All Questions
0
votes
1answer
5 views
What is the children's song “Zehn kleine Zappelfinger” about?
Can anyone explain what the children's song "Zehn kleine Zappelfinger" is about?
Zehn kleine Zappelfinger
zappeln hin und her.
Zehn kleine Zappelfinger
finden´s gar nicht schwer.
Zehn ...
1
vote
1answer
17 views
Wie sagt man “Do you know if something?” auf Deutsch?
Wie kann man sagen z.B. "Do you know if there's a bar in Munich?" auf Deutsch? Oder "Do you know if we have a midterm exam tomorrow?"
1
vote
2answers
64 views
Distinction between “sei” and “war”
I've seen "sei" a fair bit lately and it seems to indicate something that has happened in the past. Example:
Die Ärztin hatte meiner Mutter gesagt, dass meine Leber kurz vor der Zirrhose sei.
...
8
votes
2answers
86 views
“Etwa” vs “ungefähr”. Gibt es einen Unterschied?
Ich weiß nicht, ob es einen Unterschied zwischen etwa und ungefähr gibt und wann man welches Wort benutzt.
7
votes
1answer
60 views
When to use possessive pronouns vs. dative pronoun + definite article
German uses a reflexive dative pronoun and a regular definite article in many places where English would use a possessive pronoun. For example:
I broke my leg.
Ich habe mir das Bein gebrochen.
...
2
votes
2answers
53 views
Konjuktiv II Beispiel: “beginnen” oder “begonnen”?
Ich habe an einer Aufgabe gearbeitet und ich habe ein kleines Problem.
Ich verstehe die Aufgabe nicht.
Das ist mein Problem. Ich soll im folgenden Satz Konjuktiv II ausfüllen.
Wenn ich noch ...
8
votes
2answers
82 views
Difference between “Es sind” and “Es gibt” for asserting existence of something
In English we say There are... and I know that I've seen es gibt used in German. I've also seen es sind. Are these phrases identical?
There are many flowers in the garden =
Es gibt viele Blumen ...
5
votes
3answers
96 views
Why is the verb not in second position
I studied that the verb is always in second position in a sentence. The I came across this sentence:
Insbesondere das zweite Buch ist wichtig.
I could not find an answer here, why is the verb in ...
3
votes
2answers
77 views
What is the polite way to ask if I should talk in 'Sie' or 'du' terms with the Person
It frequently happens that I am unsure whether to talk to a person in Sie or du terms. Most of the time, I wait till the person himself gives some hint. Or I talk in Sie. But what is the polite way to ...
6
votes
3answers
91 views
“Lieber, sehr geehrter Herr X”: wie antworten?
Folgende Situation:
Sie kontaktieren Firma A in einer geschäftlichen Angelegenheit. Der Telefonanruf wird an Frau B duchgestellt, gemeinsam mit ihrem Ehemann geschäftsführende Gesellschafterin des ...
3
votes
2answers
58 views
Is writing “Herr Prof. X” exaggerated/mandatory? Is it old-fashioned?
How necessary or exaggerated is the following Anrede?
"Sehr geehrter Herr Prof. X" bzw. "Sehr geehrte Frau Dr. Z"
I mean, should I write Herr Prof. X, or is Prof. X enough?
Also, is it ...
4
votes
3answers
57 views
Etwas anschauen vs. ansehen = to look at?
Can anschauen and ansehen both be used to say that you are looking at something? For example, "Ich schaue das Foto an" vs. "Ich sehe mir das Foto an"? I think I have seen these verbs used ...
3
votes
1answer
54 views
How do you translate this: Ich messe meiner Zeit Wert zu
I have difficulties to understand this phrase:
Ich messe meiner Zeit Wert zu
How would you translate it?
3
votes
1answer
65 views
Is there a practical difference between “e” and “ä”?
The e and ä are considered as different phonemes. In practice, do people make and notice the difference? Which problems, if any, would not bothering to make such difference lead to?
5
votes
2answers
116 views
Does German phonetics fully determine the spelling?
It is clear that there are different, equally valid ways to read a word in German (e.g. alveolar or uvular r, etc.) How true is the converse statement: phonetics fully determine the spelling? I'm ...
