Saturday, March 1, 2008

Word of the day: German Edition

I followed some links today and learned that the word for "Nurse" in German is "Krankenschwester".

The literal translation is prolly "Kranky Bitch" or something.

Ironically, I'm feeling a bit Kranky after my week from hell, and I'm declaring a fatwa on the internet, telephone, and anything else that brings me into contact with people.

I'll see you next week.

14 comments:

Beach Bum said...

krank = sick
schwester = sister

Barbara said...

oooh boy do I ever know how you feel. Bless you, and heal. We'll be here when you get back.

ERP said...

Bissen Sie Krank meine freund?

Nurse K said...

Vu ist die Toilette?

Yeah, I'm going there in 3 weeks and that's about the extent of my knowledge.

Nurse K said...

And I think it's spelled "wo" not "vu" but whatever, I learn by ear.

weird_mind said...

As far as i know, the word "Krankenschwester" has it´s source in the time when the job of nurses was done primarly by nuns. In germany a nun is addressed as "Schwester <insert religious name>". Over the time the job of the nurse detached from the nuns to a secular profession. But the name remained.

RevMedic said...

The German term for hospital is Krankenhaus, and the ambulances were/are called Krankenwagons...
Interestingly enough, when I was over there (early 80's), the DUI implied consent was that if you refused to give blood for testing, the Polezei would punch you in the nose and collect the blood he needed from what poured out. No Shit.

weird_mind said...

Sorry, but this is nonsense ... you can be forced to give blood for alcohol testing, but there are easier methods to do so than punching on the nose and without the problems of resulting complaints at courts about police violence ....

Ubergeek said...

My German roommates agree that "Krankenschwester" is "illness sister".

They also teach me lots of useful phrases, such as:

Du bist eine schlumpe (You are a bitch).

Wo ist meine kleine drecks schlumpe (where is my dirty little bitch)?

Fick dich (fuck you).

Wo haben Sie schmerzen (where do you hurt)?

Just in case you need to do an assessment in German.

I only know the useful things.

Travis Erwin said...

"Krankenschwester".

Seems like a good name for an all girl band.

RevMedic said...

Remember, this was Germany. Not the U.S. There's no such thing as 'police brutality' over there. I saw the Polezei hit, kick, slap & punch people (Americans, too), for nothing more than talking back to them. God forbid you actually hurt a German. Can you say put in the back of a van with a police dog after being caught raping a girl?

And some of my favorite lines:

Hey baby, ich glaube ich liebe dich.
(Hey baby, I think I love you)

Eine grosse bier, bitte.
(One large beer, please)

Bratvurst mit brotchen, bitte. Bratvurst mid pomme frites, bitte. Currywurst, bitte.
(Bratwurst with a small roll please. Bratwurst with fries, please. Curry Wurst, please)

weird_mind said...

I assume, you´ve looked to many movies with a plot in the years when a swastika was in the flag.

Modern germany has a constitution like the States. Violence or such a horror story you´ve tried to tell, is the safest way to loose your job as a public servant. The police isn´t perfect, every organisation of a certain size has it´s quantum of idiots, but your position is totally absurd and nonsensical.

I live in Germany for 34 years now, thus i have some insights into this country. For example: A police president threatend someone with torture (albeit without the intend to really torturing) him to get the location of a kidnapped child. He was degraded and fired in an instance.

And this stories of "just talked back" mostly doesn´t tell a part of the story: The part of the "just talked back" contained fists and trying to beat the police men.

Lynn Price said...

Heh, speaking of German police - when I lived in Heidelberg 30 years ago, I remember a lady getting arrested for addressing the cop with the informal term for 'you' (du) instead of the formal (Sie). I can't remember what happened - that year was a bit of a drunker for me.

RevMedic said...

Actually, I more or less agreed with the Polezei. I laughed at most of those idiots just for the cumuppance they got at the hands of the German Police.