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I have seen three possible translations of That’s the whole point:

  • Das ist es ja gerade.
  • Das ist es doch eben.
  • Genau darum geht es.

Is there any difference in the quality/context/tone of the three translations, or are they pretty much the same?

I like the third one the best for some reason, but I am also sure there are many other ways one can translate it.

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  • Alternative: das ist/war [der] Sinn/Zweck der Sache
    – Crissov
    Nov 16, 2015 at 14:45

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Those three statements are not exactly the same. Especially the meaning of the third is a little bit diffrent.

Das ist es ja gerade.

Das ist es doch eben.

Those two are more like a negating of what the other said “But that is the whole point.” (even if I think the second one sounds false, some kind of bumpy, to me as a native Swiss German speaker.

Genau darum geht es.

That one is more accepting of what the other said. “Yeah, that exactly is the whole point.”

Now it depends on the context, which one to choose.

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    Das ist genau der Punkt. :)
    – user unknown
    Nov 13, 2015 at 14:21
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    I agree with you about the atmosphere being transferred by the translations of That's the whole point. Nevertheless, I'd like to suggest that the idiomatic equivalent in german is Das ist der springende Punkt. The other suggestions aren't necessarily wrong, but Das ist der springende Punkt might be more idiomatic.
    – T Sieksmeier
    Nov 13, 2015 at 17:29

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