5.3 The house and daily life — Epoché
What you will be able to do Name the rooms of a flat and the fittings in them — Das ist meine Wohnung. , Diese Schublade klemmt. , Der Wasserhahn tropft. — including the ones English covers with a vague word. Use the two places where German splits a field English joins, and one where it joins what English splits: Die Mauer fiel. against a picture on the wall, Der Boden knarrte. against a storey of a building, and one word doing duty for a ceiling and a blanket — Falte die Decke! Talk about the chores with the six verbs that carry almost all of that work: Alles aufräumen! , Sie spülen Geschirr. , Ich bügele die Wäsche. Build and read the appliance compounds — Der Kühlschrank ist leer. , Die Spülmaschine ist kaputt. — which are the most regular corner of German vocabulary there is. Prerequisites : 5.2 — you need the compound rule from the last two lessons, because almost every machine in a German kitchen is a two-part word and the second part tells you the article. The household is the field where the cognates run out fastest. The building itself is free: the words for house, bed, door, garden, kitchen and cellar are all recognisable. But the moment you go inside and start naming the fittings, German gets specific in ways English does not, and almost every appliance turns out to be a compound you could have built yourself if anyone had told you the parts. So this lesson does three things. It names the free words and moves on. It spends its fifty-two entries on the fittings, the storage and the chores. And it stops twice to look at a place where German draws a line English does not draw at all — which is the sort of thing that makes a vocabulary list feel arbitrary until somebody explains it. The ones you already have Read this table once and leave it. None of these words is in the list below, and none of them will cost you an evening. German English — what changed das Haus house — identical apart from the spelling of the vowel das Bett bed — identical; the doubled letter is just German spelling die Tür door — the same root, with the vowel fronted das Fenster window — the Latin word; English took the Norse one instead der Garten garden — identical, with the German consonant die Küche kitchen — the same Latin root as yours der Keller cellar — the same Latin root again das Dach roof — not roof , but the same word as English thatch die Lampe lamp — identical, with the German final vowel das Sofa sofa — identical; both languages took it from Arabic Two near-misses are worth naming before they catch you. The German word that looks like stool means an ordinary chair, and the word that looks like dish means a table; both are in the list below, because a word you will get wrong is a word you have to learn. And the word for a ceiling is also the word for a blanket, which sounds like a joke until you notice that both of them are things spread over you. Word list Fifty-two words in three groups: the rooms, the things in them, and what you do all day. Every noun carries its article. Rooms and the shell of the building Word Meaning Notes die Wohnung de flat, apartment — from the verb for to dwell ; the ordinary word for a home Das ist meine Wohnung. This is my apartment. das Zimmer de room — the same word as English timber , once a room made of wood Du solltest dein Zimmer putzen. You should clean your room. das Wohnzimmer de living room — the first element is the verb to dwell again Geh ins Wohnzimmer. [1] Go to the living room. das Schlafzimmer de bedroom — literally the sleep-room; German names the activity, English the furniture Ich bin im Schlafzimmer. [2] I am in the bedroom. das Badezimmer de bathroom — the room with the bath, and not a polite word for a toilet Er ist im Badezimmer. [3] He is in the bathroom. die Toilette de toilet — the actual room with the actual fixture; ask for this one directly Wo ist die Toilette? [4] Where is the bathroom? der Flur de hallway, corridor — the same word as English floor , which kept the sense of the surface Warten Sie bitte im Flur. [5] Please wait in the hallway. die Treppe de stairs, staircase — singular in German where English is plural Die Treppe knarrte. The stairs creaked. das Stockwerk de storey, floor of a building — a compound, and a different word from the next one Welches Stockwerk? [6] Which floor? das Erdgeschoss de ground floor — literally the earth-storey; the numbering starts above it Er ist im Erdgeschoss. [7] It's on the ground floor. die Wand de wall — the wall of a room or a building; the same root as to wind Das Bild hängt an der Wand. The picture hangs on the wall. die Mauer de wall — a wall built of stone or brick, especially a freestanding one; the same Latin root as mural Die Mauer fiel. The wall fell. die Decke de ceiling; also a blanket — one word for both things spread above you Falte die Decke! Fold the blanket. der Boden de floor; also ground, soil — the same root as English bottom Der Boden knarrte. The floor creaked. der Balkon de balcony — from French, so the final syllable can be said the French way Der Balkon ist klein. [8] The balcony is small. die Miete de rent — the payment, not the act; the verb is a separate word Ich zahle die Miete. [9] I pay the rent. Storage, fittings and machines Word Meaning Notes der Schrank de cupboard, cabinet, wardrobe — one word where English has three Such im Schrank! Look in the cupboard! Das hängt im Kleiderschrank. It's hanging in the wardrobe. der Kleiderschrank de wardrobe — the clothes-cupboard, when you need to be specific Das hängt im Kleiderschrank. It's hanging in the wardrobe. der Kühlschrank de fridge — the cool-cupboard; the best compound in the language to learn first Der Kühlschrank ist leer. The fridge is empty. das Regal de shelf, shelves, bookcase — collective, so one word covers the whole unit Das Regal war leer. The shelf was empty. die Schublade de drawer — literally the push-drawer; also a pigeonhole in the figurative sense Diese Schublade klemmt. This drawer's stuck. d