8

The "Assimil - German with Ease" book translated the sentence

"Die kann allein nicht mehr runter."

as

She cannot get down on her own.

If the translation is reasonable, what's the meaning of mehr in this context? I am asking this because I imagine it cannot be simply translated as "more" in this context.

Improve this question
1
  • BTW, though this is certainly a sentence that a native speakers might utter, it is not very idiomatic (and certainly not very polished style). A better version would be "sie schafft es alleine nicht, wieder herunterzukommen" or more colloquially "sie kommt allein nicht mehr runter".
    – leftaroundabout
    Commented Jan 16, 2023 at 13:09

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
22

I think the provided translation is leaving it untranslated for no or little good reason. In this context it translates as 'anymore', which changes the meaning slightly:

She cannot get down on her own anymore.

Improve this answer
10

In this context, "nicht mehr" is a compound that translates to "no more" / "not anymore".

So, it signifies that something was true before, but isn't any longer true. The translation you mentioned seems to omit that aspect.

Improve this answer
3
  • 5
    Not necessarily. I think that it can mean that she got up there on her own but cannot get back down on her own.
    – paul
    Commented Jan 16, 2023 at 14:15
  • 3
    'Yes' to Paul's comment. In another way of conveying the same thing, 'she cannot get [back] down again'. 'Again', here, could well translate the 'mehr' in the given context.
    – terry-s
    Commented Jan 16, 2023 at 15:11
  • 1
    I believe that would be "Die kann allein nicht wieder runter."
    – FeepingCreature
    Commented Jan 17, 2023 at 14:39
0

Mehr in this context means "longer" (or "more")

So: She cannot get down on her own any longer. (or anymore)

Better English: She can no longer get down on her own.

Improve this answer

Your Answer

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

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