languagesoloists-blog

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Russian dictionary

Can anyone recommend a good (trustworthy) online Russian dictionary? :D 

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Winter and Christmas vocabulary (Dutch)

Hello, everyone! Winter is coming and so is Christmas! I’m trying to get some Dutch studies in, and I thought I’d make my own Christmas/Winter vocab list! 

I wasn’t able to fill out some of them, so if you speak Dutch and know the Dutch word for whatever words are blank, please let me know what they are! :D 

Also, if you see any mistakes, please, please, please let me know so I can fix them ASAP!  Thanks! 

I hope you find this list helpful! :D 

Time, months, etc. 

Winter- (de) Winter 

December- December

January- Januari

February- Februari 

Christmas- (de) Kerstmis / (het) Kerstfeest / (de) kerst 

Christmas eve- (de) Kerstavond 

Adjectives: 

cold - Koud

Wet - nat

Freezing - ijskoud 

Cozy - gezellig 

Icy - ijzig 

Red - rood 

Green - groen

Comfortable/ comfy- comfortabel/ aangenaam / gemakkelij 

Sleepy- slaperig 

Warm- warm 

Nouns: (Clothing) 

Winter jacket- (de) Winterjas 

Glove(s)-  (de) handschoen(en) 

Scarf - (de) sjaal 

Sock(s)- (de) sok(ken)

Thermal underwear- (het) thermisch ondergoed / (de) Thermokleding 

Boot(s)- (de) Laars/ Laarzen 

Sweater- (de) trui / (de) Pullover  

Hat(s)- (de) hoed(en)

Ice skate(s)- (de) schaats(en) 

Nouns: (Food and drink) 

Hot chocolate (with whipped cream)- de warme chocolademelk (met slagroom) 

Apple cider- (de) (het) Appelsap

Eggnog- (de) Eggnog 

Mulled wine-  (de) glühwein

Cocktails- (de) cocktails 

Punch- (de) punch

Tea - (de) Thee

Iced tea -(de) ijsthee 

Coffee- (de) koffie

Milk- (de) melk 

Dinner - (het) avondeten 

Turkey- (de) kalkoen  (kerstmis kalkoen/ Christmas Turkey) 

Ham- (de) ham

(Jellied) Cranberry sauce- (de) cranberrysaus 

Stuffing - (de) vulling 

Mashed potatoes- (de) aardappelpuree

Gravy-  (de) jus 

Green beans- (de) sperziebonen / (de) haricots

Dessert- (het) nagerecht  / (het) toetje / (het) dessert

Pumpkin pie- (de) pompoentaart

Apple Pie- (de) appeltaart

Fruitcake- (de) vruchtentaart

Cookies- (de) koekjes

Cake- (de) cake

Candy- (het)  snoepje

Chocolate- (de) chocolade 

Caramel- (de) karamel

Cinnamon- (de) kaneel 

Sugar- (de) suiker 

Candy cane(s)- (de) zuurstokken 

Nouns (Weather, etc.)

Snow- (de) sneeuw 

Snowball- (de) sneeuwbal

Snowflake-  (de) sneeuwvlok 

Snowman- (de) sneeuwpop / (de) sneeuwman 

Ice- (het) ijs 

Icicle- (de) ijspegel 

Rain- (de) regen 

Drizzle- (de) motregen 

Wind-(de) wind

Gust of wind- (de) windstoot 

Blizzard- (de) sneeuwstorm 

Frost- (de) vorst 

Thermometer- (de) thermometer 

Nouns (objects around the house, etc.) 

