umsonst

sonst wersonst einersonst jemand(ein) anderer

for nothing; for the sake of doing it (without expecting reply)


pseudonym

pseudonymously, in a pseudonymous manner


also

From Middle High German alles, from Old High German also, alsō (“as, like”); equivalent to all + so. Cognate with English also, as.

Heute bin ich beschäftigt. Also sollen wir uns morgen treffen?

I'm busy today. Should we meet tomorrow then?

then, thus, so, hence (Used to connect a sentence or clause with previous information.)

Kürbiskuchengewürz, also eine Mischung aus Zimt und anderen Gewürzen, ist zu dieser Jahreszeit sehr beliebt.

Pumpkin spice, a mixture of cinnamon and other spices, is very popular at this time of year.

Used to introduce additional information about something previously mentioned.

Also sprach Zarathustra. Und damals weilte er in der Stadt, welche genannt wird: die bunte Kuh.

1883–1885, Friedrich Nietzsche, “Von den drei Verwandlungen”, in Also sprach Zarathustra […] , Erster Theil; republished as Alexander Tille, transl., Thus Spake Zarathustra, 1896:

Thus spake Zarathustra when he stayed in the town which is called : The Cow of Many Colours.


nu

From Middle High German nu, nuo. The form without a final -n remained common in some dialects and was reinforced by German Low German nu, from Middle Low German nû.

(colloquial or archaic) Alternative form of nun


um

From Middle High German umbe, ümbe, from Old High German umbi, from Proto-West Germanic *umbi.
Central German dialects show regular umlaut; the standard form is from Upper German, where umlaut of -u- was blocked before labial geminates and clusters. Cognate with Luxembourgish ëm, Dutch om, English umbe.

turned over, changed, from one state to another


dar

Inherited from Old High German dār. See dar-.


nicht

common speech; quasi-standard in northern and central Germany; alternations as above

From Middle High German niwiht, niweht, niht, a contracted form of Old High German niowiht, from nio (“never”) + wiht (“being, creature”), the last from Proto-Germanic *wihtą.

Bitte nicht stören!

Das ist nicht wahr.

not, non- (negates the meaning of a verb, adjective, or adverb)


rite

Solange die Forderung nur eine künftige ist, darf für eine rite zustande gekommene Bestellung der Hypothek auch der öffentliche Glaube des Grundbuchs (§§ 892 I, 1138) nur den Rechtsschein einer Hypothek für eine künftige Forderung begründen.

2021, Jan Wilhelm, Sachenrecht (De Gruyter Handbuch), 7th edition, →ISBN, Rn. 1456, page 879:

(literary, rare) strictly in accordance with the rules


was

From Middle High German waz, from Old High German waz, hwaz, from Proto-Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷod. Cognate with Bavarian was, wås, Silesian East Central German woas (was), Dutch wat, English what, Danish hvad. Doublet of wat.

wat

in western and parts of northern Germany

Ich komm was später.

Was bist du heute so stumm?

(interrogative, colloquial) why, what for


her

From Middle High German her, from Old High German hera. Cognate to German Low German her.

Komm her!

hither, to this place, to here, to me/us

Es ist zehn Jahre her, dass ich das letzte Mal Auto gefahren bin.

Ten years ago was the last time I drove a car.


safe

English safe, originally borrowed in the context of safe sex (safer Sex, 1980s), later generalized.

"Willst du 'nen Film gucken?" -"Safe!"

Ich werde es safe vergessen.

(youth slang) definitely, absolutely, sure


man

From Middle Low German man. A contraction of Old Saxon newan (“none other than”). Compare a similar contraction in Dutch maar (“only”).

Komm man hier rüber!

Das sind man dreißig Stück oder so.

(colloquial, regional, Northern Germany) just; only


an

From Middle High German an(e), from Old High German ana, from Proto-West Germanic *ana, from Proto-Germanic *ana.

von heute an


hier

From Middle High German hier, from Old High German hier, from Proto-West Germanic *hēr. Cognate with Dutch hier, English here, Swedish här.
The predominant form in Middle High German and throughout modern dialects of High German is hie (and variants) with loss of the final -r. The form hier begins to gain ground from the late 16th century (in spite of Luther’s usage), which may point to influence by cognate Middle Low German hīr, hēr (where no r-less form seems to exist; but compare modern Limburgish heej).

Ich bin hier in diesem Dorf geboren.

Setzen wir uns hier aufs Sofa.

(location) here; in this place; refers to an environment one is currently in, or to something within reach

Die Kirche ist gleich hier am Ende der Straße.

The church is right there at the end of the street.

Siehst du die Wolke hier neben der Bergspitze?

Can you see that cloud there next to the mountain top?

(location) there; right there; in that place; refers to something that is considered nearby, or can be seen and pointed at

Die Frist wurde hier überhaupt nicht erwähnt.

The deadline was not mentioned here at all.

Die Kneipe hier ist sehr beliebt.

Hier der Stuhl ist kaputt.

Dieser Schrank hier ist 200 Jahre alt.

used with the definite article or the determiner dieser (“this, that”) to express proximity (“this”)


so

From Middle High German sō, from Old High German sō, from Proto-West Germanic *swā, from Proto-Germanic *swa, *swē, compare with Old Dutch so and Dutch zo.

Die Leute sind so nett.

Dieser Hammer ist nicht so gut.

Das ist so eine gute Idee!

so und so

Er rennt so schnell wie der Blitz.

as (followed by an adjective or adverb plus wie in a statement of equality)

Wenn du den Ball so wirfst, triffst du die Zielscheibe.

If you throw the ball like this, you'll hit the target.

thus, like this/that, in this/that way, in this/that manner

Wirst du wieder gesund, so freue ich mich.

If you get healthy again, then I'll be happy.

Wir sind runtergegangen und haben uns hier so hingesetzt.

We went downstairs and, like, sat down here.

(colloquial) expletive; sometimes intensifying, sometimes with no noticeable meaning


rin

Rin in die gute Stube!

Ja, nu man rin, immer man rin, Kinderchen, das kleene Frauchen auch, ist woll bedudelt, hat recht, goldrecht hat die.

1929, Alfred Döblin, Berlin Alexanderplatz, Olten, Freiburg im Breisgau: Walter Verlag, published 1961, →ISBN, page 170:

(regional, colloquial) Alternative form of rein (“inside”)


bitter

From Middle High German bitter, pitter, from Old High German bittar, from Proto-West Germanic *bitr.


sicher

From Middle High German siher, from Old High German sihur, from Proto-West Germanic *sikur (“secure, sure”).


mal

From the noun Mal (“time”). Partly shortened from einmal, which is also derived from the noun.

sechs mal sieben ist zweiundvierzig

times (indicating multiplication of two numbers)

Wenn du in Köln bist, musst du mal bei deiner Tante anrufen.

When you’re in Cologne, you must call your aunt sometime.

Ich geh mal zum Kaffeestand.

(going to the coffee stall was not discussed at the moment)

(informal) Alternative form of einmal (“sometime, ever, once”), may serve to introduce a new information.

einmal

Haben Sie mal Feuer?

(can not imply that the asker is offering his lighter)

Haste Feuer?
D'ya have fire?

may imply that the asker is offering his lighter

Du musst mal deine Tante anrufen.

(informal) Softening a sentence, thus making a request or command more polite. By extension, indicating a command or request.


still

From Middle High German stille, from Old High German stilli, from Proto-West Germanic *stillī.


live

(broadcast, event) live (as it happens, in real time, directly)


hart

From Middle High German hart, Old High German hart, from Proto-West Germanic *hard(ī), from Proto-Germanic *harduz, from Proto-Indo-European *kortús (“strong; powerful”). Cognate with Low German hard, hart, Dutch hard, English hard, Danish hård.

der

Sie haben die ganze Woche hart gearbeitet.

+obj

close [with an (+ dative) ‘to someone/something’]


wallah

Borrowed from Arabic وَٱللّٰه (wal-lāh, “I swear by God”), likely via Turkish valla.

bor+

(slang) (tag question, rather formal) right?


original

Borrowed from French original, from Old French original, from Late Latin orīginālis (“primitive, original”), from Latin orīgō (“beginning, source, origin”). Doublet of originell.

der

Wo ist jetzt diese verdammte Schachtel? Hier finde ich original nichts wieder.

1997, Alexa Hennig von Lange, chapter 1, in Relax:

(colloquial, intensifier) really, actually


langsam

From Middle High German lancsam, from Old High German lancsam, from Proto-West Germanic *langasam (“lengthy, long-lasting”), equivalent to lang + -sam.

inh

Das Auto fährt langsam.

Draußen wird es langsam heißer.

slowly (at a slow pace), gradually, carefully


rein

From Middle High German reine, from Old High German reini, from Proto-West Germanic *hrainī, from Proto-Germanic *hrainiz, from Proto-Indo-European *króy-n-is, from *krey- (“divide, sift”). Cognate with Old Saxon hreni, (Low German ren), Dutch rein, Old Norse hreinn (Swedish ren), Ancient Greek κρῑ́νω (krī́nō, “separate, decide, judge”), Old Irish criathar, English riddle (“sieve”).

cog

Unsere Beziehung ist rein platonisch.


rein

Contraction of herein (“in here”), or hinein (“in there”).

Er kommt jetzt rein.

Er geht rein zu den andern.


fast

From Old High German fasto, compare fest. Cognate with English adverb fast. Compare Dutch vast.

Fast 60 Spielfilme sind zu sehen.

There are almost 60 feature films to see.

ALs nu Abram in Egypten kam / sahen die Egypter das Weib / das sie fast schön war.

1545, Martin Luther et al., “Biblia”, in Gen 12:14, Hans Lufft:

Now as Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was extremely beautiful.


links

From Middle High German linkes, originally the genitive of linc, whence modern link; see there for more. Cognate with Dutch links.

Siehst du das Auto links?

An der nächsten Ampel links abbiegen.

Wir gehen nach links.

links verbügeln

From Atemschaukel (originally 2009) by Herta Müller:.
Die Frauen stellten sich zum Zählappell in die Reihe, sagten ihre Namen und die Nummer, machten die Taschen der Pufoaikas links und zeigten in jeder Hand ihre zwei Kartoffeln.

The women stood in rows to be counted, said their names and numbers, turned their pockets of their fufaikas inside out and showed their two potatoes in each hand.


nah

From Middle High German nāh, from Old High German nāh, from Proto-West Germanic *nāhw, from Proto-Germanic *nēhw. Compare English nigh. Doublet of nach.

nahe

dated or very formal; also a preposition, which is formal too

near (in space or time or in an abstract sense)


schnell

desc

→ Russian: шнель (šnelʹ), шнеле (šnele), шнеля (šnelja, “quickly; go”)

From Middle High German snel, from Old High German snel (“nimble, brave, quick, lively”), from Proto-Germanic *snellaz (“active, bold, quick”). Cognate with Dutch snel, English snell. More at snell.

inh

Wie heißt er schnell?

again; quick; used after a question to imply that one ought to know the answer


echt

From Middle High German echt, borrowed from Middle Low German echt (“lawful, genuine”). The original form is Middle Low German ēhaft (“lawful”), from ē (“law”) (related to modern Ehe); then ēhacht by the Low German development -ft- → -cht- (compare Nichte); and eventually contracted into echt. Cognate to Old High German ēhaft (“honourable”) and Dutch echt.

der

Das war echt gut.


gut

head

gut (comparative besser, superlative am besten)

besser (comparative)
am besten (superlative)

Inherited from Middle High German guot, from Old High German guot, from Proto-West Germanic *gōd, from Proto-Germanic *gōdaz, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ- (“to unite, be associated, suit”).
Cognates
Cognate to Luxembourgish gutt, Silesian East Central German gutt, Dutch goed, West Frisian goed, Saterland Frisian goud, English good, Danish god, Norwegian god and Swedish god.

der

Die Mannschaft hat gut gespielt.

well (accurately, competently, satisfactorily)

Ich wohne seit gut zwanzig Jahren in Berlin.

I've lived in Berlin for over twenty years/for a good twenty years.

Das Bett ist gut zwei Meter lang.

The bed is a little over two meters long.

Dieser Gegenstand ist gut zu finden.

Es kann gut sein, dass du nächstes Jahr verheiratet bist.


mega

Das ist megaeinfach.

Er freute sich mega.

(colloquial, somewhat childish) very, super


mies

Borrowed from Yiddish מיאוס (mies, “ugly”).

bor+

Das war doch mies lustig

(colloqial) very, severely, extremely, insanely


gewöhnlich

/ɡəˈvøːnlɪç/

Wohin reist du gewöhnlich im Sommer?

Ich reise gewöhnlich nach Berlin.


bald

head

bald (comparative eher or früher, superlative am ehesten or frühesten)

eher (comparative)
früher (comparative)
am ehesten (superlative)
frühesten (superlative)

From Middle High German balde, from Old High German baldo, adverb of bald, pald, from Proto-West Germanic *balþ, from Proto-Germanic *balþaz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-. Cognate with Dutch boud, English bold.

