aber but
Abitur high school graduation examination
Ach, Kind Oh, child!
Alte Burg The Old Castle
Ach so! Aha! I see!
Angsthasen “Scaredy-rabbits”-the German equivalent of “scaredy-cats”
Apfelstreusel apple cobbler
auch also
Auf Wiedersehen Goodbye (formal)
Bis gleich! See you in a minute!
bitte please
Bitte schön You’re welcome
Blödmann stupid fool
Blödsinn stupid tricks, messing about
böse bad, angry
Bürgermeister mayor
Danke Thank you
dein yours
doch yes, indeed
Dornröschen Briar Rose, the sleeping beauty
Du bist pervers You’re sick
Dummkopf blockhead, idiot
etwas seltsam something strange
Fachwerk half-timbering
Fettmännchen small coin (now obsolete)
Fettsack Fatso
Frau Mrs., Ms.
Fräulein Miss
furchtbar terrible
Gönsebraten roast goose
gerne willingly, gladly
Gott God
Grossmutter Grandmother
Grundschule Elementary school
Guten Abend Good evening
Guten Morgen Good morning
Guten Tag Good day
Gymnasium the most academic type of high school, offering the university entrance exam
Hasse hate
Hauptschule less academic type of high school, often leading to vocational training
Heckflosse tail fin
Herr Mr.
Herr Wachtmeister Constable
Hexe witch
Hilfe! Help!
Himmel! Heavens!
Hör auf! Stop it!
Ich gehe mit meiner Laterne I’m going along with my lantern
Ich hasse euch beide I hate you both
Ich kenn’ dich nicht, ich geh’ nicht mit I don’t know you, so I won’t go with you
Ich meine I mean
Ihr beide seid auch Scheisse You’re both shit too
Ihr seid total blöd You (pl.) are totally stupid
In Gottes Namen In God’s name
Jägermeister a German liqueur made with herbs and spices
Kaufhof a well-known German department store
Kind child
Klasse great, fantastic
Köln Cologne
Kölner Stadtanzeiger a regional newspaper
Komisch funny
Leberwurst liver sausage
Liebe Dear
Lieber Gott Dear God
Maibaum a May tree
Mäuselein “Little mouse;” a term of endearment
meine my, mine
Mein Gott My God
Meine Gute! My goodness!
Mein Licht ist aus, ich geh’ nach Haus My light is out, I’m going home
Mensch! Wow! Oh boy!
Mist crap
natürlich Of course
Na, und? So what?
Nee No, nope (informal)
Nun Now, well
Oberlothringen Upper Lorraine
Oder? Right? OK?
O Gott Oh God
Oma grandma
Onkel uncle
Opa grandpa
Pause break time
Pech gehabt! Hard luck!
Pfarrer Father (i.e., a priest)
Quälgeister pests
Quatsch nonsense
Ranzen school satchel
Rathaus town hall
Rosenmontag Karneval Monday
Sankt saint
Sankt Martin ritt durch Schnee und Wind St. Martin rode through snow and wind
Schätzchen “My treasure;” a term of endearment
Scheisse shit
Scheissköpfe idiots (rude)
schön good, lovely
Schrulle hag or crone
seltsam strange
sicher certainly
Stollen fruit loaf made at Christmastime
Strasse street
Tal valley
Tante aunt
Teufelsloch Devil’s Hole
Tor gate or archway; in Bad Münstereifel each tor is a tower with an archway underneath it
Tschüss! Bye! (informal)
Tut mir Leid I’m sorry
Um Gottes Willen! For Heaven’s sake!
und and
unverschämt shameless, brazen
Verdammt! Damn!
Verdammter bloody (rude)
verflixten blasted, damned
verstanden understood
Vorsicht! Look out!
weggezaubert made to disappear by magic
Werkbrücke Works Bridge-a Bad Münstereifel landmark
Wie, bitte? I beg your pardon?
Wo ist meine Tochter? Where is my daughter?
Wurst sausage
Zöpfe pigtails or braids
Baron Münchhausen (Chapter One) was an eighteenth-century German baron renowned for his extravagant tall tales.
Frau Holle (Chapter Twenty-one) is a character from a German fairy tale. She is an old woman who lives down a well; she rewards her hardworking servant girl with a shower of gold and her lazy servant with a shower of pitch.
Decke Tönnes (Chapter Twenty-nine) is a shrine to St. Anthony, located high on a hill in the woods near Bad Münstereifel.
Karneval (Chapter Six) is the carnival season, which starts on November 11 but reaches its climax on Rosenmontag, the Monday before Ash Wednesday. Karneval is celebrated by Sitzungen, which are shows incorporating dancing, singing, and comedy turns, and also by Karneval processions, which take place on or around Rosenmontag.
Kristallnacht (Chapter Thirty-three), November 9-10, 1938, was the infamous night during which the Nazis murdered and deported Jewish people living in Germany, and ransacked thousands of Jewish businesses and synagogues. The name Kristallnacht (“Crystal Night”) refers to the huge amount of broken glass from shopwindows.
The Ruhrgebiet (Chapter Twenty-four) is a heavily industrialized area associated with coal mining and steel production. It belongs to the same German state as Bad Münstereifel (North Rheinland Westphalia) but lies north of the Eifel.