Learnt the meaning and pronunciation of the following words:
- Dmitry Vostokov @ LanguageMemory.com -
verisimilitude - see definition
- Dmitry Vostokov @ LanguageMemory.com -
inebriation - alcohol intoxication, complete drunkeness
- Dmitry Vostokov @ LanguageMemory.com -
der Abend, abends, das Abendessen - evening, in the evening, evening meal
die Gesellschaft, gesellschaftlich - society (company), social gathering
das Haar - hair
- Dmitry Vostokov @ LanguageMemory.com -
Here is the reading system I devised and now adapting to the study of foreign languages:
Long time ago I planned and attempted to study German language and bought a dozen of basic level books and a few of intermediate and advanced. Now I repeat this attempt because I have a goal: to be able to read volumes of “Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg”.
The reading system is supplemented by listening to VocabuLearn CDs when I cannot read while commuting.
- Dmitry Vostokov @ LanguageMemory.com -
stuck up - snobbish
curtsy - (v. & n.) when a woman formally greets an important person (also in dance) like Queen
- Dmitry Vostokov @ LanguageMemory.com -
brow of the hill - the top of the hill
humpback bridge - very steep on both sides
newt - “triton” (in Russian)
- Dmitry Vostokov @ LanguageMemory.com -
wuthering - (alt. of whithering), blowing with a dull roaring sound (like a wind I guess)
ruffian - a violent person (a man committing crimes)
vivacious - a lively and attractive person (a woman)
weedy - with thin weak body
sleazy - socially unacceptable, unpleasant
bumbling - making careless mistakes in a confused way
tumbledown - (building) in a poor condition (old) as if falling down
gambol - jump lively around
shaggy - long untidy (hair)
cribbage - a type of card games
withered - old looking, thin and weak with dry skin (people)
pluck - (n.) determination and courage
- Dmitry Vostokov @ LanguageMemory.com -
bedeck - to cover/adorn with decorations
chalet - Swiss wooden house
huddle - crowded mass
heave - to lift with effort
quarry - excavation where stone is got from ground for building
janitor - caretaker
excoriate - vehemently denounce
satiate - satisfy to the full
rapacious - greedy
usufract (usufractuary) - the right to use and enjoy something that belongs to others
bourse - continental Europe stock exchange
sassy - rude and lacking respect
gruel - oatmeal boiled in milk/water
- Dmitry Vostokov @ LanguageMemory.com -
In the past, 5 years ago, I was writing down any new word I encountered while reading technical books together with their IPA pronunciation. I remember that greatly reduced my pronunciation errors and improved my vocabulary so I almost never see unknown words now in technical and science books. The downside was slow reading. A few years ago I started reading non-technical books, for example, about history and philosophy, where I see some unknown words. Usually I skip them and most of the time I infer their meaning from the context. As I read these books while commuting to work on a train I started today to mark unknown words in them with a pen. This doesn’t decrease my reading speed because I process marked words later on this blog.
- Dmitry Vostokov @ LanguageMemory.com -