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1500 questions
18
votes
1 answer
Why do we have to make "peinlich" start with a capital letter and also end with -s in this sentence?
I just watched a youtube video. At 0:27, he says:
So, hast du schon irgendwas sehr Peinliches gemacht, wo du.....
My question is: why do we have to start "peinlich" with a capital letter? It is an adjective here. Also, why it ends with -s? Is it…
Dennis
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18
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4 answers
Use of the dative on inscriptions
On the Bundestag building, the inscription reads "dem deutschen Volke", the German people. It is in the dative case. Why is the nominative case "das deutsches Volk" not used?
Paul Shepherd
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18
votes
3 answers
Wie lautet die korrekte Schreibweise für eine Datumsangabe im Dativ?
Mir ist aufgefallen, dass viele Leute folgende Form für eine Datumsangabe verwenden.
Die Veranstaltung findet am Freitag, den 13. Mai 2011 statt.
In meinen Ohren klingt das seltsam, weil es grammatikalisch falsch ist. Es sollte meines Erachtens…
splattne
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18
votes
4 answers
Does the German language have some words used almost exclusively by/for young children?
In English, when speaking to children, adults sometimes use words like "doggie" for dog, "boo-boo" to refer to an injury, or "upsy-daisy" if a child falls. Do Germans have something similar when they speak to babies and young children?
L Becker
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18
votes
5 answers
Are there any words in German that are never to be used in polite conversation?
Preface
As most British English speakers know, there are three words never to be uttered in polite conversation:
The C-Word
The N-Word
The F-Word
Which grows to a list of seven words in American English, of which the funniest is toilet which…
Fabby
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18
votes
7 answers
How would you translate "mind you" in German
How would you translate the expression "mind you" in German, a phrase introducing something that should be taken into consideration. For example: "He's very well dressed, but mind you, he's got plenty of money to buy clothes".
iddober
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18
votes
5 answers
What is the correct answer to "alles klar"?
When someone asks me
"alles klar?"
what should I answer?
I would like to say something more than "ja". Is there a way to ask if they are doing ok too?
Badger Cat
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18
votes
9 answers
How would you translate “fremdschämen”?
I was hanging out with friends tonight and we were watching a documentary on (Australian) TV. There was this obnoxious main character. For all her actions habe ich mich fremdgeschämt, but I wasn’t able to explain the concept of fremdschämen in…
Amelse Etomer
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18
votes
3 answers
Why the frequent use of “Bad” in German place names (and does it mean something different than “bath”)?
Bad seems to be a frequent component of German place names (e.g. Bad Bergzabern, Bad Doberan, Bad Schandau ...) Why is this, and what is the meaning of Bad in this context?
TGM
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18
votes
2 answers
Was macht der Tabak im "Anno Tobak"?
Selten hört man den Ausdruck „Anno Tobak“, der wie „Anno dazumal“ scherzhaft auf eine unbestimmte, lange, meist zurückliegende Zeit hinweisen soll.
Manchmal wird „Anno Tobak“ auch für eine unbestimmt lange Zeit in der Zukunft eingesetzt:
Und bei…
Takkat
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18
votes
4 answers
What is the best way to say “gentle reminder” in German?
I need to use this phrase in formal correspondence with a business customer but don’t seem to be able to find enough verifiable sources on the internet with an appropriate German equivalent.
Freundliche or sanfte Erinnerung seem plausible, but could…
Kit
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18
votes
5 answers
4711, 08/15 and other numbers with some flair in German?
This weekend I played a detective mystery party game in German called "Im Irrenhaus".
The action of the game takes place in a mental health hospital. Every patient has a number and a name, both are known to everybody, but the rest — their personal…
Alexander Galkin
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18
votes
4 answers
What is the difference between “Brüder” and “Gebrüder”?
What is the difference between the words Brüder and Gebrüder? Is there a subtle difference in the meaning? Also is adding a Ge a grammatical construction in German which appears in other words as well?
Christian
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18
votes
5 answers
The difference in the usage of "Die Etage", "Das Geschoss" and "Der Stock"?
Auf der dritten Etage
Auf dem dritten Geschoss
Auf dem dritten Stock
All the above three phrases mean "on the third floor/storey" since Etage, Geschoss and Stock all mean "floor/storey" according to the dictionary. My question is how one…
mub
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18
votes
3 answers
What is the difference between "scheinbar" and "anscheinend"?
I often hear both variants:
Der Zug ist scheinbar schon abgefahren.
Der Zug ist anscheinend schon abgefahren.
Is there a difference in meaning or can both expressions be used interchangeably?
Takkat
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