inner eye pops up the following picture: a small child (let's say a toddler) noticing that his mother is gone and he is now on its own. Yes, a very powerful word. Schlagbaum = to me who is raised near the Dutch-German border the hit part did express the feeling that families have if someone splits the relatives by setting up a border between them. Mundfaul = Norddeutsche Wissbegierig = Ich Unwetter = mehr als 25 Grad Celsius bei +X über 50% Luftfeutigkeit. And as a native German, I have always a hard time finding poesie in my native language but I could recommend words in English that I find amazing: My all-time favorite is still mentioned "toddler", another one is fading.

Schlagbaum is also used in Russian as far as I know.

Schlagbaum Schlag: It comes from "to open something", like "ein Buch aufschlagen" Baum: In the past, they did use a small tree, instead if metal or plastic.

I never thought about it in depth but I'd guess that "Schlagbaum" is very much a good description of the low tech version of a turnpike. "Baum" is the material used and "Schlag" describes the cutting of it. I.e. you also say "Holz schlagen" for cutting wood, or "Sturmschlag" for a forest flattened by a storm. (In the back of my head I have the picture/scene of some rouges blocking a road to rob the money transport for this "Schlagbaum")

Hey Dana, the "Schlag" in "Schlag-Baum" referres to an old expression for chopping trees. Imagine a chopped tree with a little connection left to it's stump. That's the original Idea behind that word.

I like the word 'vernetzt', connected (through the internet). 'Ich habe ein neues Handy, ich bin wieder vernetzt'

Hubschrau-Bär (by Rötger "Brösel" Feldmann, presented in the movie "Werner - beinhart")

If you like the word "mutterseelenallein" you'll love the song " für immer auf dich" from the swiss group "Patent Ochsner", a very deeply touching song about ones mother and departure. But as it is Swiss German you might not understand too much, Dana.