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Berlinish isn´t officially a dialect, but rather more a mix of different dialects. It´s inseperable from the Berlin-Brandenburg region but also shows that the metropolis has been a city of immigrants for centuries.
There are about 6,000 different languages worldwide and each one has countless local dialects. Television, the Internet and increasing globalization threaten to make many of these dialects extinct.
In North Germany, the regional dialect is also increasingly being squeezed out. Here´s our contribution to saving that pearl among dialects – Plattdeutsch, or Low German. If you want to learn more about the dialect of the North, we can warmly recommend the booklet Lilliput Plattdeutsch, which is published by Langenscheidt. It has about 4,500 entries listing key idioms and phrases.
| English | Plattdeutsch |
| Good morning, good evening | Moin Moin! |
| Don´t talk, drink | Nich lang snacken, Kopp in Nacken! |
| Shut up | Hol dien Röter |
| No pain no gain | Von nix kümmt nix |
| Let me tell you something | Ik will di mol wat vertelln |
| What a mess | Das´n Malheur |
| When I was a little boy | As eck noch en lüttjen Bengel was |
| Better go straight to Hamburg | Am besten, du geihst na Hamborg |
| Coward, chicken, scaredycat | Bangbüx |
| Ditch, trench | Fleet, Priel |
| Girl | Deern |
| Bachelor | Eenspänner |
| Bad weather | Schietweder |
| Idiot | Dösbaddel |
| Nonsense | Dumm Tüüch, Dummtüüch |
| Dyke | Diek, Dieck |
| Crab | Dwarslooper |
| Conversation | Klönsnack, Klönschnack |
| Sparkling wine | Knallkööm |
| Harbor bar | Hobenkneipe |
| Take it easy | Suutje un sinnig |
| Get confused | Durch´n Tüdel koomm |
| To scarper | Utbüxen |
| Pitch black | Zappenduster |
| To kiss | Een updrücken, snuteln |
| Bye | Adjüs, Tschüß |
