Relatives, pets and celebrations

Filling in the family

The A2 family lesson @65 gave you die Tante and the immediate household. Two gaps remain.

der Cousin, -sthe cousin (male)Mein *Cousin wohnt in einer anderen Stadt.*
die Nichte, -nthe nieceMeine *Nichte ist sechs Jahre alt.*

der Cousin keeps its French pronunciation — roughly ku-ZÄNG — and its female counterpart is die Cousine.

My cousin lives in another city.
Mein Cousin wohnt in einer anderen Stadt.

die Ferien is always plural

die Ferien has no singular at all. It is the school-and-university word; der Urlaub (L28), which you already have, is the one adults take from work.

Die Ferien fangen im Juli an. — The holidays start in July.

Saying ein Ferien or die Ferie is not possible.

The holidays start in July.
Die Ferien fangen im Juli an.

der Karneval

The pre-Lent festival, biggest in the Rhineland. In the south and in Austria the same season is called der Fasching, and both words are in ordinary use.

das Haustier

House-animal — the general word for a pet, built from das Haus and das Tier (L37), and the word a form or a landlord will use.

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