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Original poster

Help with German homework - difficult - dd1 desparate - please!!

28 replies

Nightynight · 07/12/2006 17:41

Hi,

dd1's Deutsch homework today says "Put the following adjective and nouns together in a meaningful (sinnvoll) way.

We aren't sure if they are meant to be put together to form a new noun, or just a phrase. We found Kuhlschrank, and Dummkopf, but couldnt make any more nouns, so we thought maybe they are just supposed to be phrases. Can anyone suggest any meaningful pairings?

Adjectives Nouns

kuhl Kopf
dumm Maus
duenn Schrank
susze Darm
tief Druck
spitze Stoff

Also, we must come up with names for a Rinderfleischgericht, and 2 Beilage, one with Kartoffeln and one with Kraut. Something like "roast potatoes," but in German. Unfortunately, I havent got my recipe books with me.

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Original poster
Nightynight · 07/12/2006 17:42

the multiple spaces that I put in to make a table didnt come out...hope its still readable.

OP posts:
JackieNoHoHo · 07/12/2006 17:48

My German's very rusty, but bumping for you.

LIZS · 07/12/2006 17:53

sussstoff = sweetener

sauerkraut ?

Original poster
Nightynight · 07/12/2006 17:58

ah, didnt think of that one.

that would leave tief, spitze and duenn to go with Maus, Darm and Druck. I am still not convinced that it is words and not phrases.

My dictionary says "intestines" for Darm, and I am at a loss.

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Original poster
Nightynight · 07/12/2006 18:04

just discovered on LEO that Tiefdruck is low pressure!

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foundintranslation · 07/12/2006 18:07

dünndarm = small intestine

LadyOfThePoinsettias · 07/12/2006 18:07

kuhlschrank
dumm kopf....

?

ThrockenAroundTheChristmasTree · 07/12/2006 18:07

tiefdruck - low pressure
duenndarm - small intestine

frogs · 07/12/2006 18:08

Tiefdruck = depression (weather)
Spitzmaus = kind of mouse ?dormouse
Dünndarm = small intestine (as opposed to Dickdarm = large intestine)

Pretty darn recherche, though. Hard to see how any of those vocab items are useful to someone in lower secondary school.

foundintranslation · 07/12/2006 18:08

and a Spitzmaus is a shrew!!

Original poster
Nightynight · 07/12/2006 18:08

fit - thank you!

that would leave spitz Maus

if Kuhlschrank, Sussstoff, Dummkopf, Tiefdruck and Duenndarm are correct

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frogs · 07/12/2006 18:09

Aargh, fit, crossed with you! Shrew, that's the word I was looking for. All i could come up with was vole, and didn't think that was right.

For a cheat, going to Google.de and googling these items with the German language only option selected would have got your dd there by herself. Still think the teacher needs a stern word, though.

LadyOfThePoinsettias · 07/12/2006 18:10

isnt the spit word 'fun'

Original poster
Nightynight · 07/12/2006 18:10

woohoo!! thank you so much. dd will be so pleased.

Teacher asked her the other day, Why are your marks suddenly so low? Dd replied, Because my mother is in the UK

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foundintranslation · 07/12/2006 18:12

Does seem quite bizarre HW - what Klasse/Schulform?

Original poster
Nightynight · 07/12/2006 18:14

hello fit, how are you?
we took a house in the end (loads of space!!), but found a cheaper town a little further from Mch. School problems still rumbling on, the new school saw the jz from the old school and wanted to put the children down a year---the system wont be happy until it has put all my children down a year

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Original poster
Nightynight · 07/12/2006 18:15

its Yr 4 Deutsch. They get quite a lot of stuff like this, but it is good practise for dd learing German, so Im ok with it.

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frogs · 07/12/2006 18:16

Oh, okay you're in Germany. Doh!! Still think the homework is a bit weird though. Can't think when I last had cause to use the word Dünndarm. But then again all Germans are obsessed with their digestive systems, so maybe it is in fact appropriate preparation for the children to take their part in German society.

In which case you better brush up on all the other popular German ailments that have no UK equivalent, such as Kreislaufbeschwerden and niedriger Blutdruck.

Original poster
Nightynight · 07/12/2006 18:16

frogs, Im all for cheating! dd needs all the help she can get! She is quite nifty with her dictionary though.

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foundintranslation · 07/12/2006 18:17

Ooh, a house, lovely - have you got a garden? Sorry school issues are still going on - if there's anything I can do, just ask.

I'm overworked and rather worried about our ever-more-immediate future, but we're well

Original poster
Nightynight · 07/12/2006 18:18

lol frogs
in case I need to write them in a sick note to the school

OP posts:
foundintranslation · 07/12/2006 18:18

pmsl frogs

Original poster
Nightynight · 07/12/2006 18:22

We have a garden about 10 foot by 10 foot - but with 2 balconies and view of the Alps, Im not complaining. Its heaven after a Dachgeschoss flat with no balcony.

Its a sort of faceoff between us and the schulamt at the moment. They are waiting for us to rush to court, I think, and we are waiting for them to give a verdict on our case. Whoever moves first will be at a disadvantage, because the burden of proof, so to speak will be on that party. Im sitting tight, but may find myself in front of the Verwaltungsgericht some time next year.

Are you any nearer to moving to Berlin?

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Original poster
Nightynight · 07/12/2006 18:45

Just re-read the whole thread and realised that a lot of posts crossed. Thank you all. dd1 is going to bed happy!

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finknottle · 12/12/2006 12:29

Hello Is your DD doing the Zauberlehrling book? My DS and I were battling with this last week so I recognized the exercise. He insisted that there was a "Spitzmaus" but I thought he was making it up ("I'm half-German, mum, not you!") and then he fell about laughing at "Dunndarm". We still need a dictionary and 501 German Verbs on hand for homework.

That was a hard chunk they just did, my DS gets 8-10 pages to do at a time and even my German DH was struggling to find some of the words from the pictures.

If we can help, I think we may be a few pages ahead after the last session and have got the corrected work back already ... just to reassure you that you're right of course