Help your fluency in a nifty way

[Ziz]

נראה לי שפשוט לא עולה לאמריקאים לראש להקפיא לחמים. החבר הישראלי שלי משאיר כמה לחמניות או פרוסות בצד לאכילה מידית, ואת כל הלחם שנשאר הוא דוחס למקפיא ברגע שמביאים אותו הביתה. בהתחלה חשבתי שזה ממש מוזר כי מעולם לא חשבתי שאפשר להקפיא לחם בלי להרוס אותו, אבל מסתבר שזה עובד טוב.

Nir’eh li she-pashuṭ lo ‘oleh le-Ameriḳa’im la-rosh lehakpi’ leḥamim. He-ḥaver ha-Yiśra’eli sheli mash'ir kama laḥmaniyot o prusot ba-tsad le-akhila miyadit, ṿe-et kol ha-leḥem she-nish'ar hu doḥes la-maḳpi ba-rega‘ she-mevi’im oto habaytah. Ba-hatḥala ḥashavti she-zeh mamash muzar ki me‘olam lo ḥashavti she-efshar lehaḳpi leḥem beli laharos oto, aval mistaber she-zeh ‘oved ṭov.

I think it just doesn't occur to Americans to freeze bread. My Israeli beef puts a few rolls or slices aside for immediate eating and then stuffs the rest into the freezer the moment we bring it home. At first, I thought it was really weird because I didn't think it was possible to freeze bread without ruining it, but it turns out that it works well.

[hwhatting]

Never ever ever a double consonant at the end of a word in Dutch .

Sorry, I know. I've a German autocorrect that changes words that look similar to German ones, and I sometimes forget to go back and correct what it does.

Hast du keinen Gefrierschrank? Wir kaufen immer nur einmal wöchentlich zwei oder drei Broten, und frieren sie ein. Für jedem Mahlzeit tauen wir soviel Schnitten auf, wie wir brauchen, in der Mikrowelle auf.
Don't you have a freezer? We always just buy two or three breads weekly, and put them in the freezer. With every meal we're defrosting as many slices as we need, in the Microwave oven.

Hier in den Niederlanden auch.
Here in the Netherlands too.

*1) Butterbrot to jest kromka chleba z czymś na nim (masło, margaryna, jakaś inna pasta kawalkowa, ser, wędliny...)
*1) Un Butterbrot est une trache du pain avec quelque chose dessus (beurre, margarine, quelque autre préparation à tartiner, fromage, charcuterie...)
*1) Een Butterbrot is een snee brood met iets erop (boter, margarine, een andere smeerbeleg, kaas, vlees...)
*1) A Butterbrot is a slice pf bread with something on it (butter, margarine, some other spread, cheese, cold cuts...).

[Pole, the]

Jag är en sköldpadda och jag äter halsdukarna.
I am a turtle and I eat the scarves.

*1) Butterbrot to jest kromka chleba z czymś na nim (masło, margaryna, jakaś inna pasta kawalkowa jakieś inne smarowidło, ser, wędliny...)
*1) A Butterbrot is a slice pf bread with something on it (butter, margarine, some other spread, cheese, cold cuts...).

[Qwynegold]

Ich vermisse Toast. Wir kaufen keine Brote mehr, da eins immer verschimmelt, ehe wir mal die Hälfte verbrauchen.
I miss toast. We don't buy bread any more because it always gets moudly before we've gone through half of it.

ですね。こっちも多くのパンの種類は家族向けみたい。私はあれを買えない。
Desu ne. Kotchi mo ōku no pan no shurui wa kazoku-muke mitai. Watashi wa are wo kaenai.
I know, right? Over here, many varieties of bread seem to be for families. I can't buy those.

[Qwynegold]

Jag är en sköldpadda och jag äter halsdukarna.
I am a turtle and I eat the scarves.