Bald ist der Urlaub vorbei.

Mit bald 80 Jahren ist mein Vater noch auf Apfelbäume geklettert.

At almost 80 years, my father still used to climb on apple trees.

bald Regen und bald Sonnenschein

Zwischen den Reitern drängten sich Fußgänger; bald im einfachen Flanellhemd und den riemengegürteten Hosen des Westens, bald in eleganten Anzügen und tadelloser weißer Wäsche.

1911, Erwin Rosen [pseudonym; Erwin Carlé], Der Deutsche Lausbub in Amerika [The German prankster in America], page 161:

(repeated) Indicates a quick succession of events.


ohne

From Middle High German āne (“without”), from Old High German āna, ānu, āno (“without”), from Proto-Germanic *ēnu, *ēnō (“without”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁(n̥)new.
Cognate with Yiddish אָן (on), Old Saxon āno (“without”), Old Frisian ōni (“without”), Old Norse án, ón (“without”), English on, ohn (“without”), Ancient Greek ἄνευ (áneu, “without”), Gothic 𐌹𐌽𐌿 (inu, “without”).

Ich mag Fußball, aber ich kann auch ohne leben.

I like soccer, but I could live without.


etwas

From Old High German eddeshwaz, from edde- + hwaz (edde- = some, hwaz = what). Compare Icelandic eitthvað, Dutch ietwat.


mit

From Middle High German mite, mit, from Old High German miti, mit, from Proto-West Germanic *midi. Cognate with German Low German met, mihe- (separable part of verbs) (Paderbornisch) and Middle English mid (“with”).

mim

colloquial contraction with definite article dem; not used in standard German

Hier gibt es mit das beste Essen in der Stadt.

Here they have some of the best food in town.

Ich war mit der erste, der hier war.

I was one of the very first who arrived.

among; denotes a belonging of a person or a thing to a group

also, too (in addition; besides; as well)

Ich brauch nicht unbedingt Majonäse zu den Fritten, aber mit sind sie natürlich besser.

I don't necessarily need mayonnaise with the chips, but they taste better with it, of course.

(somewhat informal) with (something), with it


böse

From Middle High German bœse, bōse, from Old High German bōsi, from Proto-West Germanic *bausī, from Proto-Germanic *bausuz (“inflated, puffed up, arrogant, bad”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰew-, *bew- (“to blow, inflate, swell”), akin to Yiddish בייז (beyz), Dutch boos, and English boast.


los

From Middle High German and Old High German lōs. Compare English loose.

regionally; chiefly as interjection or when meaning “going on”

Ich bin meine Erkältung los.

Morgen fahren wir los.

Ich muss los.

off, out, used to indicate leaving motion.

Hier ist einiges los.

Was ist los?

What's going on? / What's up? / What's wrong?

Die Tür stand los.

(colloquial, regional, Westphalia, Lower Saxony) open


schön

Inherited from Middle High German schœne, from Old High German scōni, from Proto-West Germanic *skaunī, from Proto-Germanic *skauniz.


auf

From Middle High German ūf, from Old High German ūf, from Proto-Germanic *upp. This form with a lengthened vowel is originally Upper German. Central German forms were Middle High German uf and (western) up. Compare Luxembourgish op, Dutch op, English up.

Hast du deine Suppe auf?

Die Milch is’ auf.

Ich war um sechs Uhr auf.


mehr

From Middle High German mēre, from Old High German mēro, from Proto-West Germanic *maiʀō, from Proto-Germanic *maizô, from Proto-Indo-European *mē- (“many”). See English more for more.

immer mehr

Er ist kein Kind mehr

Ich mag dich nicht mehr.

nicht mehr lange

nichts mehr

nie mehr

(with negation) no longer, never again, nothing more, not anymore


je

Und nun kommt die Reformation selbst. Die größte geistige Umwälzung, die je ein Volk des Abendlandes erlebt hat.

1930, Paul Joachimsen, Der Humanismus und die Entwicklung des deutschen Geistes, in: Deutsche Vierteljahrsschrift für Literaturwissenschaft und Geistesgeschichte, 8, page 467:

And now comes the Reformation itself. The largest spiritual upheaval that was ever experienced by a nation of the Occident.

je mehr, desto besser

je früher, umso besser

(with “desto”, “umso” or (dated) “je”) the


jedoch

From Middle High German iedoch, idoch, ēdoch, from Old High German iodoh, iothoh. Equivalent to je + doch. Compare Dutch edoch.

Ich mag Schokolade, jedoch bevorzuge ich Äpfel.

(conjunctive) however, yet, nevertheless


ganz

From Middle High German ganz, from Old High German ganz (“whole, sound, healthy, complete, fullstanding”), from Proto-West Germanic *gant (“whole, sound”).

inh

Das Herrenhaus in Burkahnen war ein ganz altes Gebäude, […]

1918, Elisabeth von Heyking, “Aus dem Lande der Ostseeritter”, in Zwei Erzählungen, Phillipp Reclam jun., page 73:

The manor house in Burkahnen was a very old building, […]

1903, Fanny zu Reventlow, Ellen Olestjerne, in Franziska Gräfin zu Reventlow: Gesammelte Werke, Albert Langen, page 580

The church was entirely empty, the sun shone through the arched windows and up there someone played the organ.

Die Kirche war ganz leer, die Sonne leuchtete durch die Bogenfenster, und droben spielte jemand auf der Orgel.


kalt

From Middle High German and Old High German kalt, from Proto-West Germanic *kald.
Cognates
Cognate to Low German kold, koolt, Dutch koud, English cold, Danish kold, Swedish kall.

Ich zahle 550 € kalt für meine Wohnung.

(of rent-paying) as base rent; excluding utilities


besonders

Ich mag Musik, besonders Rock.

besonders gut

Sei besonders leise.

besonders behandeln


bar

From Middle High German and Old High German bar.


zuvor

tzuvor, tzu vor (14th century); equivalent to zu + vor.

Sie trug wesentlich dazu bei, dass der zuvor beliebte König in Ungnade fiel.

She contributed greatly to the fall from grace of the previously popular king.


abend

Formerly standard spelling of Abend which was deprecated in the spelling reform (Rechtschreibreform) of 1996.


davon

From Middle High German dāvon, darvon, dar von, equivalent to da + von. Cognate with Dutch daarvan.

Bleibt davon!

das kommt davon

er ist nicht davon

from it, from that, therefrom, off it, off that


net

Hab ich’s dir net erzählt?

(Austria, Southern Germany, parts of Central Germany, colloquial) Alternative form of nicht (“not”)


zurück

Middle High German zerucke; zu- + Rücken; the former was zuo, zū, ze and the latter was rücke, rucke, rück, ruck, rügge, rugge in Middle High German.
Cognate with Hunsrik zurick and Dutch terug.


bloß

From Middle High German bloß, from Middle High German blōȥ, from Old High German blōz (“bare, naked”), from Proto-West Germanic *blaut, from Proto-Germanic *blautaz (“void, emaciated, soft”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlaw- (“weak, frightened”).
Cognate with Dutch bloot (“bare, naked”), Danish blød (“soft, weak”), Swedish blott (“merely, just”), French blouse. More at blouse.

der

K. hatte sich entschlossen, mehr zu beobachten als zu reden, infolgedessen verzichtete er auf die Verteidigung wegen seines angeblichen Zuspätkommens und sagte bloß: „Mag ich zu spät gekommen sein, jetzt bin ich hier.“

c. 1914, Franz Kafka, Der Prozess [The Trial], Berlin: Die Schmiede, published 1925, page 68:

K. had decided to observe more than speak, consequently he abstained from the defense about his alleged coming late and only said: „May I have come too late, now I am here.“

Pass bloß auf!

(colloquial, modal particle) Used to add emphasis or to respond to a request.


denn

From Middle High German denne, tenne, from Old High German denna, a variant of danne (see dann). The functional split between denn and dann was prescribed only by the grammarians of the 18th century. Cognate with English then.

Wo ist er denn?

Where is he, then?/Where ever can he be?

Wieso denn?

Was denn?

(in a question, modal particle) then, ever, but, now used for emphasis or to express interest, surprise or doubt, or in rhetorical questions

(rather rare) thus, so; expresses a consequence; see usage notes

(colloquial, regional, Northern Germany) then, after that, in that case


rechts

recht (“right”) + -s (“adverbial suffix”).

af

Siehst du das Auto rechts?

An der nächsten Ampel rechts abbiegen.

Wir gehen nach rechts.


aber

From Middle High German aber, aver, from Old High German aber, ābar, abur, aver, avur, afur, from Proto-Germanic *aferą (“behind”). Compare Bavarian owa (“but”), Luxembourgish awer (“but”), Saterland Frisian oaber (“but”), Middle Low German āver, German Low German aver (“but”).

Das ist aber teuer.

That's rather expensive. ≈ That's more expensive than I would’ve thought.

Du bist aber groß geworden!

Look how tall you’ve become! (said to a child)

(qualifier) rather; quite; unusually; used with adjectives to express a surprising degree, whether this surprise be real or for effect

Die Wohnung ist zwar klein, ich würde sie aber gerne nehmen.

The apartment is small, nevertheless I would like to take it.


nur

→ Esperanto: nur
Ido: nur

From late Middle High German nuor, contracted from older niwer, newære, from Old High German niwāri, ni wāri (“were it not”). Cognate with Yiddish נאָר (nor), Dutch maar, Old English nǣre.

Nur reife Kirschen dürfen auf den Kuchen.

Du musst nur die Werte eingeben und den Rest macht der Computer.

You just have to enter the values and the computer will do the rest.

Ich helfe dir, wo ich nur kann.

Wir könnten es versuchen. Nur wären die Risiken sehr hoch.

We could try. The risks would be very high, however.


recht

From Middle High German rëht, from Old High German reht, from Proto-West Germanic *reht (“right, straight”).
Cognates:
Compare Yiddish רעכט (rekht), Icelandic réttur, Dutch recht, English right, Danish ret.

Recht

a right, privilege; a title, claim; the law

Es ist recht warm heute Abend.

recht klein

ganz recht


zu

From a spelling merger of two interrelated adpreps: 1.) Middle High German ze, from Old High German za, zi, from Proto-Germanic *ta; and 2.) Middle High German zuo, from Old High German zuo, from Proto-Germanic *tō. A distinction between both words has widely been retained in dialects, and also to some degree in modern spoken German (see pronunciation section below). Cognate with Silesian East Central German zu (contractions with the definite article: zum m or n, zur f); Dutch te, toe; Old Saxon tō; English to, too.

zu schnell

(with adjectives and adverbs) too (excessively)

Dieses Essen ist zu lecker!

(somewhat informal) shut; closed; locked

ahead, on (along, forwards (continuing an action))

"Wann willst du denn los?"
"Um 10? Nur wenn du da Lust zu hast."
"When did you wanna go?"
"At 10? Only if you're up for it."

(colloquial) As a separated part of dazu or wozu


nach

sometimes alternatively as a preposition, unless stressed

From Middle High German nāh, from Old High German nāh with preservation of word-final -h as -ch; thus pertaining to modern nah (“near”) (from Old High German inflected nāh-), from Proto-West Germanic *nāhw, from Proto-Germanic *nēhw. Cognate with Dutch na, English nigh.

Meine Uhr geht nach.

(in compound verbs) after, behind, later, next to


nie

From Middle High German nio, from Old High German nio.

Das ist nie passiert!

Wir werden die Wahrheit wohl nie erfahren.

never, never at all (referring to an indefinite period of time)

Er hat sich in zwei Wochen nie die Haare gewaschen.

never, not once (referring to a defined period of time; see usage notes below)


gar

From Middle High German gare (inflected garw-), from Old High German garo, from Proto-West Germanic *garu, from Proto-Germanic *garwaz.
Cognate with Dutch gaar, archaic English yare (“keen, lively, eager”). Related to gerben.

Sie hat gar kein Geld.

Er ist gar nicht gekommen.

He didn't even show up. / He didn't show up at all.

Ein Verbot sollte es nach Ansicht vieler Ökonomen auch für die sogenannten Leerverkäufe geben. Banken verkaufen dabei Aktien oder Währungen, die sie noch gar nicht besitzen oder allenfalls geliehen haben.

2010, Der Spiegel, number 25/2010, page 80:

In the opinion of many economists, there should also exist a prohibition for the so-called short sales. In these, banks sell shares or currencies that they do not own at all yet or have borrowed at best.

Ist er ein Dieb? Ein Räuber? Oder gar ein Mörder?

Is he a thief? A robber? Or even a murderer?

(chiefly formal or literary) even; expressing a climax

Wenn er gar zu frech wird, geben Sie ihm eine kräftige Ohrfeige.

If he becomes all too impertinent, give him a sturdy slap.

(chiefly formal or literary, with zu) all

Das war gar frech von dir!