0
votes
0answers
28 views
Self studying methods [closed]
I'm trying to study German alone, and I'm looking for a suitable method or material to do this successfully without wasting time.
Any help regarding this? Online things would be better.
3
votes
1answer
77 views
Dativ von „jemand anderes“ – „jemandem anderen“ oder „jemand anderem“?
Wie wird am geläufigsten der Dativ und der Akkusativ von „jemand anderes“ gebildet? Gibt es ein Prinzip, nach welchem hier die Objektfälle gebildet werden, und wie lässt sich diese Frage ...
2
votes
2answers
88 views
Good short stories for learning German? [closed]
I'm trying to learn german and I think I would really benefit from reading short stories in german. Possibly with a translation. So do you know any good sites that can offer me that?
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 ...
12
votes
3answers
157 views
Is there a 'da-' construct with 'ohne'? if not, are there any more prepositions that can't form 'da-' constructs
I'm talking about "damit, daraus, darauf, darin, da-..."
I've never heard "darohne" or anything like that, and according to the dictionary, nothing like that exists.
Can anyone explain a bit and ...
8
votes
1answer
90 views
Grammaticality of “original italienisches Eis”
Something you will often find is a phrase like the one given in the title:
original italienisches Eis.
What kind of word is original here though? An adverb? Shouldn't this phrase either read ...
1
vote
2answers
85 views
Alternate sentence construction using “lassen”
The sentence: "Er hat Reim in seinem Gedicht benutzt."
My instructor has suggested that I rewrite the sentence using "a more sophisticated construction, such as one with 'lassen'." How would I do ...
3
votes
1answer
113 views
Can “liegen” be used for people?
Can "liegen" be used for people. For instance
I am here. - Ich liege hier.
or it is wrong?
Is Ich bin hier better?
6
votes
3answers
123 views
What is the etymology of “eh” in “Ich habe eh nichts zu machen”?
My question is straightforward:
What is the etymology of eh?
Could eh in Ich habe eh nichts zu machen be an abbreviation for eher?
(I spelled eh with an h because the e seems to be pronounced ...
5
votes
2answers
136 views
When does one write numbers with words, when with figures (e.g. “drei” statt “3”)?
Assuming it is not completely irrelevant, when does one write the numbers with words?
Sie isst drei Äpfel
or
Sie isst 3 Äpfel.
Assuming that there is a rule, is it just an aesthetics ...
4
votes
3answers
86 views
“Film” verhält sich zu “Verfilmung” wie “Computerspiel” zu..?
Wenn ein Film produziert wird, der auf einer Literaturvorlage, Comic, Computerspiel etc. basiert, dann nennt man das "Verfilmung". Wie nennt man analog das Produzieren eines Computerspiels, das z.B. ...
5
votes
1answer
54 views
“Visual saliency” auf Deutsch
Ich lese zur Zeit ein Paper, in dem der Ausdruck "visual saliency" immer wieder vorkommt, z.B. im folgenden Kontext:
In a user study, the authors evaluated in which way and how much the
visual ...
2
votes
1answer
71 views
»Passt das dir?« oder »Passt dir das?«?
Welcher Satz ist richtig?
Ich glaube, der erste, weil das das Subjekt ist
Passt das dir?
oder
Passt dir das?
3
votes
1answer
91 views
What does “Kantenblatt” mean?
What does "Kantenblatt" mean? I did not find it in a dictionary. I know that "Blatt" is a kind of list.
5
votes
2answers
121 views
»Vergiss nicht den Reisepass« oder »Vergiss den Reisepass nicht«?
Welcher Satz ist richtig?
Vergiss nicht den Reisepass.
Vergiss den Reisepass nicht.
5
votes
1answer
104 views
Wieso schafft man wie ein “Brunnenputzer”?
Im Schwäbischen gibt es die Redewendung "der schafft wie ein Brunnenputzer" für hart arbeitende Menschen.
Er arbeitete sich vom Verkäufer zum Marketing-Direktor hoch. Die ersten 15 Berufsjahre ...
2
votes
1answer
157 views
“I want to” vs. “I like to” vs. “I have to”
How do you say the following in German?
I want to eat an apple.
I like to eat apples.
I have to eat an apple.
Can you apply the same context to all verbs?
6
votes
1answer
156 views
A strange greeting! Servos?
