Greatest Hits
15
votes
4
answers
39k
views
"Warum/darum", "Weshalb/deshalb", "weswegen/deswegen", is there a difference in usage or meaning?
We may use "warum", "weshalb" or "weswegen" in seemingly the same way in questions as we can use "deshalb" or "deswegen" in answers.
Warum stellst Du ...
- 70.1k
23
votes
2
answers
34k
views
Dictionary abbreviation meanings: "jdm", "jdn", "etw",
While I'm studying German vocabulary from a dictionary, I constantly see that the definitions of verbs have abbreviations next to them, such as "jdm: jemandem" and "jdn: jemanden" and "etw: etwas". I ...
- 403
3
votes
1
answer
25k
views
'auf' oder 'an der' Bushaltestelle?
Welcher Satz ist Richtig?
Ich bin auf der Bushaltestelle warten
oder
ich bin an der Bushaltestelle warten?
UND
der Bus ist auf der Bushaltestelle?
oder
der Bus ist an der Bushaltestelle
- 787
96
votes
8
answers
37k
views
Is there a reason why Germany (Deutschland) is called so many different things in other European languages?
Excuse me if this is off-topic.
When I'm learning other languages, I usually (99% of the time) find that "England" is either the same or very similar in the other language. However, I know at least ...
- 1,161
25
votes
6
answers
37k
views
Is "1. Etage" the ground floor or the first floor in Germany?
I am searching for an appartement in Germany and I came across "1. Etage" which is normally the first floor.
However some countries have first floor for ground floor so I am confused now and I don't ...
- 259
15
votes
6
answers
56k
views
"denn" vs. "dann"
I'm having a hard time finding out when to use "denn" and when "dann". This happens when I want to say the word as the equivalent of the English "then". For instance,
A: I bet Germany wins the ...
- 2,148
62
votes
9
answers
46k
views
Where can I find a parsable list of German words?
I'm looking for a list of German words in a digital format that is simple and easy to parse by a computer. It should encompass almost all words, but it doesn't matter whether inflections are included. ...
- 16.5k
23
votes
3
answers
15k
views
Suggestions on preparing for the Zertifikat Deutsch (internationally accepted certificate in German) exam
I will be taking the Zertifikat Deutsch exam soon, and was looking for tips and ideas on the preparation required. This exam is legally recognized, for instance for citizenship applications, and has ...
- 568
18
votes
2
answers
49k
views
Was bedeutet "auf dem Schlauch stehen"?
Was genau bedeutet „auf dem Schlauch stehen“?
Ist es so etwas wie „ich bin nicht interessiert“ oder „ich verstehe nichts“?
Über eine Antwort bin ich dankbar.
- 685
11
votes
2
answers
28k
views
Difference between "wählen" and "auswählen"?
Both "wählen" and "auswählen" seem to mean "choose or select". Is there a difference in meaning? When would one be used instead of the other?
- 343
18
votes
3
answers
31k
views
Why the frequent use of “Bad” in German place names (and does it mean something different than “bath”)?
Bad seems to be a frequent component of German place names (e.g. Bad Bergzabern, Bad Doberan, Bad Schandau ...) Why is this, and what is the meaning of Bad in this context?
- 313
30
votes
2
answers
34k
views
What is the difference between "nun" and "jetzt"?
This question also has an answer here (in German):
Wo liegt der Unterschied zwischen "nun" und "jetzt"?
I hear nun and jetzt used a lot but I've not been able to pick out what ...
- 425
4
votes
2
answers
71k
views
Was ist die Abkürzung von "Stellvertretung"?
Was ist die korrekte Abkürzung vom Wort Stellvertretung?
Im online Duden habe ich keinen Hinweis auf eine offizielle Abkürzung gefunden: http://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Stellvertretung
Im ...
- 563
25
votes
11
answers
15k
views
Is it okay to have an email address called "SS"?
One of our employees has a name like “Stephen Starr”. Since our company email addresses are based on initials, this means that his email address should be ss@example.com.
Another of our employees say ...
- 259
28
votes
5
answers
40k
views
What is the difference between “ändern” and “verändern”?
I'm still confused about the difference between ändern and verändern. I have read something about ändern only being used with small changes and verändern when something changes totally. But where ...
- 647
14
votes
11
answers
46k
views
Do Germans understand the Dutch language?
I would like to ask if a native German speaker can understand a Dutch speaker with fluency or at least to have a normal conversation
- 141
20
votes
1
answer
35k
views
Volume Units – how much is EL?
I have bought a product. In the use instructions, it is said to add
3 EL Wasser und 3 EL Öl
Now, I did a little bit of search, and EL definitely is not short for Exaliter. How much is it then?
- 503
24
votes
4
answers
44k
views
What are differences between "fließend" and "verhandlungssicher"?