*1) Butterbrot to jest kromka chleba z czymś na nim (masło, margaryna, jakaś inna pasta kawalkowa jakieś inne smarowidło, ser, wędliny...)
*1) A Butterbrot is a slice pf bread with something on it (butter, margarine, some other spread, cheese, cold cuts...).

Håller du på med Duolingo?
Are you doing Duolingo?

[Pole, the]

Håller du på med Duolingo?
Are you doing Duolingo?

Ja, jag lär mig mycket nyttig ordförråd!
Yes, I am learning very useful vocabulary!

[linguoboy]

Don't you have a freezer? We always just buy two or three breads[*] weekly, and put them in the freezer. With every meal we're defrosting as many slices as we need, in the microwave oven.

I think it just doesn't occur to Americans to freeze bread.

Haha, ihr Komiker!
Ha, you jokesters!

Als ich Kind war wurden bei uns Brote immer gefroren. Wir kauften No-Name "Ballonbrote" zu viert sehr billig und steckten sie in den Tiefkühlschrank im Keller. Ich mag die Konsistenz von im Mikrowellenherd aufgetautet Ballonbrot nicht, also hab ich die Scheiben meistens im Toaster erhitzt.
When I was a kid we were always freezing bread. We bought off-brand "balloon bread" cheaply four at a time and stowed them in the deep freeze in the basement. I don't like the texture of microwaved balloon bread so I usually heated the slices up in the toaster.

Heute Abend hab ich Bock auf Zimt-Toast gehabt, aber, da wir kein Brot haben, hab ich eine Maistortilla in der Pfanne aufgewärmt, mit Butter gestrichen und mit Zimtzucker gestreut. Nicht das Gleiche. Keineswegs das Gleiche.
This evening I had a craving for cinnamon toast, but, since we don't have any bread, I warmed up a corn tortilla in a frying pan, spread it with butter, and sprinkled it with cinnamon sugar. Not the same. Not the same at all.


[*] Correct if "breads" means "different sorts of bread" (e.g. a baguette, a country loaf, a loaf of pumpernickel). Otherwise use "loaves".

[hwhatting]

Als ich ein Kind war, wurden bei uns Brote immer eingefroren. Wir kauften vier No-Name "Ballonbrote" auf einmal*1) sehr billig und steckten sie in den Tiefkühlschrank im Keller. Ich mag die Konsistenz von im Mikrowellenherd aufgetautem Ballonbrot nicht, also hab ich die Scheiben meistens im Toaster erhitzt.
When I was a kid we were always freezing bread. We bought off-brand "balloon bread" cheaply four at a time and stowed them in the deep freeze in the basement. I don't like the texture of microwaved balloon bread so I usually heated the slices up in the toaster.

Heute Abend hab ich Bock auf Zimt-Toast gehabt, aber, da wir kein Brot haben, hab ich eine Maistortilla in der Pfanne aufgewärmt, mit Butter bestrichen und mit Zimtzucker bestreut. Nicht das Gleiche. Überhaupt nicht das Gleiche.
This evening I had a craving for cinnamon toast, but, since we don't have any bread, I warmed up a corn tortilla in a frying pan, spread it with butter, and sprinkled it with cinnamon sugar. Not the same. Not the same at all.

*1) Wir kauften zu viert means that you went out four-person strong to buy the bread, or at least bought the bread for four persons.

Moja żona czasami zamraża chleb i wprost rozmraża go w ten sposób, że zostawia go w lodówce na noc. Ma prawie ten sam smak, jak świeży chleb.
Ma femme parfois congèle pain et le décongèle en le laissant dans le frigo pour la nuit. Ça a presque le même goût comme le pain frais.
Mijn vrouw soms vriest brood in en ontdooit het, doordat ze het over de nacht in de koelkast laat. Het smaakt bijna zo als vers brood.
My wife sometimes freezes bread and unfreezes it by leaving it in the fridge over night. It tastes almost the same as fresh bread.

