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GERMAN WORD OF THE DAY

German word of the day: Der Brückentag

Nothing beats making the most of public holidays - and a Brückentag or two can help you do just that.

Published: 7 March 2022 16:32 CET
Updated: 2 October 2023 10:13 CEST
German word of the day: Der Brückentag
Photo: Francesco Ungaro / Unsplash + Nicolas Raymond / flickr

Translating literally as ‘bridge day’ or ‘bridging day’, this word does exactly what it says on the tin: when a public holiday falls on a Tuesday or Thursday, eagle-eyed Germans will smugly book a day off of work on the Monday or Friday, effectively ‘bridging’ the holiday and the weekend.

This tactic gives you a luxurious four days of relaxation, and only costs one annual leave day from your holiday allocation. 

These Brückentage have become deeply ingrained in the German cultural consciousness – they even have a dedicated website, which documents all of the possible regional combinations of public holidays and weekends and, in typical German fashion, gives you an efficiency rating of each combination to show how best to use your holiday time.

This level of fixation on efficient holiday extensions has developed because of Germany’s irritating rule of not giving employees an extra day off whenever a public holiday falls on a weekend.

READ ALSO: What are Germany’s state and national public holidays in 2023?

The German Left Party (die Linke) have made several bids over the past few years to change this rule, arguing that many other countries (the UK and US included) do offer compensatory extra days off when a public holiday falls on a weekend.

If you managed to book your Brückentag in time, you might be enjoying Monday off before the Tag der deutschen Einheit (German Unity Day) on Tuesday, October 3rd.

But if you missed the chance this time around, there are a more Brückentage coming your way in 2024, including two in May (the days between Labour Day on Wednesday, May 1st and Ascension Day on Thursday, May 9th).

READ ALSO: Brückentag, Fenstertag or Zwickeltag: All the German words for getting longer holiday weekends

Examples:

Wie willst du deinen Brückentag nächste Woche verbringen?

How do you want to spend your bridge day next week?

Nimmst du sich die Brückentage um Ostern frei?

Are you taking the bridge days off at Easter?

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: Vorstellen

Whether you can picture something in your mind's eye or are meeting a new acquaintance for the first time, this German word has several useful meanings you'll want to know.

Published: 29 May 2024 10:21 CEST
German word of the day: Vorstellen

Why do I need to know vorstellen?

Because once you know vorstellen, we can guarantee that this verb is bound to become an indispensable part of your German vocabulary, coming in handy anywhere from job applications to casual conversation. 

What does it mean?

Depending on some small changes to grammar in the sentence, vorstellen (pronounced like this) can have completely different meanings.

The first, which is used with the object of the sentence, means to present or to introduce yourself – and this is the version you may have already heard in German meetings or when starting a new German course. 

It’s in this sense that the word is used in das Vorstellungsgespräch, which literally means introductory conversation and is the German word for job interview. In many ways, this a nice way to think about the process, especially if you’re feeling nervous: you’re not being grilled on your work history and qualifications, you’re really just getting to know each other! 

READ ALSO: 10 simple phrases to make your German sound more impressive

If you use the reflexive construction sich vorstellen and the dative (i.e. mir, dir, Ihnen), vorstellen means to imagine or envision something. 

This is often used by Germans to talk about something they do – or do not – find a realistic possibility, which also indicates whether they would – or would not – like to do something. 

For example, “Ich kann mir gut vorstellen, mit dir ins Ausland zu reisen”, would hint that the person speaking thinks travelling abroad with you might be quite a pleasant thing to do.  

Incidentally, there’s also a far more literal meaning of vorstellen, which quite literally means to set (stellen) something forwards (vor). This is the meaning you’ll need at least once a year at the start of summer when Europeans like to set their clocks forward by an hour. 

READ ALSO: German word of the day – Einbilden

Use it like this: 

Darf ich Herrn Stein kurz vorstellen? Er ist der neue Buchhalter. 

May I briefly introduce Mr Stein? He’s our new accountant.

So habe ich mir das nicht vorgestellt. 

That’s not how I imagined it. 

Jedes Jahr im März stellen wir die Uhr vor.

Every year in March, we set the clock forward. 

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