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Translation help for German jokes, please?


quark
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This is from my son's German I (OSU German, Chapter 4) worksheet. It's an optional portion so I won't be giving him grades for this. He's literally translated the first sentence (too literal though and he can't make sense of it). He was able to guess the second from context. Both are from the song Die da! (That Woman Over There?) where three girls are having trouble with a car (a Trabant):

 

First:

Wie verdoppelt man den Wert eines Trabant? Einmal volltanken. (His: How double you the world one Trabant? Once filled up.)

 

Second:

Was ist die Sport Version des Trabant? Ein Paar Nikes im Kofferraum. (His: What is the Trabant Sport Version? A pair of Nikes in the boot.)

 

Thank you!

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Wert is value/worth, Welt is world.

 

So it's saying "How do you double the value of a Trabant? Fill it with gas!"

 

The second one, notice "des Trabant" -- that's genetive so it makes it "What is the Sports Version of the Trabant? A pair of Nikes in the trunk."

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