A prefix is a part of a word which is placed before the root.
4
votes
2answers
103 views
“Fehlen” weak, “empfehlen” strong. But “finden” and “empfinden” both strong. Cases when [some_verb] conjugates differently from [prefix+some_verb]?
Compare this pair:
finden - strong conjugation
empfinden - strong conjugation [exactly the same]
With this pair:
fehlen - weak conjugation
empfehlen - strong conjugation ...
10
votes
2answers
127 views
Reference work on prefixes, suffixes, etc
It's not unusual for me not to be able to find some German word in any dictionary (or dictionary-like resource) I try. Since such words are often of the form PREFIX+STEM, I figure I'm not finding ...
0
votes
1answer
82 views
German Pre-fixes - Do they carry meaning? [duplicate]
I frequently come across words like versprechen, erhalten, beliefern. Because my vocabulary is limited, i can detect that the verbs sprechen, halten and liefern were spoken but i do not know what ...
6
votes
2answers
100 views
The use of stand alone prefixes of separable prefix verbs
I've encountered an example of using a prefix of a separable prefix verb by itself, and I was wondering what is the right way to use such prefixes this way:
A: Mach die Tür bitte zu!
B: Sie ist ...
7
votes
2answers
85 views
Are “zu-” and “ein-” special prefixes widely used to form new verbs?
Are "zu-" and "ein-" special prefixes widely used to form new verbs in German language? Like the following two examples:
schlafen (to sleep)
einschlafen (to fall sleep)
hören (to hear)
...
14
votes
4answers
352 views
Explanation of the prefix “er”
I am finding verbs with the prefix "er" very hard to understand and remember the meaning of.
I understand how it works with verbs like ertrinken and ersticken (partly because I used erstochen once to ...
9
votes
4answers
584 views
What's the “more correct” term — “achronologisch” or “antichronologisch”?
Which of the two is the "correct" form, or are both correct? Do they mean the same? Or is there a subtle distinction between anti- and a-?
Edit: replaced the English terms by the German ones, sorry.
3
votes
2answers
164 views
What is the difference between “belehren” and “lehren”?
I realize many verbs add the "be" to the beginning, which fundamentally changes the meaning, e.g., kommen and bekommen, or stehen and bestehen. However, it seems as though the "be" in belehren doesn't ...
6
votes
1answer
92 views
“Hin” und “her”: Von wessen Standpunkt?
Wenn jemand Deutsch zu lernen anfängt, erklärt man ihm den Unterschied zwischen hin- und her- :
Sitze ich in meinem Büro, so rufe ich Kommen sie bitte herein!
Stehe ich aber außerhalb des ...
8
votes
2answers
158 views
Regeln für bestimmte Artikel bei Staaten, Bundesländern und Bezirken
+ Explanation (English)
I'm writing a piece of software. This software outputs a list. Each list item has meta data like the date, the author of and entry and as well the location.
The location can ...
11
votes
3answers
210 views
Wo leitet sich das verstärkende Präfix “stink-” her?
Erst in neuerer Zeit findet man das verstärkende Präfix "stink-" zu verschiedenen Adjektiven:
stinksauer
stinkreich
stinknormal
...und noch viele mehr.
Ist etwas darüber bekannt, woher dieses ...
6
votes
1answer
116 views
Prefix “emp–” (assimilated from “ent–”) in “empfinden” and “empfehlen” – etymology, explanation?
Eine schwer zu googlende Frage:
Woher kommt das Präfix „emp–” [„em-“]? Kann man sich die Bedeutungen von „empfehlen“ und „empfinden“ herleiten, indem man diese Verben als aus deren Stamm mit diesem ...
5
votes
2answers
435 views
“Abwaschen” vs. “aufwaschen”
Ich habe mir hin und wieder schon die Frage gestellt, woher die unterschiedliche Benutzung von "ab-" und "aufwaschen" für die Tätigkeit des spülens von Geschirr kommt.
Im folgenden Ngram kann man ...
5
votes
3answers
241 views
What is the relationship between “Hochzeit” and “Hochmut?”
As I understand it, Hochzeit means "wedding", and Hochmut means "pride", while hoch means "high".
Often, words with a common shared prefix are at least somewhat similar in meaning. But I can't relate ...
6
votes
3answers
199 views
Verb form of the adjective mild?
A coworker (whose native language is not English) asked me to "mild" a letter. He meant to "soften" or "tone down" the message.
There really isn't such a construct in English. But is it true that in ...
15
votes
4answers
305 views
What's so bad about dogs?
In colloquial German we often use the prefix "hunds-" or "hunde-" to aggravate a negative attribute from various adjectives, e.g.
hundsgemein
hundeelend
hundemüde
This painting by ...
3
votes
4answers
199 views
Welche Verben lassen sich mit ähnlich vielen Verbalpräfix wie “legen” kombinieren?
Auf Wikipedia findet man eine beachtliche Zahl von Präfixen, die sich mit "legen" kombinieren lassen.
ab-
an-
auf-
aus
be-
bei-
dar-
ein-
er-
hin-
hinter-
nach-
nieder-
über- (unbetont)
über- ...
8
votes
5answers
160 views
Gab es früher mal ein Verb “untergeben”?
Irgendwie hat mich der Brotaufstrich darauf gebracht, dass folgende Vorsilben
ab an auf unter über
sich gut mit folgenden Verben kombinieren lassen
geben gehen laufen schreiben streichen
also
...
10
votes
2answers
116 views
What is the original meaning of the augmentative “stock-”?
For several adjectives we can build an augmentative by adding the prefix "stock-"
Gestern Nacht war es hier stockfinster.
Stocksteif bleib er stehen und bewegte sich nicht von der Stelle.
Hans ...
4
votes
2answers
998 views
The prefix “ver-” and its meaning
I came across an article about the prefix "ver-" and its meaning.
Welche Bedeutung hat das Präfix "ver-" in diesen Verben?
A – eine Handlung bis zum Ende durchführen
B – von einem Ort ...
8
votes
3answers
314 views
When is using “sau-” for emphasis inappropriate?
How would you explain at what point using "sau-" for emphasis (z.B.: "Das ist saustark!") becomes somewhat offensive or vulgar with some word combinations?
6
votes
2answers
116 views
What is the origin of the prefix “Mords-”?
In colloquial German we hear sayings like:
Ich habe einen Mordshunger und muß erstmal was essen.
Wir haben auf unserere Reise mordsviel gesehen.
Dieser Mordstyp macht einfach geile Musik.
...
12
votes
1answer
197 views
What is the origin of the prefix “schwarz-”?
In German the prefix "schwarz-" is often used to depict something illegal like:
Schwarzfahrer
Schwarzarbeit
Schwarzgeld
Is there any specific origin for using black in this context?
8
votes
4answers
874 views
What are the origin & possible meanings of the ver- prefix?
There is not really an english counterpart to the often used german prefix "ver-", IMO. It has many functions (verbification) & meanings (e.g. verstärken vs. verschollen). Often it doesn't seem to ...
6
votes
2answers
183 views
What defines the use of the “in-/un-” prefix for building the inversion?
inexakt, but ungenau. Is this pure convention or are there any rules of thumb what prefix to choose when building a inversion of a adjective (for example pronounciation)?
8
votes
2answers
581 views
How is the prefix “uber-” differently used in German vs. English?
In English usage the prefix "über" (loaned from German) has the meaning of:
über-, uber-: denoting an outstanding or supreme example of a particular kind of person or thing. Oxford Dictionaries
...
