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February 10th is Umbrella Day! So, let’s take that opportunity to look at German words related to Schirm.
The word Schirm comes from middle high German schirm and old high German scirm or skirm which originally meant a shield covered with a hide. Some words that contain Schirm imply some sort of protection, from rain, the sun, or fire. Other expressions resemble a screen, like a TV screen or a lamp shade.
Words with "Schirm"
der Regenschirm, -e – umbrella
Wenn es regnet, braucht man einen Regenschirm.
Die Frau hat einen roten Regenschirm.
Umbrellas started to become fashionable in Europe in the 18th century, and by the 19th century umbrellas were a common household item, at least for the upper classes.
Parasols were common in Asia, Africa, and Southern Europe.
der Sonnenschirm, -e – sun umbrella, sunshade, parasol
Wenn die Sonne scheint und es heiß ist, braucht man einen Sonnenschirm.
der Bildschirm, -e – screen
der Computerbildschirm, -e – computer screen
Der Computerbildschirm ist zu hell eingestellt.
der Fernsehbildschirm, -e – TV screen
Die Sonne scheint und man kann auf dem Fernsehbildschirm nichts erkennen.
der Lampenschirm, -e – lamp shade
Welcher Lampenschirm gefällt dir am besten?
der Fallschirm, -e – parachute
Fallschirm springen – to parachute
Ich hoffe, dass dein Fallschirm sich öffnet.
der Kaminschirm, -e – fire screen
also, der Ofenschirm, der Feuerschirm
Ein Kaminschirm schützt vor dem Kaminfeuer.
die Schirmmütze, -n – visor cap; also barracks cover, combination cap
Der Mann trägt eine coole Schirmmütze.
While a baseball cap has a visor and is therefore technically a Schirmmütze, the more commonly used words are Baseballmütze or Käppi.
In 1928, Hans Haupt developed the first collapsible umbrella. Since the same year the Knirps – how the umbrella was called – has been a protected trademark. The word Knirps has become synonymous with collapsible umbrellas, and can be easily recognized by the red dot.
Buy a Knirps here.
der Knirps, -e , der Taschenschirm, -e – collapsible umbrella, mini umbrella, pocket umbrella
Knirps also means little boy.
Es regnet und ich habe meinen Knirps vergessen.
der Schirmherr, -en – (male) sponsor, patron
die Schirmherrin, -nen – (female) sponsor, patron
die Schirmherrschaft, -en – sponsorship, patronage
in der Schweiz: der Patron
in Österreich: der Ehrenschutz
A Schirmherr in the Middle Ages was a noble who, in exchange for money (Schirmgeld), gave military protection to a religious, economic, or social organization, like a monastery, a Jewish community, or a guild.
Klaus Petersen ist der neue Schirmherr des Museums für Tuch und Technik.
abschirmen – to shield
sich gegen etwas/jemanden abschirmen – to shield oneself against something or somebody
Ich muss mich von diesem Gerede abschirmen.
etwas (nicht) auf dem Schirm haben – to (not) be aware of something
This expression goes back to air traffic controllers who monitor planes on their screens (Bildschirm/Schirm).
Ich hatte den Termin überhaupt nicht auf dem Schirm.
"Schirm" elsewhere
TV Shows and Movies
TV Show: Mit Schirm, Charme und Melone
The popular British spy show “The Avengers” with Emma Peel and Patrick Macnee ran from 1961 – 1969. The German title was “Mit Schirm, Charme und Melone” which means “with umbrella, charm, and bowler hat“. Btw, Melone also means melon.
TV Show: Pan Tau
Pan Tau is a Czech-German Children’s TV show that ran 1970 – 1978 and has just been remade. When I was kid I basically grew up on Czech children’s TV, like Luzie, der Schrecken der Straße, Die Märchenbraut, and Pan Tau.
Pan Tau is a man and puppet in a black suit, a bowler hat, and an umbrella. He can do magic by tapping his hat in a specific way, and it should be noted that he doesn’t speak. I linked the trailer here:
Movie: The Umbrella
In the movie The Umbrella from 2015, Jared Evans uses an umbrella to shield himself from the world when he becomes overwhelmed.
