a very brief and not particularly helpful German lesson

Since not much is going on in the way of me having a life this month, I have been racking my brain other ways to annoy entertain the internet. Then it struck me. I have been in Germany for the past year, basically for the sole purpose of improving my German (I mean, and teaching English...). So I have compiled a list of my favorite German words for...

1. Gegenüberliegende

This is my favorite word in the German language. It has nothing to do with its meaning - an adjective that basically means "across from." For example, if your friend calls trying to meet up with you at the usual beer keller, but today you've decided to meet at the one across from it you would get the dialogue below (don't worry about that pesky little "n" at the end, we'll save adjective endings and cases for another lesson). No, what I really like about this word is just how crazy it is to say. In the Emily Phonetic Spelling System (EPSS), it is pronounce gay-gen-EEEW-ber-lee-gen-da (keep in mind that there almost no such thing as a soft g in German). I mean, just say it, falls right off the tongue perfectly! 

2. Vergnügen 
This is another word that I enjoy mostly just for pronunciation. But the meaning also plays an important (and ironically appropriate?) role. EPSS pronunciation: fair-g-NEW-gen. Definition: Pleasure. And, indeed, I find this word quite a pleasure to say. 

3. Doch
Now this word is awesome because of it's meaning. It's an expression that doesn't exist in English. If you were to translate it, it would probably change in every context, but a more or less standard definition of it would be like "Ya-huh!" When I was first introduced to this word it was only in the sense that if you get in a "No!""Yes!" battle with someone, instead of "Nein!" "Ja!" you say, "Nein!" "Doch!" of course, you can also insert doch into sentences to be a cute and pithy way of saying something like "on the contrary." But, as I said, there is really no direct translation for this word which makes it hard (at least in my opinion) for English speakers to really learn how to use correctly. I usually just throw it into sentences, whether or not it's an appropriate or correct use. But hey, I like it, so I'm going to keep doing it.

4. Fremdsprachenassistentin 
To be honest, I hate saying this word. I always trip all over it. But it's my job title. And it's a 24 letter word. If that's not badass, I don't know what is. EPSS: FREMT-sprock-en-ah-sis-tent-in. 

5. Genau
If you ever want to fake being able to speak German, just learn this word. EPSS: geh-NOW. It means "exactly". But it's way more all-purpose than the English "exactly." When I first came to Germany in 2005, I realized almost immediately just how important and well-used this word was in everyday speech. It is pretty much the go-to response for any statement:  "I love Emily's blog""Genau!" / "I just really want to put on some lederhosen, eat bratwurst and drink a beer" "Genau!" / "Most American stereotypes of Germany are actually false" "Genau!" / "except in Bavaria" "Genau!" I could go on, but I think you get the picture. So when in doubt, just say "Genau!"

So there you have it, five of my favorite words in the German language. Please be sure to study before our next very brief and not particularly helpful German lesson!