Cup-(de) kop / (het) kopje 

Mug- (de) beker 

Fireplace- (de) open haard 

Fire- (het) vuur

Blanket- (de) deken 

Chimney- (de)  schoorsteen

Candle- (de) kaars 

Book- (het) boek

Snow globe- (de) sneeuwbol

Nouns (Decorations and all the other Christmas related stuff) 

Decoration(s)- (de)  decoratie(s) 

Christmas tree- (de) kerstboom 

Tree stand- (de) kerstboomstandaard

Ornament(s)- (de) kerstversiering(en)

Christmas balls- (de) kerstballen 

Christmas lights-  (de) Kerstverlichting

Tinsel- (de) lametta 

Garland- (de) slinger 

Glitter- (de) glitter 

Gingerbread House- (het)  peperkoekhuis / (het) Gingerbread huis

Stocking- (de) Kerstkous 

Star- (de) Ster 

Mistletoe- (de) maretak 

Wreath(s)- (de) krans(en) 

Santa Claus- (de) Kerstman

Elf- (de) elf 

North Pole- (de) Noordpool

Naughty List-  (de) stoute kinderen lijst

Naughty and Nice- Stout of lief (not sure how legit this translation is lol) 

Reindeer- (het) rendier 

Advents Calendar- (de)  adventskalender 

Nativity Set-   (de) kerststal

Mary- Maria 

Joseph- Joseph 

Wise men-  (de) (drie) Wijzen

(Baby) Jesus- (het) kerstkind 

God- (de) god 

Shepherd- (de) herder 

Star of Betlehem-  (de) ster van Bethlehem

Angel-  (de) engel 

Crib/manger- (de) kribbe

Myrrh- (de) mirre

Frankincense- (de) wierook

Gold- (het) goud 

Church- (de) kerk

Miracle- (het) mirakel / (het) wonder 

Christmas Carol(s)- (het) kerstlied/ (de) kerstliederen

Nouns (Shopping and wrapping gifts):

Christmas gift(s)- (het) kerstcadeau/ (de) kerstcadeaus 

Wrapping paper- (het) cadeaupapier 

Ribbon- (het) lint 

Bow- (De) strik 

Twine-  (het) touw / (het) bindgaren

Christmas card(s)- (de) kerstkaart(en)

Shopping- (het) winkelen 

Nouns (Sickness)

Sickness- (de) ziekte 

Cold- (de) kou / (de) verkoudheid  

Fever- (de) koorts 

Runny nose- (de) loopneus

Tissue -  (de) tissue / (de) papieren zakdoek

Snot- (de) (het) snot

Cough- (de) hoest

Sneeze-  (de) nies

Medicine-  (het) medicijn

Earache-  (de) oorpijn

Headache- (de) hoofdpijn 

Nouns (Places to go)

Library- (de) bibliotheek 

Ice skating rink- ? 

Relative’s house- (het) huis van familie

Mall- (het) winkelcentrum 

Ski resort-  (het) skigebied / (het) ski resort

Christmas parade- (de) kerstparade(?) 

(Verbs) 

to be sick- ziek zijn 

to have a cold- verkouden zijn 

to sneeze- niezen

to cough- hoesten

to have a sore throat- keelpijn hebben 

to blow one’s nose-  (zijn?) neus snuiten  

to visit family-  de familie bezoeken 

to read- lezen

to watch movies- films kijken

to have a headache- hoofdpijn hebben 

to go ice skating -  gaan schaatsen

to go shopping - winkelen / inkopen doen) 

to shop - winkelen / inkopen 

to wrap (i.e present)- inpakken

to open (i.e gifts) -  uitpakken

to give- geven 

to write (i.e card)- schrijven 

to light (fireplace/candle)- aansteken 

to rain- regenen

to snow- sneeuwen 

to throw (i.e snowball)- gooien / werpen 

to put on (clothes) - aantrekken /aandoen

to decorate- decoreren 

to be thankful (for)-  dankbaar zijn (voor)

to eat- eten 

to bake- bakken 

to cook- koken

to enjoy oneself-  zich vermaken

to dance- dansen 

to sing - zingen 

to take a nap-  een uiltje knappen /  een dutje doen

to be in the Christmas Spirit -   in de kerststemming zijn 

to spend time with loved ones  -  tijd met geliefden doorbrengen

to sit by the fire- bij het vuur zitten 

To want- willen 

to ask for sth. -  om iets vragen / wensen

I feel blessed - ik voel me gezegend

Merry Christmas! -  prettig kerstfeest / vrolijk kerstfeest / fijne/prettige kerstdagen

*This vocab list took me freaking hours to make! I was not expecting it to take that long. I now appreciate all the vocabulary lists that are out there a whole lot more! :D 

*Thank you so much @join-the-dutch-clan​ for all your help!

