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GERMAN WORD OF THE DAY

German phrase of the day: Bescheid sagen

This handy German phrase can be heard when you're awaiting an answer.

German phrase of the day: Bescheid sagen

Why do I need to know it? 

It’s a quick and easy way to request that someone follow up with you, and vice versa. You’ll hear it all the time in spoken German, and text exchanges between friends and colleagues.

What does it mean?

Bescheid sagen can be a tricky phrase to understand when hearing it for the first time, but if you break it down, you’ll get a glimpse into the term’s meaning. Bescheid means “notification” or “answer” and sagen means “to tell”. Taken together, then, Bescheid sagen roughly translates as “to let someone know”.  

The origins of the phrase are unclear, but Bescheid itself comes from the verb bescheiden, which in old, bureaucratic German meant “to make a decision on someone else’s claim”. Bescheid as a noun emerged from this context to mean the written form of such a decision. For example, a Bussgeldbescheid is a notice of a fine.

READ ALSO: What are the most common German words that no longer exist?

When used in a sentence, Bescheid sagen is also accompanied by a pronoun to indicate the “someone” you are referring to. This pronoun will always be in the dative case. For example, you would say sag mir Bescheid to mean “let me know,” and sag ihm Bescheid to mean “let him know”.

But because you can usually infer who the person is based on the context, many people will often drop the pronoun and just ask you to, sag’ Bescheid if they want you to keep them posted.

Beyond using the phrase as a request for updates, you can also use it in a declarative way, as in ich sage (dir/ihr/ihm) Bescheid.-  “I’ll let (you/her/him) know”. 

You might also hear the phrase Bescheid geben used occasionally, as it has the same meaning as Bescheid sagen but is less common. If you want to say “let me know” in a more formal manner, try “lassen mich es wissen” or “teilen Sie mir mit”.

Use it like this: 

Sag (mir) Bescheid, wenn du fertig bist.

Let me know when you are done. 

Ich sage dir Bescheid, wenn ich Hilfe brauche.

I’ll let you know if I need help.

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GERMAN WORD OF THE DAY

German word of the day: Sommersonnenwende

This German word marks the changing of seasons, and the longest day of the year.

German word of the day: Sommersonnenwende

Die Sommersonnenwende, pronounced like this, is the German term for the summer solstice, which is the day that marks the meteorological beginning of summer in Germany and the northern hemisphere.

Alternative names for the day are Sommer Solstitium, which comes from the Latin term, and Mittsommer.

Like so many great German words, the term for the summer solstice is a compound noun which translates quite literally. It’s made up of three simple words: Sommer (summer), Sonnen (sun) and Wende (turn or turnaround).

So the name for the summer solstice in German is meant to remind you that this is the day that the sun ends its journey northward in the sky, and turns around.

As you can probably guess, the winter solstice is called die Wintersonnenwende.

You might recognise the term Wende from another compound noun that got a fair amount of attention in recent years – Energiewende, which means energy transition, has also been used to describe Germany’s big picture plans to phase out fossil fuel use.

The summer solstice usually falls on June 21st or 22nd. But it fell on June 20th this year, due to 2024 being a leap year.

How is ‘die Sommersonnenwende’ observed in Germany

Humans have taken note of, and celebrated, the summer solstice for thousands of years.

Archaeologists suggest that Stone Age cultures were already able to determine the day. Evidence of this was uncovered in 2004 at the site of a 7000-year-old solar observatory found in Goseck in Saxony-Anhalt.

Among Germanic tribes, the summer solstice was celebrated with pagan folk festivals that often included fire rituals.

After Christianization of the region, the Catholic Church tried to abolish the pagan solstice traditions – eventually designating the day for a memorial day for John the Baptist (June 24th), and adopting the fire as a symbol for Jesus Christ. 

Most of the original solstice traditions have been lost, but some are being reinvigorated for tourism, especially on the Baltic Sea coast.

More broadly, the long daylight hours experienced in the weeks before and after the summer solstice, offer a chance to stay out or do outdoor activities late into the evening. There are also a number of music festivals around Germany at this time of year.

READ ALSO: How to make the most of Germany’s long summer days

Use it like this:

Die Sonne geht so spät unter, es muss die Sommersonnenwende sein.

The sun is setting so late, it must be the summer solstice!

Haben Sie dieses Jahr Pläne, die Sommersonnenwende zu feiern?

Do you have plans to celebrate the summer soltice this year?

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