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GERMAN WORD OF THE DAY

German word of the day: Jammern

If you think someone is complaining too much, you might respond with a bit of typically German directness and tell them to stop doing this.

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

What does it mean and how do you say it?

Jammern is a much stronger verb for “complain”. Unlike beschweren, which is the more benign version of “complain,” jammern means to whine or moan about something, often to the point of annoying others who may think you’re making a bigger deal out of your grievance than what’s necessary.

Its pronunciation sounds a bit like the English “yammer”. But since “yammer” means to talk foolishly or incessantly in general, jammern doesn’t necessarily mean the same thing.

“Yammer” is a more general English term that might refer to someone who over-talks because they’re full of themselves, for example. But jammern tends to be used specifically in German for “whining”.

READ ALSO: German word of the day: Schweigen

How do you use it or where might you see it?

Veteran German CDU politician Wolfgang Schäuble, who served as both Bundestag President and federal Finance Minister over his long political career, encouraged Germans to stop “whining” or jammern, about the country’s energy crisis last winter. 

“Put on a sweater, Or maybe even a second sweater,” he told Bild-TV.

He then said:

Darüber muss man nicht jammern, sondern muss man erkennen: Vieles ist nicht selbstversändlich – “One must not whine about it. Instead, one must recognize that a lot of things are taken for granted.”

To use jammern yourself, just conjugate it like you would most verbs. For example, you can say: du jammerst zu viel! –  or “You whine too much!”

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GERMAN WORD OF THE DAY

German word of the day: Dudelsack

This hilarious sounding German word describes something quintessentially Scottish.

German word of the day: Dudelsack

Why do I need to know Dudelsack?

In the run-up to the German v Scotland opening match of Euro 2024, there were a lot of these gracing the streets of Munich. More importantly, why wouldn’t you want to know a word like Dudelsack?

Just say the word aloud and it will brighten your day. 

What does it mean?

Dudelsack (pronounced like this) is one of those German words that’s both charmingly literal and somewhat onomatopoeic, describing a big bag or sack that makes a ‘doodling’ kind of noise: in other words, the bagpipes.

As well as sounding like the noise this traditional Scottish instrument makes, dudeln also translates as ‘to drone’, and anyone who’s heard the bagpipes will know that this is also a fairly accurate description of how they sound. 

READ ALSO: 10 German words with hilarious literal translations

As Scotland geared up to play Germany in the opening match of Euro 2024 in Munich, many sacks were doodled in the Bavarian capital. 

Seeing parades of kilts and hearing the distinctive wail of the Dudelsack against the backdrop of Munich’s gothic town hall isn’t something you experience every day, and we’re sure it’s an experience the people of Munich also won’t forget for a while. 

Use it like this: 

Hör mal auf, Dudelsack zu spielen! Es geht mir auf die Nerven.

Stop playing the bagpipes! It’s getting on my nerves.  

Weißt du, wie der Dudelsack klingt? Man hört ihn überall in Schottland.

Do you know what the bagpipes sound like? You can hear them everywhere in Scotland. 

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