1845, Heinrich Hoffmann, Die gar traurige Geschichte mit dem Feuerzeug (Struwwelpeter):

(Austria, Switzerland, otherwise archaic, poetic) very; quite; really


just

Derived from Latin iūste, iūstus, perhaps via Middle Dutch juust.

just in dem Moment als…

Sie ging just vorbey.

1808, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust: Der Tragödie erster Teil [Faust, Part One]:


weg

northern and central Germany; becoming rare for this particular word

Shortened from Middle High German enwec, from Old High German in weg, corresponding to modern in + Weg. The first syllable is still seen in dialectal forms with e-; compare Luxembourgish ewech. Cognate with Dutch weg, Hunsrik wech, English away.

Geh weg!

Meine Tasche ist weg.

Das Rezept ist mit Knoblauch, aber du kannst ihn auch weglassen.

(literally, “... you can also leave it away.”)

The recipe is with garlic, but you can also do it without.

Wo bist du denn weg?


ja

Austrian German, common in casual speech as an influence of the Austro-Bavarian language

From Middle High German ja, from Old High German ja, jā (“yes”), from Proto-Germanic *ja (“yes”).

Willst du das? Ja.

Aber ja!

Es kann ja nicht immer so bleiben.

Der Peter war ja gestern krank.

(intensifier) obviously; certainly; of course; really; just; as you know; as is generally known (indicates and emphasises that one is expressing a known fact)


da

From a merger of three interrelated adverbs: 1.) Middle High German dā, dār (“there, at that place”), from Old High German thār, dār, from Proto-West Germanic *þār. 2.) Middle High German dar, dare (“thither, to that place”), from Old High German thara, dara, from an extended form of the former. 3.) Middle High German dō, duo (“then, at that time”), from Old High German thō, dō, duo, from Proto-Germanic *þō.
The three forms were already sometimes intermingled in Old and Middle High German. The eventual loss of the distinction in modern German was reinforced by phonetic mergers in various dialects. Today, the senses of adverbs 1 and 3 are covered by da, while adverb 2 has been chiefly replaced with hin, dahin. The form dar- remains as a variant of da- before vowels and in some compound verbs (like darlegen, darbringen). Adverb 1 and 2 are cognate with Dutch daar, English there, Swedish där. Adverb 3 is cognate with Dutch toen.

Am liebsten entfloh sie dem allem in den großen Garten. Da verbrachte sie ihre schönsten Stunden.

1918, Elisabeth von Heyking, “Aus dem Lande der Ostseeritter”, in Zwei Erzählungen, Phillipp Reclam jun., page 78:

She liked best to escape from all of that into the big garden. There she spent her most pleasant hours.

Wir fahren nach Hamburg. Meine Frau hat eine Freundin, die da wohnt.

We’re going to Hamburg. My wife has a friend who lives there.

Die Gäste sind noch nicht da.

Ich war gerade eingeschlafen, und da kam ein Anruf.

I had just fallen asleep, and that’s when someone called.

Er hat immer weiter auf mich eingeschrien. Da bin ich einfach gegangen.

He just kept on shouting at me. So I just left.

Ich wollte eigentlich Linsensuppe machen, aber da (= dafür, dazu) hatte ich das Rezept nicht.

I was actually going to make lentil soup, but I didn’t have the recipe for it.

Wir haben jetzt ein Angebot gekriegt, aber da (= darüber) müssen wir noch diskutieren.

We’ve now received an offer, but we’ll still need to have discussion about that.

pronominal adverb
pronominal adverb#English

(colloquial) replaces any pronominal adverb when the context is clear


mau

head

mau (comparative mauer, superlative am mausten)

mauer (comparative)
am mausten (superlative)

Probably a blend of matt + flau, maybe with influence from mauen in the older sense of "to be weepy/annoying."

Die Geschäfte gehen mau.


nun

From Middle High German nu, nū, nuo with a secondary final -n, already occasionally in Middle High German nuon, from Old High German nu, from Proto-West Germanic *nū.

Wir haben abgewaschen, nun müssen wir noch abtrocknen.

We've washed up, now we must dry [the dishes].

Was bedeuten nun die geschilderten Entwicklungen für unser Land?

Now what do the aforementioned developments mean for our country?

now, then; expressing a logical or temporal consequence

Was soll das nun heißen?

unstressed and expletive, used for minor emphasis


ever

Das war das geilste Konzert ever.

Signa-Immobiliengesellschaften insolvent: Größte Pleite ever in Österreich [title]

2023 December 28, Florian Bayer, “Größte Pleite ever in Österreich”, in Die Tageszeitung: taz, →ISSN:

(colloquial, originally youth slang) ever (with superlative)


aus

From Middle High German ūz, from Old High German ūz (“out”) from Proto-West Germanic *ūt. Compare Dutch uit, English out, Danish ud. Doublet of out.


bereits

Ich weiß das bereits.

Wir müssen aufstehen: Es ist bereits 8 Uhr.

We have to get up: it's already 8 o'clock

2010 July 12, Gerald Traufetter, “Grüner fliegen”, in Der Spiegel, number 28, archived from the original on 2010-09-30, page 109:
Optimistischen Schätzungen zufolge könnte im Jahr 2040 bereits die Hälfte des Flugzeugsprits aus biologischen Quellen stammen.
According to optimistic estimates, already half of the airplane fuel could originate from biological sources in the year 2040.


wie

From Middle High German wie, a merger of two interrelated forms: 1.) Old High German hwio, from older hwēo, from Proto-Germanic *hwaiwa; cognate with Gothic 𐍈𐌰𐌹𐍅𐌰 (ƕaiwa). 2.) Old High German hwē, hwie, from Proto-Germanic *hwē; cognate with Gothic 𐍈𐌴 (ƕē). The latter is a variant of Proto-Germanic *hwī, whence English why, and is further a fossilized instrumental case of *hwaz, *hwat (“who, what”). Form 1 is also related to this stem.

Wie groß bist du?

Ich weiß nicht, wie die Katze hereingekommen ist.

Wie wunderbar!


überall

Wir haben überall nach dem Ball gesucht.

Der Ball könnte überall sein.

Ich hab’s überall mit probiert, aber der Fleck geht nicht raus.

I’ve tried it with everything, but the stain won’t come out.

(colloquial, regional, chiefly northern and central Germany) forms prepositional adverbs of alles (“everything”)

Davon hab ich überall noch nie gehört.

I’ve never heard about all those things.

(colloquial, regional, chiefly northern and central Germany) is added to a prepositional adverb in order to express that the latter includes a wide variety of items


apropos

Apropos, Spanien: Wir fliegen ja nächsten Monat nach Madrid.

Speaking of Spain, you know we’re flying to Madrid next month.


über

per se western German, and Berlin to a lesser extent, but also elsewhere when unstressed

From Middle High German über, from Old High German ubiri, ubari, from Proto-Germanic *ubiri, from Proto-Indo-European *upéri, from *upér (ultimately from *upo + *-i). Cognate with Ancient Greek ὑπέρ (hupér, “above”), Latin super (“above”), Sanskrit उपरि (upári, “above, upper”), Hindi ऊपर (ūpar, “above, top, up”), Odia ଉପର (upara, “above, up”) and Punjabi ਉੱਪਰ (uppar, “above, top, up”).
Akin to Dutch over, English over, Danish over, Norwegian over, Swedish över, Icelandic yfir, Faroese yvir.

über und über


anno

Borrowed from Latin annō, ablative of annus. Compare Dutch anno.

anno 2019

anno dazumal


ein

Related to in (like also ein-), from Old High German in, from Proto-Germanic *in, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁én. Compare English in-.

ein und aus gehen, weder ein noch aus wissen

derein, feldein, hafenein, herein, hierein, hinein, jahrein, waldein (older spellings include Wald-ein), worein

Rund herum gerieth Alles in Flammen. Eine Menge Kugeln aus der Festung schlugen dicht neben, über und hinter uns, oder mit fürchterlichem Geprassel in den Wald ein; keine aber traf und der Himmel beschützte uns wunderbar.

1843, Carl Friedrich Friccius, Geschichte des Krieges in den Jahren 1813 und 184. Mit besonderer Rücksicht auf Ostpreussen und das Königsbergsche Landwehrbataillon, page 418:

(now chiefly in compounds) indicating (concrete or abstract/metaphorical) motion into something


magna cum laude

summa cum laude = sehr gut mit Auszeichnung


doll

Occasionally found in older texts, but chiefly introduced to standard German during the 20th century from Central German and German Low German dialects, from northern Middle High German dol and Middle Low German dol, from Old Saxon dol, from Proto-Germanic *dulaz. Doublet of toll (“great; crazy”), which compare.

Du musst doller drücken, sonst geht es nicht.

You need to push harder, otherwise it won't work.

Wir feiern laut und doll bis alle auf den Tischen springen / Und am Höhepunkt der Party fangen wir laut an zu singen.

1995, “Meh' Bier”, in Auf einem Auge blöd, performed by Fettes Brot:

We party hard and loudly until everyone climbs the tables / And in the party's climax we start singing loudly.

(informal) firmly, hard, forcefully, vehemently, strong (of actions, also of emotions)


normal

Er hat sich ganz normal benommen.

(standard) ordinarily, normally, in a normal fashion

Normal geh ich früh ins Bett.

(colloquial) Alternative form of normalerweise: usually, normally, in general


sui generis

Ausgerechnet wir Deutschen, Stellvertreter der Effizienznation sui generis, suchen die Langsamkeit.

2017 November 19, Michael Brake, “Vom Glück, für sich alleine zu kochen: Me, myself and Ei”, in Die Tageszeitung: taz, →ISSN:

Eine Abgrenzung zu diesen finde kaum statt, deren Aussagen würden „verleugnet oder als unproblematisch“ bewertet. Durch die Vermischung verschiedener Ideologien könne ein neuer Extremismus „sui generis“ entstehen.

2020 December 9, Konrad Litschko, “Innenministerkonferenz zu Querdenkern: Neue Härte”, in Die Tageszeitung: taz, →ISSN:

(sciences, law, higher register, postpositive) sui generis (forming a class of its own)


ma

Pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling

(colloquial) Pronunciation spelling of mal.


ur

From Middle High German ur-, from Old High German ur-, ir- (“thoroughly”), from Proto-Germanic *uz- (“out”).

Das ist ur super!

Ich hab' ur nicht gewusst, was ich tun soll.

Das ist ur der Trottel!

Das ist der ur Trottel!

(Austria, Vienna, colloquial) very, quite, really, total, totally, absolutely


oft

oft (comparative öfter, superlative am öftesten)

öfter (comparative)
am öftesten (superlative)

From Middle High German ofte, oft, uft, from Old High German ofta, ofto, oftu, from Proto-Germanic *ufta, *uftō (“often”). Cognate with Dutch oft, English oft and often.


hie

From Middle High German hie, hī, from Old High German hia, alternative form of hiar, from Proto-West Germanic *hēr.

(archaic) Alternative form of hier (“here”)


extra

Das Wrack wurde mit extra entworfenen Bergungskränen gehoben.

The wreck was lifted with specifically designed salvage cranes.

Das hab ich doch nich’ extra gemacht!

Können Sie mir die Fritten und die Wurst extra abpacken?

Could you wrap the fries and the sausage separately?

Vorsicht! Der Tee is’ extra heiß!


remis

Das Spiel endete remis.

(chess, sports) in a draw; the result being a draw


eh

From Middle High German ē (“earlier, ere”), originally ēr. Modern Standard German uses the lengthened form ehe (only as a conjunction).

Du brauchst nicht laufen. Du kriegst die Bahn eh nicht.

No need to run. You won’t catch the tram anyways.

Nach der Einzellösung ist § 22 StGB für jeden Mittäter gesondert und individuell zu betrachten. Nur wer selbst unmittelbar ansetzt bzw. wer im Gesamtversuchsstadium seinen eigenen Tatbeitrag erbringt, kann wegen einer versuchten mittäterschaftlichen Tat bestraft werden. Bei der versuchten Mittäterschaft soll danach nicht die wechselseitige Zurechnung der Gesamtlösung gelten. Diese enge Ansicht beruht vor allem auf der Annahme, dass man eh nur Mittäter sein kann, wenn man einen tatherrschaftlichen Beitrag in der Ausführungsphase erbringt.

2020, Joachim Kretschmer, “Unmittelbares Ansetzen (§ 22 StGB) bei mittelbarer Täterschaft und bei Mittäterschaft”, in Juristische Arbeitsblätter, number 8, pages 588–589:

Aus Sicht der Grünen ginge es CDU und FDP nicht um einen Badesee, der eh nicht möglich wäre, sondern um die teuren Grundstücke an einem Untersee.

2023 May 7, “Kritik von Grünen in Bielefeld: Wieder Streit um Johannisbachaue”, in Radio Bielefeld:

From the view of the Greens, CDU and FDP are not about a swimming lake, which would not be feasible anyway, but rather the expensive estates adjacent to a Lower Sea [planned to possibly complement the present Upper Sea].

