I’m a little teapot – no, I’m looking for German words!

The other day somebody posted a picture with a German word and several meanings. Seeing the picture, my friend Freya reminded me of a game German children play, called Teekesselchen (little tea pot). I did a little research and found out that the game is based on an English book  ‘The Book of a Hundred Games’ written by Mary White in 1896. On page 117 she writes about a game called ‘Teapot’. It’s a game of homonyms, words that sound the same and are often, but not always, spelled differently. You talk about those two items but replace the word with the word ‘teapot’ or in German ‘Teekesselchen’. An English example would be the word ‘date’ which can mean a meeting with somebody, a calendar entry or a fruit.

So, today we play  a game. Which ‘teapot’ am I talking about?

Mein Teekesselchen ist ein Haus für Geld.
Ich setzte mich auf mein Teekesselchen.

Yes, the word is ‘Bank’!

Let’s do some more. I give you some sentences and you will guess what the homonym is. We’re doing it a little bit easier by giving the explanations in English, but the missing word is a German word. The answers are at the bottom. Scroll down when you’re ready to check if you were right.

1. My teapot is a tool for climbing. My teapot is a man, who is a supervisor in a company.
2. My teapot is a round toy. My teapot is a dancing event.
3. My teapot lives in Berlin. My teapot is a cake.
4. My teapot is a little flying animal. My teapot is a type of tie.
5. My teapot is a colour. My teapot is a fruit.
6. My teapot is a bunch of flowers. My teapot is an animal.
7. My teapot is used for driving. My teapot need to be paid.
8. My teapot is a group of people making music. My teapot is used to bind things together.
9. My teapot is a (sometimes dangerous) animal. My teapot is cars or people waiting.
10. I can look out of my teapot. I can eat my teapot.

Can you think of any other ones? Please add them in the comments.

 

I'm playing the teapot game with German homonyms 🙂 Share on X

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answers:

1. (die/ der)Leiter
2. (der) Ball
3. (der) Berliner
4. (die) Fliege
5. (die) Orange
6. (der) Strauß
7. (da/ die) Steuer
8. (die/ das) Band
9. (die) Schlange
10. (die) Scheibe