21.6 Around the House Language

21.6 Around the House
Language & Culture Lessons
Guten tag! In the previous lesson we talked about the social etiquette involved with dining at a friend's house in Germany. You know how
to compliment the cook on the food, but do you know how to compliment the host on their lovely home?
Today's grammar lesson today will add another chapter to our Rocket German Dictionary. This time you will learn new words related to a
German house or apartment and the furniture found in a typical home.
Language
Haus und Hof – House and Home
Most Germans live in a rented apartment or flat - “die Wohnung” - rather than in their own single-family house - “das Einfamilienhaus”.
Even if they own their home, the typical German family often lives in a condominium - “die Eigentumswohnung” or row house - “das
Reihenhaus” rather than in a detached single-family house.
Think about you apartment, or house. How many rooms does it have?
GERMAN
ENGLISH
AUSTRIAN
das Zimmer
The room
der Abstellraum
Storage room
das Arbeitszimmer
Office, workroom
das Badezimmer
Bathroom
der Balkon
Balcony
der Dachboden
Attic
das Esszimmer
Dining room
das Speisezimmer
der Flur
Hallway
der Gang
die Garage
Garage
der Keller
Basement
die Besenkammer
Have we covered all the rooms? Look around the house. Do you have any of these?
GERMAN
ENGLISH
das Kinderzimmer
Children's room
die Küche
Kitchen
das Schlafzimmer
Bedroom
AUSTRIAN
die Toilette/das WC
Toilet, bathroom
das Klo
das Treppenhaus
Stairwell
das Stiegenhaus
die Waschküche
Laundry
das Wohnzimmer
Living room
der Aufzug
Elevator
der Vorgarten
Front yard
der Gemüsegarten
Veggie garden
der Lift
After you find your own apartment, flat, or house, you need to figure out where to put all your Die Möbel furniture. You may need to go out
and buy some furniture. What Die Möbel furniture do you have, and what don't you have?
GERMAN
ENGLISH
die Möbel
Furniture
der Backofen
Oven
das Bett
Bed
das Bücherregal
Bookshelf
die Geschirrspülmaschine
Dishwasher
der Kleiderschrank
Closet
der Kühlschrank
Fridge
der Schreibtisch
Desk
der Sessel
Chair
der Staubsauger
Vacuum cleaner
AUSTRIAN
der Herd
der Geschirrspüler
Let's wrap this lesson up with three words that you're sure to find in any house:
das Fenster
Window
die Türe
Door
der Fußboden
Floor
Culture
All about German Recycling
Germans sure like to separate their trash! In fact, Germany is reputed to be the top recyclers in the world.
Every household is provided with different colored bins in which to separate organics, paper, plastics, and trash. If you live in Germany
for any period of time, you'd better get used to this system because failing to sort your rubbish correctly can result in a hefty fine from the
local council, or if you're lucky, just a nasty note from the rubbish collector.
Whilst this might sound a bit extreme, Germany currently manages to recycle over 75% of its waste. Any non-recyclable items are
incinerated. This statistic is leaps and bounds ahead of any other country in the world, and environmentalists are praising the country's
efforts.
Germany has also developed a crafty scheme to really get to the heart of the packaging problem: the Green Dot system.
Manufacturers and retailers have to pay a 'Green Dot' fee on their packaging. The more packaging there is, the higher the fee. This has
encouraged producers and retailers to cut right down on their packaging, meaning that consumers have even less rubbish to recycle:
about one million tons less than before the scheme was introduced!
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