Ich hab eh drüber nachgedacht, aber es wär nicht gegangen.

I did well consider it, but it wouldn't have worked out.

(colloquial, Austria) well, admittedly (for which in Germany only schon is used)


logo

—Kommst du mit auf die Party?
—Na logo!
—Are you coming to the party?
—Of course!

(slang) of course, absolutely, certainly


kostenlos

Kosten + -los; compare English costless.


a priori

Borrowed from Medieval Latin ā priōrī (“involving reasoning from cause to effect; from first principles”, literally “from the former”).


mitten

Mitten auf der Straße lag ein toter Hund.

In the middle of the street lay a dead dog.


ausgezeichnet

[ˈaʊ̯sɡəˌtsaɪ̯̯çnət]

[ˌaʊ̯sɡəˈtsaɪ̯̯çnət]

ausgezeichnet schön.

ausgezeichnet beraten.

Sie verstehen sich ausgezeichnet.

ausgezeichnet passen.


a posteriori

Learned borrowing from Latin ā posteriōrī (“from what follows; from what [ must ] follow”)

learned borrowing

from what follows; from what 􂀿 must 􂁀 follow


rum

From dialectal German (e)rum, reduced form of herum and in some dialects darum.

(colloquial) Alternative form of herum (“around”)


plus

Vier plus eins ergibt fünf.


fort

From Middle High German vort, Old High German forth, Proto-Germanic *furþą, compare English forth, Dutch voort.


halt

→ Czech: holt

From Middle High German halt, pertaining to Old High German halto (“soon, fast”). Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *haldiz, an adverbial comparative like *batiz.

Er ist halt ein Idiot.

Dann müssen wir halt härter arbeiten.

(colloquial, modal particle) Indicating that something is generally known, or cannot be changed, or the like; often untranslatable; so, just, simply, indeed, well


total

total übertrieben

total zugekifft

total betrunken

(colloquial) big time, full-on, flat-out


quasi

as it were, so to speak, effectively, essentially


hinter

From Old High German hintar, from Proto-Germanic *hinder.

Ich geh mal hinter und seh nach.

(colloquial, regional, parts of southern and eastern Germany) over; to some place fairly nearby


minus

vier minus drei ist eins.


dito

Borrowed from French dito, from Italian ditto, a variant of detto (past participle of dire (“to say”)), from Latin dicere.


bitte

Ellipsis of ich bitte (dich/Sie) (“I beg (you)”).

ellipsis

please, if you please (used to make a polite request or affirm an offer)


heraus

From Middle High German herūz, herūʒ, harūz, from Old High German heraūz (“out of here; forth”), equivalent to her- (“to or over here; hither”, prefix implying movement) + aus (“out”). Compare German hinaus (“out from here”) and German daraus (“out from there”) and archaic English hereout (“out of here”).

prefix

out of (in the direction of the speaker); out over here; out from there


hinein

Und hinein fällt jedes Schaf / Bin schon zu alt und zähl sie doch / Denn ich find keinen Schlaf

1997, “Spiel mit mir”, performed by Rammstein:

And every sheep falls in / I am already too old, yet still, I count them / Because I cannot sleep


nach Hause

From nach (“to”) + Hause, dative of Haus (“house”).

Seit über 150 Jahren rätseln Ornithologen darüber, wieso Brieftauben immer so zielsicher ihren Weg nach Hause finden.

2012 April 16, Die Welt, archived from the original on 2013-04-12, page 20:

For more than 150 years, ornithologists have been puzzling over why carrier pigeons always find their way home so unerringly.


zu Hause

From Middle High German ze hūse, from Old High German za hūse, zi hūse, equivalent to zu (“to”) + Hause, (old-fashioned) dative of Haus (“house”).

Coordinate term: nach Hause

Ist deine Mutter zu Hause?

sich zu Hause fühlen

(figuratively) at home, at ease, comfortable


hinaus

From Middle High German hinūz, from Old High German hinaūz. By surface analysis, hin + aus.

zum Fenster hinaus


kurz

From Middle High German kurz, from Old High German kurz, from Proto-West Germanic *kurt, from Latin curtus. Compare also native Old High German *skurz, scurz and Middle High German schurz. Cognate with English curt, Swedish kort.

kurz gesagt

in short, in a nutshell, to put it briefly


wann

From Middle High German wanne, Old High German wanne, from Proto-West Germanic *hwannā, *hwan, from Proto-Germanic *hwan. Cognate with English when.

Wann kommt er?

Ich weiß nicht, wann er kommt.

Das sollten wir mal wann besprechen, wenn alle da sind.

We should discuss this sometime that everybody’s present.


eins

From eines, originally the neuter form of ein. Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *ainatō, the singular neuter form of Proto-Germanic *ainaz (“one”).

Wir sind über den Preis nicht eins geworden.

(somewhat informal) only used in sich eins sein (“to agree”) and eins werden (“to arrive at an agreement”)


warum

From Middle High German warumme, war umme, warumbe, war umbe, from Old High German wār umbe. Equivalent to wo (“where”) + um (“in order to, for the purpose of”), thus “for what purpose”. Doublet of worum, but with the older vocalism preserved. Compare Dutch waarom, which has both meanings.

univ

warum ist die Banane krumm – why is the banana bent


gestern

From Middle High German gestern, from Old High German gesteron, gesteren, from Proto-West Germanic *gesteran. Cognate with English yester, Dutch gisteren.


wo

With a widespread dialectal shift from -ā- to -ō-, from Middle High German wā, wār, from Old High German wār, hwār, from Proto-West Germanic *hwār, from Proto-Germanic *hwēr, *hwar. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷis, whence also wer. Cognate with English where.

Wo bist du?

Ich kenne einen Laden, wo solche Sachen verkauft werden.

I know a shop where such things are sold.

(relative) where (at or in which place or situation)

Das war der Tag, wo wir uns kennen gelernt haben.

That was the day when we got to know each other.

(relative, somewhat informal) when, that (on which; at which time)

Ich wär gern wo, wo's wärmer ist.

I'd like to be somewhere where it's warmer.

(indefinite, colloquial) somewhere (in or to an uncertain or unspecified location)


d'accord

Es gab einen Deutschen, der auch diesen Zusammenhang herzustellen vermochte, wenn auch auf seine Weise: Wedekind. Ich sah ihn, sehr jung und wenig auf Kunst eingestellt, und war d’accord mit der Masse, die sich krumm über ihn lachte.

1922, Kasimir Edschmid, Das Bücher-Dekameron:


täglich

Tag + -lich. Cognate with English daily.

einmal täglich


ungewöhnlich

/ˈʊnɡəˌvøːnlɪç/


lang

From Middle High German lanc, from Old High German lang, from Proto-West Germanic *lang, from Proto-Germanic *langaz.

Der Ausflug hat lang gedauert.

(chiefly colloquial, but also found in formal style) Alternative form of lange

Er lag lang auf der Erde.


morgn

Gott wird morgn kommen, […]

1612, Hans Sachs, Comoedia, quoted in 1840 by Wilhelm Wackernagel, in Deutsches Lesebuch, part 2, 2nd edition

(please add an English translation of this quotation)

(obsolete or eye dialect) Alternative spelling of morgen


unabhängig

/ˈʊn.apˌhɛŋɪç/

[ˈʔʊn.ʔapˌhɛ.ŋɪç]

unabhängig von...

unabhängig davon, ob...


netto

Coordinate term: brutto


verschieden

/fɛɐ̯ˈʃiːdn̩/

From verscheiden in its original sense of "separate, leave".


voll

Etymology tree
Middle High German vol
German voll
From Middle High German vol, from Old High German foll, from Proto-West Germanic *full, from Proto-Germanic *fullaz, from Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₁nós.
Compare Low German vull, Dutch vol, English full, Danish fuld, Swedish full.
The stem is spelt with v- before -o-, -ö- (as in voll, Völle, Völlerei), but with f- before -ü- (as in füllen, Fülle). Modern German does not allow v for /f/ before -u-, -ü- and the spelling of the other forms has never been adapted.

etymon

Das war voll gut.

(colloquial, chiefly among the younger) very; quite; really


rings

Verschneit lag rings das Gebirge, rauh in den unteren Bezirken, weich zugedeckt die über die Baumgrenze hinausragenden, verschieden gestalteten Gipfel.

1924, Thomas Mann, Der Zauberberg [The Magic Mountain], volume 1, Berlin: S. Fischer, page 453:


'n

Wann wärst'n hier?

(colloquial) short for denn (used for general emphasis)


traurig

/ˈtʁaʊ̯.ʁɪç/

/ˈtʁaʊ̯.ʁɪk/

From Middle High German trūrec, from Old High German trūrag, from Proto-Germanic *dreuzagaz (“bloody”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreus- (“to break, break off, crumble”). Cognate with Dutch treurig (“sad, gloomy”), Low German trurig (“sad”), Hunsrik traurich (“sad”), English dreary (“grievous, dire, appalling, drab, dark, colourless, cheerless”), Old Norse dreyrigr (“bloody”).


ohnegleichen

/oːnəˈɡlaɪçən/


ohnehin

Die Behörden reagierten auf die Kundgebungen in mehreren Städten mit weitreichenden Beschränkungen des ohnehin zensierten Internets.

The authorities reacted to the rallies in several cities with far-reaching restrictions on the already censored internet.


meist

→ Kashubian: mést

From Old High German meist, from Proto-Germanic *maist, *maistaz. Compare Dutch meest, English most, Danish mest.


gleich

From Middle High German gelīch, from Old High German gilīh, from Proto-West Germanic *galīk, from Proto-Germanic *galīkaz. Cognate with Dutch gelijk, English alike, Swedish lik, Danish lig.

Er malt alle seine Bilder gleich.

Warte, ich komme gleich zu dir.

Weil ich hungrig war, habe ich mir gleich zwei Stücke Kuchen vom Buffet genommen.

Because I was hungry, I took two pieces of cake at once from the buffet.

Entdeckung im All: Gleich zwei erdähnliche Planeten kreisen um den Zwergstern Gliese 581.

2010, Der Spiegel, number 40/2010, page 142:

Discovery in the universe: two Earth-like planets at once revolve around the dwarf star Gliese 581.

Mein Haus befindet gleich neben dem Stadtpark.

My house is located right next to the city park.

Nachdem sie im Hotel angekommen war, legte sie sich gleich ins Bett.

After she had arrived at the hotel, she immediately went to bed.


nd

(Internet slang) Alternative spelling of net


locker

From an adjectival form of Middle High German lücke / lugge, with further origin uncertain; perhaps related to Lücke and Loch.

Es waren locker hundert Leute auf der Party.

There were easily a hundred people at the party.

(with an estimate) easily (expressing confidence in the value)


wieder

From Middle High German wider, whence English widdershins via Middle Low German borrowing; from Old High German widar, from Proto-West Germanic *wiþr (“toward, against”). Cognate with English wither.

inh

Siehst du, jetzt hast du’s schon wieder gesagt!

again; indicates that the action taking place has happened before

Schalte das Licht wieder aus.

back; indicates that the action will return something to its original state or position


regelmäßig

/ˈʁeːɡəlˌmɛːsɪç/

regularly, periodically, on a regular basis, routinely


derbe

Initially a regional variation of derb, popularized via hip-hop culture.

Kletter hoch auf der Karrieretreppe / Oh nein, das heißt Karriereleiter / Wenn's 'n Fehler war, dann nur ein derbe kleiner

2011, “Poesie Album”, in SchwarzWeiss, performed by Samy Deluxe:

Der deutsche Don, Digga, drück die Daum'n derbe

2014, “1000 Bars”, performed by Eko Fresh:


offen

From Middle High German offen, Old High German offan, ofan, ophan, from Proto-West Germanic *opan. Cognate with Low German open, apen, Dutch open, English open, Danish åben, Swedish öppen. Related to auf.

Das müssen wir auch hier offen sagen.


schließlich

Es freut mich, Sie schließlich zu treffen.

2017, Blick am Abend, Leben in Zahlen von…Jessica Chastain, 24 March

She didn't particularly like school as a child and teenager, and she finally gave up high school at 17.

Als Kind und Teenager mochte sie die Schule nicht besonders und brach mit 17 die Highschool schliesslich ab.

Natürlich liebe ich dich, du bist ja schließlich meine Tochter.

Of course I love you, after all, you are my daughter.


zusammen

From Middle High German zesamene, zesamne, zesamen (“together”), from Old High German zisamane (“together”). From zu- (“to”) + sammen (“together”) (in Modern German, sammen is only found in compounds), from Proto-Germanic *samanai (“together”), from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“together, one”). Cognate with Middle English to-samen (“together”). Related to obsolete English sam (“together”), whose earlier form was samen.
Dutch tezamen (“together”) has been formed in a similar fashion, with its contracted form being samen and its ancestral form tsamen. Also cognate with Scots samin (“together”), Danish sammen (“together”), Swedish samman (“together”).

der

Zusammen bilden wir ein gutes Team.

