Wort der Woche: Mohn

 Vivid red, cheeky scarlet and faded pink, you can see these iconic flowers everywhere in the UK during the first few days of November. Yesterday I saw a huge one in the departures area for rail  passengers to look at while waiting for their trains at London's King's Cross Station. They are worn to remember and honour soldiers who died in WWI and WWII.  The British public have supported the Poppy Appeal since 1918 and money raised is used to help soldiers who have returned from war to adapt to civilian life.

In Germany and Austria poppies have a more everyday use. Many people might eat them with their breakfast or for a mid-morning treat. Poppyseeds or Mohnkörner are used to decorate bread rolls. They look delicious, especially on the small white Mohnbrötchen available to buy in bakers and coffee shops in most towns and villages. The tiny blue-grey seeds look pretty and add crunch and a nutty flavour to the white rolls. They are also sold in butchers shops; just ask for a Käsebrötchen or a Schinkenbrötchen and you will soon be tucking into a roll freshly filled with cheese or ham.

german and english words 1

German and English words can sometimes look quite similar. Look at these German words and see if you can guess what they mean in English. Scroll down the page when you have had a go and see if you were right.

1.    hier
2.    das Bier
3.    der Wein
4.    der Sommer
5.    die Zigarette
6.    der Hund
7.    das Papier
8.    lang
9.    braun
10.  der Fisch
11.  das Insekt
12.  das Schwein
13.  der Garten
14.  die Lampe
15.  das Bad
16.  die Idee
17.  die See
18.  der Balkon
19.  das Feld
20.  das Gras
21.  der Kanal
22.  der Reis
23.  der Honig
24.  der Traktor
25.  der Apfel

1.   here
2.   the beer
3.   the wine
4.   the summer
5.   the cigarette
6.   the dog (hound)
7.   the paper
8.   long
9.   brown
10. the fish
11. the insect
12. the pig (swine)
13. the garden
14. the lamp
15. the bath
16. the idea
17. the sea
18. the balcony
19. the field
20. the grass
21. the canal
22. the rice
23. the honey
24. the tractor
25. the apple

How did you get on? Did you notice that if you are trying to work out the English meaning of a German word you might only need to change one or two letters? Sometimes the English word is very old - like swine and hound.