All Questions
5
votes
2answers
82 views
What is the origin of “Quasselstrippe”?
I'd like to know the origin of the word Quasselstrippe.
Is it the cord (Strippe) on the back of puppets on which you pull and they start to talk (quasseln)? Or is the origin something completely ...
2
votes
4answers
157 views
Woher kommen die Wörter 'Schnecke' und 'Nacktschnecke' (in der Bedeutung Frau)
Es gibt viele Wörter für Frauen und normalerweise werden sie nach etwas schönem benannt. Auf Deutsch aber gibt es auch 'Schnecke' oder 'Schneckchen' und zwar in irgendeinem positiven Sinne. Erste ...
4
votes
2answers
92 views
Welche Präposition für “admirer of”?
Wenn man sagt, "I am an admirer of Mr. X, sagt man ich bin ein Bewunderer [des/von/auf/etwas ander] Herr X?"
Tatsachlich ist Herr X, Frederick the Great, King of Prussia. Ist "King of Prussia" "König ...
4
votes
3answers
305 views
Why does 'geben' break the TeKaMoLo rule?
When learning German, you usually get the whole TeKaMoLo thing drilled into your subconsciousness. My German friend claims the following is a very natural word order:
Warum gibt es hier immer so ...
2
votes
2answers
196 views
Can it be correct to use “sei” instead of “ist” in this sentence?
Could someone please tell me if this sentence is correct?
"Es sagt, daß das verboten sei."
0
votes
0answers
64 views
How to use maiden name “geborene” properly in English? [closed]
I'm translating a birth certificate and it mentions the maiden name of the mother in the classical German form "geborene", e.g
Heike Meyer geborene Schneider
What would be the correct English ...
1
vote
3answers
147 views
How to say “please do not slam the door” in German?
How to say "please do not slam the door" in German?
I tried to translate it like this:
"Bitte knall die Tür nicht zu", but there must be another way because I googled it with no result.
26
votes
13answers
11k views
What's the difference between “Ich habe dich Lieb” and “Ich liebe dich”?
What's the difference between "Ich habe dich lieb" and "Ich liebe dich"?
Both are defined as "I love you" in many dictionaries, as I've checked.
3
votes
3answers
132 views
Can I say “Montags und donnerstags gehe ich zur Uni um halb elf.” Is this the correct word order?
Would I say "Montags und donnerstags gehe ich zur Uni um halb elf" or should I be writing "Montags und donnerstags um halb elf gehe ich zur Uni." I feel like the first one sounds better....but I'm ...
3
votes
1answer
57 views
Is “zweisprachige Ausgaben” the right expression?
I like to re-read in German translation my favorite authors1, and I enjoy it even more when they are in the form of dual-language editions.
To my surprise, however, I'm having a difficult time ...
5
votes
2answers
149 views
Which German word contains the most ä, ö, ü, and ß in any variation?
I'm German and residing in France. When I was asked the following question the only word which came into my mind was Gesäß.
Which German word contains the most ä, ö, ü, and ß in any variation?
Are ...
3
votes
4answers
144 views
How does one say “illustrated dictionary” in German?
I'm looking for the German-language equivalent of the Petit Larousse Illustré, and, embarrassingly enough, I can't figure out what keywords to search for it with. Or rather, everything I've ...
0
votes
2answers
138 views
How to say “I ate too much” in German? [closed]
How to say "I ate too much." in German? Is "I ate too much" not proper English?
9
votes
4answers
580 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.
4
votes
3answers
91 views
“lying on his face” vs “lying on one's stomach”
There are two questions here.
He is lying on his face/stomach.
1) Can the phrases "on one's stomach" and "on one's face" be deemed as interchangeable? They seem semantically same (being on the ...
3
votes
3answers
500 views
Origin and meaning of “toten Hosen”?
There is a german music band called "Die toten Hosen". Is it a methaphor or just a creation by this band with no deeper meaning?
0
votes
1answer
103 views
Was ist der Unterschied zwischen “liegen” und “lügen”
My understanding is that they both mean to lie. But they seem to be used in different contexts. Could they refer to different kinds of lying?
-2
votes
1answer
49 views
How do I say the following? [closed]
Will I become like him.
What will become of it.
I wanted to get into teaching.
It is not even open (opened).