1903, Fanny zu Reventlow, Ellen Olestjerne, in Franziska Gräfin zu Reventlow: Gesammelte Werke, Albert Langen, page 526

Despite all these bitter feelings, it was yet a wonderfully beautiful summer, which the three friends spent together.

Trotz all dieser Bitternisse war es noch ein wunderbar schöner Sommer, den die drei Freunde zusammen verlebten.


AO

(sex) Initialism of alles ohne (“bareback”).


viel

head

viel (comparative mehr, superlative am meisten)

mehr (comparative)
am meisten (superlative)

From Middle High German vile, from Old High German filu (“many”), from Proto-West Germanic *felu, from Proto-Germanic *felu, from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁-. More at fele.

Wir haben viel gelacht.


schon

alternatively in central and southern Germany and in Austria

From Middle High German schōne (“beautifully; appropriately; completely”), from Old High German scōno (“beautifully”), adverb of scōni, whence German schön (“beautiful”). For sense development from "beautiful" to "indeed, surely; already" compare English pretty.

inh

Es ist erst 11 Uhr und schon über 30 Grad im Schatten.
It’s only 11 a.m. and already more than 30 degrees (°C) in the shade.

Er ist schon seit drei Wochen krank.

already (happening rather early, continuing rather long)

Ich erinnere mich, dass wir solche Fälle schon hatten.

I remember that we had such cases before.

previously, before (at some time in the past; but not: before a certain event)

Wir sind spät dran, aber diesen Stapel haben wir immerhin schon bearbeitet.

We’re running late, but at least we’ve (already) finished this pile.

Hast du dir schon die Zähne geputzt?

expresses that an action has been completed; already (but more frequent); yet (in questions)

Man sollte Kinder nicht bestrafen. — Man sollte Kinder schon bestrafen, nur eben sinnvoll.

One shouldn’t punish children. — One should definitely punish children, but wisely.

Niedrige Steuern heben den Konsum. — Das ist schon richtig, aber...

Low taxes increase consumption. — That is admittedly true, but...

Du merkst doch auch, dass ich Recht habe? — Ja, schon.

You do see I’m right, don’t you? — Yeah, I guess.

(modal particle) expresses a weighing of arguments, contrast between two statements, partial agreement, concession; admittedly; sure(ly); definitely; indeed

Das ist schon etwas merkwürdig.


auch

in the northern half in some positions; in the northern half in some positions

From Middle High German ouch, from Old High German ouh, from Proto-Germanic *auk. Cognate with Dutch ook (“also”), West Frisian ek (“also, too”), Luxembourgish och (“also”), Swedish och (“and”), Icelandic og (“and”), Danish og (“and”), and archaic English eke (“also”).

Ich will auch ein Eis.

Ich will auch ein Eis.

also; too; as well (in addition to whatever or whoever has previously been listed)

Ich will auch ein Eis.

Stress on “will”: I do indeed want icecream.

Das ist auch so.

Stress on “ist”: It really is like that.

Du solltest zur Polizei gehen. ― Mach ich auch.

To confirm a preceding statement by someone else: really, actually, indeed, in fact

Hast du das Licht auch ausgemacht?

Did you make sure to turn off the light?

To ask for confirmation of something one considers necessary.

Du bist auch witzig... Wie soll ich das denn ohne Auto alles schaffen?!

You’re oh so ingenious... How am I supposed to get all of this done without the car?!

Warum müssen die auch alle ihren Müll hier abladen!

Why do they all have to dump their rubbish here!

To imply that something is unreasonable.

Auch wenn das stimmt, ist es noch kein endgültiger Beweis.

Even if this is true, it is no definite proof.

Auch ein Professor schreibt schon mal was falsch.

Even a professor may misspell something at times.

even (implying an extreme example in the case mentioned, as compared to the implied reality)

Was du auch tust, es wird immer einer besser sein.

Whatever you do, someone will always do it better.

ever as in whatever, whenever, however, etc.


schnurstracks

Schnur (“cord, line”) + stracks (“directly”)

com

While the dated simplex stracks is synonymous with sofort and thus chiefly temporal

schnurstracks also has a strongly spatial dimension

(colloquial) straightway, straight, directly (going somewhere immediately and by the shortest way possible)


klar

Etymological Dictionary of the German Language

de:Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

From Middle High German klār, clār, formally from Middle Low German klār or Middle Dutch claer and reinforced by Old French cler, both from Latin clārus (“bright”).


im übertragenen Sinne

figurative, figuratively, in the figurative sense


richtig

→ Kashubian: richtich

→ Polish: rychtyk (dialectal)

→ Silesian: rychtig, rychtyk

From Middle High German rihtec, from Old High German rihtīg, from reht (“right”) + -ig. Equivalent to recht + -ig. Originally only an adjective; adverb developed later.

Ich habe manchmal ein richtig schlechtes Gefühl.


ab initio

Borrowed from Latin ab initiō (“from the beginning”).


strafrechtlich

strafrechtlich verfolgen

strafrechtlich haftbar


figürlich

/fiˈɡyːɐ̯lɪç/


anders

Natürlich ist jeder Mensch und jede Situation anders.

Of course every person and every situation are different.


heim

From Heim (“home”). Compare Middle High German heime (“home, at home”, adverb), from Old High German heime, heimi (“home, at home”, adverb).

cog

home; always as a direction, thus never in the sense of at home


wurst

Das ist mir wurst.


head

De-wenn Ostern und Pfingsten auf einen Tag fallen.ogg

Literally, “when Easter and Pentecost fall on the same day”. By definition, Pentecost always falls seven weeks after Easter. Cf. Dutch als Pasen en Pinksteren op een dag vallen.

cog

wenn Ostern und Weihnachten auf einen Tag fallen

(idiomatic) when pigs fly (never, expressed idiomatically)


damit

From da + mit. Compare English theremid, therewith.


ungern

Er trinkt ungern Alkohol.

unwillingly; usually expressed in English through verb phrases such as "doesn't like", "don't want", etc.


immer

From Middle High German immer (also iemer, imer), from Old High German iomēr (“always”). From io (“always”) + mēr (“more”). Cognate with Dutch immer, German Low German ümmer, jümmer, jümmers, Middle English a mare, aa mare (“evermore”).

Irgendwo scheint immer die Sonne.

Er will immer nur fernsehen.

He just wants to watch telly all the time.

always
very often; all the time; constantly

Er erzählt immer dieselbe Geschichte.

every time; whenever some precondition is given

Es wird immer kälter.

(with comparative) to a greater degree over time, more and more

Er kommt immer nie pünktlich.

Ich bin oft immer sehr vergesslich.

Manchmal hab ich immer das Gefühl, dass...

(colloquial, unstressed) used to emphasize another adverb of time, which itself is stressed


hoch

head

hoch (comparative höher, superlative am höchsten)

höher (comparative)
am höchsten (superlative)

From Middle High German hōch, from Old High German hōh, from Proto-West Germanic *hauh, from Proto-Germanic *hauhaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kewk-, a suffixed form of *kew-. Compare Dutch hoog, English high, Swedish hög.
The irregular declension from the stem hoh- is due to the development of Old High German -h-, which in Middle High German became /x/ in coda position, but /h/ elsewhere (the latter was then gradually lost, starting from the north). Stem alternations of this kind were usually levelled in modern German, as for example in nah (but compare nach), Schuh (Middle High German nāch, schuoch). Most dialects have also levelled hoch, but the standard language has preserved the alternation in this isolated case.

Wir fahren hoch an die Küste.

fünf hoch vier


inne

From Middle High German inne, from Old High German inne, from Proto-Germanic *innai. Compare Old English inne.

Only used in inne sein, innehalten, innewerden etc.; inside


hin

From Old High German hina; compare English hence.

w:Book of John XIII. 36. Spricht Simon Petrus zu ihm: HERR, wo gehst du hin? Jesus antwortete ihm: Wo ich hin gehe, kannst du mir diesmal nicht folgen; aber du wirst mir nachmals folgen

1912, Luther, John: 13:36 in the Bible]:

Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.

Used to denote direction away from the speaker.


wohl

From Middle High German wol, wole, from Old High German wola (“well”), from Proto-Germanic *wela, from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁-. Compare Dutch wel, English well, Danish vel, Swedish väl.

Er ist wohl schon gegangen.

He must have left already. / I guess he has left already.

Seine Frau ist wohl irgendeine bekannte Ärztin.

[I heard that] his wife is some well-known doctor.

Was das wohl zu bedeuten hat?

possibly, probably; as I was told (modal particle expressing an assumption, often like English must + infinitive, or (US) guess + clause)

Du warst ja noch nie in Frankreich. − Ich war wohl schon in Frankreich!

"Since you've never been to France..." − "Of course I've been to France!"

Ich kann's dir nicht sagen, weil ich's nicht weiß. − Du weißt es ja wohl!

"I can't tell you because I don't know." − "But you do know!"

of course, indeed (modal particle adding stress to the statement to contradict a preceding one, often like English do + infinitive)

Was habt ihr denn alle mit der Suppe? Ich find die wohl nicht schlecht.

"Why are you all complaining about the soup? I don't find it all that bad, actually."

(regional, north-western Germany) actually, somehow, quite (modal particle making the statement weaker or expressing a concession)

Ihr habt wohl gesprochen, mein Herr!

Das stimmt nicht. — Wohl!

Kommst du heute Abend nicht? — Wohl!

Aren't you coming tonight?? — Yes, I am!

(regional in Austria, South Tyrol, in response to a negative question or statement) yes; surely; really; on the contrary


halb

From Middle High German halp, from Old High German halb, from Proto-West Germanic *halb, from Proto-Germanic *halbaz. Compare Dutch half, English half, Danish halv.

Wir treffen uns um halb zwei.

(regional or archaic)

a half-hour before, thirty minutes before (used with the number of the following hour)


morgen

→ Esperanto: morgaŭ

From Middle High German morgene, from Old High German morgane, from Proto-West Germanic *morgin, *murgin. Cognate with English morrow.

morgen früh

morgen Abend


jetzt

From Middle High German iez, ieze, iezū, iezō, iezuo, from Old High German iozuo (“straightaway, at once; further”), equivalent to je + zu. Compare English yet, Yiddish יעצט (yetst).

inh

Ich bin jetzt da.

Jetzt gibt es sowas gar nicht mehr.

Jetzt gab es ein lautes Geräusch.

Wir haben abgewaschen, jetzt müssen wir noch abtrocknen.

We've washed up, now we must dry [the dishes].

Was bedeuten jetzt die geschilderten Entwicklungen für unser Land?

Now what do the aforementioned developments mean for our country?

now, then (expressing a logical or temporal consequence)

Was soll das jetzt heißen?

now (unstressed and expletive, used for minor emphasis)


einmal

From Middle High German einmāle, equivalent to ein + -mal. Compare Middle Low German ênmâl.

Ich werde das nur einmal sagen.

Es war einmal eine schöne Prinzessin.

once (formerly; during some period in the past)

sometime (at an indefinite but stated time in the past or future)

first of all, for starters, firstly (as an initial point; before any other considerations)

Einmal Pommes, bitte.


dann

From Middle High German dann, from Old High German danne, from Proto-West Germanic *þan. Cognate with English then.

Ich ziehe mich erst an, dann frühstücke ich.

First I'm getting dressed, then I'll have breakfast.

Wenn du dich anstrengst, dann schaffst du es.

If you make an effort, then you'll be able to do it.


ex post

Die Anhänger der neoreaktionären beziehungsweise neurechten Strömung vom Programmierer Yarvin bis zu Trumps Chefstrategen Steve Bannon versuchen erst ex post eine Ideologie zu konstruieren, die in der Ablehnung der Gendertheorie und universalistischer Werte gründet.

2017 April 25, Adrian Lobe, “Realität wird zum Glaubenskrieg”, in Die Zeit:


entgegen

[ʔɛntˈɡeːɡŋ̩]

[ʔɛntˈɡeːɡən]

From Middle High German engegen, from Old High German ingegin, from Proto-West Germanic [Term?]. Compare Old English onġean (English again), Middle Dutch entegen (Dutch entegen), Old Saxon angegin, Yiddish אַנטקעגן (antkegn).


einfach

Ruf uns einfach an.


ab ovo

Borrowed from Latin ab ōvō (“from the egg”).


tags

Middle High German tages, Old High German dages


rauf

Er kommt jetzt rauf. -- He's coming upstairs now.

(colloquial) up, up here, upstairs (towards the speaker)

Er geht rauf zu den andern. -- He's going upstairs to the other people.

(colloquial) up, up there, upstairs (away from the speaker)


sehr

head

sehr (comparative mehr, superlative am meisten)

From Middle High German sēr, from Old High German sēr (“sored, injured”), from Proto-West Germanic *sair.

Ich bin sehr glücklich.

