top of page

Der Fuchs, die Gänse & ihre Gruppen


This week's Märchen is the story of "Der Fuchs und die Gänse" (The Fox and the Geese). At the beginning of the story, the geese are said to be in a "Herde" (herd). With that in mind, I would like to take this opportunity to teach you the names of various groups of different animals. Below you can see the video for this Märchen and after the jump, I will teach you the words you need.


Since the story is about geese we will start with some types of birds. Obviously, according to the Grimm brothers, you can call a group of geese (die Gans, die Gänse) a herd (die Herde, die Herden), but you can also call them a flock (die Schar, die Scharen), as you can with most birds (der Vogel, die Vögel). Geese are also a bit weird, because you can call them a gaggle (der Schof, die Schofe or der Schoof, die Schoofe). If you have a group of doves or pigeons (die Taube, die Tauben) the Germans call them a flight (der Flug, die Flüge) or a swarm (der Schwarm, die Schwärme).

Some of these terms overlap with other animals. For example: die Herde is the name for a long list of animals including antelope (die Antilope, die Antilopen), buffalo (der Büffel, die Büffel), elephants (der Elefant, die Elefanten), giraffes (die Giraffe, die Giraffen), deer (der Hirsch, die Hirsche or das Reh, die Rehe), cows (die Kuh, die Kühe), and horses (das Pferd, die Pferde).

Fish (der Fisch, die Fische) are usually said to be in schools (die Schule, die Schulen). The German version of this word is close to the English word "swarm" (der Schwarm, die Schwärme). "Der Schwarm" can also be translated as a murder when used with crows (die Krähe, die Krähen). You can also translate it as a swarm when it is used with insects (das Insekt, die Insekten) such as ants (die Ameise, die Ameisen), bees (die Biene, die Bienen), flies (die Fliege, die Fliegen), butterflies (der Schmetterling, die Schmetterlinge), and termites (die Termite, die Termiten).

Sometimes the word "das Rudel" (die Rudel, pl) is used. This word can be translated as troop, pack, herd, or horde depending upon the animal. It is used for elk (der Elch, die Elche), dogs (der Hund, die Hunde), lions (der Löwe, die Löwen), seals (der Seehund, die Seehunde), and wolves (der Wolf, die Wölfe).

Since it may be a bit difficult to follow in the paragraphs above, I have broken down the list of groups below and the animals that are included in each one.

die Herde, die Herden - herd, flock, drove

die Antilope, die Antilopen - antelopes

der Büffel, die Büffel - buffalos

das Chinchilla, die Chinchillas - chinchillas

der Elefant, die Elefanten - elephants

der Emu, die Emus - emus

die Gans, die Gänse - geese

die Giraffe, die Giraffen - giraffe

der Hirsch, die Hirsche - deer

die Kuh, die Kühe - cows

das Pferd, die Pferde - horses

das Reh, die Rehe - deer

das Rindvieh, die Rinder - cattle

die Schar, die Scharen - flock

die Gans, die Gänse - geese

der Vogel, die Vögel - bird

der Schof, die Schofe (der Schoof, die Schoofe) - gaggle

die Gans, die Gänse - geese

der Flug, die Flüge - flight

das Rebhuhn, die Rebhühner - partridges

die Taube, die Tauben - pigeons, doves

die Conchords - the Conchords (haha)

der Schwarm, die Schwärme - swarm

der Aal, die Aale - eels

die Ameise, die Ameisen - ants

die Biene, die Bienen - bees

der Fisch, die Fische - fish

die Fliege, die Fliegen - flies

der Hering, die Heringe - herring

das Insekt, die Insekten - insects

die Taube, die Tauben - pigeons, doves

der Schmetterling, die Schmetterlinge - butterflies

die Termite, die Termiten - termites

die Schule, die Schulen - school

der Delfin, die Delfine - dolphins

der Fisch, die Fische - fish

der Karpfen, die Karpfen - carp

der Katzenfisch, die Katzenfische - catfish

der Lachs, die Lachse - salmon

die Sardine, die Sardinen - sardines

der Wal, die Wale - whales

der Zebrabärbling, die Zebrabärblinge - zebrafish

das Rudel, die Rudel - troop, pack, herd, horde

der Elch, die Elche - elk

der Hund, die Hunde - dogs

der Löwe, die Löwen - lions

der Seehund, die Seehunde - seals

der Wolf, die Wölfe - wolves


Comments


Learn German with Herr Antrim.jpeg

About the Author

Herr Antrim is a German teacher with over 10 years of teaching experience. In 2011 he started his successful YouTube Channel "Learn German with Herr Antrim". In 2013 he created this website to enhance the German language lessons he was providing on YouTube. He is now the author of his own e-book, "Beginner German with Herr Antrim". He has also been featured on numerous blogs and other sites. Find out more about Herr Antrim

  • Herr Antrim on YouTube
  • Herr Antrim on Twitter
  • Herr Antrim on Facebook
  • Herr Antrim on Instagram

Disclaimer: This website is not connected to Herr Antrim's work at Edwardsville High School. Everything that is on this website is about the YouTube channel "Learn German with Herr Antrim" and not the classes that he teaches at EHS. All opinions, ideas, and concepts on this website are property of Herr Antrim. 

Click to contact Herr Antrim via email

© 2018 Herr Antrim

Impressum

Learn German with Herr Antrim Voted #6 Best YouTube Channel for Learnig a Languge
Learn Germa with Herr Antrim Voted Top 15 Blogs for Learning German
bottom of page