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GERMAN WORD OF THE DAY

German word of the day: Hüpfen

This is a great German verb for moments full of 'Freude' or just describing an especially energetic action.

German word of the day: Hüpfen
Photo credit: Francesco Ungaro / Unsplash + Nicolas Raymond / flickr

Why do I need to know it?

This jovial German word almost always carries a positive connotation – and is especially fun to pronounce. If you’re in an area with a lot of children (or feeling particularly carefree and happy yourself) you’ll have ample opportunities to use it.

What does it mean?

Hüpfen – which is also sometimes written as hupfen in Austria and southern Germany – is a very active verb. In English it could be translated as to hop, bounce, skip, leap or jump.

It is commonly used among children at play: if you skip with a rope, you would mit dem Springseil hüpfen. Or they might attempt to mimic the message of the nursery rhyme Fünf kleine Äffchen hüpfen auf dem Bett (Five little monkeys jump on the bed).

READ ALSO: These German children’s songs bring tears to my eyes

It’s also enthusiastically expressed by anyone experiencing a moment of glee: if you jump for joy then you would vor Freude hüpfen. And if you’re describing animals – be it a bunny rabbit or gazelle – you would also use this verb to describe how they get around.

Some commonly used synonyms are springen and jumpen but hüpfen is a word – with its upbeat, almost lyrical pronunciation – that seems to embody the movement it describes.

Where does it come from?

The exact origin of the verb – as written with an umlaut – can be traced back to the late 1700s, according to the Grimm Brothers’ Dictionary of the German language. Older German literature, including texts from Goethe, used hupfen. 

Both uses stem from the Middle and High German verb hoppen – which nowadays might sound like Denglish slang thrown around by teenagers, but whose use actually stretches back hundreds of years.

Examples of how it’s used:

Kannst du auf einem Bein hüpfen?

Can you jump on one leg?

Die Antilope hüpfte durch das Tal.

The antelope hopped through the valley.

Sie hüpfte vor Freude, als sie erfuhr, dass sie ihre lange verlorene Jugendliebe wiedersehen würde, die sie seit über 50 Jahren nicht mehr gesehen hatte.

She jumped for joy, when she learned that she would again see her long lost childhood sweetheart, who she had not seen in over 50 years.

Don’t miss any of our German words and expressions of the day by downloading our new app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting the German Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button.

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GERMAN WORD OF THE DAY

German word of the day: Tagundnachtgleiche

This March equinox marks the astronomical beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere, and occurs on the 20th this year. Did you know there are two German terms for this day?

German word of the day: Tagundnachtgleiche

Why do I need to know ‘Tagundnachtgleiche’?

You may hear this word a lot on Wednesday, and then probably not again until the autumnal equinox comes in September.

More of a novel term than one for everyday use, Die Tagundnachtgleiche is one you can use to impress German speakers with your knowledge of heavens and the earth, and your expansive vocabulary.

What does it mean?

Tagundnachtgleiche is the German word for equinox, which is the day when the sun crosses the celestial equator, making the day and night equal in length and also marking a change of seasons.

Alternatively the word Äquinoktium is also used for equinox.

Each year contains two equinoxes: a spring equinox (Frühlings-Tagundnachtgleiche or Frühjahrs-Tagundnachtgleiche) and a fall equinox (Herbst-Tagundnachtgleiche).

The spring equinox, which falls on March 20th this year, marks the beginning of spring. From this day forward, daylight hours in the northern hemisphere will continue getting longer until the summer solstice.

READ ALSO: Seven signs that spring has arrived in Germany

The word equinox comes from Latin and literally means “equal night”, meaning that the night is equal to the day (or more specifically that the hours of darkness are equal to the hours of daylight.)

In this case, the German term leaves nothing to be deduced. The word is a short phrase put together – Tag und Nacht Gleiche – meaning “day and night equality”.

Equinox traditions

The Spring Equinox and the beginning of the spring season is cause for celebration in cultures around the world, and is often linked with traditions related to rebirth, renewal and fertility.

Among pre-Christian Germanic tribes such as the Saxons, a spring Goddess called Ostara, was celebrated on the Spring Equinox with a feast day and other traditions such as planting seeds or decorating eggs. Traditional symbols for Ostara included rabbits and ducklings.

It is widely believed that some of these traditions were later adopted and Catholicised, leading to the creation of Easter (Ostern) as we know it today. 

Use it like this:

In diesem Jahr findet die Frühlings-Tagundnachtgleiche zwischen dem 19. und 20. März statt.

This year the spring equinox is between March 19th and 20th.

Glückliche Tagundnachtgleiche!

Happy equinox!

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