Ich vermisse dich sehr.


schlechterdings

/ˈʃlɛçtɐˌdɪŋs/

/ˌʃlɛçtɐˈdɪŋs/

17th century, from schlechter Dinge (adverbial genitive plural) + -s (adverbial suffix, here redundant). The adjective schlecht retains the older sense “plain, simple”, now otherwise restricted to the variant schlicht (see there).

Das ist schlechterdings unmöglich.

Wenn etwas existiert, so muß auch ein schlechterdings notwendiges Wesen existieren.

1781, Immanuel Kant, translated by J. M. D. Meiklejohn, Kritik der reinen Vernunft [The Critique of Pure Reason], archived from the original on 2005-12-15:

If something exists, an absolutely necessary being must likewise exist.

Er vermochte bei den naiven und kindlichen Ergüssen seiner Schwester schlechterdings nicht, seine Haltung zu bewahren; […]

1909 [1901], Thomas Mann, Buddenbrooks […] , Berlin: Deutsche Buch-Gemeinschaft, →OCLC, page 250:


noch einmal

Mehr als drei Millionen Menschen wären vom sekundenschnellen Hitzetod bedroht, würde der Vesuv noch einmal so gewaltig explodieren wie im Jahr 79 nach Christus.

2010, Der Spiegel, number 35/2010, page 104:

More than three million people would be threatened by heat death within seconds, should Vesuvius explode again as enormously as in the year 79 AD.


erst

Sie ist erst 28 Jahre alt.

Es ist erst halb zehn.

only (with progress, accomplishments or the present time)

Ich bin erst nächsten Monat in Urlaub.

Mein Bruder kommt erst in drei Wochen an.

My brother's not arriving for three weeks.

not until, not for, not before (with reference to a point or period of time in the future)

Er ist erst gestern gegangen.

Er ist erst seit zwei Tagen da.

only, as recently as (with reference to the past)

Es ist kalt im Süden. Und im Norden erst!

It is cold in the South. And especially in the North.

Wer lieber Arthousefilme streamt, findet bei Filmingo, Myfilm und Cinefile lokale Alternativen, die erst noch regelmässig ihre Steuern zahlen.

2021 January 21, Timo Posselt, “Bis der Server zusammenbricht”, in wobei (Die Beilage der WOZ), page 17:


durch

→ Greater Polish: durch

→ Kashubian: dërch

→ Silesian: durś, durch

From Middle High German durch, from Old High German duruh, from Proto-Germanic *þurhw. Cognate with English through, thorough, Dutch door, West Frisian troch, Yiddish דורך (durkh).

den ganzen Tag durch

Es ist acht Uhr durch.


allein

From Middle High German al-ein. Cognate with Middle English al-one, English alone, Dutch alleen, Low German alleene (Münsterländisch), alläine (Sauerländisch).

cog

Er schrieb das Buch allein.

Allein im Jahr 2012 starben 500 Menschen an der Krankheit.

In 2012 alone, 500 people died from the illness.

Allein ein Wunder kann uns noch helfen.


noch

From Middle High German noch, nog, from Old High German noh, from Proto-West Germanic *noh, from Proto-Germanic *nuh, from Proto-Indo-European *nū-kʷe-. Cognate to Dutch nog and noch (which are etymologically the same word).

Du magst mich noch.

Ich bin noch nicht fertig.

still, yet (up to and including a given time)

Er wird noch kommen.

Das brauche ich später noch.

yet, eventually (at an unknown time in the future)

Da ist noch einer.

Da sind noch welche.

Ich habe noch Schokolade im Auto.

Weißt du noch was?

additionally, in addition, besides, else; more often expressed in English with another, more

Deins ist noch schöner!

Einen schönen Abend noch.

Wie war noch sein Name?

(added to certain parting phrases)
again (following a question)


lange

Inherited from Middle High German lange, an adverb to lanc.

Sie schwiegen lange. Als er endlich etwas sagen wollte, wehrte sie leise ab. „Heute nichts mehr, ich bitte dich darum“

1931, Arthur Schnitzler, Flucht in die Finsternis, S. Fischer Verlag, page 105:

They were silent for a long time. When he finally wanted to say something, she softly refused. „Nothing more today, I beg you for that“

1903, Fanny zu Reventlow, Ellen Olestjerne, in Franziska Gräfin zu Reventlow: Gesammelte Werke, Albert Langen, page 674

Late at night, when it was long dark, they finally found a night's lodging in a remote village.

Spät abends, als es lange dunkel war, fanden sie endlich ein Nachtquartier in einem entlegenen Dorf.


gegenüber

[ɡeːɡŋ̍ˈʔyːbɐ]


doch

→ Kashubian: doch

→ Slovincian: dôch

chiefly southern Germany and Austria by influence of Bavarian; also in northern Germany in some positions, e.g. before stripped-by-parse_pron_post_template_fn

From Middle High German doch, from Old High German doh, from Proto-West Germanic *þauh, from Proto-Germanic *þauh. Cognate to Old English þēah (English though).

1918, Elisabeth von Heyking, Die Orgelpfeifen, in: Zwei Erzählungen, Phillipp Reclam jun. Verlag, page 35

On the station then, in the sinking fog, a crowd of horses and gray characters that initially looked inextricable, but then put itself in order swiftly after all.

Auf dem Bahnhof dann, in dem sich senkenden Nebel, ein Gewühl von Pferden und grauen Gestalten, das zuerst unentwirrbar schien und sich dann doch rasch ordnete.

Komm doch mal mit.


iwi

(Internet slang, text messaging) Abbreviation of irgendwie.


leicht

From Middle High German [Term?], from Old High German līht, from Proto-West Germanic *lį̄ht, from Proto-Germanic *linhtaz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁lengʷʰ-. Compare English light, Dutch licht, Danish let.


ewig

From Middle High German ēwic, Old High German ēwig, from Old High German ewa (from Proto-Germanic *aiwaz, equivalent to German Ehe) + -ig.

Das wird ewig so bleiben.

Er ist ewig am Meckern.


heute

From Middle High German hiute, from Old High German hiutu, a contraction of earlier *hiu tagu, from Proto-West Germanic *hiu dagu, from Proto-Germanic *hinō dagō (“on this day”, from *hiz + *dagaz). Cognate with Old English hēodæġ (“today”) and Dutch heden (“today”).
Compare German heuer from hiu (“in this”) + jāru (“year”).


weit

From Middle High German wīt, from Old High German wīt, from Proto-Germanic *wīdaz. Compare Low German wied, Hunsrik weid, Dutch wijd, English wide, Danish vid.


tief

From Middle High German tief, tiuf, going back to Old High German tiuf, tiof, inherited through Proto-West Germanic *deup and ultimately deriving from Proto-Germanic *deupaz, from Pre-Germanic *dʰewbʰnós, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ-.
Compare Low German deep, Dutch diep, English deep, Danish dyb, Norwegian dyp, Icelandic djúpur.


ex cathedra

(Roman Catholicism) with the infallible authority of the Pope

(figurative) with authority, especially one that accepts no objection


zugleich

From zu- (“for”) + gleich (“equal, same, alike”).
Compare Dutch tegelijk or Polish oraz.


entlang

Borrowed from Middle Low German entlanc, cognate with German in lang (with a gliding sound -t-).

Ich gehe an dem Fluss entlang.

(Here, Fluss is in dative because it is governed by an.)

Ich gehe hier entlang.


partout

18th century, from French partout (“everywhere”), which has a related use as an intensifier of commandments, especially in nautical parlance. The German sense may have developed thence. Or perhaps from the expression toujours et partout (“always and everywhere, invariably, necessarily”).

Sie will partout ihren Willen durchsetzen.

She wants to have her way no matter what.

Er will partout nicht zugeben, dass ich recht hatte.

On no account does he want to admit that I was right.


kaum

From Middle High German kūme, from Old High German kūmo, from Proto-Germanic *kūmaz, *kūmijaz (“weak, pitiful, frail”), from Proto-Indo-European *gewH- (“to call, cry”). Cognate with English comely and archaic Dutch kuim (“barely”).

der

Ich kann das kaum lesen.

Die Handschrift ist kaum lesbar.

Das ist kaum zu glauben.

difficult, nearly impossible [with zu (+ infinitive) ‘to do’]


leider

From Middle High German leider, from Old High German leidir, equivalent to the comparative form of leid.


innerhalb

innerhalb von Paris

innerhalb von zwei Jahren


jenseits

+obj

[with von (+ dative) ‘(of) something/somewhere’]

From jene (“that”) + Seite (“side”) + -s (adverbial suffix)


lieber

Comparative of lieb. Cognate to archaic English liever.

Ich nehme lieber das Fahrrad als das Auto.

I would rather take the bicycle than the car.

comparative degree of gern; rather, better, by preference


außerhalb

Inherited from Middle High German ūzerhalp, from Old High German ūzarhalb. By surface analysis, außer- + halb.

inh+

außerhalb von München

außerhalb von der Kirche

Er kommt von außerhalb


dran

Sie ist wirklich schlecht dran.

(in the phrase dran sein) to be in a particular condition

„Was hältst Du von den Gerüchten?“ — „Ich denke, an denen ist etwas dran.“

"What do you make of the rumours?" — "I think there might be something to them."

(in the phrase an (etwas) dran sein) to be (possibly) true

Jetzt bist du dran!

(slang, in the phrase dran sein) to get it, to suffer consequences, punishment or retaliation

Du bist dran!

(in the phrase dran sein) to be someone's turn (in a game, to do household chores, etc.)


gern

head

gern (comparative lieber, superlative am liebsten)

lieber (comparative)
am liebsten (superlative)

From Middle High German gerne, from Old High German gerno, from Proto-West Germanic *gernō, from Proto-Germanic *gernô (“willingly, gladly”), an adverbial form of *gernaz (“eager, willing”). Akin to German Low German geren (Paderbornisch), Dutch gaarne, English yern, Swedish gärna, Danish gerne.

inh

Markus fährt gern Fahrrad.
Markus enjoys biking.

willingly; gladly; with pleasure; usually expressed verbally in English, with like, enjoy etc.

Dieses Lied mag ich gern.

Mir wird gern mal schlecht im Auto.

Ich schlafe gern in meinem eigenen Bett.


&c.

Formed by replacing the Latin et (“and”) with &.


schier

From Middle High German schir (“immediate, quick”) (adv. schire), Old High German skeri (“sharp, acute, quick, rapid”), likely cognate with Old Church Slavonic скоръ (skorŭ, “rapid”) (Russian ско́рый (skóryj)), Lithuanian skėrỹs (“grasshopper”), Ancient Greek σκαίρειν (skaírein, “to jump”); if so, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kerd- (“to move, sway, swing, jump”).
Grimm assumes partial conflation with scheir (“pure, bright”) (English sheer).

der

Hüter ist die nacht schier hin?

1545, Martin Luther, transl., Biblia: Das ist: Die gantze Heilige Schrifft, Deudsch, Auffs new zugericht, Isaiah 21:11:


wovon

Wovon sprichst du?

(pronominal) about what, what ... about:


damals

From da + Mal + -s. Compare Yiddish דעמאָלט (demolt) and דעמאָלטס (demolts).

at that time (in the past); at the time, then


außen

From Old High German ūzana. Compare archaic English outen.

außen hui und innen pfui

outside astonishing and inside disappointing


unterwegs

From older unterwegen, from Middle High German under wegen, from Old High German untar wegun. Equivalent to unter- (“under”) + Weg (“way”) + -s (adverbial suffix). Compare Dutch onderweg, English underway.

af

Sie ist unterwegs.

Wir haben unterwegs deinen Onkel getroffen.

on one’s way, underway, en route, in transit, going, travelling

Es gibt noch viel zu tun, aber wir sind unterwegs.

There’s still a lot to do, but we’re getting there.

(figuratively) on one’s way (to a goal etc.)

Ist der Peter zu Hause? — Nee, der ist unterwegs.

Is Peter home? — No, he’s out. (Does not imply he is on his way back.)

Der Typ ist cool unterwegs.

(literally, “That guy is cool underway.”)

Ich bin heut gut mit Kleingeld unterwegs.

(literally, “I’m well underway with small change today.”)

I have a lot of small change on me today.

(slang) Used with some adverb, describing a general state.


sonst

From Middle High German sunst, sust, sus, from Old High German sus (“thus”), from Proto-West Germanic *sus, from *swā (“so”), formally related to Proto-West Germanic *þus (“thus”). Cognate with Hunsrik sunst, Old Saxon sus (Middle Low German süs), archaic Dutch zonst (“otherwise”), Alemannic German sus and suscht.

Beeil dich, sonst kommen wir zu spät.

otherwise (under different circumstances)

Ich trinke sonst nicht so viel.

normally, usually (as opposed to a particular case)

Sonst noch etwas?

Was soll es sonst sein?

Wenn wir jetzt losgehen, sind wir eh zu spät. Sonst lass uns morgen noch mal wiederkommen.

