Make German Easy by comparing language

Here are just a few hints for english-speaking persons who might have contact with German-speaking beings.

Easyfication: Tenses

Do net mess around with the tenses in SPOKEN German. Use Present Perfect for the entire past. Use Present Tense for the entire future.

If you do not know the genus of a word, then ADAPT the article „THE“ and just say „DE“.

De Frau, de Fluss, de Eichhörnchen.

You will be understood.

Learn that there are rules for pronunciation. After dark vocals a / o / u or „Umlauts“, CH is pronounced hard, in the back of your throat like schwach, Bach, lachen or Huch, Fuchtel, Wucher.

After lighter vocals e, i or any combination thereof, CH is pronounced softly, like in weich, bleich, ich, Dich.

The rule is THE SAME as in French – ce ci is pronounced soft with a sss / ca co cu is pronounced hard with a k-like sound.

Spoon – cueillère – Löffel

Work with similarities and word relations. See where it gets you.

Some words, like Spoon, are completely different on the continent. Nobody says spoon.

On the other hand, many words are VERY much the same, almost identical, like internet, computer, President, hospital and thousands of others. Often, only the writing differs.

Some words the English share with the French, some with the Germans, some with both.

For one thing, English shares a lot of LATIN words with French and German. Famously, all academic words like „operation“ or „cybernetic“ are shared internationally. Look at the Latin words in English and use them confidently.

Also, any word you know that ends in -tion can be used internationally, ending in -tion in French and German. In Portuguese the words end in -çao, in all Slavic languages they end in -zija.

Ask them for „informaçao“ or „informazija“ and get informed. It works.

Good friends and false friends

„False friend“ is a concept that has several meanings, apart from the obvious one. In language, a false friend is word that LOOKS familiar. „Burro“ is such a case. A friend of mine was fairly fluent in Italian, then she visited Spaniards. They were having breakfast, sitting at the table. Caffè, latte, marmelata had worked fine. Starting to trust that lots of words are similar or sound alike in both languages, my friend asked for burro – „BUTTER“ in Italian.

Sadly, from the Spanish perspective, she was asking for a donkey.

Some words undergo weird changes. For example, „meringue“, used for cake toppings in Germany, is in German also known as „Baiser“. It is completely harmless stuff, made up of egg whites and sugar.

Originally, in French, it meant the kiss. Also completely harmless stuff. Sadly, in contemporary French the meaning shifted and today it means a sexual encounter. „Baiser quelqu´un“ means to f them, in crude American terms. And most Germans do not know this.

So a German friend of mine was at a business dinner, an important one, and I do not make this up. He has a sweet tooth and saw, during the meal, that wonderful desserts were being offered, with ice cream and MERINGUE and fruit. He was at the time a successful lawyer in his forties.

The meal ends, a young and beautiful waitress asks the guests in French: „What would you like for dessert?“

And my poor German friend said „baiser, s´il vous plaît“…

This is the worst „false friend“ by far, to my knowledge. However, you´ve been warned, so therefore I guess you might be prepared for mature and cautious use of these words that are nicely compatible, easy to understand and totally inocuous in three languages:

Similar Spelling with Slight Variations

English	German	French
blue	blau	bleu
mantle	Mantel	manteau
apartment	Appartement	appartement
ballon (balloon)	Ballon	ballon
museum	Museum	musée
theatre/theater	Theater	théâtre
music	Musik	musique
nature	Natur	nature
nation	Nation	nation
police	Polizei	police

Fully Identical or Near-Identical Words

English	German	French
automobile	Automobil	automobile
film	Film	film
hotel	Hotel	hôtel
radio	Radio	radio
café	Café	café
bank	Bank	banque
park	Park	parc
restaurant	Restaurant	restaurant
taxi	Taxi	taxi
minute	Minute	minute
moment	Moment	moment
color/colour	Farbe (less similar)	couleur
artist	Artist	artiste
restaurant	Restaurant	restaurant
balcony	Balkon	balcon