Latest / Learn German with Fexingo / German Directions: Around the Corner
Transcript
- Lucas: Welcome back to Learn German with Fexingo. I'm Lucas, and as always, I've got Luna with me. Hey Luna. Luna: Hey Lucas. You know, last time we were ordering coffee, and I still dream about that café. Lucas: Oh that place was good. And today, we're going to make sure you can actually find places like that when you're walking around a German city. Luna: Ooh, are we doing directions again? We did left and right, and straight ahead, and near and far. Lucas: We did, and you were great with those. So today, let's go one step further and talk about corners. Like, um die Ecke. Um die Ecke. Can you try that? Luna: Um die Ecke. Um die Ecke. That sounds like 'around the corner'. Lucas: Exactly. Um die Ecke means 'around the corner'. It's so useful when someone says a place is very close. Like, Es ist um die Ecke. Es ist um die Ecke. Luna: So if I say, Die Bäckerei ist um die Ecke, that means the bakery is around the corner? Lucas: Perfect. And notice that Um die Ecke uses 'um' with the accusative, because we're talking about movement or position that goes around something. But don't worry about the grammar too much. Just use it as a phrase. Um die Ecke. Luna: Um die Ecke. Got it. But what if I want to ask where something is? Like, where is the bakery? We did 'Wo ist die Toilette?' before, so maybe Wo ist die Bäckerei? Lucas: Yes! Wo ist die Bäckerei? That's 'Where is the bakery?' And a great answer could be, Sie ist um die Ecke. Or we can also say, an der Ecke. An der Ecke means 'at the corner'. Luna: An der Ecke. So that's a different kind of corner. Um die Ecke is around it, and an der Ecke is right at it. Lucas: Exactly. An der Ecke is like the corner of a street. For example, Die Apotheke ist an der Ecke. The pharmacy is at the corner. Luna: Okay, so um die Ecke for around, an der Ecke for at. That's a nice pair. Can we practice with a little scene? Maybe I'm looking for a café. Lucas: Sure. So you stop someone on the street and ask, Entschuldigung, wo ist die Bäckerei? Or if you want a café, Wo ist das Café? Luna: Entschuldigung, wo ist das Café? Lucas: And the person says, Gehen Sie um die Ecke. Das Café ist an der Ecke. Go around the corner. The café is at the corner. Luna: Gehen Sie um die Ecke. So that's a command, like 'go around the corner'. But what if I want to say 'turn right at the corner'? We did 'rechts abbiegen' before. Lucas: Right. So you could say, Biegen Sie an der Ecke rechts ab. That's 'Turn right at the corner.' But let's keep it simpler for today. Just remember, um die Ecke and an der Ecke are your corner buddies. Luna: My corner buddies. I like that. So um die Ecke is about going around, and an der Ecke is about being at. Lucas: Exactly. Let's repeat them a few times. Um die Ecke. An der Ecke. Luna: Um die Ecke. An der Ecke. Lucas: Now, let's put them together in a mini dialogue. I'll be the person on the street, you ask me where the bakery is. Luna: Entschuldigung, wo ist die Bäckerei? Lucas: Die Bäckerei? Die ist um die Ecke, an der Ecke. Sie sehen es gleich. Luna: Ah, so the bakery is around the corner, at the corner. I see it. Danke schön! Lucas: Bitte schön. And there you have it. You just navigated to a bakery in German. Luna: That felt good. So if Fexingo has been helping you make progress like this, you know, if today's lesson was worth a coffee to you, there's a little link where you can buy me a coffee. It's buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: Yeah, it keeps the podcast going and ad-free. No pressure at all. But we appreciate every bit of support. Luna: So now, let's do one more quick practice. I'll ask where the pharmacy is. Wo ist die Apotheke? Lucas: Die Apotheke ist um die Ecke. An der Ecke. Um die Ecke. An der Ecke. Luna: Um die Ecke. An der Ecke. I think I've got it. Thanks, Lucas. Lucas: You did it. And remember, practice these phrases until we chat again. Um die Ecke, an der Ecke. See you next time!