The Signs of the Zodiac in German

The old pick-up line  Ã¢â‚¬Å"What’s your sign?† probably doesn’t work any better in German (Welches Sternzeichen sind Sie?) than it does in English. That shouldnt stop you from learning  to speak about the zodiac in German.   After studying this lesson, you’ll know the German for the twelve signs of the zodiac  as well as some basic horoscope vocabulary to help you in conversations. Its a rather short lesson and many of the words resemble their English counterparts, making them easier to commit to memory. Signs of the Zodiac (das Tierkreiszeichen) The German word for the astrological and astronomical zodiac,  der Tierkreis  (â€Å"animal circle†), tells you a lot. The German words for each sign of the zodiac (das Tierkreiszeichen) represent the animal or symbol of that sign. While the English sign of the bull is called Taurus, the German word is  der Stier, the bull itself. English uses Latin-based words like taurus (bull), but German sticks with the Germanic words (Stier,  related to steer). There are exceptions to this, however. In the cases of Aries, Cancer, and Capricorn, the literal translation from German to English is the actual sign, not the symbol that represents it.   Remember, too, that the names of the signs are also the names of constellations (Sternbilder, literally star picture) you can see in the night sky of the northern hemisphere. If you keep all this in mind, it will make learning the words much easier. Nun, welches Sternzeichen bist  du?  (Well, what sign are you?) English Deutsch Aries der Widder Taurus der Stier (the bull) Gemini die Zwillinge (the twins) Cancer der Krebs Leo der Lwe (the lion) Virgo die Jungfrau (the virgin) Libra die Waage (the scale) Scorpio der Skorpion (the scorpion) Sagittarius der Schtze (the shooter) Capricorn der Steinbock Aquarius der Wassermann (the waterman) Pisces die Fische (the fish) German Zodiac Vocabulary To get into deeper conversations about the zodiac, you will also need some German vocabulary beyond the signs. These are relatively easy to memorize because they often resemble their English translations. English Deutsch zodiac der Tierkreis sign of the zodiac das Tierkreiszeichendas Sternzeichen horoscope(s) das Horotskop(-e) constellation(s) der Sternbild(-er)die Konstellation(-en) astrology die Astrologie astronomy die Astronomie star(s) der Stern(-e) the four seasons die vier Jahreszeiten Whats your zodiac sign? Welches Sternzeichen sind Sie? She cast his horoscope. Sie hat ihm das Horoskop gestellt.