-Lauryn 

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Dutch Kids shows/resources

Hi there! Thought I’d just share some kid “shows” in Dutch I just discovered:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF8l-YD3e3LK1LnxFhNaNDQ (Juf Roos) 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwSZpQryx56JHo_951oHWtw (Juf Nouk) 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKvUKaPt2KzudgmnvGewQcQ ( nijntje ) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbkfAM3Vfz9IdSYLPMTPwFQ (StoryZoo) 

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French Poem

J’ai trouvé ce poème j’adore et je voulais le partager.

I’ve been making good progress in my French lately, but I’ve still got a long ways to go.

November draws near, and the challenge of NaNoWriMo awaits, so my language practice may suffer in the coming month. I have a plan to continue my studies, but that may end up with me just reading Easy French Reader when I’m not writing.

-Alina

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Slovak

Are there any native Slovak speakers who would be interested in making some fun vocabulary lists? I’d love to learn some autumn related vocabulary, as well as some Halloween, Thanksgiving, Winter, Christmas, and New Year’s vocab!

Thanks! 😊

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true

Bilingual/Polyglot Problems

Me: “Yea, I speak _______ “

“I enjoy studying languages”

“I’ve been studying ______ for a while now”

Someone: Oh really?? Say something!

Me: 

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Perks Of Being Multilingual

Made a new Korean friend online today and we are both Christian and were attempting to have a conversation about a Christian book in Korean. Well my Korean conversation skills are basic and her english is basic. We both were getting confused but guess what? New Korean friend lives in Latin America and speaks spanish fluently. I myself am basically fluent, so we ended up having our conversation in Spanish instead of either of our native languages. Moral of the story is you never know when your 2nd 3rd or 5th language may come in handy. So keep learning my friends

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Been in this situation before. It was really awkward because she was really helping me with my German grammar and she asked a really simple grammar questions and I was like, “........hm. Lemme Google it.” 

That’s how it felt like today 😂

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A Couple Fun Facts About Scottish Gaelic

I’m here with a quick post to talk about some fun facts in regards to the Scottish Gaelic language. For instance, although spelled the same “Gaelic” is pronounced differently for Irish and Scottish, Irish being the traditional gay-lick and Scottish being GAH-lik.

So let’s get started here!

Endangered language: To start things off, yes, Gàidhilg is an endangered language. There are a lot of politics involved that I don’t care to get into at the moment, but let’s just say after a steep decline in Gàidhilg speakers, the language is finally it’s on the rise again. It’s being brought back to life by the government, and hopefully more courses and material will surface for those interested in learning.

Dialects: Like any other language, Gàidhlig has different dialects. Some of those include Scots, Galwegian Gaelic (extinct), Norse-Gaelic, and Canadian Gaelic. That’s right, there happens to be Gàidhilg speakers throughout Nova Scotia. In Gàidhilg that’d be Alba Nuadh (AL-u-puh NOO-ugh), which translates to New Scotland.

Emphatic pronouns: One of the most interesting things I’ve found with Gàidhilg thus far, is their Emphatic Pronouns. It’s not something that I know to be apart of any other language. There is no English equivalent, but it’s basically like stressing a word. So instead of saying “Tha mi Ian” and stressing “mi” to say “I am Ian” you would say “Tha mise Ian” which adds the stress without changing the tone of your voice… it’s a unique part Gàidhlig.

