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GERMAN WORD OF THE DAY

German word of the day: Dingsbums

You'll never encounter this word when reading Goethe, but it will come in handy when you can't remember the name of someone or something.

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

Why do I need this word?

If you’re studying for a C1 German exam, you can rest assured that probably won’t be asked about this funny-sounding term. But you’ll often hear it among speakers of at least this level, as an informal way of quickly naming something or someone whose name just isn’t coming to mind.

What does it mean?

In English, you might describe Dingsbums as a whatchamacallit, thingamobob, doohicky, thingy or doodad (or doodah in British English), and countless other colloquial equivalents. For a person, the equivalent might be whatshisname or whatshisface. 

You could use it in back and forth banter with a friend, when you’re looking for something, or even in a quick text message. But you’ll never find it in a formal written context, where it’s possible to pause and remember – or look up – the name of the Dingsbums in question.

A Dingsbums is diverse: it could be the tool you need for a paint job, an ingredient for a recipe, a random object you find and have no idea what it is, or a person you met at a party.

READ ALSO: German phrase of the day: Was für

It’s also a rare German word that can be used with the articles die, der, or das – maybe because a Dingsbums can be referring to any object, person or sea serpent imaginable. 

Here’s how it’s used:

Naja, ich habe keine Ahnung, was dieses Dingsbums tun soll.

So, I have no idea what this doodad is supposed to do.

Frau Dingsbums hat mich gerade angerufen.

Ms. whatsherface just called me.

Wozu ist dieses Dingsbums gut?

What is this thingsmabob good for?

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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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