99 Luftballons by Nena (Advanced): Verse 3
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Key Phrases
Jeder war ein großer Krieger
Everyone was a great warrior
Hielten sich für Captain Kirk
Thought they were Captain Kirk
Es gab ein großes Feuerwerk
There was a big firework display.
Skills You'll Learn
Understanding cultural references
Kulturelle Bezüge verstehen
Identifying metaphoric expressions
Metaphorische Ausdrücke identifizieren
Describing past events
Vergangene Ereignisse beschreiben
Lesson Vocabulary & Phrases
Jeder war ein großer Krieger
yay-dur vah ine groh-sir kree-gur
Everyone was a great warrior
Hielten sich für Captain Kirk
hee-uhl-ten zich fur kep-tain kirk
Thought they were Captain Kirk
💬 [sich für etwas halten] means "to think you are something," not literally "hold yourself for." You can reuse the pattern with other identities: [Er hält sich für einen Experten].
See breakdown →Es gab ein großes Feuerwerk
es gap ine groh-ses foy-er-verck
There was a big firework display.
Die Nachbarn haben nichts gerafft
dee nahkh-bahn hah-ben nichts ge-raft
The neighbors didn't get anything.
💬 [raffen] here is colloquial for "get" or "understand," as in [nichts raffen] = "not get a thing." It's informal and a bit rougher than [nicht verstehen].
See breakdown →Und fühlten sich gleich angemacht
oont feel-ten zich glykh un-guh-mahcht
And immediately felt flirted with
💬 [anmachen] is a separable verb, so in a full statement the [an] part often moves to the end: [Er macht sie an]. Here you see the past form [angemacht] kept together.
See breakdown →Dabei schoss man am Horizont
da-bai shoss mahn ahm hoh-ree-zont
At the same time, they shot at the horizon
💬 [man] in German often means "people" or "someone," not specifically "a man." You'll see it for general actions: [Hier spricht man Deutsch].
See breakdown →Auf 99 Luftballons
owf noin-uhn-noin-tsig looft-bah-lohns
On 99 Balloons
💬 [auf] can mean more than physical "on"; with shooting, [auf etwas schießen] means "shoot at something." Same pattern: [Er schießt auf das Ziel].
See breakdown →Learn this vocabulary list the easy way
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