Hot answers tagged

41 votes
Accepted

How do you say “To whom it may concern” in German?

You are right. The correct translation of Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren is (dear) ladies and gentlemen So, »to whom it may concern« seems not to match with »Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren«. ...
Hubert Schölnast's user avatar
35 votes

"Mach das so." what does mean? How can I understand it?

It simply means, "do it like this", as proposed, as we talked about, in this manner, ...
infinitezero's user avatar
  • 18.3k
16 votes

What does the author want to convey by ending his letter with »Tschüssikowsky«?

He is just trying to be funny. Tschüss is mostly used in the northern part of Germany. Tschüssikowsky is a stultification. According to Wiktionary, this term was first used in the German translation ...
fanlim's user avatar
  • 423
16 votes

How do you say “To whom it may concern” in German?

Short answer: There is no direct equivalent for To whom it may concern in the German speaking part of the world. Of course there are other things to write on top of documents, but it depends on the ...
15 votes

What does the author want to convey by ending his letter with »Tschüssikowsky«?

"Tschüssikowski" is a somehow humorous version derived from "Tschüss" which simply means "Good bye". I don't know if there's an official name for transforming a common "standard German" word or ...
Byte Commander's user avatar
14 votes
Accepted

"Mach das so." what does mean? How can I understand it?

Mach is the imperative form of machen, which can mean to do or to make in German depending on the context. Therefore, we can translate it to Do that so., which still doesn't fit. so can mean so or ...
MaestroGlanz's user avatar
13 votes

How do you say “To whom it may concern” in German?

You're saying that you're sceptical because it's plural and you're addressing a single person. However, I think that's the actual misunderstanding, because in German formal writing there are basically ...
amadeusamadeus's user avatar
11 votes
Accepted

Was bedeutet genau "im Auftrag" (i.A.)?

Den Brief hat Her Müller geschrieben. Deswegen solltest du ihn auch in deiner Antwort so anreden. "Im Auftrag" schreibt er darunter, um dir zu sagen, dass er bevollmächtigt ist, diesen Brief zu ...
tofro's user avatar
  • 62.7k
10 votes

„Danke für Ihre Bemühungen/Mühe“ in Brief oder E-Mail

Ich persönlich finde es sehr schwer hier pauschalisierend einen Rat zu geben, das hängt immer vom Kontext ab. Bedankung ist immer gut; "Mühe" bevorzugt, "Bemühungen" haben immer etwas gezwungenes, ...
Thomas's user avatar
  • 2,963
10 votes

Should a letter to a future host family be formal or informal?

I'd say that if this is the initial letter you're writing, I'd certainly go for the formal version when addressing the parents and for the informal version when addressing the kids. You can refer to ...
Thorsten Dittmar's user avatar
9 votes
Accepted

Formal greeting without specific recipient

The best choice is Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, Nothing can go wrong if you use this standard salutation. This is not necessary: Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren der Firma Müller & Mayer, ...
Hubert Schölnast's user avatar
9 votes
Accepted

Capital letter in letters after salutation ("Liebe ...,")

The rules of English and German are different: In German you use NO capital, unless the first word after adress ist a noun. See also this page. Sehr geehrter Herr Müller, ich entschuldige mich für... ...
Devon's user avatar
  • 1,406
9 votes
Accepted

Options for quick email reply to the effect of "I've just done it" or "I've taken care of it"

There is no standard polite reply. The level of formality really depends on your company and with whom you are communicating. In my company the answers range from Erledigt. Gruß, Y (inhouse ...
Iris's user avatar
  • 8,527
9 votes

"Mach das so." what does mean? How can I understand it?

"Mach das so" means "sure, go ahead" or "do it as you proposed". I would not use the phrase myself in a business context. It's not vulgar or off-putting by any means, but ...
AnoE's user avatar
  • 504
8 votes

What is the address format I should use for sending a letter/mail?

Although Germany, Austria and Switzerland are federal countries like USA who consist of smaller states (»Bundesländer« in Germany and Austria, »Kantone« in Switzerland) you don't write those states ...
Hubert Schölnast's user avatar
8 votes
Accepted

How do you say "Kind reminder" in context of an email?