Lack of English Equivalents: Not every word in a language can be properly translated, that’s no big surprise. I find it both frustrating and fascinating when I come across these words. In Gàidhilg, a particular word I’ve come across is “Ann” (AUwnn). The closest translation is “in existence.” This makes it, for me at least, a complicated word to understand and use properly.

-Alina

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French Immersion

Immersion is my favorite method of language learning. I find it to be the most entertaining, and I’ve heard stories of how many people picked up a language during a few months time in another country. Unfortunately I’m poor, and I can’t just pack up my bags and hop over to France. But I’ve found other ways to immerse myself, and these are some of my favorites.

Movies

I don’t really watch a lot of movies, so this list isn’t all that long. But here are some movies that are in French, or available in French

Pretty much all Disney movies - I enjoyed Frozen in French more than English. Not entirely sure why it made the difference, as that was a while ago and I couldn’t understand anything that was said.

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron - This is a childhood favorite so I had to include it

Beauty and the Beast 2014 - This is originally French, which is nice so you don’t have to watch out of sync mouths. Though it’s… uh. A little weird. Visually amazing in my opinion, but also kinda weird. You’ve been warned.

Just… movies in general - I’m just putting it out there that, in general, you can find a lot of movies in French. It’s one of the perks of learning a popular language.

Games

These are a little harder to come by, but since French is a popular language, it’s still possible. I think gameplay in French is one of my favorite things. One, because I really enjoy video games, but two because it’s the closest I’ll get to actually going to France and being completely surrounded by this language.

Petz Horsez 2 - This game is originally in French, and it’s set in France so it’s basically the best thing ever (I also highly recommend it to horse/adventure game lovers because reasons). It’s an older game, but I grew up with old games so I’m used to that stuff. It’s well put together, and has really aided me in expanding my vocabulary. I often keep a notebook handy to write down new words I want to remember, as well as a translator nearby, just in case.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - This is a game I adore, and it’s available in French. Of course a majority of this game consists of battling, so it’s not the most productive to your learning, but even so, it’s an extra excuse to play, amiright? Plus, you’ll be able to say this infamous line in French: J'étais un aventurier comme vous. Puis j'ai pris une flèche au genou.

Nancy Drew Games - HerInteractive has a select few games available to play in French (and German!). I bought one this last year, and had fun going through a game I knew so well in another language. Having played all their games multiple times through, I was not entirely confused. But if it’s your first time through the game, and it’s not in your native language, have a translator by hand. Google Translate isn’t perfect, but it’ll do the job.

Music

This one is kinda obvious for some people. These are some of my favorite French artists, and of course when in doubt, listen to Disney music in French, because you can find all of those translated into 25+ different languages.

Indila - Some of my favorites include: Tourner Dans le Vide, Mini World, Dernière danse, S.O.S., Run Run, Tu Ne M’Entends, Love Story, Boite En Argent

Kendji Girac - (Not all his stuff is French) Some of my favorites include: Ma solitude, C’est trop, Mes potes et moi, Jamais à genoux

Maitre Gims - Some of my favorites include: Je te pardonne (feat. Sia), Mon coeur avait raison, Zombie, Tu vas me manquer

YouTube

Damon And Jo - This is probably one of my favorite channels on YouTube. I really love them, they’re fun to watch, they travel a lot, and they post a lot as well (four times a week! Though only one video a week is dedicated to French).

The Urban Eve - This girl is fluent in seven languages, so French isn’t all you’ll find on her channel. She’s a beauty, fashion, travel YouTuber, though she’s done videos specifically talking about language learning, so you’ll have to sift through to find the ones that are in French, or about French. Still, I really like her channel.

Around the House

My calendar - I have a whiteboard calendar, so I changed it up so it’s all in French.