[jal]

[*] Correct if "breads" means "different sorts of bread" (e.g. a baguette, a country loaf, a loaf of pumpernickel). Otherwise use "loaves".

Danke, ich schätze es sehr, dass du auch mein Englisch korrigierst.
Thanks, I really appreciate you correcting my English as well.

Mijn vrouw vriest soms brood in,* en ontdooit het, doordat ze het 's nachts in de koelkast te leggen**. Het smaakt bijna zoals*** vers brood.

*Without the comma, I would am tempted to read it such that she always freezes the bread, but the thawing is sometimes (i.e. "sometimes [freezes and thaws by placing in fridge]"). If that's what's intended however, I would move the "soms" to further in the sentence.
**There's no good translation for "overnight" in Dutch. "overnacht" can be used, but feels as an anglicism. You could paraphrase it "gedurende de nacht", but it sounds slightly odd. The way I corrected it, it could also be read that she actually puts it in the fridge in the night, but context makes it clear that's not what's intended, I think. Your mileage may vary (perhaps Din can weigh in here).
***Or slighlty more idiomatic for me, "bijna net zoals".


JAL

[jmcd]

@hwhatting:
Deine Korrektur sind nutzvoll. Trotzdem hab ich öfter 'als ich Kind war' als 'als ich ein Kind war' gehört. Deswegen hab ich dafür gesucht und ich hab diese Unterredung gefunden: http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/ ... 050/?hl=de.
Your corrections are useful. However, I have more often heard 'als ich Kind war' than 'als ich ein Kind war'. Which is why I looked for it and I found this discussion: http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/ ... 050/?hl=de.

[linguoboy]

Jedes Mal wenn HaWe etwas korrigiert und ich weiss bestimmt, dass es doch richtig ist, nehm ich an, dass es sich um einen Nord-Süd-Unterschied handelt.
Whenever Hans-Werner overcorrects something which I know for sure is correct, I assume we're dealing with a North-South difference.

[jal]

Ist HW der einzige Deutsche Muttersprachler? Ich habe Mitleid mit ihm, dass er soviel korrigieren muss.
Is HW the only native speaker of German? I'm sorry for him that he has to correct so much.


JAL

[Qwynegold]

Håller du på med Duolingo?
Are you doing Duolingo?

Ja, jag lär mig mycket nyttig ordförråd!
Yes, I am learning very useful vocabulary!

Hah, som jag trodde.
Hah, as I thought.

Det är nåt som är tokigt med din mening, men jag kan inte sätta fingret på det. Jag blir galen på det. Det är genusfel, men "mycket nyttigt ordförråd" låter inte heller bra. Finns det några fler svenskar här?
There's something off with your sentence, but I can't pinpoint what. It drives me crazy. There is a gender mistake, but "mycket nyttigt ordförråd doesn't sound right either. Any other Swedes here?

[Ziz]

Русские иммигрантки в Израиле говорят с очень высоким голосом. У меня есть студентка, которая звучит, как она говорит фальцетом. Это не может быть натурально.
Russkie immigrantki v Izraile govorjat s očen' vysokim golosom. U menja jest' studentka, kotoraja zvučit, kak ona govorit fal'cetom. Èto ne možet byt' natural'no.

Rosyjskie imigrantki w Izraelu mówią z bardzo wysokim głosem. Mam studentkę, która brzmi jak ona mówi falsetem. To nie może być naturalny.
Росыйскє имигрантки в Израелю мо́вя̨ з бардзо высоким глосем. Мам студентке̨, кто́ра брьми як она мо́ви фальсетем. То нє може быць натуральны.

Russian lady immigrants in Israel talk in a really high voice. I have a student who sounds like she speaks in falsetto. That can't be natural.

[hwhatting]

@hwhatting:
Deine Korrekturen sind nützlich. Trotzdem hab ich öfter 'als ich Kind war' als 'als ich ein Kind war' gehört. Deswegen hab ich danach gesucht und ich hab diese Unterhaltung gefunden: http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/ ... 050/?hl=de.
Your corrections are useful. However, I have more often heard 'als ich Kind war' than 'als ich ein Kind war'. Which is why I looked for it and I found this discussion: http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/ ... 050/?hl=de.