2
votes
1answer
148 views
Verbal idea: a call for examples
This website presents a very good explanation of the verbal idea and it's effect on word order in German: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~german/Grammatik/WordOrder/WordOrder.html.
However, there are not ...
3
votes
1answer
68 views
3
votes
1answer
59 views
Worin liegt der Unterschied
Worin liegt der Unterschied zwischen diesen beiden Sätzen:
Ich konnte die Aufgabe nicht lösen.
und
Ich habe die Aufgabe nicht lösen können.
Drückt einer der beiden einen gescheiterten Versuch, ...
3
votes
1answer
65 views
Can I write “Jeden Tag stehe ich halb zehn auf.”
I'm trying to say that each day I get up at ten thirty in response to the question "Wann stehen Sie auf?" I'm having some trouble putting the words in the correct order though. Is "Jeden Tag stehe ich ...
18
votes
26answers
2k views
Gibt es andere Sätze wie “Wenn Fliegen hinter Fliegen fliegen, fliegen Fliegen Fliegen hinterher”?
Man muss die Grammatik richtig verstanden haben, um diesen Satz zu verstehen: (zwei Varianten)
Wenn Fliegen hinter Fliegen fliegen, fliegen Fliegen Fliegen hinterher.
Wenn hinter Fliegen ...
3
votes
2answers
111 views
Is “Weiß ich nicht” a correct usage?
I recall hearing
"Weiß ich nicht"
from the friends around when I stayed in Germany. Recently I started to take a German course to learn the language well. The lecturer told that there is a ...
4
votes
3answers
119 views
Legal firstname, legal lastname in german?
Question:
I need to translate the form labels
legal lastname
legal firstname
into German.
The legal is important here,
since it's important the user enters his official name.
Lastname is ...
5
votes
3answers
192 views
Examples of texts with very long words
I'm interested in examples of texts that contain large numbers of long German words. It is basically just for testing purposes, still I would prefer the text to make at least some sense. If it were ...
3
votes
1answer
91 views
How does one say “Polar bear cub” in German?
How would Polar bear cub be spoken in German? I know Eisbär is polar bear, but can't figure out the proper way to describe the young.
4
votes
2answers
629 views
Difference in pronunciation of “Er” vs. “Ihr”
I'm currently learning German with Duolingo. In some of the lessons and daily practices, I have to listen to a recorded voice and type the German words that are spoken.
I seem to continually get ...
9
votes
3answers
153 views
“Theoretische Informatik” oder “theoretische Informatik”
Schreibt man das "t" in "Theoretische Informatik" groß oder klein? Eigentlich würde ich, da "theoretisch" ein Adjektiv ist, es eher klein schreiben. Aber ich habe es bisher ausschließlich groß ...
5
votes
5answers
230 views
Are there non-trivial examples of sentences where the use of one case, instead of other, changes the meaning?
Are there examples of German sentences where the use of one case instead of other alters the meaning, but still being the sentence grammatically correct?
Edit: I'm after sentences in which only the ...
3
votes
2answers
73 views
Is it “einige vor den Kopf stoßen” or “einigen vor den Kopf stoßen”?
The whole sentence is:
Mit dem Glauben an einen hinsichtlich der Präzision und Allmächtigkeit abgeschwächten Laplace'schen Dämon scheint man immer wieder einige(n?) Leuten vor den Kopf zu stoßen
...
8
votes
4answers
234 views
Is there an idiomatic equivalent for “polyglot”?
Does the word polyglot, meaning "knowing or using several languages" translate directly into German, or is there an idiomatic equivalent? Google Translate just adds an extra "t" at the end, as German ...
12
votes
5answers
369 views
What do you call a “Questions & Answers site” (Q&A) in German?
I am looking for a German term to describe StackExchange - the English term seems to be "Questions & Answers site" (Q&A) which has no equivalent in German (that I'm aware of). The literal ...
6
votes
4answers
219 views
How to translate “single-threaded” in a software documentation?
As the question states... how would you translate "single-threaded" in a software documentation? "Einzel-gethreaded" sounds kinda weird to me. The sentence I like to translate is the following:
...
3
votes
1answer
129 views
Laschen in Computerprogrammen
In der Schweiz ist bei der Beschreibung von Computerprogrammen (Benutzerhandbücher, User Support) oft von Laschen die Rede.
