Crossword Puzzles

I included a crossword puzzle gadget in my post on 26 May. These are a good way of learning German vocabulary and a fun way to play with words. Some puzzle types are particularly amusing - lustige Silbenrätsel. Here are some examples of clues and their answers:

alpine Etage	Gebirgsstock
diebische Eisenbahn	Raubzug
Hauptkirchen-Nähmaschinenmarke	Dompfaff
Plantage bei einer Festung im wilden Westen	Fortpflanzung
Schreibstube für unterwegs	Resiebüro
verrückter unbestimmter Artikel	irresein

For a range of puzzle books take a look at http://www.raetsel.de/

Quotations and Puzzles

If you want a selection of quotations then try zitate.de The site also offers crossword puzzles, jokes and some games which might test your understanding of the German language. You can incorporate some elements in your website or blog and there are some Google gadgets. Here's a crossword puzzle using this facility.

Puzzled by words

Take a list of ten or so words with two syllables and split them into two syllables with hyphens indicating the missing portion. For instance, Brücke  would become Brü- and -cke. Mix them up and set them out in a list. The task is to reassemble the words at a later date ... and put the definite article in front i.e. der, die, das. This idea for a Silbenrätsel was something I found in DaF-Blog. Click here to see the puzzle. To see the answers click on zum ganzen Beitrag or the title.

DaF-Blog also has some ideas for working in pairs to share and practice new words. Take a look at Individuellen Wortschatz repetieren There are plenty of other ideas and materials available on DaF-Blog so if you are already at intermediate level and serious about learning German then it's time for you to take a look