Filling in a questionnaire, in different languages, after picking a language up, you get 4 options :
Basiswissen
fließend
verhandlungssicher
Muttersprache
So, how are "fließend" and "...
- 1,315
44
votes
7
answers
60k
views
How to distinguish between a female friend and a girlfriend?
The word Freundin can mean either a girlfriend or a female friend. In some cases, they can be distinguished by using the possessive pronoun to refer to the former:
Ich habe mit meiner Freundin (...
- 16.5k
13
votes
4
answers
4k
views
How to pronounce "Gröbner"?
I'm a math PhD student and a very important concept for my work is that of a Gröbner basis, named after Austrian mathematician Wolfgang Gröbner.
My colleagues all disagree on the correct pronunciation ...
- 233
18
votes
4
answers
30k
views
What is the best way to say “gentle reminder” in German?
I need to use this phrase in formal correspondence with a business customer but don’t seem to be able to find enough verifiable sources on the internet with an appropriate German equivalent.
...
- 281
37
votes
4
answers
40k
views
Was ist der Unterschied zwischen "reden" und "sprechen"?
Ich denke, sie sind Synonyme; aber sind sie es wirklich? "Reden" scheint mehr umgangssprachlich zu sein, während "sprechen" ganz viele verschiedene Bedeutungen hat. Warum gibt es das Wort "reden"? ...
- 1,173
15
votes
2
answers
52k
views
"Unserer" oder "Unser" als eigenständiges Subjekt
Als Beispiel folgender Zusammenhang:
"Unser Fernseher funktioniert nicht mehr."
"Unser(er) auch nicht."
Was ist hier richtig? Ich glaube, ich habe beides schon im Sprachgebrauch ...
- 293
8
votes
2
answers
45k
views
When to use "ins"?
I'm a little confused with the preposition contraction ins. As far as I know, it means in das, but I don't understand why it is used in this sentence:
Sie fahren ins Theater.
It feels like the ...
- 427
8
votes
2
answers
31k
views
Wie antwortet man auf "Ich wünsche dir was" und was genau bedeutet die Aussage?
Meine Nachbarin sagt mir oft beim Abschied
"Ich wünsche dir was"
Wie kann man darauf höflich antworten und was genau bedeutet dieses "was"?
- 720
10
votes
3
answers
34k
views
Difference between “Was ist dein Beruf?” and “Was bist du von Beruf?”
What is the difference between the following?
Was ist dein Beruf?
Was bist du von Beruf?
They translate to the following:
What is your job?
What are you doing for living?
- 157
20
votes
4
answers
27k
views
Is there any difference between "laufen" and "rennen"?
This question also has an answer here (in German):
Wann benutzt man “laufen” und wann “rennen”?
I can’t quite grasp the difference between laufen and rennen. I know they both mean running. In ...
- 4,787
3
votes
1
answer
15k
views
Looking for German A1/A2 vocabulary PDF with articles
I have looked at some vocabularies on the internet. Most of them are without articles (der, die, das) which is so important. I have found one paper with articles but it is in alphabetic order, I need ...
11
votes
6
answers
26k
views
Bessere Bezeichnung für "Hautfarbe" bei Stiften
Viele Sets von Buntstiften oder Filzstiften für Kinder enthalten eine Farbe, die der Hautfarbe hellhäutiger Menschen nachempfunden ist. Es handelt sich um eine Art rötliches Beige. Im Gegensatz zu ...
- 231
4
votes
2
answers
14k
views
Welches ist die Ordnung in einen Satz (Akk, Dat, TEKAMOLO)?
I weiss Te(temporal)Ka(kausal)Mo(modal)Lo(lokal), aber mit einem Satz mit Akkusativ und Dativ.
A) Ich habe einen Deutschkurs letztes Jahr in der Sprachschule gemacht/gesucht.
B) Ich habe letztes Jahr ...
- 647
3
votes
1
answer
27k
views
an, in oder an der Straße
An/in oder an der Straße?
Zu welchem Fall passt jedes Wort?
Wie ist es richtig zu sagen:
1.Ich bin gerade an/ auf ... Straße.
Ich bin gerade an/ in 12 ... Straße (wenn damit eina Haus gemeint)
Es ...
- 31
11
votes
1
answer
32k
views
Erfahrung haben: mit oder im?
Sagt man
Ich habe Erfahrung im …
oder
Ich habe Erfahrung mit …
Zum Beispiel:
Ich habe Erfahrung im Photovoltaik-Zellen.
Wenn nicht, welche Präposition/Konstruktion kann man verwenden?
- 133
46
votes
6
answers
45k
views
Was ist der Unterschied zwischen "Worte" und "Wörter"?
Diese Frage wurde auch hier (auf Englisch) beantwortet:
"Die Worte" vs. "die Wörter"
Wann sagt man „Worte“, wann „Wörter“?
Beide sind ein Plural vom Singular „Wort“ und ...
