Glossary |
Wer sind Sie? |
"Who are you?" In this context this seems to be quite an abrupt way of asking somebody's name! |
der Gemüsehändler |
Müslüm is a greengrocer. Don't you remember? |
Kreuzberg |
Kreuzberg is a region of Berlin inhabited by people of many nationalities. Click here to visit the official homepage of Kreuzberg. |
ich bin nicht verheiratet |
"I am not married." Just as in English, the German word for not - "nicht" - precedes an adjective. |
ich habe keine Kinder |
"I don't have any children." Literally: "I have no children". The German word "kein(e)" means "not any" or "no(ne)". |
Haben Sie Geschwister? |
"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" The useful word "Geschwister" means "brothers and sisters". |
ich habe einen Bruder |
"I have a brother". The next section will explain the endings on the indefinite article "einen". |
zwei Schwestern |
"Two sisters" |
alle |
This means "everyone; all of them". The full sentence would thus be translated as "They all live in Turkey". |
Haustiere |
"Pets". One pet would be "ein Haustier". |
meine Eltern |
"My parents". The word "Eltern" is only used in the plural. |
der Hund |
This is the word for a "dog". The next section will explain the endings on the indefinite article "einen". |
mein Großvater |
my grandfather |
eine Katze |
Müslüm's grandfather has "a cat". |
Mieze |
"Mieze" approximates to the English "puss" or "pussy". |
Die Katze mag den Hund nicht |
"The cat doesn't like the dog". Literally: "The cat likes the dog not." Although the German word for "not" - "nicht" - precedes an adjective (see above), it follows the object of a sentence. |
er...sie |
"Er" (= "he") refers back to the masculine noun "der Hund", while "sie" (= "she") refers back to the feminine noun "die Katze". |