33
votes
Accepted
Why is it "vielen Dank" if it is plural?
The German word Dank is a masculine singular noun. It is not possible to use it in a plural form because there is no plural form. This is in heavy contrast to the English word thanks which is a plural ...
- 125k
24
votes
Accepted
What's the difference between "noch" and "immer noch?"
Sie isst immer noch.
Both immer and noch are used as modal particles in this sentence. I introduce the modal particle gerade to show the difference.
Sie isst. → She eats.
Sie isst gerade. → She is ...
- 63.6k
24
votes
Accepted
Asking about the weather using 'was'
Wie ist das Wetter heute?
How is the weather today?
Was für ein Wetter haben wir heute?
literally: "What kind of weather do we have today?"
- 63.6k
21
votes
How can I render the “that” in “Don’t be like that”?
I do wonder why your friend couldn’t tell you that you already had the perfect translation for ‘Don’t be like that’ — it is:
Sei nicht so.
So is the perfect, idiomatic and complete translation of ...
- 38.8k
21
votes
Accepted
Räte-Ideen: looking for a translation
Gegen Ende des Ersten Weltkriegs wurde in der sogenannten Novemberrevolution von 1918 Kaiser Wilhelm II. gestürzt. Deutschland war jetzt keine Monarchie mehr - aber was stattdessen? In dieser Zeit gab ...
- 19.8k
21
votes
Accepted
Meaning of expression "Bist du los?"
In general, "Bist du los?" means "Have you departed?", as it is a shortened way of saying "Bist du losgegangen?"
This shortening appears in many related forms:
Bist du ...
- 9,006
20
votes
Does German have the "must we not" formation?
The sentence is understood the same way in German. And you’re right that you cannot move the nicht in the second position.
Same is true if you replace must/müssen with should/sollten.
Shouldn’t we ...
- 38.7k
19
votes
Accepted
Is there an expression that translates to "building character" in German?
In the context of exposure to cold and rain I probably would have said:
Das härtet ab!
With this meaning of abhärten in mind: to toughen s.o, to build up s.o.'s resistance, to make s.b. stronger
- 70.6k
18
votes
Accepted
Deutsche Redewendung für „Sit around the campfire and sing Kumbaya“
Spontan würde ich
einen auf Friede-Freude-Eierkuchen machen
dazu sagen.
Die Sequenz einen auf ... machen bedeutet umgangssprachlich so tun, als ob, etwas vorspielen, Friede, Freude, ...
- 24.1k
18
votes
Accepted
Does German have the "must we not" formation?
In your German version, there are subtle differences in meaning than in your English version.
Must we not speak German?
I understand the meaning as: is it not enforced or encouraged that we speak ...
- 515
17
votes
How to render "have ideas above his station" into German
Das ist absolut nicht seine Kragenweite.
Der spielt nicht in ihrer Liga
Die ist ein paar Nummern zu gross für ihn
are commonly use to express "above one's station" (which I haven't really ...
- 65.6k
16
votes
Does German have the "must we not" formation?
If you ask
Müssen wir nicht Deutsch sprechen?
then it will be understood that you thought that the German is to be spoken, but for some reason you are not sure or realise that you were wrong, and ...
- 21k
16
votes
Accepted
What does »an der Hacke« mean?
In my communicative environment, the expression
Du hast wohl einen an der Hacke
is used to express doubt about somebody's mental health, or simply: "You seem to be a fool". However, as Mr. Schulz ...
- 31.2k
16
votes
Is there an expression that translates to "building character" in German?
You can say:
Im Regen zu sein stärkt den Charakter.
Being in the rain strengthens the character.
(also »festigt« instead of »stärkt«)
But German native speakers won't say something like this ...
- 125k
14
votes
How would I say, “a story about the time that...” in German?
The most idiomatic way I can think of is
Hab' ich dir mal erzählt, wie ich eine Gitarre umsonst bekam?
which literally translates to
Did I ever tell you, how I got a guitar for free?
If you want ...