If we go there now, we’ll be late anyway. So [let’s not do that but instead] let’s come back again tomorrow.

Wir gehen grad in die Stadt. Also, wenn du Lust hast... sonst komm doch mit!

We’re headed for the city. So, if you’re interested... [maybe you’re not, but if you are] then come along!

(colloquial) so; then; consecutive, but directed against an explicit or implicit alternative


zufällig

Zufall (“chance, coincidence, randomness”) + -ig


ziemlich

From Old High German zimilīh (“befitting”) or possibly directly from ziemen + -lich.

Das Lied ist ziemlich gut.

Er hat ziemlich rumgeschrien.


knapp

From Middle Low German knap, probably related to Old Norse hneppr (“button”) and hneppa (“pinch”), all from Proto-Germanic *knappô, *knappa-, which is perhaps related to *knappō (“knob, boy”). Cognate with Dutch knap, but of uncertain ultimate origin. Also compare Danish næppe (“hardly at all”).

Wir sind knapp pünktlich.

Sein Sohn ist knapp acht Jahre alt.

His son is just under eight years old/is almost eight years old.

Es ist knapp sieben Uhr.

It's just before seven o'clock/almost seven o'clock.


selten

From Middle High German selten, selden, from Old High German seltan, from Proto-Germanic *seldanē. Cognate with English seldom, Saterland Frisian säilden (“seldom”), West Frisian selden, komselden (“rare, seldom”), Dutch zelden, Danish sjælden, Norwegian sjelden, Swedish sällan, Faroese sjáldan, Icelandic sjaldan.

Er ist selten unfreundlich.
He’s rarely ever unfriendly.

Der Typ war ja selten unfreundlich!

Das ist selten dämlich.

(chiefly informal, with adjective) unusually; extremely


streng

From Middle High German strenge, from Old High German strengi (“strong”), strangi, from Proto-Germanic *strangijaz (“tight, tense”), *strangaz, from Proto-Indo-European *strengʰ- (“taut”); related to Proto-Indo-European *ster- (“stiff”). Compare German Strenge, Dutch streng, Danish streng, English strong.

der

Da rauchen sie dann Haschisch ... aber das ist streng geheim.

There they smoke hashish ... but that is strictly secret.


schief

many speakers in northern and central Germany

From northern Middle High German schief, schīf (etc.), from Middle Low German schêf, from Old Saxon *skêf, from Proto-West Germanic *skaib, from Proto-Germanic *skaibaz.
Regular High German cognates exist only in north-western Central German; compare Central Franconian scheif, northernmost Luxembourgish scheef. Otherwise it was borrowed from Low German into the colonial dialects, i.e. East Central German, with fallible phonetic interpretation of the original form (hence variously -ie-, -ī-, -ē-, -ei-, -b-, -f-, etc.). The word established itself in standard German during the 18th century. Cognate with Dutch scheef, Old English *sc(e)āf (in scāffōt), Old Norse skeifr.

(figurative) askance (sideways; obliquely)

badly, wrong (in a way that isn't right)


schlimm

From earlier slim, from Middle High German slimp (“slanting, awry”), from Proto-Germanic *slimbaz (“oblique, crooked”). Compare English slim (“thin”), Dutch slim (“clever, smart”), Middle Dutch slim (“bad, crooked”).


schlecht

From earlier slecht, from Middle High German sleht, from Old High German sleht (see also schlicht), from Proto-Germanic *slihtaz. Cognate with English slight, Dutch slecht, Afrikaans sleg, Icelandic sléttur, Faroese slættur, Swedish slätt, Danish slet , Gothic 𐍃𐌻𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍄𐍃 (slaihts), and Norwegian slett.

badly, poorly, not well (in a bad or poor manner)


draußen

From dr- + außen; the first component is from a short form of dar-.


drinnen

From dr- + innen; the first component is from a short form of dar-.

drinne

more usual in Northern/Western German speech


oben

From Middle High German oben, obene, from Old High German obana, from Proto-West Germanic *obanā, from Proto-Germanic *ubanē. Related to über and ober-.


hinten

Das Kind sitzt hinten im Auto.

The child is sitting in the back of the car.

Du kannst doch hinten beim Kreisverkehr wenden.

Why don’t you turn around over at the traffic circle.

(chiefly colloquial) over (there); yonder (unspecified locative for something at some distance)


unten

From Middle High German unden(e), undenen, und(e)nân, untnân, from Old High German undenân, untenân, untana. Related to unter.


vielleicht

From Middle High German vil līchte (“very easily”), thus: “what could easily happen”. Compare the same in German Low German villicht, Dutch wellicht, Saterland Frisian fielicht.

Vielleicht hat er einen Unfall gehabt.

Könnten Sie vielleicht das Fenster aufmachen?

frequently replaces bitte (“please”) in polite questions

Das is’ vielleicht ’ne Geldverschwendung da!

(colloquial) expresses amazement or excitement, particularly at something negative


rund

From Middle High German runt, from Old French ront, from Latin rotundus (“round”) from rota (“wheel, disk”).

Rund eine Million beschriebene Insektenarten leben auf der Erde, […]

2010, Der Spiegel, number 29/2010, page 49:

Approximately one million documented insect species live on Earth, […]


übrigens

/ˈyːbʁɪɡəns/

[ˈyːbʁɪɡəns]

[ˈyːbʁɪɡŋ̩s]

/ˈʏb(ə)ʁɪŋs/

Der westliche Lotus oder Zürbelbaum wächst in der Provinz Neuyork zu einem Baum von 40–50 Fuß hoch und 2 Fuß im Durchschnitte dik. Er steht in flachliegenden Gegenden auf kleinen Hügeln, oder an den Ufern der frischen Bäche und Flüsse, doch jederzeit in einer geschützten Lage. Der Boden für ihn muß trocken und leicht, aus viel Sand mit etwas Leimen, fetter Erde oder andern Erdarten gemischt sein. Celtis occidentalis. The American Nettle-Tree. Micocoulier de Virginie. Die eine Hälfte der Blätter ist länger als die andere; sie sind übrigens eirund, scharf zugespitzt und mit Ausschluß der Spitze und des untern Theils nur an den Seiten gezahnt.

1807, Bernhard Sebastian von Nau, Anleitung zur deutschen Forstwissenschaft, volume 1: Vorbereitungslehren zur besseren Erlernung, Frankfurt am Main: Andreäische Buchhandlung, § 68, page 31:

The western lotus or hackberry grows in the State of New York to a tree 40–50 feet high and 2 feet in diameter thick. He stands in flat-lying areas on small mounds, or on shores of the fresh becks and rivers, but always in a protected site. The ground must be dry and light, of much sand with a bit of loam, fat earth or other types of earths mixed together. Celtis occidentalis. The American Nettle-Tree. Micocoulier de Virginie. One half of the leaves is longer than the other; apart from that they are ovate, sharply pointed and bar the point and the lower part jagged at the sides.

(archaic) apart from that, else, for the rest, for everything else


genug

northern and central Germany; now chiefly colloquial

From Middle High German genuoc, from Old High German ginuog, from Proto-West Germanic *ganōg, from Proto-Germanic *ganōgaz.
Cognate with Dutch genoeg, Low German noog, English enough, West Frisian genôch, Danish nok, Swedish nog. Further Indo-European cognates: Latin nancīscor (“to get, to obtain”), Slovene nesti (“to carry”), Albanian kënaq (“to satisfy”).

Die Kinder haben genug gespielt.

Das Zimmer ist groß genug.

enough, sufficiently, in an adequate way


dicht

From Middle High German dīchte, from Old High German *dīhti, from Proto-West Germanic *þį̄ht(ī), from Proto-Germanic *þinhtaz.
The modern vocalism is from Middle Low German dicht(e) with Low German shortening before -cht (compare German leicht and German Low German licht). The expected form deicht is attested in early modern German. Cognate with Dutch dicht, English tight.


eben

The adjective is from Middle High German eben, from Old High German eban, the adverb from ebano; from Proto-West Germanic *ebn, from Proto-Germanic *ebnaz and its adverb equivalent. Cognate with Low German even, Dutch even, effen, English even, Danish jævn.

Er ist eben ein Idiot...

Dann müssen wir eben härter arbeiten.

(modal particle) so, just, simply, indicating that something is generally known, or cannot be changed, or the like; often untranslatable

Ich geh mal eben zur Theke.

Könnten Sie mir vielleicht eben helfen?

Could you maybe help me out really quickly?

(modal particle) just, quickly, indicating that something is done fast or without much complication

Wo ist denn dein Mann? Der saß doch eben noch hier.

Where's your husband? He was sitting here just a minute ago.

Es sollte eben diese Entscheidung sein, die ihn in den Bankrott treiben würde.

It would be this very decision that drove him into bankruptcy.


leise

From Middle High German līse (also līs, līnse), from Old High German līso, from Proto-West Germanic *līsō, *līsijō, from the adjective (see above).


genau

From Middle High German genoue, genouwe, geneuwe (“narrow, close, exact”), from ge- + nou(we) (“narrow, close, exact”), from Old High German *hnouw (“narrow, close”), from Proto-Germanic *hnawwaz. Cognate with Middle Low German nouwe, nau (“narrow, brief, exact”), Dutch nauw (“narrow, close”), Old English hnēaw (“niggardly, miserly, stingy”), Old Norse hnøggr (“niggardly, stingy, scant”). More at niggardly.


gerade

From Middle High German gerat, from Old High German girat, equivalent to ge- + the root of Rad (“wheel”).

Ich bin gerade in der Küche.

Ich war gerade in der Küche.

Ich habe gerade mal fünf Euro.

Das ist gerade das Problem.

Ich sehe mir das gerade an.


ueber

Nonstandard spelling of über used in some older texts and when technical limitations prevent the use of umlauts.


nieder

From Middle High German nider, from Old High German nidar, from Proto-West Germanic *niþer, from Proto-Germanic *niþer, from Proto-Indo-European *niter. Cognates include English nether, Dutch neder, Luxembourgish nidder, Swedish neder (more commonly ned, ner).


schüchtern

Borrowed from Middle Low German schüchter, whence also Dutch schuchter. Cognate with scheu. The final -n is an original case ending, which was sometimes added to the stem in Low German (compare German albern).

bor+

schüchtern bitten


nahe

From Middle High German nāch, from Old High German nāh. Cognate with Dutch na, English nigh.


hinterfotzig

/ˈhɪntɐˌfɔt͡sɪç/

This term comes from southern Germany, a compound word created from hinter (“behind”) and fotzig, the latter being derived from (regional) Fotze (“mouth, gob”). Therefore, the compound is an adjective for someone who is dishonest and likely to talk behind someone's back.


mit Sack und Pack

Unerwartet stand mein Bruder mit Sack und Pack vor meiner Haustür und bat um Herberge.

Unexpectedly, my brother showed up at my doorstep. He brought all his belongings, asking for shelter.

(idiomatic) with all his/her/their belongings, bag and baggage


mit Kind und Kegel

Literally, “with child and bastard”. Hence, the expression originally means "with all [their] legitimate and illegitimate children", i.e. with a large entourage. However, this meaning is inscrutable to the contemporary German speaker because the word Kegel is now obsolete in the aforementioned sense.

Angelina Jolie und Brad Pitt sind mit Kind und Kegel in Nizza angekommen.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have arrived in Nice with the whole family.

Die Israeliten zogen mit Kind und Kegel von Ägypten nach Palästina.

The Israelites moved from Egypt to Palestine with everyone and everything they had.

Unbeeindruckt von der schwelenden Regierungskrise strömten die Franzosen – buchstäblich mit Kind und Kegel – zehn Tage zum "Grand Palais" an den Champs-Elysees, um die Parade der dort dekorativ zur Schau gestellten Personenwagen aller führenden Automobilfabriken der Welt abzunehmen.

1957 October 17, Willy Wenzke, “Die Japaner eroberten Paris”, in Die Zeit:

Unimpressed by the ongoing government crisis, the French flocked – literally with the whole family – for ten days to the Grand Palais on the Champs-Elysees to take in the parade of decoratively displayed passenger cars from all the world's leading automobile factories.

Am Friedrichstraßenbunker lungern sie mit Kind und Kegel, mit Taschen und Flaschen, warten auf Bomben, auf Alarm, warten geduldig vor verschlossenen Toren.

1970, Hildegard Knef, Der geschenkte Gaul, Fritz Molden, →ISBN, page 68:

Families linger with all their possessions at the bunker in Friedrichstrasse, with bags and bottles, waiting for the bombs, for the alarm, waiting patiently in front of the locked gates.

(idiomatic, somewhat informal) as a large group; with all of one's family, contents, and/or livestock


selbst

With excrescent -t (same: eins > einst, su(n)s > sonst etc.) fossilized from the nonfeminine genitive singular Middle High German sëlbes, from the Old High German pronoun selb, selbo, from Proto-Germanic *selbaz, from Proto-Indo-European *selbʰ- (“one's own”), from *s(w)e- (“separate, apart”). Compare Low German sulv, Dutch zelf, English self, Danish selv.

der

Selbst du hast es zugegeben.


z.B.