It’s free to watch for Amazon Prime Members. Or you can sign up for a trial membership.
Short Animated Movie: Umbrella
This short animated movie from Brazil tells the story of a little boy whose memories of the past are awakened when he sees a yellow umbrella. The story of hope and compassion is told without any language but we can hear its message loud and clear.
Music
Children's Song: Ein Hut, ein Stock, ein Regenschirm
When I was kid we used to sing a song while walking. The text has different variations:
Und eins und zwei und drei und vier und fünf und sechs und sieben und acht,
ein Hut, ein Stock, ein Regenschirm.
Und vorwärts, rückwärts, seitwärts, ran, Hacke, Spitze, hoch das Bein.
Translation:
And one and two and three and four and five and six and seven and eight,
a hat, a (walking) stick, an umbrella.
And forward, backward, sideways, move close, heel, pointe, up with the leg.
While you are singing or rhythmically saying the words you walk along taking one step per syllable. When you reach the last part you stop and move your foot according to the words. First you move your foot forward, then backward, to the side, back to your other foot. Then you tap your heel, the front of your foot, and finally move your leg up. Afterwards you start from the beginning.
It’s fun way to pass time on a walk home from school, especially if you do it with friends.
I personally only ever counted to four and not eight but if you want to actually get to your destination counting to eight might be good advice. In a different version the Regenschirm is replaced with Damenunterrock (petticoat or slip for women) or himmelblauer Unterrock (sky blue petticoat/slip).
Here are two different versions, a modern one where you can see the foot movement well, and one with different text.
Gene Kelly: Singin' in the Rain
If you don’t know this iconic song, watch the following video. It’s from the 1952 musical Singin in the Rain with Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O’Connor.
The song was written in 1929 by Arthur Freed (lyrics) and Nacio Herb Brown (music) for the movie The Hollywood Revue of 1929. Before it was used in the movie Singin’ in the Rain, it was already a popular Jazz song.
The movie Singin’ in the Rain had the German title Du sollst mein Glücksstern sein (You shall be my lucky star), while the song was translated with Ich singe nur für dich (I sing only for you).
Here is the German language version of the song Singin’ in the Rain: Ich singe nur für dich.
Rihanna: Umbrella
I decided to include the 2007 Rihanna song Umbrella even though it is in English. However, the song was a huge success around the world, so most people are familiar with the song and also the meaning of the word umbrella.
While there is an actual umbrella in the video, Rihanna uses the word metaphorically telling her boy friend that she is his umbrella and will protect him.
Books
Most of the following books have also been made into movies (Mary Poppins, Madita) or TV shows (Madita, The Umbrella Academy).
Mary Poppins
The graphic novel The Umbrella Academy follows seven people who were all born on the same day and have special powers. Their “father”, a scientist, went around the world to adopt the babies when they were born, and formed the Umbrella Academy where the children were taught to control and use their powers.
The books were made into a Netflix show which I highly recommend.
Here you can learn about the history of the umbrella:
Art
Superstition
Have you ever heard of the superstition that it is bad luck to open an umbrella indoors? I hadn’t until I opened my umbrella in the classroom to let it dry. My students let me know right away that I really shouldn’t do that. However, why this was such a bad practice and would surely not be advantageous for the rest of my day, nobody could say.
It appears that when umbrellas came into fashion their metal spokes were sometimes quite unpredictable. For safety reasons it was better not to open or try to open them in a confined space.
I had never heard of this superstition in Germany but after a quick online search it appears that this belief is somewhat prevalent in Germany. A regional variation is the assumption that people used pokey things like a stick umbrella to shoo bad spirits from the house. Similar to how Henry Jones Sr (Sean Connery) flushed the birds on the beach in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
If you would like permission to open your umbrella indoors, you can do so on March 13th, the National Open Your Umbrella Indoors Day!
