We also love the word "stuff" (Zeug in german) ... Airplane in german is Flugzeug ("flight stuff"), toys are Spielzeug ("play stuff"), a lighter is Feuerzeug ("fire stuff"), drums are Schlagzeug ("beat/punch stuff"), dressing material is Verbandszeug ("bandage stuff"), cars and other vehicles are Fahrzeuge ("drive stuff").
Basically we're pretty lazy and just call everything stuff. Thanks for this post :) And to complete the list of cute german words for animals: A seal is a "sea dog" (Seehund), a porcupine is a "spike pig" (Stachelschwein), a porpoise is a "pig whale" (Schweinswal), a sloth is just a "lazy animal" (Faultier), a racoon is a "wash bear" (Waschbär), a slug is a "naked snail" (Nacktschnecke), a squid is an "ink fish" (Tintenfisch), a bat is a "flutter mouse" (Fledermaus) and a squirrel is a "little oak horn" (Eichhörnchen). Hope this info is improving your life ;)
But some languages need that volume and/or intensity if you're gonna get the correct pronunciation (and thus meaning) across. Asian comes to mind, as well as maybe the Romantic languages.
1
deleted
· 8 years ago
I've been trying to learn chinese and the 4 tones system is really tripping me up, since I speak german and english, neither of which do you change the meaning of a word based on your tone of voice
1
deleted
· 8 years ago
@guest I think french sounds nice even if it's yelled.
Basically we're pretty lazy and just call everything stuff. Thanks for this post :) And to complete the list of cute german words for animals: A seal is a "sea dog" (Seehund), a porcupine is a "spike pig" (Stachelschwein), a porpoise is a "pig whale" (Schweinswal), a sloth is just a "lazy animal" (Faultier), a racoon is a "wash bear" (Waschbär), a slug is a "naked snail" (Nacktschnecke), a squid is an "ink fish" (Tintenfisch), a bat is a "flutter mouse" (Fledermaus) and a squirrel is a "little oak horn" (Eichhörnchen). Hope this info is improving your life ;)