- 18.4k
13
votes
Accepted
Wie sagt man "to scroll" auf Deutsch?
You use the anglicism scrollen which is declined as the verb rollen.
In your case of wasting time you could use the prefix rum- (short form of herum-) which is generally used for verbs which express ...
- 17k
13
votes
Accepted
German equivalent of the French expression "n'avoir rien à envier à personne"
I think you mean
jemandem in nichts nachstehen
which is used to express equality, both positively and ironically.
- 16k
13
votes
Accepted
Can "Es tut mir leid" be used to express empathy rather than remorse?
Short answer:
Yes, just like the English I'm sorry you can use es tut mir leid both for apologizing for something that is your fault and for expressing empathy.
Long answer:
Everyone of your examples ...
- 7,291
12
votes
Accepted
Expression "running out" in German
You can use the first expression (ausgehen) for almost anything that you are running out of.
For example the following sentences are fine:
Mir geht die Zeit aus.
Mir gehen die Vorräte aus.
Using zu ...
- 787
12
votes
Accepted
Is »für« or »vor« redundant in this sentence from »Der Spiegel«?
Yes, it seems like they could not decide whether they wanted to use the sentence as
Die drohende Einnahme der Stadt stellt damit auch die US-Armee vor ein Dilemma.
or
Die drohende Einnahme der ...
- 787
12
votes
Accepted
German word/expression meaning something like "breakfast engineer"?
I have never heard the words *Frühstücksingenieur or *Frühstückswissenschaftler. I guess, the word you are most probably looking for is Frühstücksdirektor. Wikipedia says:
Als Frühstücksdirektor wird ...
- 17k
11
votes
Saying "even more" as an adverb in German
Well, grammatically it is correct, but its unusual.
First of all, you normally wouldn't use Präteritum, but Perfekt. and instead of sogar you would use noch:
Ich habe gewartet. Und gewartet. Und ...
- 125k
11
votes
Saying "even more" as an adverb in German
For general purpose Huberts answer is correct. For this particular example I'd like to add that the most idiomatic translation into German would be "Ich wartete. Und wartete. Und wartete" - without ...
- 7,291
11
votes
Accepted
Meaning of "ab damit"
Translate as
off you go
or
off it goes
and you have caught most of the gist of this expression, even relatively literal.
- 65.6k
11
votes
Accepted
Is there any reason but aesthetics for the use of "dann mit" here?
The full text of the verse is:
Ein kleines Edelweiß,
das bringst du mir dann mit.
Wenn du von deinen Bergen
Wieder heimwärts ziehst
Ich weiß es ganz genau
Du pflückst es nur für mich
Ich weiß es ganz ...
- 38.8k
11
votes
Accepted
Expression of woman sinking in the mud and waving
Googling "im moor sinken winken Frau", I found
Siehst Du im Moor die Schwiegermutter winken, wink zurück und lass sie sinken.
"When you see your mother in law waving from a bog, wave ...
- 5,327
11
votes
What does "Was erlauben Sie sich?" mean?
See here:
umgangssprachlich; Ausdruck von Empörung / Entrüstung; höfliche, aber energische Reaktion auf eine anmaßende Handlung eines anderen
If somebody uses the phrase, he is usually indignant ...
- 10.8k
10
votes
Accepted
Is the expression »an seinen Memoiren schreiben« correct?
You can
ein Buch schreiben
that denotes the whole work, from start to finish.
And if you say
ich habe ein Buch geschrieben
we know you have finished the book.
And you can
an einem Buch ...
- 65.6k
10
votes
What's the difference between "noch" and "immer noch?"
"noch" means that the eating is ongoing, but focuses on the fact that she'll be stopping at some future point in time.
"immer noch" means that the eating is ongoing and has done so ...
- 15k
10
votes
German phrase or idiom for "Stay put!"
An Ort und Stelle has the doubled "place" to assure someone or something is reliably there. That's not what you intend to say.
Sei an Ort und Stelle!
Be at that place reliably!
Bleib an ...
- 63.6k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible