Questions tagged [word-usage]
Wortgebrauch - Questions on usages in German language.
1,225
questions
0
votes
1answer
153 views
In/Im [City Name]
I would like to write this sentence: What happened in New York in 2001.09.11.
Which one of the following is the correct one?
Was ist am 11. September 2001 in New York passiert?
Was ist am 11. ...
1
vote
2answers
70 views
Expressing “to do somebody a disservice” in German
I have been struggling with the correct way to express "to do somebody a disservice" in German. In English, this phrase is often used when your intentions are to do something good for ...
0
votes
1answer
52 views
(Grund)Schule anfangen, kommen or beginnen?
How do you say it? To start school.
Schule anfangen.
Schule kommen.
Schule beginnen.
1
vote
1answer
78 views
When to use “Schmerz” and when to use “Schmerzen”?
While conversing with 2 native German speakers I said:
Anna beklagt sich über großen Schmerz im Mund.
and they corrected me to:
Anna beklagt sich über große Schmerzen im Mund.
While investigating ...
0
votes
2answers
109 views
Appell in einem Kurs oder einer Klasse
Wenn in meinem Heimatland der Leiter in die Klasse (besonders in der Schule) eintritt, ist es üblich, zu prüfen, ob alle Schüler/innen anwesend sind.
Ist das auch in Deutschland üblich? Ich habe ...
1
vote
1answer
109 views
How to correctly express “get wise to”
I am having some difficulties translating the phrase: "to get wise to something" in German, where "to get wise to something" == "slowly figure out/not be fooled by somebody&...
4
votes
2answers
495 views
Translating “a one-day stay”
I am trying to translate the following sentence into German:
Due to the delay, I had an unexpected one-day stay in Berlin.
(Assuming this is proper English; I am not a native speaker.)
I am ...
0
votes
2answers
64 views
Auswahl besser mit “mehrere” oder “verschiedene”?
Aus einer Menge von strukturell unterschiedlichen Möglichkeiten möchte ich eine Option auswählen. Dazu ein Beispiel:
Erdbeben, ein Streik des Nahverkehrs oder eine Unachtsamkeit eines Ingenieurs ...
2
votes
2answers
104 views
Welcher Begriff bedeutet “to get someone in trouble”
Im Englischen kann der Ausdruck „to get someone in(to) trouble“ unterschiedliche Nebenbedeutungen haben. Er kann auch absichtlich oder unabsichtlich gemeint werden, je nach dem Kontext. Gibt es einen ...
2
votes
1answer
69 views
Split a sentence into elements
I try to decompose this sentence in elements and I am not sure how to do it:
Was ist denn das für eine Geschichte?
This may translate as "What kind of story is this?" (not sure).
Could you ...
0
votes
1answer
63 views
Question about [sich] in a sentence
Can anyone explain to me why [sich] is put after the verb that would translate as [inquired] in the past imperfect, instead of just going with the ihre to follow it? I know that sich interprets to as [...
1
vote
1answer
75 views
ansprechen and angehen
When are : ansprechen" and "angehen" interchangeable? I read that ansprechen is for addressing a person and angehen is for addressing a problem, but I find plenty of examples where this ...
0
votes
3answers
136 views
Difference between “normalerweise” and “gewöhnlich”
What is the difference between "normalerweise" and "gewöhnlich"? They both can mean "usually" or "normally". Does it matter which one is used?
1
vote
2answers
175 views
Is “Fräulein” archaic?
Why don't German-speaking countries nowadays ever use "Fräulein" for a young woman instead "Frau"?
Is the word old-fashioned or obsolete? If so, why, and which decade after the ...
0
votes
3answers
188 views
Is »lecker dabei« commonly used? [closed]
I recently heard a child refer to an ice cream as
lecker dabei
which I understood as equivalent to "really delicious". If this is so, how does this use of "dabei" sound to a ...
3
votes
2answers
199 views
Why refer to somebody's age in a written article or report?
In German newspapers or online written pieces, I have noticed that the age of a person is reported much more frequently than I have experienced in English. The following extract from Der Postillon (a ...
6
votes
2answers
2k views
How to tell the difference between groß = tall or big
I recently started learning German through Duolingo and Busuu.
I came across the word groß a few times now but I'm not sure how to tell the difference between:
The man is tall vs The man is big (heavy ...