If you wand to express it a friendly way, take "Freundliche Erinnerung", otherwise just "Erinnerung" or "Zu Ihrer Erinnerung".
Walter's user avatar
  • 726
8 votes
Accepted

Wie kann man zwischen den Namen der Buchstaben "i" und "e" unterscheiden?

Der Buchstabe i wird wie der korrespondierende Langvokal [iː] ausgesprochen, e entsprechend als [eː]. Der Unterschied zwischen den beiden Lauten liegt im Grad der Offenheit: [iː] ist geschlossener ...
David Vogt's user avatar
  • 25.5k
7 votes
Accepted

Korrekte Anrede bei Antwort mit allgemeiner E-Mail-Adresse

Das Problem ist nicht auf E-Mails beschränkt; die Papierpost, die ich von meinem zuständigen Jobcenter bekomme, hat auch stets eine Person, die unterzeichnet hat (Frau Müller*), während die ...
Jan's user avatar
  • 38.6k
7 votes

Should a letter to a future host family be formal or informal?

I am certainly old fashioned (probably more of the parents generation), but I have been an exchange student in a similar situation. I was spared the decision as I was going the other way - my hosting ...
Ralph M. Rickenbach's user avatar
7 votes

Is there a simpler German saying for "Das Ganze ist mehr als die Summe seiner Teile"?

Referring the increasing company value ... der im Falle unserer Kooperation [auf beiden Seiten] entstehende Mehrwert ... may also be an option.
Pollitzer's user avatar
  • 16k
7 votes

Does "Anschrift" include e-mail?

Wenn sich aus dem Kontext nicht ergibt, dass auch eine E-Mail-Adresse gemeint sein könnte, wie man das etwa bei der Bestellung eines Newsletters vermuten würde, ist in der Regel eine Anschrift für ...
user unknown's user avatar
  • 23.2k
7 votes
Accepted

Wie verwendet man Titel in der Anrede einer E-Mail?

Auf Studis Online ist die Anrede eines Professors im Brief so erklärt: 1) Nur der höchste Titel wird verwendet, es gibt also keinen Professor Doktor sondern nur einen Herr Professor/Frau Professorin ...
infinitezero's user avatar
  • 18.3k
6 votes

Is there a simpler German saying for "Das Ganze ist mehr als die Summe seiner Teile"?

The answer The usual term in business contexts is Synergie - "synergy". It describes a Win-win-Situation (also a common phrase in business in german) where both partners profit from joint effort. ...
Jonathan Scholbach's user avatar
6 votes

Deviations from the traditional form of correspondence

I am not at all offended because such a letter is clearly a Postwurfsendung which means I'm expected to throw it away without taking further notice. Naturally, I don't reply. Kidding aside, letters, ...
Janka's user avatar
  • 57.4k
6 votes
Accepted

Kann man in einem E-Mail »Vielen für die Rückmeldung« statt »Vielen Dank für die Rückmeldung« sagen?

Einfache und kurze Antwort: NEIN Das ist falsch. Mir ist auch nicht bekannt, dass eine solche Formulierung umgangssprachlich Verwendung findet. Sie ist weder in E-Mails noch in anderen Textsorten ...
Hubert Schölnast's user avatar
6 votes

How to address a formal letter to a German lawyer?

"Sehr geehrter Rechtsanwalt so-and-so" sounds so strange. Why do you think you should need a specific address about their profession? "Sehr geehrter Herr Dr. so-and-so." is just fine.
πάντα ῥεῖ's user avatar
6 votes

Werden die Anlagen eines Briefes im Nominativ oder Akkusativ angegeben?

Ich halte für den Nominativ für richtig, man zählt ja einfach nur die Dokumente auf. ... Annahme ist, dass ein Possessivartikel benötigt wird, weil in dem Brief auch andere Personalausweise ...
πάντα ῥεῖ's user avatar
6 votes
Accepted

Korrekte Bezeichnung von Professoren im Text

Was man hier schreiben sollte, hängt einerseits vom Statusbewusstsein des betreffenden Professors ab, andererseits von der Intention des Sprechers. Ich kenne Professoren, für die Das wird Ihnen ...
Jonathan Scholbach's user avatar

Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible