What's the difference between ohnehin and immerhin? Both mean "anyway" in my dictionary and I wonder if they're interchangeable.
Ich kann ohnehin/immerhin nicht gehen, denn ich arbeite.
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Sign up to join this communityWhat's the difference between ohnehin and immerhin? Both mean "anyway" in my dictionary and I wonder if they're interchangeable.
Ich kann ohnehin/immerhin nicht gehen, denn ich arbeite.
Immerhin means “not bad, but could be better”:
Ich bin immer noch krank, aber immerhin habe ich keinen Schnupfen mehr. – I am still ill, but at least I do not have a cold anymore.
It can be used as a single-word statement to appreciate a result that could be better.
Arzt: »Sie sind immer noch krank, aber haben keinen Schnupfen mehr.« – Patient: »Immerhin.« — Medic: “You are still ill, but you do not have a cold anymore.” – Patient: “Better than nothing.“
Ohnehin means, that a problem or situation already exists, e.g.:
Jetzt habe ich Schnupfen, aber ich war ohnehin schon krank. – Now I have a cold, but I was ill anyway.
So they are not interchangeable.