Your say - Weird words 2p2i2g
Flying low 1z2612
I was in Heidelberg with a friend whom I met through birdwatching, and she was talking to her mother about what we had seen so far. I was astonished to hear her mention der Igel and I began to scan the sky anxiously, for 'eagles' are very rare birds in , and wondered why she had told her mum in English what she had seen. She was, of course, looking at a 'hedgehog' on the path.
Sent by: Neil
Comments 682840
I was going to say that if it had been a porcupine, it would have been der Stacheligel, lit. spike/sting hedgehog. That's what my parents taught me to call it (35yrs ago). But after double checking, it does not exist in my dictionary. Instead they call it das Stachelschwein, lit spike/sting pig. However, I still think Stacheligel is better, as it more closely resembles a hedgehog with spikes.
Adler means eagle. When I began learning English I confused them, too. By the way, I live near Heidelberg ;-)
Actually I heard of a similar incident. A German and her American friend were spending a day in the countryside. The German girl exclaimed, Schau, ein Igel! The American started scanning the sky, eventually asking "Where?!", when the hedgehog was more or less right in front of them.
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