Words I like

Any word with more than 20 letters gets my pulse racing. I have no idea why.

Nicht weg zu denken – okay, it’s four words, but it’s used like one. It translates as “not thinkawayable”, and means “indispensable,” it’s hard to imagine life without it.

A rucksack is nicht weg zu denken on a long hike.

Herangehensweise – only 16 letters, but 6 syllables and it took me about 10 years to learn, so I’m especially proud of it. It means approach, method, way of doing something.

These students aren’t learning their irregular verbs. We need to try a new Herangehensweise.

Nachvollziehbar – another word which looks like a handful of words have been tossed up in the air and left where they landed. This literally translates as “after-full-pull-pub”, but actually means “understandable”, “logical”, even “reasonable” (you can draw (pull) your conclusions from (after) it). I like the way it makes you puff like an accordion as you say each syllable.

Allerdings – my absolute favourite. With the emphasis on the last syllable, like a cheery bicycle bell, this word means “but” or “however”, (again), and is so fantastic that it can be used in almost any sentence and even alone as an agreement. (“This post can only warm your heart.” “Allerdings!” (=absolutely!)).

Hope you enjoyed my list.

(“Allerdings!” you reply).

(This article first appeared as part of this blog post: https://speakeasyandwritewell.wordpress.com/2015/05/25/these-are-a-few-of-my-favourite-words/)