Various sites on my computer, and my phone - I changed up a lot of settings on websites and my computer, so that I can be surrounded by French all day. And my phone is almost entirely in French, as changing the main setting will translate everything it possibly can. Though for now, a few select areas are still in English, as I need to be able to perform my job properly.

My journal - Whenever I can, I try and write bits and pieces of my journal in French. It can be difficult, and I just know I’m probably messing up the grammar. But vocabulary recall is my hardest challenge, and that’s how I’m trying to remedy that. I mean, the other day I couldn’t remember how to say please in French. I slapped myself when I looked it up.

General Resources

Finally I’ll cap this off with my general French learning material, as that’s what makes all of the above helpful and not just gibberish. In the past I often just stuck to a language course on Duolingo, so my list isn’t as long as I’d like. However it’s become extremely evident to me that learning a language solely through a single course is probably impossible. You’re gonna need a helping hand, especially if you want to speed up the process.

Books

Essential French Grammar - So far I’m really enjoying this book. It’s relatively easy to read and is packed with good information to get started on French grammar. I would say it’s something I’d like to add to my personal library soon.

French in 10 Minutes a Day - This is a fun book, to get you started and familiar with all the basics. If you’re intermediate, then it probably has no value for you, unless you want to review. My favorite part is that it’s interactive.

Easy French Reader - Even though it’s literally called Easy French Reader, I find this one a little intimidating, though still very helpful. You can start reading this early on in your learning, but if you’re a stickler like me who wants to perfectly pronounce every word, it’ll be a slow read.

Websites

Duolingo - I started here when picking up French. It’s a great site, great interactive learning, but I don’t care for how they teach grammar. It’s not incorporated into the lesson, and so I often just skip it because reading it feels like an information overload. Mostly I use Duo to get a good grasp of the language, and to expand my vocabulary.

Mango Languages - Mango isn’t quite as interactive as Duo for learning, but they incorporate grammar and cultural notes into the lessons, which I really like.

Other

Berlitz French Guaranteed - My sister took a French class years ago, and had some old CD’s lying around that she gave me the other day. They pretty much just have people speak a phrase in French, then in English. It’s great to have on in the background though.

Accents - This isn’t exclusively for French, but all languages. If you don’t have the alt key code of accents memorized, you need this reference sheet, it’s helped me so much.

-Alina

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German Resources

I've been studying German for quiet awhile now, and over the years I have found a lot of good blogs, Youtubers, Instagram accounts, etc. to follow to constantly get exposed to German!

Blog (I hope you like travel stuff because all of these blogs are travel blogs:

- The Fernweh Blog (I love their photography and their stories)

- Fräulein Draußen

- Geh Mal Reisen <3

- Go Girl! Run! (She is writes mostly about health/fitness/running, but she does write some about travel)

- Immerfernweh

- Sommertage

- Travelicia

- Wonderful Wild (If you like African Safaris, this is your blog)

Youtubers (TRAVEL):

- Geh Mal Reisen (I really love all their videos! They’re just really fun/funny people!)  

- Sonne und Wolke (I haven't watched her videos in a while, but they're good)

- Immerfernweh (Currently traveling through South America)

YOUTUBERS (BEAUTY/HAULS/CHALLENGES/ETC):

I don't care much for beauty vloggers but I know a lot of beauty channels out there, so I compiled a list:

-DominoKati (Kati was an Au Pair in America for a while, but she lives back in Germany now. She has a second channel called: Katastrophe

- TheBeauty2go (I have only watched her VLOGMAS videos)

- Diana zur Löwen (I haven't watched any of her videos)

- Hatice Schmidt (I've only seen like one or two of her videos, but I liked listening to her speak German because she speaks slowly and in a really calm tone of voice, so that was a nice change)

-  Masha Sedgwick (She usually doesn't talk in her videos, or at least, not that that I have seen, but she does have a few that have her speaking in it)

- Snukieful (This link takes you to one of her videos on being raised in bilingual home of speaking German and English. Here is her and her boyfriend's second channel of daily Vlogs: Manda)