1
vote
2answers
159 views
How to ask to view an apartment for rent? [closed]
"Kann ich machen ein besichtigungstermin?" automatically receives a response in English because the other party has figured out the one asking the question is not a German speaker.
What is ...
0
votes
1answer
98 views
If “heimal” means “hey”, what does “hei-dee” mean? [closed]
Heimal translates to "hey", but I similarly heard "hei-Dee" from the same person. The translator fails to give its english meaning. I don't think it's to be mistaken with the Swiss ...
1
vote
2answers
77 views
How to decline “Bekannte”? [closed]
I have a big problem specially with declining "substantiviertes Adjektiv" in all forms (nominative, genitive, dative and accusative) with definite and indefinite articles (bestimmte und ...
2
votes
2answers
151 views
What is true meaning of Sympathie? [closed]
What does "Küssen bei Sympathie" mean? The English translation doesn't make sense.
3
votes
1answer
139 views
How to confirm an appointment
Someone asked, if I could meet on monday, how can I say that that day is ok?
"Montag passt mir gut"
Is this informal? If so, what would be the formal way of saying that?
8
votes
2answers
142 views
Anderswo vs. woanders
Mir kommt es so vor, dass diese beiden Wörter ("anderswo" und "woanders") Synonyme sind. Ist das richtig? Gibt es ein Gegenbeispiel? Und ist das Zufall, dass "wo" einmal ...
7
votes
2answers
244 views
m/w/d (männlich/weiblich/divers)
Vor kurzem sah ich in einem Supermarkt ein Plakat mit dem Text
Verkäufer (m/w/d) gesucht
Das "d" konnte ich nicht interpretieren, aber eine Internetrecherche zeigt, dass es für "divers&...
5
votes
1answer
194 views
Was ist der Unterschied zwischen erwünscht und gewünscht?
Was ist der Unterschied zwischen erwünscht und gewünscht?
z.B.
Ich weiß nicht, ob das was ich mache vom AG gewünscht ist.
Ich weiß nicht, ob das was ich mache vom AG erwünscht ist.
Danke!
2
votes
2answers
76 views
What are the rules for using “sodass”, “da”, and “darum”?
I would like to learn the grammar rules for using conjunctions like sodass, da, and darum in sentences such as these:
Sie hatte keine Zeit mehr anzurufen, sodass …
Ich komme heute später, da …
Ich ...
2
votes
2answers
101 views
What different ways are to say fractions in German?
When dealing with fractions in German we normally say "drei-viertel" or "3/4". Another example would be "sieben-zwanzigstel = 7/20". But is there another way of saying it?...
4
votes
2answers
197 views
Unterschied zwischen Abendbrot und Abendessen
What is the difference between Abendbrot and Abendessen?
Some ideas appearing on the internet
time of the day
regional difference
simple vs. whole meal
Can you clarify this? For a foreigner this can ...
3
votes
1answer
74 views
Which one is correct here: dabei or damit?
I've just had a small talk with someone and he asked me "Brauchst du Hilfe dabei?" and it was completely understandable of course and the conversation kept going on but after that I was ...
2
votes
3answers
107 views
Can “eine Ablehnung erteilen” be used to voice an opinion or does it imply decision power?
I read this in a newspaper article discussing some possible measures for a Corona virus lockdown. The journalist wanted to say that a particular interest group is against a specific measure and used ...
5
votes
3answers
281 views
Canonicalization of semi-duplicates and different notations
Ich habe mit Listen der Ausdrücke zu tun, die dauernd verschiedene Schreibweisen enthalten.
Beispiele:
Bezeichnungsvariante
id
verkehrsrechtsschutz rückwirkend
50
verkehrs-rechtsschutz rückwirkend
...
2
votes
1answer
159 views
How to use “gebären”?
gebären = to give birth
Sie gebar ein Baby. (She gave birth to a baby.)
When we talk about non-living things, can we still use the verb gebären in a figurative way?
Die Stadt gebar eine neue Kultur....
2
votes
3answers
124 views
“Fahren in” vs. “Fahren zu”
In einem didaktischen Buch bin ich auf den folgenden Satz gestoßen:
Frau Müller hat eine neue Wohnung. Sie braucht auch neue Möbel. Sie fährt mit einer Freundin in ein Möbelgeschäft und kauft ein.
...
3
votes
1answer
142 views
Ist “ich wünschte” ein Anglizismus?
Die Redewendung "ich wünschte" war schon Gegenstand mehrerer Fragen, z.B. dieser. Hier ist die Verwendung in Sätzen der Form
Ich wünschte, es wäre schon Wochenende.
Ich wünschte, Du wärest ...
3
votes
3answers
155 views
What does this mean “Wir begiessen das Morgen”
Right on January 1st., I received this message "Alles Gute fürs neue Jahr! Wir begiessen das Morgen!" Does this mean something like let's celebrate the time to come?
0
votes
2answers
116 views
What are the similar words in German?
In English, especially in India, people use the terms "arranged marriage" that is the partner is found by parents or relatives and "love marriage" wherein both partners fall in ...
1
vote
2answers
82 views
Steigend vs. zunehmend: what's the difference?
I originally wrote steigend but it was corrected to zunehmend - why?
Here's the text:
Wie nie zuvor werden Menschen überwacht, nicht nur in Banken und in teuren Läden, sondern auch auf der Straße, in ...
1
vote
2answers
115 views
How can I say 'basic information'?
I'm preparing a presentation and want to start to it with something like:
Firstly i want give some basic information about this topic.
I have found the word Basiswissen but it didn't seem right to ...
9
votes
2answers
199 views
Unsere liebe Frau
Vor kurzem sah ich (seit langem wieder einmal) eine Werbeanzeige für einen Wein mit dem schönen Namen "Liebfraumilch" bzw. "Liebfrauenmilch". Zitat aus Wikipedia: Ihren Ursprung ...
2
votes
1answer
176 views
Word that sounds like Klabacha to describe an house
When crossing a specific old house which was abandoned, one friend used an expression for it that sounded like Klabacha / Klabaca. Since he only speaks german, i presume it to be a German word.
...
3
votes
3answers
141 views
“shitstorm” auf Deutsch [duplicate]
Jede(r) weiß, was ein ein shitstorm ist. Gibt es dafür einen deutschen Ausdruck? In der FAZ wurde vor kurzem Kritiksturm verwendet. Für mich klingt das nicht derb genug, um das englische Original ...
2
votes
2answers
148 views
Countable or uncountable
How can I know whether a word is countable or uncountable? I did not find that in Duden or the dict.cc dictionary. Is that same as in English? For example, in English, the word "information" ...
1
vote
2answers
69 views
alles passt vs alles funktioniert
I was listening to a streamer and they used the phrase 'alles passt' when refering to their set-up. I believe this means 'everything works' but then how is that different to 'alles funktioniert'.
Also ...
1
vote
2answers
221 views
Raketenwissenschaft
Der Ausdruck "Das ist keine Raketenwissenschaft" ist ein Amerikanismus. Das englische Original "It's not rocket science" entstand vermutlich zu Beginn des US-amerikanischen ...
1
vote
1answer
202 views
Unterschied “gesamt” vs “ganz”
Was ist der genaue Unterschied zwischen "gesamt" und "ganz"?
Beispiel:
Ich brauche die ganze Applikation.
Ich brauche die gesamte Applikation.
Für mich haben diese beide Wörter ...
5
votes
4answers
1k views
Why is the word order in this sentence other than expected?
Why is the word order in this sentence is this way:
Wir bringen den Stuhl zur Schwester.
I was learning on duolingo and I came across this sentence which has a word order different than all the ...
0
votes
1answer
82 views
Which word to use for “there”, “dort” or “da”? [duplicate]
I have been studying German lately. I have come across one course material. In that they are using dort and da interchangeably in different sentences. I want to know when you use what?
3
votes
2answers
164 views
Difference between “weit weg” and “weit entfernt”
When reading about these words I keep seeing everyone say that they mean the same. However, I am wondering if there is some difference in connotations? My gut feeling is that the former is more about “...
3
votes
1answer
275 views
Etymology of „Bleivergiftung“ as ironic speech for fatal shooting
In my surroundings (Southern Germany), we use „sterben an einer Bleivergiftung“ as an ironic phrase for someone getting shot and subsequently dying.
Quite a few people with whom I interact always ...
-1
votes
1answer
124 views
Drastische Wortwahl (Tod und Gewalt) nur des Reimes wegen?
Meine Frage ist durch Welche Bedeutung hat in diesem Kontext "kaltmachen"? motiviert. Das Kinderlied "Die Affen rasen durch den Wald" (auch bekannt unter dem Refrain "Wer hat ...
