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this post was submitted on 18 Oct 2025
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Dutch (probably applicable for a bunch of Germanic languages), the way a word at the end can modify the whole meaning of the sentence as I've already mentally parsed it.
I need a book Ik heb een boek nodig
So my brain has got to 'boek' and therefore already finished that part of the sentence as 'I have a book', only to have a new word thrown in. It feels like a kid saying "I like you........ NOT".
And time... Ugh... Half past seven = Half acht (eight) Twenty five past one = Vijf voor half twee (five before half two).
On the other hand, dutch swear words? Sublime. Gezellig? Amazing word. Swaffelen? Chef's kiss.
I know some Dutch. God verdomme just beats any other swear word ever. So satisfying
My favourites (especially as a microbiologist) are the swearing ilnesses. Krijgt tyfus. Kanker op. Teringlijer etc ect.
Regarding the times:
Took ages until I was somewhat sure on how to use that am/pm thing in English. 🙃
At least in the UK we just use the 24 hour clock, am/pm isn't used nearly as much
Interesting, didn't know that.
I learned British English at school, yet all the learning materials focused on using the am/pm style.
Perhaps because we already know the 24h format well in Germany, as it is also routinely used here.
I guess in speech we tend to say something like 'eight thirty" rather than "twenty thirty" but certainly in witten communication its always 24 hour.
Could you tell me what time it is?
Could you tell me what time the train leaves?
Similar to Dutch in the sense that the important verb comes at the end.
Yeah, it's the same in German. You don't say Seven-thirty. You say Half-eight. A bit tricky. And german is the same qith sentence structure. The second verb always comes at the end of the sentence. Makes it so you literally can't know the purpose of the sentence until you hear the whole thing. Which, is kinda ingenious actually. Means you can't interrupt people.