5.1 The body and health — Epoché
What you will be able to do Name the parts of the body that English does not give you for free — Bauch , Wange , Niere , Stirn — and say which ones it does: Hand , Zahn , Knie , Blut . Describe a symptom to a pharmacist or a doctor with the two patterns German uses: Ich habe Kopfschmerzen. and Mein Rücken tut weh. Use the article that goes with each new noun, since gender is not guessable for most of them. Take a long compound apart and read it — Ich brauche ein Medikament gegen Husten. — which is how most of this field is built. Prerequisites : 2.3 — you need the three genders and the articles, because a body-part noun without its article is half-learned. This is the first vocabulary lesson, and it is built on a decision worth stating plainly. English and German are the same branch of the same family, so a great deal of the basic body vocabulary is already yours: the German words for hand , arm , finger , heart , foot , knee , blood , skin and tooth are all recognisable at a glance. There is no point spending a lesson on them. So this lesson spends its fifty-two words on the parts of the field where the family resemblance runs out, plus the phrases you need to describe what hurts. Recognising the free ones and then not studying them is a real saving: you get a vocabulary lesson that is half the usual size and twice as useful. The ones you already have Read this table and then forget about it. It is here to be counted, not learned. Each of these but one is close enough to its English cousin that you will never need to look it up; the exception is marked. German English — what changed die Hand hand — nothing changed at all der Arm arm — nothing changed; but see the warning below der Finger finger — nothing changed das Herz heart — the z is the sound from lesson 0.1, so it is [ts] der Fuß foot — the vowel fronted in the plural, exactly as in foot / feet das Knie knee — and here the k is pronounced, which English stopped doing der Knochen bone — the exception: its English relative is knuckle , not bone , so this one has to be learned; the ch is lesson 0.4 das Blut blood — long vowel, so it rhymes with English boot , not blood die Haut skin, hide — the same word as English hide der Zahn tooth — the same word as English tooth , which lost its n before the th; the plural fronts the vowel One warning attached to the second row, and it is the sort of thing this course flags rather than leaves you to discover. The German for arm is spelled exactly like the German adjective meaning poor . They are different words, distinguished by the capital letter in writing and by the article in speech. Word list Fifty-two words. The first group is the body parts English does not hand you; the second is what goes wrong with them; the third is where you go about it. Every noun carries its article, because for most of these the gender is not predictable. The body — the parts you have to learn Word Meaning Notes der Bauch de belly, abdomen — where English says stomach loosely for the whole front of the body Mein Bauch tut mir weh. My stomach hurts. der Magen de stomach — the actual organ; German keeps this apart from the previous word Liebe geht durch den Magen. [1] The way to a man's heart is through his stomach. der Rücken de back — also the spine of a book; colloquially, Ich hab Rücken. means I have back trouble Mein Rücken tut weh. My back hurts. Doktor, mein Rücken tut weh. Doctor, my back hurts. die Schulter de shoulder — near-cognate, but the spelling is far enough to need seeing once Meine Schulter tut weh. My shoulder hurts. der Hals de neck and throat — one German word for two English ones Mir tut der Hals weh. [2] My throat hurts. die Wange de cheek — no English cognate in use Es war nur ein Kuss auf die Wange. [3] It was only a kiss on the cheek. die Zunge de tongue — the same root as yours, but also means language , as English tongue still does in mother tongue Hüte deine Zunge! [4] Watch your tongue. die Lippe de lip — near-cognate; feminine, and the plural adds -n Du hast etwas auf deiner Lippe. [5] You've got something on your lip. der Mund de mouth — the same root as English mouth , unrecognisably shifted Öffne den Mund! Open your mouth! die Nase de nose — near-cognate; also a mild insult, which English nose is not Mir läuft die Nase. My nose is running. das Auge de eye — the same root, far shifted; also a bud on a plant and a pip on a die Meine Augen sind entzündet. My eyes are sore. das Ohr de ear — the same root; used for a good ear for music exactly as English does Ich bin ganz Ohr. [6] I am all ears. das Haar de hair — one hair, or the hair on your head; for the second German also very often uses the plural, die Haare , where English says hair Ich mag dein Haar. [7] I love your hair. der Ellbogen de elbow — a compound: the bend of the forearm, and the second half is bow Mein Ellbogen tut immer noch weh. [8] My elbow still hurts. der Daumen de thumb — the same root, no silent letters; also the finger you press for luck Ich drücke dir die Daumen. I will keep my fingers crossed for you. der Zeh de toe — the same root, with the German z = [ts] Mein großer Zeh tut weh. My big toe hurts. der Knöchel de ankle, knuckle — one word for both joints; the same root as knuckle Mein Knöchel tut sehr weh. My ankle hurts a lot. die Lunge de lung, lungs — usually singular in German where English says lungs Rauchen geht auf die Lunge. [9] Smoking is bad for your lungs. die Leber de liver — near-cognate; also used figuratively for deep inside a person Wein ist schlecht für die Leber. [10] Wine is bad for your liver. die Niere de kidney — no English cognate; the adjective renal is Latin, not Germanic Ich brauche eine neue Niere. [11] I need a new kidney. die Haut de skin — listed above as free, repeated here because the phrases below need it Ihre Haut ist glatt. Her skin is smooth. der Nacken de nape, back of the neck — German separates this from the front of the neck Mein Nacken tut weh. [12] My neck is sore. di