German Language Stack Exchange
German Language Stack Exchange

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1500 questions
31
votes
9 answers

Is "Busen" just the area between the breasts?

I thought "der Busen" meant breasts. But then I heard someone knowledgeable claim it was just the area between the breasts. I didn't understand all he said and it would have been too awkward for me to ask him. Here's an illustration: Attribution:…
The Awful Language
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3 answers

How do synchronous interpreters handle long German split verb sentences?

One of the points where German differs from other languages are the split verb sentences where the two parts of a verb form can be placed quite some distance apart, for example: Ich habe nach langer Fahrt auf der nächtlichen, schneebedeckten…
Alexander Rühl
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2 answers

Hat sich das Geschlecht von „Antwort“ mit der Zeit geändert?

This question also has an answer here (in English): Why is “Antwort” feminine, if “Wort” is neutral? Vor ein paar Wochen habe ich im Buch von Bohnenblust Pour Bien Savoir l’Allemand (Payot, 1930) gelesen, dass das Substantiv Antwort früher…
Georges Elencwajg
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31
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3 answers

“Food” in German

When I was looking for the German equivalent of food in my dictionary, I’ve noticed that both Lebensmittel and Nahrung have the same meaning and so does Essen, which I had learned before. While I was trying to find the difference via Google, not…
user508
31
votes
5 answers

Translation of John Doe

(At least) in America, not yet identified dead persons are named "John (or Jane) Doe". If you read of a John/Jane Doe, then you know that this is a still unknown dead man/woman. Does any similar term exist in the german language? dict.leo.org…
Markus
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31
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11 answers

How do Germans react to foreigners messing up noun genders?

My boyfriend is German and we're going in a few months where I will meet his family for the first time. I am OK at German, but something I really have a hard time with is remembering noun genders, since that's obviously just not something I need in…
Eichhörnchen
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30
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2 answers

Difference between "Es sind" and "Es gibt" for asserting existence of something

In English we say There are... and I know that I've seen es gibt used in German. I've also seen es sind. Are these phrases identical? There are many flowers in the garden = Es gibt viele Blumen im Garten. Es sind viele Blumen im Garten. Are both…
kokirii
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30
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5 answers

What is the difference between “ändern” and “verändern”?

I'm still confused about the difference between ändern and verändern. I have read something about ändern only being used with small changes and verändern when something changes totally. But where exactly is the line between those? And how does this…
Jonhy
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30
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4 answers

Do Latin loanwords conserve their gender?

When I asked my teacher for the gender of Mensa, she replied that it is feminine, because the Latin word mensa is feminine. When it comes to words that share the same spelling in both German and Latin, is this generally true?
Tim
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30
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4 answers

How to refer to a woman based on her age?

For example, you wouldn’t use girl for a 40 years old woman or kid for a 20 years old woman (unless you’re far older). Fräulein for single woman between what ages? What is the age range for Mädchen?
Jose
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30
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3 answers

How to read years in German?

The year 1995 is read in English nineteen ninety-five. This means we read the first two digits as a single number and then the next two digits, with the same rule. Is this rule true in German? I mean, should we read it as…
Jimmy
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30
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6 answers

Was ist die korrekte Anrede in E-Mails an Personen, die man nicht persönlich kennt?

Was ist die korrekte Anrede in E-Mails an Personen, die man nicht persönlich kennt? Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren oder Sehr geehrte Frau / Herr ... Beides klingt sehr formell, Hallo oder Guten Tag dagegen zu salopp. Gibt es Stilvorlagen im…
swegi
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30
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4 answers

How to write an "ß"?

What is the proper way to write an Eszett on paper with a pen? In English we are told to start letters at the top, but the ß only has ends at the bottom, so what is the proper way to draw the letter?
Moshe
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30
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5 answers

Difference between Erfahrung and Erlebnis?

They both translate into "experience" in English.
Sean
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30
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6 answers

Why is »ß« substituted with »ss« rather than »sz«?

The letter ß is called Eszett, literally meaning s z. However, when the letter is not available (or when a word is in all caps), ß is almost always substituted by the digraph ss rather than sz (e.g. STRASSE rather than STRASZE). While this fact is…
user5431
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