How languages actually work
Sourced explainers on the bits of German that textbooks skip: why nouns have gender, what doch is doing, and the words you only hear once you live there.
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Why you forget vocabulary even after studying it
Forgetting is not a sign the studying failed. It is the mechanism the studying is supposed to work with, and almost every beginner uses it backwards.
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Why Germans call a mobile phone a "Handy"
It looks like English. It is not English. Handy is a German word built out of English parts, and it catches out every learner.
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Why German nouns have gender, and why a girl is neuter
German gender is not about masculinity or femininity. It is a grammatical filing system, and once you see what it is for, das Mädchen makes sense.
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What "doch" actually means, and why English has no word for it
Doch is the German word learners give up on. It is not untranslatable: it does three separate jobs, and once you can name them, you can use it.
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The German words you hear every day in Munich but never learn in class
Textbook German gets you through the paperwork. It does not get you through a bakery in Bavaria. The words I learned by being confused in public.
Learn the words you actually meet
Point your camera at anything and Vocabloot gives you the word, then keeps it with the photo you took.
