German Dictionary
Posted on January 21, 2009
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French and Spanish are common courses in school. Some people do take German in college. As a result many people have never seen a German dictionary. But there are many of these online that can help translate words and phrases from German to English and back.
Let’s take a look first at the more popular type of German dictionary, a translator such as is run by Google or AltaVista. These translators generally accommodate a great number of languages. Words can be translated between almost any modern language. You can use them to translates websites. Many people get use from this. Google’s is superior.
However another German dictionary translates two ways at the same time. If you enter a German word it returns other similar German words as well as the English translations. Using it can be interesting.
Nothing, for example, returns some interesting results. One English phrase is nothing doing. People say this in many situations. It’s an emphatic way to say no. It could also mean you don’t agree to something. For instance the salesman wanted to pour dirt on my rug, I kicked him out saying nothing doing. It’s nichts zu machen in German. It can also translate to no chance. The German word nichts means nothing.
Kleinluftschiff in this German dictionary is blimp. Another alternative to this is zeppelin which is the same in English and German. People are familiar with one of these – the Fuji Film blimp. The Hindenburg was a famous airship. It was 1937 when this doomed blimp burst into flames. It was completely destroyed in about one minute. Over 1/3 of the passengers and crew died. One news clip of the disaster is well known. It included the reporter yelling “oh the humanity!” This footage can still be found today. Look it up on YouTube.
The primary reason the Hindenburg caught fire is still debated. No German dictionary lists the reason. Some people believe it was sabotage. Some people believe that there was a build up of static on the skin which ignited the hydrogen or the outer skin. Or, it could have been a simple lightning bolt. Hydrogen in such airships was stored safely. But the hydrogen mixes with oxygen when vented out during a landing. That could ignite. One article had a theory. There could have been sparks coming from the engine exhaust. No matter the cause, the effect was devestating.
The German dictionary can be very interesting.
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