“medusa” By Luciano Garbati

Verstärkungswörter / Strengthening words

absolut - absolute/absolutely

total - total/totally

völlig - complete/completely

vollkommen - complete/completely

äußerst - extreme/extremely

überaus - extreme/extremely

brutal - brutally

irre - insane/crazy

entsetzlich - horrible/horribly

grässlich - awful/awfully

widerlich - disgusting

riesig - huge

furchtbar - frightful/frightfully

fürchterlich - dreadful/dreadfully

leidenschaftlich - passionately

großartig - awesome

unheimlich - uncanny

sehr, sehr - very, very

hoch- - high

ausgesprochen - decidedly

wahnsinnig - crazy

immer alles ganz - always the same

schrecklich - terribly

phantastisch - fantastic

ehrlich - honestly

bestimmt - great

sicher - certain/certaintly

sicherlich -certain/certaintly

echt - real

toll - great

prima - super

klasse - great

Spitze - top

bestimmt - certainly

wirklich - really

super - super

extrem - extreme/extremely

arg - very

verdammt - damn

ziemlich - somewhat

unverschämt - outrageous/outrageously

i've never related to a meme so much in my life

Ocean Vuong, from Someday I’ll Love Ocean Vuong

german songs that you should listen to [playlist] 

my life, Cro

Ein Kompliment, Sportfreunde Stiller

Weil du mein Zuhause bist, Vona

Nur Ein Wort, Wir Sind Helden

Es geht mir gut, AnnenMayKantereit

Chillin, Cro

Zieh die Schuh aus, Roger Cicero

Du trägst keine Liebe in dir, Echt

Usain Bolt, Teesy

21, 22, 23, AnnenMayKantereit

2006, Cro

Wenn du liebst, Clueso

Draußen, Teesy

Helden, David Bowie (German version of ‘Heroes’)

Irgendwie, Irgendwo Irgendwann, Nena

Wir waren hier II, Cro

Jeder lebt für sich allein, Clueso

Lange her, Cro

Keine Rosen, Teesy

Oft gefragt, AnnenMayKantereit

German Vocab: Expressing your opinion

1. Basic Vocab:

die Meinung - opinion meine Meinung - my opinion zustimmen - to agree widersprechen - to disagree überzeugen - to convince richtig - right falsch - wrong

2. Expressing your opinion:

Meiner Meinung nach… - In my opinion…

Meiner Meinung nach ist Game of Thrones keine gute Serie. ~ In my opinion Game of Thrones is not a good show.

Ich meine/Ich finde, dass… - I think that …

Ich finde, dass du weniger Alkohol trinken solltest. I think that you should drink less alcohol.

Ich bin davon überzeugt, dass... - I’m convinced that…

Ich bin davon überzeugt, dass Katzen sehr sozial sind. I’m convinced that cats are very social.

3. Asking for Someone’s Opinion:

Was hältst du von …? – What do you think of …?

Was hältst du von Britney Spears? Magst du sie? ~ What do you think of Britney Spears? Do you like her?

Was denkst du über ….? – What do you think about …?

Was denkst du über das Rauchverbot? Bist du damit einverstanden? ~ What do you think about the smoking ban? Do you agree with it?

Was ist deine Meinung über …? – What is your opinion on …?

Was ist deine Meinung über vegane Ernährung?  ~ What is your opinion on vegan diet?

4. Agreeing with someone:

Ich stimme dir zu. - I agree with you. 

Du hast (völlig) recht. - You’re (completely) right.

Das finde ich auch. - I think so, too.

Ich teile deine Meinung. - I share your opinion. 

Genau/Eben. - Exactly.

5. Disagreeing with someone:

Das kann sein, aber… - That might be so, but… 

Das stimmt nicht. - That’s not true.

Da muss ich widersprechen. - I have to disagree with that. 

Da liegst du völlig falsch. – You’re completely wrong with that.

Auf keinen Fall. - Absolutely not.

