Day 40: Painting Sorbian Easter Eggs
In a village near Bautzen, home to the Sorbs, a small Slavic minority, Manfred (A), an older Sorbian man, shows his neighbour Katharina (B) how to decorate Easter eggs with wax.
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
- Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a German word to see what it means.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native German, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.
Dialogue
Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.
Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning
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A
Tauchen Sie den Federkiel kurz ins Wachs und setzen Sie einen Tropfen aufs Ei.
Dip the quill in the wax for a moment and put a drop on the egg.
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B
Und wenn ich zu fest drücke? So ein ausgeblasenes Ei ist doch furchtbar zerbrechlich.
And what if I press too hard? A blown egg like this is terribly fragile.
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A
Sie halten den Kiel ja, als ob er gleich zerbrechen würde! Ganz locker aus dem Handgelenk.
You're holding the quill as if it were about to break! Nice and relaxed, from the wrist.
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B
Sie haben leicht reden, bei Ihnen sieht das so mühelos aus.
Easy for you to say, you make it look so effortless.
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A
Sechzig Jahre Übung. Alles, was ich über sorbische Ostereier weiß, hat mir meine Mutter am Küchentisch beigebracht.
Sixty years of practice. Everything I know about Sorbian Easter eggs, my mother taught me at the kitchen table.
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B
Meine Kinder wären begeistert. Basteln ist das Einzige, wofür sie freiwillig das Tablet weglegen.
My children would love this. Crafts are the only thing they'll put their tablet down for without being told.
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A
Bringen Sie sie am Samstag zu meinem Stand auf dem Ostermarkt. Kinder halten den Kiel wenigstens nicht, als wäre er aus Glas.
Bring them to my stall at the Easter market on Saturday. At least children don't hold the quill as if it were made of glass.
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