(sometimes proscribed) Alternative form of z. B.


deshalb

From Middle High German deshalp, from Middle High German des, dez (“from that, therefore, thereon”) + halp (“half”). Cognate to Low German diäßhalw (Paderbornisch).

«Es wäre gefährlich für die Stabilität des Landes. Deshalb rufe ich allen Akteuren zu: Schluss mit dem Spiel!»

2016 September 26, Alain Berset, Neue Zürcher Zeitung:

‘It would be dangerous for the country's stability. That's why I'm appealing to all parties: stop playing games!’

2017, 20 Minuten, «Obamacare wird bald explodieren», 24 March

Last but not least, the reason Republicans wanted to stop the healthcare reform was because it was a landmark project of the Democratic Obama administration.

Nicht zuletzt wollten die Republikaner die Gesundheitsreform wohl auch deshalb stoppen, weil sie ein Prestige-Projekt der demokratischen Obama-Regierung war.

(conjunctive) therefore; for that (reason), because of that


was für

Was für „immer“? Zweimal war ich da.

What do you mean “always”? I went there twice.

Was für „erster Platz“? Ihr werdet letzter, Alter!

“First place”? What are you on about? You’re gonna be last, man!

what do you mean
what do you mean#English

(youth slang) used to express strong rejection of a particular phrase in a statement by someone else; similar to English what do you mean


natürlich

[naˈtʰyːɐ̯lɪç]

From Middle High German natiurlich, from Old High German natūrlīh. Equivalent to Natur + -lich. Compare Dutch natuurlijk, English naturally, Swedish naturlig.


geschickt

From Middle High German geschicket (“arranged, prepared, ready, suitable”).

inh

geschickt miteinander verbinden


bzw.

Abbreviation of beziehungsweise.
or; also

Abbreviation of beziehungsweise.
or rather; more precisely; i.e.

Abbreviation of beziehungsweise.
and…respectively


usw.

Das Hauptzeugnis für gr. -ειος, der aeol. Gebrauch von patronym. -ειος bei o-Stämmen, ist eine Neuerung; dieses -ειος ist als Universalsuffix auch bei Kons.-Stämmen verwendet; und es stammt als -ios-Ableitung von den Namen auf -ης, so -ειος neben -ης in Thessalien, Schwyzer, Del. 567 (-ης als -εις geschrieben) l. 80 f. Ἱπποκράτειος, 99 f. Ἀντιφάνειος, 112 Ἀντιγένειος; auf Lesbos patronym. 623, 56 Ἱερογένειος, 640 Σωγένειος, weibl. 621, 11 als Name Ἑλλανοκράτεια; das Muster für mask. -γένειος usw. war vermutlich nicht-patronym. fem. -εια (hom. ἠριγένεια, Ἰφιγένεια, Εὐρύκλεια oder -κλέεια).
The main evidence for Greek -ειος, the Aeolic use of patronymic -ειος with o-stems, is an innovation; this -ειος is used as a universal suffix with consonant stems; and it derives from nouns in -ης as a -ios-derivation, thus -ειος [is] near -ης in Thessaly, Schwyzer, Del. 567 (-ης written as -εις) vid. 80 f. Ἱπποκράτειος, 99 f. Ἀντιφάνειος, 112 Ἀντιγένειος; patronymic on Lesbos 623, 56 Ἱερογένειος, 640 Σωγένειος, fem. 621, 11 as the name Ἑλλανοκράτεια; the example for the masculine -γένειος etc. was presumably the non-patronymic fem. -εια (Homeric ἠριγένεια, Ἰφιγένεια, Εὐρύκλεια or -κλέεια).

1926–8, Leumann–Hofmann–Szantyr, Lateinische Grammatik I: Lateinische Laut- und Formenlehre (1977 new ed. of the 5th ed. of 1926–8) Formenlehre Nomen II.B, § 273:1.d, page 290

Ein Hinderungsgrund für ein besseres Verständnis des einheimischen Jihadismus ist laut Kepel auch der Vorwurf der «Islamophobie». Angriffe gegen Muslime, ihre Person oder ihre Güter seien fraglos rechtlich zu ahnden – wie gleichgeartete Attacken gegen Juden, Frauen, «Weisse», Homosexuelle usw.
… Attacks against Muslims, their person or their goods, are unquestionably to be punished by law – like similar attacks against Jews, women, "whites", homosexuals, etc.

2016, Marc Zitzmann, Radikalisierung, Islamophobie; in: Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 26 March 2016 (online; Swiss)


direkt

some speakers, especially Austro-Bavarian

From Latin dīrectus (“laid straight, upright”).


allerdings

Compound of aller (genitive plural of alle (“all”)) + Dings (genitive singular of Ding (“thing”)) (compare schlechterdings). Before the 19th century, the full form aller Dinge (“of all things”), with the plural Dinge, was used.

af

genitive plural of <i class="Latn mention" lang="de">alle</i> (“all”)

genitive singular of <i class="Latn mention" lang="de">Ding</i> (“thing”)

Es wird allerdings die Vermutung ausgesprochen...

Ich würde gerne zu deiner Party kommen, allerdings habe ich keine Zeit.

I would love to come to your party, but I don't have time.

Tut es sehr weh? Allerdings!


wöchentlich

/ˈvœçn̩tlɪç/

From Woche and -lich, with umlaut (from o to ö) and epenthesis; Middle High German wochenlich.


plötzlich

[ˈpʰl̥œt͡slɪç]

From late Middle High German plotzlich, from Plotz (“clap, slap”) (onomatopoeic), originally adverb, since Luther also in adjectival use. Cognate with Hunsrik pletzlich. Compare also Middle Low German plutzlik (> Danish pludselig, Swedish plötslig). Related to Early New High German plözling, whence Yiddish פּלוצלינג (plutsling). Compare also a similar development in Dutch plotseling, which replaced earlier plotzelijk.


schoen

head

schoen (comparative schoener, superlative am schoensten)

schoener (comparative)
am schoensten (superlative)

Nonstandard spelling of schön used in some older texts and when technical limitations prevent the use of umlauts.


weshalb

Dar war nicht der einzige Grund, weshalb das kleine Gespenst den Schlüsselbund ständig mit sich herumtrug.

1966, Otfried Preußler, Das kleine Gespenst:

That was not the only reason why the little ghost always carried the bunch of keys around with him.


weswegen

Weswegen bist du so spät gekommen?

Er hatte verschlafen, weswegen er den Zug nicht mehr erreichte.

He had overslept, which is why he didn't reach the train.


dwars

19th century, borrowed from Low German dwars, from Middle Low German dwers. Doublet of quer, the main form (from Central German), and obsolete zwerch (from Upper German), still in Zwerchfell.

(nautical) athwart, abreast (to the side of a ship)


giftig

From Middle High German giftec; equivalent to Gift + -ig.


aufdringlich

/ˈaʊ̯fˌdʁɪŋlɪç/

es duftet nicht aufdringlich


lecker

Swedish: läcker

From Middle High German lecker, from Old High German *lekkar, from Proto-West Germanic *likkr, derived from the verb Proto-West Germanic *likkōn (“to lick”). Cognate to Dutch lekker, Afrikaans lekker, Middle Low German lecker, Norwegian lekker, Swedish läcker and Danish lækker. More at lick.

In dieser Wirtschaft kann man lecker essen.

well, with pleasure (usually referring to eating and drinking)


wohin

Wohin geht ihr? -- "Where are you (pl., informal) going?"


woher

Woher kommt ihr? (informal, plural)

Woher soll ich das wissen?

how (not the general meaning of "in which way", but meaning "from which source" or "from where" exactly)


konkret

→ Hungarian: konkrét

Borrowed from Latin concrētus, past participle of concrescere (com- + crescere).


peu à peu

(somewhat dated) bit by bit, little by little


auf Biegen und Brechen

/ˌʔaʊ̯f ˈbiːɡŋ̩ ˌʔʊnt ˈbʁɛçn̩/


alle Jubeljahre

Literally, “every jubilee year”, from the biblical Jubeljahr or Jobeljahr occurring every 50 years.


überflüssig

/ˈyːbɐˌflʏsɪç/

Calque of Late Latin superfluus, über- + flüssig.


in flagranti

Borrowed from Medieval Latin in flagrante delicto; from Latin in + flagrō (“to burn”).

bor+

Trotz aller Anstrengungen des Pedells gelang es nie, die Sünder in flagranti zu erwischen.

1911, Erwin Rosen [pseudonym; Erwin Carlé], Der Deutsche Lausbub in Amerika [The German prankster in America]:

Silberer hat, wie an anderer Stelle erwähnt, die Umsetzung von Gedanken in Bilder gleichsam in flagranti erhascht, indem er sich in Zuständen von Müdigkeit und Schlaftrunkenheit zu geistiger Tätigkeit nötigte.

1914 [1900], Sigmund Freud, Die Traumdeutung [The Interpretation of Dreams], 4th edition, Leipzig, Wien: Franz Deuticke, page 361:

in flagrante delicto
in flagrante delicto


namentlich

Name (“name”) + -lich (adverbial and adjectival suffix)

suffix

nahmentlich (18th century old fashioned; no longer in use.)

1922, Rudolf Steiner, Nationalökonomischer Kurs, Erster Vortrag
[…] die ganze englische Wirtschaft nur möglich war auf der Grundlage, die sich aus dem Verhältnis Englands zu den Kolonien ergeben hatte, namentlich zu Indien.

[…] the entire English economy was only possible on the basis that was formed by England’s relationship with the colonies, especially India.


ausdrücklich

ausdrücklich ablehnen.


ruhig

From Middle High German ruowec (“quiet”). By surface analysis, Ruhe + -ig.

Du kannst ruhig mitkommen.

You can come along if you like; You’re welcome to come along; I don’t mind if you come along.

used to indicate that the speaker does not object to the actions of others

Es kann ruhig ein bisschen mehr sein.

I don’t mind if it’s a little more; Can I have a little more?

used to soften a request, as if to say “I don’t mind if...” to mean “I would like it if...”


abscheulich

/ ʔabˈʃɔʏ̯.lɪç /

[ ʔapˈʃɔʏ̯.lɪç ]

Es stank abscheulich.

hideously, beastly, abominably, detestably


durch und durch

From durch (“through”) + und (“and”) + durch (“through”).

af

Ich bin Deutscher, durch und durch.


endlich

From Middle High German endelīch (“final”), equivalent to Ende (“end”) + -lich (“-ly”). See English endly.

Sie schwiegen lange. Als er endlich etwas sagen wollte, wehrte sie leise ab. „Heute nichts mehr, ich bitte dich darum“

They were silent for a long time. When he finally wanted to say something, she softly refused. „Nothing more today, I beg you for that“


wahrscheinlich

/vaː(ɐ̯)ˈʃaɪ̯nlɪç/

Mid-17th century, from Dutch waarschijnlijk (1540), itself a loan translation of French vraisemblable and/or Latin verisimilis (“probable”). Analysable as wahr (“true”) + scheinen (“to seem”) + -lich (“-ly”), thus “trueseemly, trueseeming”. Cognate to German Low German wohrschynlik.

compound

Wahrscheinlich regnet es heute Nachmittag.


vorgestern

day before yesterday
day before yesterday


übermorgen

→ Danish: overmorgen (calque)

→ English: overmorrow (calque)

→ Swedish: övermorgon (calque)

/ˈyːbɐˌmɔʁɡn̩/

Inherited from Middle High German übermorgen, from Old High German ubar morgan, ubar morgana; equivalent to über- (“over, above”) + morgen (“tomorrow”). Compare Dutch overmorgen.


persönlich

/pɛʁˈzøːnlɪç/

[pʰɛɐ̯ˈzøːnlɪç]

From Middle High German persōnlich. By surface analysis, Person + -lich. Cognate with Hunsrik persenlich, Yiddish פּערזענלעך (perzenlekh).


vollständig

/ˈfɔlˌʃtɛndɪç/


historisch

/hɪsˈtoːʁɪʃ/

From Latin historicus + German suffix -isch


egal

Egal, was du sagst: ich bleibe dabei.

No matter what you say: my opinion won't change.


grausam

/ˈɡʁaʊ̯ˌzaːm/

/ˈɡʁaʊ̯ˌzam/

From Middle High German grūsam, grūwesam. By surface analysis, grauen + -sam. Compare English gruesome, Danish grusom (“horrible”) and Dutch gruwzaam (“gruesome; cruel”). Related to ergrausen (“to frighten”).

grausam bestraft

grausam getötet


ebenfalls

From earlier ebenen Falls (literally “just the same case”).


gleichfalls

From gleich + -falls.
Earlier (des) gleichen Falls, equivalent to gleich + Fall + -s. Compare Middle Low German gelîkesvals, gelîkesvalles (> German Low German gliekfalls).