German word or typo?
I like the German word Schifffahrt, shipping, for it's 3 Fs!
Editorial note: It didn't always have 3 Fs. The word Schifffahrt is a noun composed of the words Schiff, ship, and Fahrt, ride. Before the orthographic reform in 1996 you'd drop one of the 3 Fs, but after the reform you have to write all 3 of them. The same goes for other interesting compound nouns with three identical vowels or consonants in a row: Stalllaterne, stable lamp, Kaffeeernte, coffee harvest, or Zooorchester, zoo orchestra. Honestly, have you ever seen a zoo orchestra?
Sent by: Felix
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My sister was learning German as a kid and in her English class one day she mixed both languages! When asked what she did on her weekend, she replied 'I became a computer'! when infact she had got one. (to get =
I am looking for a German word used by my husband's family for a light meal. Probably low German. They pronounced it something like 'fasbah'.
Ed. note: That sounds very much like the German word "Vesper", which is exactly what you described - a light meal or snack eaten between bigger meals.
If you all were German pupils (like me) you wouldn't like those words! They're very stupid! Betttuch - sheet - is also one. They want to make a new reform which returns some of the new spelling rules! That's sooooo stuuuuupiiiiid!!!! ):-(
To Micheal: "Sauerstoffflasche" was spelt in this way even before the ortographic reform. The rule was: dropping the third consonant before a vowel, no dropping before another consonant. Therefore: "Schiffahrt", but "Sauerstoffflasche".
Following the spelling reform, it is also acceptable to write these compand nouns, which result in a triple letter, with a hypen: Ballett-Tänzer, ballet dancer,
Fußball-Länderspiel, international football game. I prefer the triple letter form.
Another word with three consecutive letters is Imbissstube, meaning snack bar.
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