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Learning german compund words (feddit.de)

submitted 9 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Native german speaker here. I have been wondering how difficult it is to learn and understand compound words in German. Also, do you yourself make up your own when needed?

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I make up my own compound words, when I play the game "Codenames".

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

How do you even play that game in other languages without compound words?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

While it's "clunky" it makes it super easier for a non native speaker to figure out what is meant by it. I personally love how straightforward the language is like ambulance -> krankenwagen (sick car) make sense intuitively.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

When I was starting to learn German, I found it quite intimidating, but once I started having a grasp of the language, I found it actually pretty easy. The trick is just being able to recognize the subwords. Take a word like Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung: once you know Arbeit and Schein, it already starts being easier to see the meaning.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

Fähigkeit would probably also be useful to know for that one.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 9 months ago

Yes, we do