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CHRISTMAS

German word of the day: Der Dominostein

These are dominos that are not meant to be played with, but rather enjoyed as a Christmas sweet.

Published: 3 December 2019 05:54 CET
Updated: 11 December 2020 12:21 CET

German word of the day: Der Dominostein

'Dominosteine' are laid out at the manufacturer Lambertz in Aachen on September 30th. Photo: DPA

What does it mean?

This is a nice compound word, made up of der Domino (domino) and der Stein (board game tile in this context), which is literally translated as “domino tile.” At Christmastime, this word refers to a popular sweet sold in Germany and Austria.

This sweet contains several layers, topped off with a thin layer of (traditionally dark) chocolate icing. It is most known for its cubic shape.

The base layer is der Lebkuchen, or gingerbread, which has a very long tradition of being a popular Christmas treat in Germany.

The next layer is das Gelee, or jelly, made most often from Sauerkirsche (sour cherries) or Aprikose (apricots).

The third and top layer is made from das Marzipan (marzipan).

Three layers of sweets make up the beloved Christmas praline. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Kaldari.

Where did it come from?

The Dominostein was invented in Dresden in 1936. Traditional praline sweets, which were quite popular at that time, were costly for many people. A man named Herbert Wendler decided to create the Dominostein as a more affordable option.

They gained popularity as a replacement for pralines because of food shortages during World War II. They were even called Notpraline or “need/distress pralines” during this time. The sweet was layer produced primarily by Dresden-based chocolatier Dr. Ing. Quendt.

December 3rd has been declared as Dominosteintag, or “Dominostein Day,” so get out there and enjoy these special German treats!

Example sentences

Bitte gib mir die Dominosteine.

Please give me the domino tile pralines.

Ein traditioneller Dominostein wird mit dunkler Schokolade hergestellt, kann aber auch mit Vollmilch- oder weißer Schokolade hergestellt werden.

A traditional domino tile praline is made with dark chocolate, but it can also be made with milk or white chocolate.

Wenn man Dominosteine sieht, ist es Weihnachtszeit!

When one sees domino tile pralines, then it’s Christmas time!

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German word of the day: Einbilden

Why do I need to know einbilden?

Einbilden a word that you’re likely to hear coming out of your German friends’ mouths on a regular basis, and which describes a fairly common scenario.

It’s also a great excuse to practice your separable and reflexive verbs, and contains a root verb that German learners just can’t do without.

What does it mean?

Used in the reflexive form, sich einbilden (pronounced like this) has multiple shades of meaning that all relate to deluding yourself in some way.

In its most neutral use, sich etwas einbilden means to imagine something or be convinced of something that isn’t true.

When someone could have sworn they had a conversation with you that never actually took place, they may say doubtfully: “Vielleicht habe ich mir das nur eingebildet”, meaning: “Maybe I just imagined it.”

If you already know the word imagined as sich vorstellen, then it’s worth thinking of sich einbilden as vorstellen’s badly behaved brother. While vorstellen involves having some imaginative and empathetic capacity, einbilden edges towards tricking or deluding yourself.

READ ALSO: German word of the day – Vorwurf

This is partly because sich einbilden also has numerous negative connotations, and can often be used to describe people who are particularly full of themselves, smug about something, or overly convinced of their own talents.

In this case, you’d often use einbilden as a separable verb, meaning that the root (bilden) is used separately from the prefix (ein). “Er bildet sich ein…, (etwas) zu sein” is a common formation you’ll hear, that roughly translates as, “He fancies himself to be (something)”.

If someone likes to blow their own trumpet in general, the construction you’ll need is: “Sich viel auf sich einbilden”, which could roughly translate as: “To pride yourself on a lot” or “To think a lot of yourself”.

Similarly, being smug about something simply involves swapping “auf sich” to “auf etwas” in that sentence, so you get something like: “Sie bildet viel auf ihre Leistung ein.” (“She’s very smug about her performance.”)

READ ALSO: German phrase of the day – Über den Tellerrand shauen

If you want to keep it snappy, then you can always use einbilden as an adjective instead. “Du bist so eingebildet” would translate as “you’re so full of yourself”, so keep this in your arsenal if you know someone like that.

A rooster in a field

A rooster strutting in a field in Turkey. If someone thinks they’re the “cock of the walk” they’re best described in German as “eingebildet”. Photo: Photo by Hulki Okan Tabak on Unsplash

Note that when you use sich einbilden, the pronoun (sich) is in the dative case, so you’ll need to reach for mir, dir, Ihnen, etc., instead of mich, dich, and Sie.

How can I remember it?

If you need help remembering einbilden, a good place to start would be to break it down to its components and think about what it literally means.

Most German learners will have heard the verb bilden, which means to form, build or create something, before.

Adding the prefix ein turns this inwards, so that someone who is eingebildet has formed an idea internally – usually that they are the most handsome, talented and charismatic person in the world.

Use it like it like this:

Hast du dein Auto hier gelassen, oder habe ich mir das nur eingebildet?

Did you leave your car here, or did I just imagine it?

Sie bildet sich ein, die beste Mathematikerin der Welt zu sein.

She fancies herself as the best mathematician in the world.

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