Ever since I have arrived in Germany, I have been picking up words I here often and then going back home to check their meanings. There is one word that still baffles me.
It is a form of greeting.
...
-5
votes
1answer
71 views
Can someone give the examples ( few sentences ) with words: da, deutete, dabei? [closed]
I read a book on german and meet these words very often, but the context still not clearly for me. So I want to see a few examples with these 3 words with translation.
upd
As I read a book further ...
2
votes
3answers
171 views
Phonetic help for 'Frobenius'
My intuition says ['fʁɔbɪnjuːs] but not sure about it.
BTW, The person in question is 'Ferdinand Georg Frobenius' (the mathematician).
4
votes
1answer
69 views
Wie werden die (modischen) Flicken an Ärmeln bezeichnet?
Ich beobachte in jüngster Zeit einen Modetrend hin zu diesen Flicken an dem Ärmeln, auf Höhe der Ellenbogen, rückseitig.
Haben diese Flicken einen besonderen Namen, abgesehen von "ovale Flicken am ...
5
votes
1answer
65 views
Verwendung von Nein nach negativen Fragen
F: "Darf ich das nicht?"
A: "Nein"
Entgegen des rein Logischen Sinnes --> "Ja du darfst das" ist hier "Nein [du darfst das nicht]" gemeint!
Warum? Existiert diese Phänomen auch in der ...
2
votes
2answers
107 views
“All things being equal” auf deutsch
Was ist eine gute (d. h. für geschriebenes Deutsch) Übersetzung des englischen
All things being equal...
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 ...
4
votes
2answers
129 views
Adding -es to adjectives after “etwas”
"traurig" and other adjectives get an -es affix after "etwas" (e.g., etwas trauriges)
What are the conditions for this affixation? Does this have anything to do with case?
4
votes
2answers
126 views
What is the proper use of the word “bang?”
The original context is "Bang fleht ein liebkranker Mann." (Viljaslied, Die Lustige Witwe).
I once wrote a poem beginning,
Ich schaue dich so gerne an.
Du liesst mich immer so BANG.
Bang is ...
2
votes
4answers
204 views
Ways to die in German
I want to learn the different shades of meaning and frequency of use of the following verbs that have the meaning of to die:
ableben
abtreten
erlöschen
krepieren
sterben
versterben
...
3
votes
1answer
118 views
'auf' oder 'an der' Bushaltestelle?
Welcher Satz ist Richtig?
Ich bin auf der Bushaltestelle warten
oder
ich bin an der Bushaltestelle warten?
UND
der Bus ist auf der Bushaltestelle?
oder
der Bus ist an der ...
4
votes
1answer
97 views
Usage of articles with “Schule”
I read this question Articles in real life where I saw a number of comments that said that it was typical of Turks, Arabs and Slavic speakers to say something like "Ich war in Schule" or "Ich gehe in ...
2
votes
2answers
119 views
Looking for ALL german verbs database
It could be plain text. I need to have there all verbs with all forms written down.
I'm afraid I can't use any web source, 'cause I want to create an application that will "read" sample german book ...
4
votes
3answers
158 views
beschränken vs einschränken – is there a difference?
What is the difference between verbs beschränken and einschränken? Do these two words have the same meaning or maybe they mean something different?
4
votes
2answers
113 views
verhindern, hindern, behindern - what's the difference?
What's the difference between verhindern, hindern, behindern - in dictionary they seem to have the same or very similar meaning?
0
votes
1answer
79 views
Namen und Vornamen mit definitem Artikel [duplicate]
In meiner Schulzeit verwendeten wir unsere Vornamen und Namen immer mit definitem Artikel:
Der Andreas hat gesagt, dass der Herr Schultz in Deutsch ...
Wie verbreitet ist dieser Sprachgebrauch?
4
votes
1answer
84 views
Is there a good sourcebook for practice exercises?
I'm looking for a book full of practice exercises. I find that, while my vocabulary is getting better and my knowledge of grammar improving, it would really help to do more exercises and compare my ...
3
votes
3answers
264 views
How would I say “Or, call us at (phone number)” in German?
How would I say "Or, call us at (phone number)" in German, or perhaps "Or, contact us at (phone number)? This is to be placed next to an e-mail contact form. The tone of the site is professional ...