YOUTUBERS (LIFE):

- Isabeau (She is a mommy/beauty and hauls Youtuber that I've been following for for quite awhile now)

Here are some TV SHOWS and more Youtube videos:

- Tiere bis unters Dachs (I learned a lot of vocabulary from this show. If you watch this show, I suggest only watching episode 1-27 because they got a new set of characters and I think the new season stinks, so I stopped watching TBUD)

- Dienstags ein Held sein (this show is about kids that get to try out their dream jobs, and get training from professionals for those jobs. It's a neat little show!)

- Kikaninchen (This is for toddlers, but hey, when learning a language you must endure cheesy content, especially if it helps with vocab! Which brings me to the next show:)

- Extr@ (Whew! It's suuuuppperr cheesy, but the vocabulary is good! :D "Endure and Survive." lol)  Speaking of vocabulary......

- The Angry Family (This is very helpful for absolute beginners, and is good for vocabulary, but it's slow, and it's so stupid at times that it's funny. Hey, but you might end up quoting it like I did, which leads to memorizing vocabulary, so it's worth it!

- Kika Live (This is not a TV shows, but it is a tv program that, what I understood, was pretty well known in Germany.)

- If you're more into news and all, check out DW.DE . They have both videos and articles on the news. They also have courses for German on this website as well!

-HappyandFitFitness (I don't usually like watching workout videos, but if they're in German it helps me to knock out two tasks in one go. 1. I'm working out. 2. I'm listening to German and expanding my vocabulary. They have a bunch of different channels targeting different things which you can see HERE)

- Student Life: German or Beginners (This video was the first video about German I watched)

- Deutsch (and I watched this one, as well as this ONE)  (These are good for beginners, but it don't rely on slow, "perfect" speech to learn language. Throw yourself right in and listen to native speakers speak at a normal speed and all.)

-EasyGerman (Don't believe the name, it's not as easy as it sounds. They have more videos in German, as well as other languages on their other channel HERE)

-Girls4Teaching (Ah, nostalgic. I spent the first week or two of my German journey watching these videos.)

- Laura wird Stewardess (If you're interested in being a flight attendant, here is a cool documentary to watch! I have watched this so many times, as well as listened to it! I would listen to all 45mins. of it every night before going to sleep. *I wanted to become a flight attendant for Lufthansa, that's why I started learning German in the first place)

Here are more flight attendant videos if you're interested, and if you're not, it would be good for vocabulary and for your listening comprehension:

1. Ansagen-Training

2. Zweimal Himmel und Zurück (Another doku, as you say in German)

3. Flugbegleiter Auswahltag  

4. Flugbegleiterausbilding

5. Als Flugbegleiterin mit der Nationalmannschaft zur EM

6. Annie| be Happy and Travel (She is a flight attendant Youtuber)

7. BeLufthansa (this is Lufthansa official career Youtube channel, so it's not just for flight attendants)

PRONUNCIATION:

-The Sound of German (This shows you where the tongue is suppose to be and so on, which was really helpful)

-How to pronounce the German "R" pt. 1

-How to pronounce the German "R" pt. 2 (I watched these two videos a few times through and I got my German "R" that day, and haven't had any issues pronouncing the "R" since then.)

-Ä, Ö, and Ü pronunciation

MUSIC:

-Disney songs in German

-Hillsong plus more Christian songs

-Ziehst Du Mit (I really like this song)

-Matteo Capreoli

-Silbermond (I don't really care much for them)

MISC:

-GOETHE (click on "online Deutsch lernen" to get to the language course)

-German is Easy! (This person does a really good job of explaining the words that don't exist in German and harder words!)

I'm sure I have a lot more, but this is all I can think of right now! Hope this helps!

Oh! I suggest watching THIS video too! It's not about German in particular, but it's about language learning! :)

Hope these resources help you! 

-Lauryn