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1500 questions
29
votes
5 answers
Why "die Nacht" but "des Nachts"
The regular Genitive of die Nacht is der Nacht.
Why is it des Nachts?
Is this limited to the time domain or are there such Genitives to be found elsewhere?
Emanuel
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29
votes
2 answers
Menschen vs Leute
Is the same to say Menschen and Leute? When are they exchangeable? I've heard that if you know the people you use one of this words, but I don't know which. (And I don't know if what I've heard is true either.)
c.p.
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29
votes
8 answers
How to translate Fernweh to English?
Is there a good English translation for Fernweh? dict.leo.org suggests wanderlust and itchy feet, but they are both more about travelling around rather than going away.
Tim
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29
votes
7 answers
Is it acceptable to omit umlauts and put an extra 'e' instead?
It's a pain when you haven't got a German keyboard to figure these characters out.
Is it acceptable from a style perspective?
adolf garlic
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29
votes
3 answers
What are German words like Handy and Homeoffice called?
There are some words in German which sound as if they were English foreign words, but have a completely different meaning in English, e.g.:
Handy – mobile phone
Homeoffice – Working from Home
This is different from false friends, because they are…
bernd_k
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29
votes
7 answers
How does a German say "Nice to meet you"?
In English it is common to reply with "Nice to meet you" when you were introduced to somebody. Likewise you say "Was nice to meet you" on leaving.
Are there any similar phrases a German would use in this context? What is a formal German reply when…
Takkat
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29
votes
1 answer
Pronunciation of "China" in German
In German there is some confusion on how to pronounce the letters 'ch' in "China". I heard all of following variants:
[ˈçiːnaː] - as in "ich"
[ˈkçiːnaː] - as in "Bäckchen"
[ˈkiːnaː] - as in "Kino"
[ʃiːnaː] - as in "Schnee"
[tʃiːnaː] - as in…
Takkat
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29
votes
10 answers
Ist ein Buchstabe eine Nummer?
Angenommen, man hat diese Liste:
a. etwas
b. etwas anderes
c. noch etwas anderes
Ich habe "Nummer a" und "Nummer b" in diesem Kontext gehört. Sind Buchstaben Nummern? Gibt es andere Zeichen, die Nummern sind?
Tim
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29
votes
6 answers
What makes the German language sound so harsh?
When international friends hear me talking German, they always think I must be really angry and having an argument with somebody.
What are the phonetical explanations for making the German language sound so harsh or rude?
T Sieksmeier
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29
votes
6 answers
Does German language have "possessive apostrophe"?
Does (did) German have something like what they call possessive apostrophe
in English? If not, what does the role of it in German language?
For example:
This is my father's hat.
My best friend's husband.
user508
29
votes
7 answers
In what context do we write "Guten Tag" rather than "Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren"?
Formal letters almost always used to start with "Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren," or "Sehr geehrter Herr Maier" if the person is known. However more and more we see formal correspondence that addresses with "Guten Tag," or "Guten Tag Herr Maier". The…
Takkat
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29
votes
8 answers
What is the best free word frequency list in German?
I'm looking for a very high quality word frequency list in German. This is a list of how often words are used in the German language.
The best one I have found so far is here (archived):
10,000 words. Unfortunately no details are given on the data…
andyuk
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29
votes
2 answers
Großschreibung von Hauptwörtern und schnelles Lesen
Es gibt Studien, dass deutsche Leser einen Text langsamer lesen, wenn alles kleingeschrieben wird.
Das könnte aber auch an der Gewohnheit liegen.
Ich erinnere mich, gehört zu haben, dass es eine Studie gibt, in der englische Leser einen englischen…
Phira
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28
votes
3 answers
When to say "schönen Tag", when "schönen Tag noch"?
Just wondering, when does one have to add the noch to the greetings? Does the noch implies that that part of the day (Tag, Abend) is about finishing?
I'd also would like to know whether it makes sense to add noch also to Morgen:
Guten/Schönen…
c.p.
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28
votes
5 answers
"Der Dativ ist dem Genitiv sein Tod": is German really losing Genitiv? (evolutionary viewpoint)
Der Dativ ist dem Genitiv sein Tod is an interesting German phrase which originates this question. I’m interested in knowing how true is it/will it be.
Has German always had four cases? Or were some cases deleted/added? When?
I'm temporarily a…
c.p.
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