88
votes
8
answers
40k
views
How to use "doch"
I know "doch" is used to contradict a negative statement:
A: Das ist nicht wahr.
B: Doch!
It's a great word for this usage and some languages really lack this word.
But, I found it hard to ...
user508
8
votes
5
answers
27k
views
"Wo kommen Sie her?" or "Woher kommen Sie?" — What is the difference?
I have learned that when someone wants to know where a person comes from, one must ask:
Woher kommen Sie?
A lot of people have asked me:
Wo kommst du her?
or
Wo kommen Sie her?
...
- 443
8
votes
3
answers
19k
views
How to know Nominative, Accusative, Dative, Genitive Verbs in German?
I am learning German, perhaps I am A1 level but I really wish to raise my level to B1 and as far as my experience goes, the verbs are quite important to know and for not only verb but for grammatical ...
- 181
22
votes
8
answers
40k
views
Is "Mir ist kalt" correct? Did I hear it correctly?
While listening to Rammstein, in particular the song named "Keine Lust", I heard the phrase "Mir ist kalt, so kalt.". I thought it would have been "Ich bin kalt". Did I hear it incorrectly, or is ...
- 655
29
votes
6
answers
45k
views
Does German language have "possessive apostrophe"?
Does (did) German have something like what they call possessive apostrophe
in English? If not, what does the role of it in German language?
For example:
This is my father's hat.
My best friend'...
user508
32
votes
10
answers
31k
views
Welche Eselsbrücken gibt es, um „dass“ und „das“ auseinander zu halten?
Die Wörter das und dass klingen gleich, haben aber völlig unterschiedliche Bedeutungen.
Welche Tricks/Eselsbrücken gibt es, um im Schreibfluss rauszufinden, ob man das oder dass verwenden sollte?
- 431
16
votes
2
answers
38k
views
Was ist der Unterschied zwischen "parametrieren" und "parametrisieren"?
In dieser Frage kam der Begriff parametrierbare Motorleistung auf. Ich hatte parametrieren noch nie gehört, und kenne nur parametrisieren (also: mit (veränderbaren) Parametern versehen). Der Duden ...
- 6,986
10
votes
4
answers
38k
views
Auf {einen, einem} Baum klettern - Akkusativ oder Dativ?
Ich habe den folgenden Satz geschrieben:
Eine Katze ist auf einen Baum geklettert.
Meine Deutschlehrerin hat mich korrigiert und geschrieben:
Eine Katze ist auf einem Baum geklettert.
Was ist ...
user5177
13
votes
5
answers
36k
views
Wann sagt man "physikalisch" und wann "physisch"?
Wann schreibt oder sagt man physikalisch und wann physisch?
- 30.5k
26
votes
6
answers
25k
views
Explanation of the prefix "er"
I am finding verbs with the prefix "er" very hard to understand and remember the meaning of.
I understand how it works with verbs like ertrinken and ersticken (partly because I used erstochen once to ...
- 415
21
votes
4
answers
48k
views
"Cute" in German
Is there any difference between all the translations of "cute" listed here? It's quite confusing.
Except the one tagged [ugs] which means colloquial, I'm not sure which one is preferred in which ...
- 2,148
4
votes
2
answers
39k
views
Auf einen Blick vs. auf einem Blick
Eine Überschrift soll lauten
Auf einen Blick
wonach ein paar Statistiken folgen.
Es hat kurz die Diskussion gegeben, ob es nicht
auf einem Blick
lauten könnte. Nachdem dies natürlich ...
- 568
43
votes
5
answers
32k
views
"Schlimm" vs. "Schlecht"?
Can someone shed some light on when to use "schlimm" and when to use "schlecht"?
I've found an explanation here that tries to clarify the issue, but in my opinion does a fairly poor job. Every ...
- 737
7
votes
4
answers
29k
views
Why "Ich habe Hunger" and not "Ich bin Hunger"?
The sentence
Ich bin Hunger
translates to
I am hungry
which seems right, whereas
Ich habe Hunger
translates to
I have hunger
Why do Germans own or possess hunger?
- 789
24
votes
7
answers
57k
views
Meaning of 0815 and ger/eng alternatives?
Does 0815 simply mean something is very standard and common, or does it carry any connotations? Where can one use it, e.g. for description of processes, objects, persons? Can you give alternative ...
- 5,810
40
votes
7
answers
25k
views
"Nicht" vs "Kein"
This question reminded me of a question that I met when learning German, and I still kind of have it.
What are the differences between these words usage? I thought that "nicht" was used to "deny ...
- 1,902
21
votes
8
answers
30k
views
Difference between “sollen” and “müssen”
I can’t quite grasp the difference between sollen and müssen. They both express a duty, something that has to be done. In Italian, my native language, we just have one word for both, and so I can’t ...
- 4,787