7

My dictionary shows that meist and am meisten have similar meanings: most/mostly and related words.

What are the rules, if any, as to when either word should be used?

Ich höre meist Lieder von Rammstein.

Ich höre am meisten Lieder von Rammstein.

Which is right, are they both right, are they both wrong, etc.?

0

3 Answers 3

6

Meist, meistens and am meisten can have the same meaning: In the sentence of your post you may hear all three. Meistens will probably be the most frequent word, then am meisten, meist, the shortened form of meistens will be not so frequent.

In a sentence like

Was ich am meisten hasse, ist, wenn er mich betrügt.

you can only use am meisten meaning in the highest degree. And there is

Die meisten Schulkinder lernen heute English als erste Fremdsprache. (Most children ...)

3
  • Maybe Meist, meistens and am meisten can have the same meaning but as @frlan pointed out they have different meaning in the OP.
    – miracle173
    Feb 3, 2014 at 0:25
  • Yepp.... it really depends on the context here -- Unfortunately. But don't be alarmed: Most of the German speakers don't see the differences at all.
    – frlan
    Feb 3, 2014 at 7:55
  • Good point, @frlan This should be added to this answer for completeness. May 4, 2019 at 18:17
4

Very similar, but slightly differing meaning:

Ich höre meist Lieder von Rammstein. means something like "Most of the time I listen to songs of Rammstein" -- whereas Ich höre am meisten Lieder von Rammstein. means something like "Rammstein is my favorite band -- It's the band I'm listening to most". So the second meaning is it's used as a comparative degree comparing to other bands.

1

Betrachten wir London, Paris und Belin, so regnet es in London am meisten.

"Es regnet in London meist" würde aber bedeuten, dass es dort häufiger regnet als nicht - ist also wohl eine Übertreibung. Meist nieselt es nur und ist neblig.

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.