Most Popular
1500 questions
24
votes
7 answers
Accusative vs Dative: "Schau in der/die Schublade!"
What is correct? Q: "Wo sind meine Socken?"
A: "Schau in der Schublade" vs "Schau in die Schublade"
As a Swiss German speaker not very adept at proper German grammar I feel that both are somehow useable and have slightly different meaning (The first…
RafiK
- 343
- 2
- 6
24
votes
7 answers
What is the German word for “binge”?
I want to say the following in German:
When children come home, they binge on screen time. [talking about mobile phones.]
But I can’t seem to find the appropriate word for binge. I've found words like Fressgelage and Saufgelage but they relate to…
FoolishStrawberry
- 343
- 2
- 6
24
votes
4 answers
stressing of "umfahren" in German dialects
The word “umfahren” has different meanings and apparently one of them is the opposite of the other.
etw. úmfahren: to hit sth by a vehicle
etw. umfáhren: to drive around sth
Example:
Du sollst das Tier umfahren.
Apparently the only way to…
Sadık
- 423
- 3
- 9
24
votes
8 answers
What is the best German translation for the useful word "issue" when describing a problem?
I would like to say the following in German:
Unfortunately, we could not reproduce the Save-as-XML issue that
you are experiencing on your computer.
but I cannot find a word other than "Problem" or "Fehler", which is too negative:
Leider…
Edward Tanguay
- 3,557
- 5
- 27
- 45
24
votes
6 answers
What's »Aldää« in »Ey jo, was geht, Aldää?«
As I was looking up the word ey in dict.cc, I noticed a rather interesting colloquial expression:
Ey jo, was geht, Aldää? [ugs.] = Whazzup? [coll.]
What does Aldää mean above? I could not find the word in the Duden or any of the four other online…
Eugene Str.
- 6,042
- 2
- 27
- 60
24
votes
6 answers
If »Geld« is neuter, then why not »genuges Geld«?
Usually one would say
Hast du genug Geld?
But I was thinking, as Geld is neuter, then shouldn't one say
Hast du genuges Geld?
Can some one please explain what is wrong with my thinking?
K. Thakur
- 635
- 6
- 10
24
votes
1 answer
Leerzeichen vor Einheiten?
Werden Mengen und Einheiten im Deutschen durch ein Leerzeichen getrennt?
12 m/s
1Å
Stefano Palazzo
- 3,708
- 27
- 36
24
votes
5 answers
Do you have to say "ungetoastetes Toast" to mean soft bread?
This is a light-hearted question. I've had two teenage exchange students, one from Berlin and one from Mönchengladbach, and they both insist that the German word "toast" means both a slice of bread and toast (in the English sense meaning "toasted…
Aeroradish
- 694
- 2
- 6
- 15
24
votes
2 answers
What is the difference between sollen and sollten?
Both translate to "should". I understand "sollten" is the past tense of "sollen" but sometimes I see "sollten" when I would expect "sollen."
Blubber
- 583
- 1
- 5
- 11
24
votes
2 answers
Abbreviating amounts of money
When talking about money, for instance as a cashier and you are giving the total, how do you typically do this?
In English I will typically say the amount as to separate numbers ($9.16 would be “nine sixteen” as opposed “nine dollars and sixteen…
user89
24
votes
4 answers
What is the literal meaning of "Hau ab!"?
If you want to tell somebody to go away you could shout:
"Hau ab!"
However this is considered as not very polite, much like "Get lost!", or "F*** off!". I am wondering where German "Hau ab" comes from to explain why it is considered as rude in…
Takkat
- 70,407
- 29
- 165
- 411
24
votes
4 answers
Deppen Leer Zeichen
Für falsch geschriebene Substantivverbindungen wie Holz Tisch statt Holztisch, oder häufiger Diät Apfel Saft statt Diätapfelsaft, insbesondere im Bereich Marketing und Produktbezeichnungen zu finden, wird oft der Begriff Deppenleerzeichen verwendet.…
user unknown
- 23,274
- 4
- 47
- 97
24
votes
5 answers
Is there a difference in meaning or correctness between “anderthalb” and “eineinhalb”?
I remember years ago being taught that “one and a half” is anderthalb, and being corrected when I mistakenly used eineinhalb, but I’ve heard eineinhalb a few times recently on the radio.
Any significant difference? A regional thing, perhaps?
Brian Nixon
- 1,029
- 1
- 6
- 20
24
votes
7 answers
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 slang words/idioms in German and especially English?
Hauser
- 5,778
- 5
- 32
- 63
24
votes
3 answers
Neuter gender for nouns referring to children
In German we say der Mann/die Frau, but then we say das Kind/das Mädchen, so I got two questions:
Are there particular historic and/or etymological reasons for this?
"Das Mädchen" refers to a female child, but does "Das Kind" refer only to male…
Alenanno
- 1,902
- 2
- 17
- 28