5

I know that

geradeaus

means straight. But I also heard its variation:

gradeaus

Is it appropriate to say or write this word like this?

4 Answers 4

2

Its meaning is the same.

Gradeaus

is a kind of idiom. The written word is always

Geradeaus

both words are translated to straight.

3
  • 1
    Are you sure that you mean "idiom"?
    – Carsten S
    Apr 14, 2014 at 13:54
  • 1
    Slang / Jargon trifft es nicht ganz, da es doch ziemlich weit verbreitet ist (zumindest im Süden Deutschlands). Es ist eher ein Wort welches ich den Dialekten zuordnen würde daher "idiom" (dict.cc/?s=idiom)
    – chill0r
    Apr 14, 2014 at 19:09
  • Das ist kein Idiom, da kein anderes Wort, ein unbetontes "e" wird in vielen Dialekten einfach weggelassen.
    – adhominem
    Nov 9, 2014 at 14:01
5

"Gradeaus" is a contraction for "geradeaus."

Think of geradeaus spelled with an apostrophe instead of the first e: g'radeaus.

3
  • 4
    where I am from (Swabia) we even further contract it to gradaus ;)
    – Takkat
    Apr 16, 2014 at 18:34
  • @Takkat: Good to know. Is Swabia the home of "Auf der Schwaebscher Eisenbahn"?
    – Tom Au
    Apr 16, 2014 at 18:54
  • it is: de.wikipedia.org/wiki/… ;)
    – Takkat
    Apr 16, 2014 at 19:04
1

In spoken language unstressed e often is omitted. You can hear gerade, grade and grad. It's all the same. But you write gerade.

0

It also depends on the location you are in. In South Germany, they say gradeaus, but in the north, they say greadeaus.

2
  • Do you have any evidence for your claim? Maybe a map? Additionally google says: gradeaus is a non-correct spelling...
    – Vogel612
    Nov 9, 2014 at 13:00
  • 3
    Did you really want to write greadeaus instead of geradeaus? (I did not correct it, because it might be intended.)
    – Wrzlprmft
    Nov 9, 2014 at 13:11

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