Do You Have a 'Doppelgänger'?
2024-02-04
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1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
2English borrows from many other languages.
3And today we talk about a word that comes from German - doppelgänger.
4The word "doppelgänger" comes from German folklore.
5The online dictionary Merriam-Webster describes the old story.
6All living creatures have a spirit who is invisible but exactly the same as the living person.
7But just because you can't see them, doppelgängers are not ghosts.
8They are sometimes described as "the spiritual opposite or negative of their human counterpart."
9Even though the word comes from spiritual folklore, we use it in a very real way.
10When two people look very similar, we can call them doppelgängers.
11English has other expressions that have a similar meaning.
12If someone looks like someone else, you can call them a look-alike, spitting image or mirror image.
13Let's hear two friends use some of these expressions.
14A: Were you at the airport yesterday?
15B: No. I haven't been to the airport in over a year.
16A: Are you sure about that?
17B: I think I would know if I were at the airport. Why do you ask?
18A: Well, if you weren't there, then I ran into your doppelgänger. She was a mirror image of you!
19B: Wow, I've heard about doppelgängers. But I didn't think I really had a look-alike out there in the world.
20A: Well, you do. And they are on their way to Costa Rica.
21B: I wish I could trade places with my doppelgänger!
22If you know someone who looks exactly like another person, you can also call them a dead ringer.
23Experts say this expression comes from American horse racing, and usage began in the late 19th century.
24Sometimes, racehorse owners would race a horse under a false name and pedigree.
25They did this to trick people who bet money on race results.
26These horses were called "ringers."
27Here is how to use this expression in a sentence: My best friend in college is a dead ringer for George Clooney.
28When we're out in public, he gets asked for his autograph all the time.
29In the expression "dead ringer," the word "dead" does not mean lifeless.
30In this case, it means exact or precise.
31It is a way to add emphasis, or highlight something.
32For example, if I am sure that my friend is right about something, I can say she is dead right.
33We can also say someone is "dead wrong" if they are most certainly wrong.
34The next time you want to describe two people who look the same, you can choose any of these expressions.
35And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. Until next time ...
36I'm Anna Matteo.
1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. 2English borrows from many other languages. And today we talk about a word that comes from German - doppelgänger. 3The word "doppelgänger" comes from German folklore. The online dictionary Merriam-Webster describes the old story. All living creatures have a spirit who is invisible but exactly the same as the living person. But just because you can't see them, doppelgängers are not ghosts. They are sometimes described as "the spiritual opposite or negative of their human counterpart." 4Even though the word comes from spiritual folklore, we use it in a very real way. When two people look very similar, we can call them doppelgängers. 5English has other expressions that have a similar meaning. If someone looks like someone else, you can call them a look-alike, spitting image or mirror image. 6Let's hear two friends use some of these expressions. 7A: Were you at the airport yesterday? 8B: No. I haven't been to the airport in over a year. 9A: Are you sure about that? 10B: I think I would know if I were at the airport. Why do you ask? 11A: Well, if you weren't there, then I ran into your doppelgänger. She was a mirror image of you! 12B: Wow, I've heard about doppelgängers. But I didn't think I really had a look-alike out there in the world. 13A: Well, you do. And they are on their way to Costa Rica. 14B: I wish I could trade places with my doppelgänger! 15If you know someone who looks exactly like another person, you can also call them a dead ringer. 16Experts say this expression comes from American horse racing, and usage began in the late 19th century. 17Sometimes, racehorse owners would race a horse under a false name and pedigree. They did this to trick people who bet money on race results. These horses were called "ringers." 18Here is how to use this expression in a sentence: My best friend in college is a dead ringer for George Clooney. When we're out in public, he gets asked for his autograph all the time. 19In the expression "dead ringer," the word "dead" does not mean lifeless. In this case, it means exact or precise. It is a way to add emphasis, or highlight something. For example, if I am sure that my friend is right about something, I can say she is dead right. We can also say someone is "dead wrong" if they are most certainly wrong. 20The next time you want to describe two people who look the same, you can choose any of these expressions. 21And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. Until next time ... 22I'm Anna Matteo. 23Anna Matteo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 24__________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26folklore - n. customs, beliefs, stories, and sayings of a people handed down from generation to generation 27spirit - n. a force within a human being thought to give the body life, energy, and power 28invisible - adj. incapable by nature of being seen: not perceptible by vision 29ghost - n. the soul of a dead person believed to be an inhabitant of the unseen world or to appear to the living in bodily likeness 30negative - adj. extending or measured in a direction opposite to one chosen as positive 31counterpart - n. one remarkably similar to another: a thing that fits another perfectly 32pedigree - n. lineage or line of ancestors of a person or animal: purity of breed recorded by an ancestral line 33precise - adj. exactly or sharply defined or stated 34emphasis - n. the act or fact of giving stress to a word or syllable when speaking: special attention or importance given to something 35We want to hear from you. Do you have similar expressions in your language? In the Comments section, you can also practice using any of the expressions from the story. Our comment policy is here.