Beispiel:
Wechseln Sie auf die Lasche "Übersicht"
Was soll das sein?
1
vote
1answer
132 views
Understanding usage of Wechsel Dative Prepositions
As a non native speaker, I am unable to wrap my head around with usage of prepositions. Just today in class, my teacher asked the following question from a text in A2 Sprach Training book.
...
7
votes
1answer
223 views
Warum ist “Das Konklave” neutrum?
Aus aktuellem Anlass: "Das Konklave" hat einen sehr ungewöhnlichen Artikel. Die meisten leute würden wohl sagen, dass es ihrem Sprachempfinden widerspricht. Mir fällt kein anderer Fall ein, wo ein ...
7
votes
1answer
149 views
“Ich zieh … und wünsch mir …”: what is the subject?
In the lyrics to the song "Mutter" there is this verse:
ich zieh sie auf ein weißes Haar
werf in die Luft die nasse Kette
und wünsch mir, dass ich eine Mutter hätte
What is the subject of ...
7
votes
1answer
109 views
der, die oder das Dock (quick launch bar)?
Nach meinem Sprachgefühl heißt die Schnellstartleiste das Dock, so wie auch das http://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Dock aus der Schifffahrt. Auch der Wikipedia-Artikel gibt mir recht ...
10
votes
5answers
352 views
What is the meaning of “Das wärmste Jäckchen ist das Cognac-chen”?
I have heard this from my German friend. I know what it means in English but I don't understand the context in German. They said it's really hard to explain properly.
Is it bad? I hope not.
1
vote
2answers
121 views
Wie einer neuen Beziehung viel Glück wünschen?
Wenn 2 Personen eine Beziehung eingehen ist es ja üblich denen viel Glück zu wünschen. Das finde ich aber unpassend, da dies sarkastisch rüberkommen kann.
Was gibt es denn da für Alternativen.
6
votes
4answers
343 views
How do you say “The Swiss do it better”
How do you say "The Swiss do it better" in German?
In the sense of a magazine title or similar.
Possibly a little bit arrogant. ;)
9
votes
2answers
386 views
Is this the correct way to spell the slang term for 'toilet' in German — 'Scheißehaus'?
I'm after a particular slang term for 'toilet' in German but I'm not sure of the spelling of it. I think it's Scheißehaus. If this is the correct term, should it be written as one word, two words or ...
4
votes
1answer
855 views
Gibt es einen Unterschied zwischen einem “Sprichwort”, einer “Redewendung” und einer “Redensart”?
Gibt es einen Unterschied zwischen einem Sprichwort, einer Redewendung und einer Redensart, oder sind diese Begriffe synonym?
1
vote
0answers
74 views
Gibt's eine Regel ob man “ch” als “sch” oder “ch” (asperiert) ausspricht? [duplicate]
Often I hear native speakers pronounce "Ich" to sound like "Isch". Is that one of the few exceptions to pronouncing the two consonants as in "Bach" where the sound is aspirated? Are there other cases ...
3
votes
1answer
113 views
Die Lautschrift zu Chopin
Ich finde derzeit keine Referenz für die Aussprache des Namens "Chopin" - in Deutsch.
Im Englischen Wikipedia Artikel finde ich Referenzen für:
Englisch: ʃoʊpæn
Französisch:ʃɔ.pɛ̃
Die Aussprache wird ...
5
votes
3answers
680 views
What does the abbreviation “gem.” mean?
What does the abbreviation "gem." mean? E.g. :
Leistungen im Bereich Finanzbuchhaltung gem. bei Leistungsbeschreibung.
9
votes
7answers
2k views
How to translate the word “download” to German?
In German there is runterladen or herunterladen for the term to download.
Is there a common translation for the noun of download that could be used for translating i.g.
the amount of downloads ...
1
vote
2answers
68 views
Fortsetzung vs fortgesetzt. Continuing a figure on next page
My figure streches over two pages. On the second page, what would you append to the figure title: (Fortsetzung), (Fortgesetzt), or something else? In English, I would probably write (Continued)
E.g., ...
0
votes
2answers
108 views
Schuld oder Scham
Wikipedia spricht davon, dass Überlebende von Flugzeugabstürzen sich gelegentlich für ihr Weiterleben schuldig fühlen, obwohl sie objektiv keine Schuld am Flugzeugabsturz tragen. Weder haben sie ...
