| Glossary |
| |
First advert |
| der Nachmieter (-) |
This can be translated approximately as "next tenant". More accurately, it means the person who takes over a flat or room from someone else. |
| Nachmieter gesucht? |
This would translate as "Looking for a new tenant?" or more literally "Is a follow-on tenant being looked for?" as it is the passive that is implied here - i.e. "Nachmieter wird gesucht". The word "gesucht" is the past participle of the verb "suchen". |
| suche... |
"I'm looking for..." The pronoun "ich" is omitted here for the sake of brevity. |
| günstig |
reasonably priced |
| die 2-Zimmer-Wohnung (-en) |
This means a "two-room flat". It could also be written in full as "die Zweizimmerwohnung". |
| am besten |
ideally; if possible |
| sofort |
immediately |
| komme... |
"I'm coming...". See "suche...". |
| am Sonntagabend |
on Sunday evening |
| sich etwas ansehen |
In this context it means "to look at something". We have already used it to describe "watching TV programmes". In both cases the thing that you are looking at is in the accusative case and the dative pronoun refers back to the person doing the "looking". |
| ich würde mir gerne ... ansehen |
This means "I would like to look at". Note that the infinitive comes at the end of the sentence. |
| nett |
nice |
| ruhig |
quiet |
| die Neubauwohnung (-en) |
newly-built flat |
| wenn möglich |
if possible |
| der Ofen (pl. - Öfen) |
oven; heater |
| die Ofenheizung |
This means "stove heating". This is the (unpopular!) way in which a number of flats in old buildings are still heated. |
| die Kaution (-en) |
This means the "deposit" that you put down on a flat. It does NOT mean "caution"! |
| 300 € warm |
In this context, this means "300 € including heating". You would use "kalt" when heating costs are not included in the rent. |
| die Lage (-n) |
location |
| Lage egal |
I don't care about the location |
| jedoch |
however |
| optimal |
optimal; perfect |
| sich freuen auf (+ Acc.) |
This means "to look forward to". The reflexive pronoun is always in the accusative case. Note that if you use "sich freuen" with a different preposition it means something different. |
| die Nachricht (-en) |
message; piece of news |
| also |
so |
| bis dahin |
until then |
| das Interesse (-n) |
interest |
| bei Interesse |
if you are interested |
| anrufen (sep.) |
This means "to ring somebody up". The person whom you are calling is in the accusative case. |
| ruft mich an! |
"Ring me up!" This is the second person plural "ihr" form of the imperative. The polite "Sie" form is not used here as the advertiser is aiming his appeal at people of his own age group. |
| |
Second advert |
| preiswert |
reasonable; good value |
| die Anglistik |
This means "English" as a university subject. |
| die Anglistikstudentin |
English student (female) |
| suche... |
"I'm looking for..." The pronoun "ich" is omitted here for the sake of brevity. |
| dringend |
urgently |
| hell |
bright |
| die Untermiete |
subtenancy |
| ein Zimmer zur Untermiete |
a room where I could be a tenant |
| die WG (-s) |
This means a shared flat. It is short for "die Wohngemeinschaft". |
| das Appartement (-s) |
apartment |
| das Einzelappartement (-s) |
one-person apartment |
| die Zentralheizung |
central heating |
| die Etagenheizung |
heating system that covers one floor of a building |
| EG |
This is short for "das Erdgeschoss", meaning ground floor. |
| die Warmmiete (-n) |
rent including heating |
| erprobt |
experienced |
| WG-erprobt |
experienced in living in shared flats |
| umgänglich |
friendly; sociable |
| der Platz |
In this context it means "space" or "room". |
| die Laune (-n) |
mood |
| sich freuen über (+ Acc.) |
If you use "sich freuen" with the preposition "über (+ Acc.)", this means "to be happy about". |
| die E-Mail (-s) |
e-mail |
| der Anruf (-e) |
telephone call |
| die Kontaktperson (-en) |
(person to) contact |
| die E-Mail-Adresse (-n) |
e-mail address |
| |
Third advert |
| gemütlich |
comfortable; friendly |
| die Wohngemeinschaft (-en) |
This means "shared flat". It usually gets abbreviated to "die WG". |
| auf Grund (+ Gen.) |
This preposition means "because of" and takes the genitive case. It can also be written as one word - "aufgrund". |
| der Umzug (pl. - Umzüge) |
This means "a move" as in "moving house". |
| die Hochschule (-n) |
This is another word for "university", and can also mean "college". |
| der Wechsel (-) |
change |
| der Hochschulwechsel (-) |
change of university |
| zum 01.03.2003 |
for March 1, 2003 |
| mindestens |
at least |
| das Quadratmeter (-) |
This means "square metre". German accommodation adverts tend to deal in room sizes more than the number of rooms. In spoken German "Quadratmeter" may be masculine. |
| der Altbau (pl. - Altbauten) |
old building |
| die Möglichkeit (-en) |
possibility |
| nach Möglichkeit |
if possible |
| zentral |
central |
| möglichst zentral |
as central as possible |
| die Verkehrsanbindung (-en) |
transport connection |
| ein halbes Jahr |
half a year |
| studiere ... seit einem halben Jahr |
I have been studying for half a year. |
| die Medizin |
medicine |
| vermissen (insep.) |
to miss |
| total |
This adverb means "totally" and should be used in conversational German only |
| das WG-Leben (-) |
life in a shared flat |
| nicht mehr |
no longer; no more |
| ich möchte nicht mehr... |
I don't want to ... any more |
| alleine |
This adverb means "alone" and can be written with or without an "-e" at the end of the word. |
| ich möchte raus... |
"I want to get out". The verb of motion itself can be omitted in this construction. |
| eigen |
own |
| die Studentenwohnung (-en) |
student flat |
| denken |
to think |
| ich denke mal |
I think |
| recht |
quite; fairly |
| gesellig |
sociable |
| allzu |
too; all too |
| schwierig |
difficult |
| der Charakter (-) |
character |
| monatlich |
per month |
| maximal 200 Euro |
a maximum of 200 euros |
| kalt |
In this context this means "without heating" |
| ausgeben (sep.) |
This is a separable verb meaning "to spend". The money that you spend is in the accusative case. |
| hoffen auf (+ Acc.) |
This means "to hope for". Once again the pronoun "ich" has been omitted here. |
| baldig |
quick; early |
| die Antwort (-en) |
answer |
| mfg |
This is an informal abbreviation of "mit freundlichen Grüßen" (with best wishes). Don't use it in business letters! |
| sich melden |
This is a reflexive verb meaning "to get in touch". The reflexive pronoun is always in the accusative case. |
| meldet euch unter.. |
"Contact me on the number..." The imperative is once again being used in the familiar "ihr" form of the second person plural, as Bettina's advert is aimed at her fellow students. |
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Text 1: Zimmer dringend gesucht!
Nachmieter gesucht?
