When negating a negative question while replying in German one crisply says " doch! ".
Is such a single word usage prevalent in English? Like : "why not?" or " it is not so!", " on the contrary," etc. are not fast reactions.
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Sign up to join this communityWhen negating a negative question while replying in German one crisply says " doch! ".
Is such a single word usage prevalent in English? Like : "why not?" or " it is not so!", " on the contrary," etc. are not fast reactions.
I think, the closest phrases in the english language would be sure or Yes, of course. Still, there is no exact translation.
So you really can't do this? - Sure I can!
Isn't this your friend John? - Why, yes he is.
It's like paraphrasing 'I disagree - it's the other way round...'
You could agree to a negation with that! -> 'this is not true - no, not at all...'
'doch' doesn't give you that choice...
Maybe it helps better when you look at the whole phrase: 'Das ist nicht wahr - doch, es ist wahr'
-> 'This is not true - of course it is...'
-> 'This is not true - sure it is...'
But with 'sure/of course' you can also agree, with 'doch' you can't!