Is it just your own choice of words or do they (anstatt and statt) also mean two different things?
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1No difference between the two. – πάντα ῥεῖ Jan 28 '18 at 19:53
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Basically no difference, though I would second the sentiment expressed by "Glockenblume" here: https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/anstatt-statt.2768344/ – user1583209 Jan 28 '18 at 21:41
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1Was sagt das Wörterbuch? – user unknown Jan 29 '18 at 03:08
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3@userunknown Wörterbücher sagen haufig nicht zu viel... – peterh Jan 29 '18 at 04:34
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3Can you add an example? Why do you think the two word mean the same or do not? – IQV Jan 29 '18 at 06:53
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I thought people use one as a preposition(with genitiv) and the other one as conjunction(to connect 2 sentences). But appearently they are exact the same. Thanks. – fuat Jan 29 '18 at 09:49
2 Answers
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If we look at the etymology of statt we can see that it is a shortened form for anstatt:
statt Präp. Konj. (17. Jh.), aus anstatt gekürzt. Dazu statt daß, statt zu (18. Jh.).Etymologisches Wörterbuch (nach Pfeifer)
Both have the same meaning and usage until today. When using the unshortened form we may intend a higher register of German but in this case this is of not much siginficance.
Please note that both, statt, and anstatt go with genitive case which increasingly gets lost in colloquial speech.
Takkat
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3... using the unshortened form we may intend a higher register...: looking at the examples I wouldn't say so, to me it sounds more the other way round. It may be also worth noting that the frequent collocation statt dessen only works with statt. – Stef Feb 02 '19 at 15:58
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Basically 'statt' is used for same sort of quantities like tea or coffee; shoes or socks; jeans or t-shirts. For eg. Statt schlafende, möchte Ich schuhe. (I prefer wearing shoes over slipper.)
Shikha
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Welcome to German.SE. unfortunately I think your answer has a spelling error on the german example. Please provide also the use of "anstatt" in your knowledge – Shegit Brahm Sep 23 '19 at 15:47
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1I admit that this distinction sounds interesting. However, I have never heard of it before. Could you add a source, please? – Björn Friedrich Sep 24 '19 at 05:50