To be honest, I was hesitating whether to mark it as wrong or whether to indicate it only as suboptimal. For me, als Kind and als ich ein Kind war both work, while als ich Kind war sounds off (while it's fine with other nouns, e.g. als ich Schüler war). But as the thread you link to shows, other native speakers seem to see it differently. So I've learnt something, too.

Jedes Mal wenn HaWe etwas korrigiert und ich weiss bestimmt, dass es doch richtig ist, nehm ich an, dass es sich um einen Nord-Süd-Unterschied handelt.
Whenever Hans-Werner overcorrects something which I know for sure is correct, I assume we're dealing with a North-South difference.

That's always a possibility. Anyway, if you feel I'm overcorrecting something, let me know, like jmcd did - maybe I can explain things better to you, or I might learn something.

Ist HW der einzige deutsche Muttersprachler? Ich habe Mitleid mit ihm, dass er soviel korrigieren muss.
Is HW the only native speaker of German? I'm sorry for him that he has to correct so much.

Thanks for your concern, but I'm fine, don't worry.
Mamy więcej rodzimych użytkowników nimieckiego na ZBB (na przykład Jipi, Elf, Cedh ...), ale oni nie uczestniczą w tym wątku za dużo.
Nous avons plus locuteurs natives allemands au ZBB (par exemple Jipi, Elf, Cedh ...), mais ils ne participent beaucoup dans ce fil.
Wij hebben meer Duitse moedertaalsprekers op het ZBB (bijvoorbeeld Jipi, Elf, Cedh ...), maar ze doen niet veel aan deze draad mee.
We have more native German speakers on the ZBB (e.g. Jipi, Elf, Cedh ...), but they don't participate much in this thread.

Русские иммигрантки в Израиле говорят с очень высоким голосом. У меня есть студентка, которая звучит, (как) будто она говорит фальцетом. Это не может быть натурально.

Russian lady immigrants in Israel talk in a really high voice. I have a student who sounds like she speaks in falsetto. That can't be natural.

[Viktor77]

Hwhatting, j'ai une amie italienne ici à l'université qui a étudié dans le Kazakhstan et comme toi, a appris la langue et a beaucoup aimé la culture-là, etc. Quand y as-tu séjourné? Je mentionnerais ton nom (elle s'appelle Elisa) mais je doute que vos chemins se soient croisés là-bas, mais qui sait?

Hwhatting, I have an Italian friend here at the university who studied in Kazakhstan and like you learned the language and really liked the culture there, etc. When were you there? I would mention your name (her name is Elisa) but I doubt you crossed each others paths over there, but who knows?

[hwhatting]

@Viktor:
Wysłałem ci PM.
Je t'ai envoyé un PM.
Ik heb je een PM gestuurd.
I've sent you a PM.

[Pole, the]

Hah, som jag trodde.
Hah, as I thought.

Ibland finns det på Duolingo roliga fraser. T.ex. ”Hennes fru är en präst”.
Sometimes there are funny sentences on Duolingo. E.g. “Her wife is a priest”.

* * *

Rosyjskie imigrantki w Izraelu mówią z bardzo wysokim głosem. Mam studentkę, która brzmi jak ona mówi , jakby mówiła falsetem. To nie może być naturalnye.

Росыйскє имигрантки в Израелю мо́вя̨ з бардзо высоким глосем. Мам студентке̨, кто́ра брьми як она мо́ви фальсетем. То нє може быць натуральны.

Please stop.

Mamy więcej rodzimych użytkowników niemieckiego na ZBB (na przykład Jipi, Elf, Cedh ...), ale oni nie uczestniczą w tym wątku za dużo. (something seems off about the last fragment, but I can't pinpoint it; maybe nie piszą / nie udzielają się and za często / za bardzo would be better?)

[hwhatting]

Mamy więcej rodzimych użytkowników niemieckiego na ZBB (na przykład Jipi, Elf, Cedh ...), ale oni nie uczestniczą w tym wątku za dużo. (something seems off about the last fragment, but I can't pinpoint it; maybe nie piszą / nie udzielają się and za często / za bardzo would be better?)

Obie propozycje brzmią lepiej, nawet dla mnie.
Both proposals sound better, even to me.

[linguoboy]

Jedes Mal wenn HaWe etwas korrigiert und ich weiss bestimmt, dass es doch richtig ist, nehm ich an, dass es sich um einen Nord-Süd-Unterschied handelt.
Whenever Hans-Werner overcorrects something which I know for sure is correct, I assume we're dealing with a North-South difference.

That's always a possibility. Anyway, if you feel I'm overcorrecting something, let me know, like jmcd did - maybe I can explain things better to you, or I might learn something.

Das war halt halb im Scherz. Ich hätte ja ruhig gefragt, wenn ich etwas mehr als nur individuelle Variation vermutet hätte.
That was half in jest. I would've just asked if I'd suspected something more than individual variation was at stake.

[hwhatting]

Das war halt halb im Scherz. Ich hätte ja einfach*1) gefragt, wenn ich etwas mehr als nur individuelle Variation vermutet hätte.
That was half in jest. I would've just asked if I'd suspected something more than individual variation was at stake.

*1) This is about discourse roles - ruhig is used when the speaker signals to the listener that something the listener or a 3rd person doesn't bother the speaker (Du kannst mich ruhig korrigieren, er soll ruhig kommen); if you use it for something you as the speaker (would) do yourself, it only has the literal meaning "calmly", which doesn't seem to be what you intended here.

OK.
OK.

[jal]

Wij* hebben meer Duitse moedertaalsprekers op het ZBB (bijvoorbeeld Jipi, Elf, Cedh ...), maar ze doen niet veel met** deze draad*** mee

*"We" is more idiomatic.
**"meedoen aan" is possible, but in this case "meedoen met" is better.
***Not used except perhaps in jest. Just "thread" is fine.

This is about discourse roles - ruhig is used when the speaker signals to the listener that something the listener or a 3rd person doesn't bother the speaker (Du kannst mich ruhig korrigieren, er soll ruhig kommen); if you use it for something you as the speaker (would) do yourself, it only has the literal meaning "calmly", which doesn't seem to be what you intended here.

Interesting, in Dutch we can use "rustig" in both cases (apart from "gewoon" in this case).

Kein zeit für mehr...
No time for more...


JAL

[hwhatting]

Keine Zeit für mehr...
No time for more...

Także nie mam.
Je n'en ai pas aussi.
Heb ik ook niet.
I don't have any, too.

[linguoboy]

I don't have any, tooeither.

Klassisch!
Classic!

Ich soll selber mehr schreiben, dafür bin ich aber zu faul.
I soll selba mäa schriwe, dodefir bin i aba z'ful.
Ba chóir dom a thuilleadh a scríobh ach ní ligfeadh an leisce dom sin.
I should write more myself, but I'm too lazy for that.

[Vijay]

എനിക്ക് ഏത് ഭാഷയിൽ എഴുതണമെന്നതുപോലും അറിയത്തില്ല, അതുകൊണ്ട് മലയാളത്തിൽ അങ്ങെഴുതിപ്പോകും.
[jɛˈnikʲ ˈeːd̪ɯ ˈbʱaːʃejɪl ɛɻʊd̪əɳəmɛn̪n̪əd̪ɯˈboːlʊm əˈrijət̪ɪlla], [əˈd̪oːɳɖɯ məleˈjaːɭət̪ɪl əŋŋɛˈɻʊd̪i poːwm].
I don't even know what language to write in, so I end up just writing in Malayalam.