+ the not so polite way to disagree:

So ein Quatsch/Was für ein Blödsinn! – What nonsense/rubbish!

Du spinnst ja! - You’re crazy!

Du hast keine Ahnung! - You have no idea!

6. Expressing Indifference

Das ist mir egal. - I don’t care.

Es ist mir vollkommen egal. – I don’t care at all.

Keine Ahnung. - No idea.

- SOPHIE HEAWOOD

japanese book recommendations

japanese literature is one of the reasons i absolutely adore the language and the culture. it’s unique, different from anything i’ve seen in literature from other parts of the world. during the years of learning japanese i’ve discovered many authors and books that are now my favourite, so i thought i’d share them with you! they can become great help while studying japanese, but you definitely should read them for fun first - it’s worth it, believe me.

i’m gonna include romaji, in case someone who doesn’t speak japanese wanted to read these!

dazai osamu - ningen shikkaku (太宰治・人間失格) (english title: no longer human)

this novel is considered one of the masterpieces of contemporary literature in japan. it’s taught at school, adapted to mangas and films and anime series, reissued up to this day despite it being first published in 1948. the book follows a man who feels like he is losing his ability to be human. it’s a timeless story, but also very sad and engulfing the readers in hopelessness. don’t read if you hate emotional rollercoasters.

natsume souseki - kokoro (夏目漱石・こころ)

natsume is another of the most respected japanese writers, this novel considered his masterpiece. during a trip, the protagonist meets someone he calls sensei - someone he deeply admires and looks up to. however, sensei is more mysterious than it seems. though the plot is quite simple and spoiling it in any way would be ruining your fun, it’s definitely worth reading. the author conveyed the feelings of admiration, loss, guilt, shame, as well as described developing friendship between the two men.

yumeno kyuusaku - dogra magra (夢野久作・ドグラマグラ)

the japanese say that whoever finishes this novel will surely go mad. i can’t deny; when reading it for the first time i stopped halfway because it’s very long and difficult. i still want to go back and read it properly though. it’s a very creepy and disturbing story about a man who wakes up in a mental hospital, not remembering who he is, why he’s there and what he has to do with the woman who keeps calling him from behind the wall. since this novel has no english or even european language translation (only a french one, to my knowledge) reading it would be big challenge. it contains a lot of medical vocabulary related to psychiatry and mental illnesses. recommended to horror fans.

yoshimoto banana - kitchen (吉本ばなな・キッチン)

this novel is quite short and fairly easy to read. it’s often described as a shoujo manga without pictures. it tells a story of a young woman who loses her last family member and suddenly finds herself lost in the adult world. luckily, she gets the chance to live with her acquaintance and his mother. the mother is actually a father, but it doesn’t stop them all to live together like a family. this book is very calm and melancholic, devoid of swift action, focused more on the feelings of the characters. it’s full of coziness and descriptions of food. read when it’s dark outside.

sakurazaka hiroshi - all you need is kill (桜坂洋・all you need is kill)

now this book might seem like it doesn’t fit in this list, which is full of classics and serious books. it’s a light novel, made solely for entertainment. it even got a hollywood adaptation starring tom cruise (which isn’t very good, mind you). what i love about this novel, though, is its simplicity in telling the story. the hero, a soldier, gets trapped in a time loop which feels like a nightmare but also allows him to master his fighting skills. the narrations follows his witty thoughts, which is very entertaining. despite it being simple, the novel is touching and gripping, it also has a fairly simple language to read it in japanese.

that sums up my top 5 japanese books list. if you have any recommendations of your own, don’t hesitate to add them here, since i’m always looking for new books to read!

頑張りましょう！

▪Venus de’ Medici. Published: Gérard Audran (1640 - 1703) Drawn/Engraved: Girolamo Mantelli From: Girard Audran, Les Proportions Du Corps Humain, Mesurées sur les plus belles Figures de l'Antiquité(Paris: 1683), pl. 15