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German word of the day: Die Weihnachtsbäckerei

Around Christmas each year, a song goes around in Germany. A song that sneaks inside your head and then sticks around for weeks on end.

German word of the day: Die Weihnachtsbäckerei
Photo: Depositphotos

Die Weihnachtsbäckerei is a “Christmas bakery” and describes the act of baking Plätzchen (cookies) in the days before Christmas. Considering that many people (especially small kids) know the song, it might be surprising to hear that it is not a very old one. 

The famous children’s songs author Rolf Zuckowsky wrote it on his way home in 1986. In 1987 it first appeared on one of his albums, he introduced it on a German TV show and it quickly became a new folk song. 

Until today, during the holiday season it starts appearing on minor rankings of the German charts each year. 

Nowadays you can’t enter a kindergarten during the holiday season without hearing it from every corner. So here’s the chorus of the song, for singing along next time you hear it (but be careful, there are many people out there who can’t stand the sing anymore):

In der Weihnachtsbäckerei
Gibt es manche Leckerei
Zwischen Mehl und Milch
Macht so mancher Knilch
Eine riesengroße Kleckerei
In der Weihnachtsbäckerei
In der Weihnachtsbäckerei 

In the Christmas bakery

Are many yummy things

From flour to milk

Make one false move

And a great mess there will be 

In the Christmas bakery

In the Christmas bakery

Do you have a favourite word you’d like to see us cover? If so, please email our editor Rachel Stern with your suggestion.

 

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GERMAN WORD OF THE DAY

German word of the day: Verschlafen

Ever end up staying just a little too long in bed? Then this German word will be used in a lot of your apologies.

German word of the day: Verschlafen

Why do I need to know verschlafen?

Because it’s is a great verb that can be incredibly handy if you turn up late to work or school – and it also teaches you something interesting about the German language.

What does it mean?

As you may have noticed, verschlafen (pronounced like this) is a combination of the verb schlafen and the prefix ver. Anyone who’s been studying German for more than five minutes understands that schlafen means ‘to sleep’, but what does adding that little prefix do to it?

Most times you see the prefix ver, it’s a sign that something has gone a little bit wrong while doing the action you’re talking about. Hast du die Eier verkocht? If the answer’s yes, then those eggs are unfortunately overcooked and not likely to be enjoyable. Meanwhile, bist du verlaufen? means “Did you get lost?”. In other words: did something go wrong in the process of walking?

READ ALSO: The complete A-Z guide to German prefixes and what they mean

With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that verschlafen is that most common of sleeping mistakes: oversleeping. 

You can also use it to describe going to bed and missing something, such as the ringing in of the New Year. In fact, this is quite a common form of verschlafen in Germany: a poll back in 2023 found that 51 percent of Germans went to bed early and missed celebrations on the 31st. 

Use it like this:

Es tut mir leid, dass ich so spät ankomme: heute habe ich verschlafen.

I’m sorry I’m so late: I overslept today.

Hast du jemals verschlafen, und bist spät zur Arbeit gekommen?

Have you ever overslept and been late to work?

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