COMPLETE YOUR EDUCATION

This weekend I got my hands on the 2006-revised edition of Judy Jones and William Wilson's micro-encyclopedic book: AN INCOMPLETE EDUCATION: 3,684 Things You Should Have Learned, But Probably Didn't.

What I noticed right away was the content they included about the German language. There's a short list of words which are considered "common knowledge" in English. How many of these niche words (German words which fill a void in English), do you know?

NOTE: I've added the gender notations below, along with abbreviating the definitions.

THE NOUNS:
1. der Bildungsroman : An "Edu-Novel" about someone who "comes of age."
2. der Doppelgänger : A body-double (or ghost).
3. die Gemütlichkeit : A feeling of coziness.
4. die Götterdämmerung: A tragic end (as in TWILIGHT OF the GODS, Wagner's climactic Opera)
5. der Lebensraum : Living space
6. die Schadenfreude : "Joy found in adversity"; gloating over someone else's misery.
7. Sturm und Drang : "Storm and stress"; refers to moments of high drama.
8. die Weltanschauung : "View of the world"; referring to a deep overview, which at least hints at the meaning of life.
9. der Weltschmerz : "The pain or weariness in the world"; angst (a German noun one no longer needs to capitalize when used in English).
10. das Wunderkind : A true child prodigy.
11. der Zeitgeist : The spirit of the times.

A FEW NON-NOUNS:
1. echt : genuine; the real deal
2. (der Ersatz) but used in English as an adjective, ersatz: substitute; artificial
3. verboten: forbidden; prohibited

Then, the authors steer us to other sections in their 700 page book for articles on:

1. das BAUHAUS ("modern" design/architecture group/style, founded by Walter Gropius, bringing art into every element of design; for buildings, efficiency, or "volume" was key)
2. die REALPOLITIK (political realism)
3. LEITMOTIF (central, or common theme, or thread)
4. das DING-AN-SICH (transcendental logic "thing-in-itself")
5. der ÜBERMENSCH (superman; term from philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche)
6. die OSTPOLITIK ("Eastern Politics" - strategy to normalize relationships with Eastern nations)
7. die GESTALT (here psychological term for going beyond what you say to what you feel); (otherwise: form; design; figure)
8. UR- (ancestral; earliest; primitive; often used in English without the capitalization normally required of a German noun)

--> Which of these words might you find yourself using? übercool? urtext? gemütlich? Ersatz? Schadenfreude? Wunderkind? Übermensch?

--> How about taking a stab at work one or two of these words into this week's conversation?