10.7 Seasons and the compass
German seasons
The names of the German seasons are all masculine in German, with the exception of "das Frühjahr", which is one of the words for "spring". The word for a season is "die Jahreszeit (-en)", which literally means "the time of the year":
 Vocabulary 4: Die vier Jahreszeiten |
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der Frühling
das Frühjahr
(spring) |
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der Sommer
(summer) |
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der Herbst
(autumn) |
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der Winter
(winter) |
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Note that German uses the definite article when translating "in spring etc.". In practice, this means that you precede each of the seasons by "im" - "im Frühling / Frühjahr", "im Sommer", "im Herbst", "im Winter".
Points of the compass
Similarly, the points of the compass are all masculine in German. To say "in the north etc.". In practice, you also precede each of the compass points by "im" - "im Norden", "im Westen", "im Süden", "im Osten".
| Vocabulary 5: Points of the compass |
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der Norden
(the North) |
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der Westen
(the West) |
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der Süden
(the South) |
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der Osten
(the East) |
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When used as the first element in compound nouns however, the points of the compass drop the final "-en". Any compound noun thus formed will always take the gender of the final element of the compound.
| Vocabulary 6: Compound nouns of location |
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der Nordwesten
(the North-West) |
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der Nordosten
(the North-East) |
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der Südwesten
(the South-West) |
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der Südosten
(the South-East) |
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Nordengland
(the North of England) |
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Süddeutschland
(South Germany) |
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Westfrankreich
(the West of France) |
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Ostbelgien
(the East of Belgium) |
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Test yourself!
You can test yourself on your knowledge of this vocabulary by clicking on the bar below:
Notes on the compass
1. When wind directions are given in weather forecasts, the shorter forms of the points of the compass tend to be used:
- Schwacher Wind aus Nordost
(= A light wind from the north-east)
- Starker Wind aus West bis Südwest
(= A strong wind from the west to the south-west)
2. If you wish to describe what the temperature is in the middle of a country, you should say "in der Mitte". The element "Mittel-" in a compound geographical noun is used to indicate centrality:
- Mittelamerika (= Central America)
- Mitteleuropa (= Central Europe)
 Chapter 10.8: Reflexive verbs (1)
 Nach oben
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