| wie |
| 1. adv. how | |
| Wie groß bist du? - How tall are you? | |
| Ich weiß nicht, wie die Katze hereingekommen ist. - I don't know how the cat got in. | |
| Wie wunderbar! - How wonderful! | |
| 2. conj. like | |
| Freunde sind wie Sterne in der Nacht. - Friends are like stars in the night. | |
| 3. conj. as | |
| Wie ihr wisst, bin ich in Dortmund aufgewachsen. - As you know, I grew up in Dortmund. | |
| Ich bin so schnell wie du. - I’m as fast as you are. | |
| 4. conj. (colloquial nonstandard) than | |
| Der Junge ist größer wie sein Vater. - The boy is taller than his father. | |
| 5. conj. (chiefly colloquial) when referring to the past | |
| Ich hab ihn gesehen, wie ich in Köln war. - I saw him when I was in Cologne. | |
| Wie ich zur Tür herauskomme, steht da mein alter Schulfreund. - When I came out the door, my old school-day friend was standing in front of me. | |
| kann |
| 1. v. first-person singular present of können | |
| 2. v. third-person singular present of können | |
| können |
| 1. v. to be able (to do or be something), to have the possibility of; can. | |
| 2. v. (auxiliary) | |
| Kannst du ihm helfen? - Are you able to help him? | |
| Ich hätte das machen können. - I could have done that. | |
| Das kann sein, kann aber auch nicht sein. - This may be and may also not be. | |
| Das kann es nicht geben. - This is nothing that could possibly exist. | |
| 3. v. to be able to do something implied; can. | |
| Nein, ich kann nicht. - No, I can’t. | |
| Er hat gekonnt. - He was able to do it. | |
| 4. v. to know how to do (something); to know; to understand; to be able to do (something); to be capable of; can do (something), to have a specific skill. (w | |
| Ich kann Deutsch und Englisch. - I know German and English. | |
| Kannst du es? - Can you do it? | |
| Das hätte ich nicht gekonnt. - I couldn’t have done that. / I wouldn’t have been capable of that. | |
| 5. v. to be possible, to make sense | |
| Nächstes Jahr is’n Schaltjahr. – Das kann nich’. Letztes Jahr war doch Schaltjahr! - Next year is a leap year. – That’s not possible. Last year w | |
| 6. v. (auxiliary) to be allowed (to do something); to be permitted (to do something); may. | |
| Kann ich mitkommen? - May I come along? | |
| Er hat nicht ins Kino gehen können. - He was not allowed to go to the cinema. | |
| 7. v. (auxiliary) to be in the legal situation of being able to realize a legal effect even if it be legally disallowed | |
| | |
| ein |
| 1. art. a, an | |
| ein Mann - a man | |
| eine Frau - a woman | |
| ein Kind - a child | |
| 2. adv. (now chiefly in compounds) indicating (concrete or abstract/metaphorical) motion into something | |
| ein und aus gehen, weder ein noch aus wissen | |
| darein, derein, feldein, feldein, hafenein, hafenein, herein, herein, hierein, hierein, hinein, hinein, jahrein, jahrein, waldein, waldein (older spellings include Wald-ein), worein, wor | |
| 3. adj. (predicative) on | |
| Ist der Schalter ein oder aus? (d. h., Ist der Schalter ein- oder ausgeschaltet?) - Is the switch on or off. (i.e., Is the switch switched on or off.) | |
| Zeppelin |
| 1. n. (strictly) rigid airship, Zeppelin | |
| 2. n. (in common usage) any airship | |
| Es |
| 1. n. (music) E-flat | |
| 2. n. (psychoanalysis) id | |
| 3. pron. Nominative and accusative neuter third-person singular personal pronoun | |
| Wo ist das Buch? Es liegt auf dem Tisch. - Where's the book? It’s on the table. | |
| Wo ist das Kind? Ich habe es. - Where is the child? I have it. | |
| Welche Farbe hat das Pferd? Es ist weiß. - What color is the horse? It is white. | |
| Ich bemerkte ein merkwürdiges bärtiges Individuum und beschloss, es im Auge zu behalten. - I remarked a strange bearded individual and decided to keep an eye on him. | |
| Das Mädchen wusste nicht, dass es beobachtet wurde. - The girl didn’t know that she was being observed. | |
| Jedes Vorstandsmitglied kann das Wort ergreifen, wenn es dies wünscht. - Any board member may take the floor if they so wish. | |
| 4. pron. (Impersonal pronoun used to refer to statements, activities, the environment etc., or as a placeholder/dummy pronoun) — it | |
| Das kann es nicht geben. - This is nothing that could possibly exist. | |
| Sie begann zu laufen, und ich tat es auch. - She began to run, and I did it also. | |
| Es war einmal eine schöne Prinzessin. - There was once a beautiful princess. | |
| Es ist gut zu leben! - It's good to be alive! | |
| Es regnet. - It’s raining. | |
| Es ist sicher, dass morgen die Sonne scheinen wird. - It's certain that the sun will shine tomorrow. | |
| Wie geht es dir? - How are you doing? | |
| Ich bin es, Michael. - It's me, Michael. | |
| Es spielt das Fernsehorchester. - The television orchestra is playing. | |
| Sie wird es noch weit bringen. - She is going to go far. | |
| 5. art. (regional, colloquial) alt form-lite, das | |
| Soll ich es Fenster zumachen? - Should I close the window? | |
| schaffen |
| 1. v. to create; to produce; to make; to cause; to establish ? | |
| 2. v. to manage, to cope with | |
| Kannst du es um 9 Uhr schaffen? - Can you make it at 9 a.m. | |
| 3. v. to succeed with; to accomplish, achieve | |
| Du hast es geschafft - You did it! / You made it! | |
| Sie hat die Prüfung geschafft. - She passed the exam. | |
| 4. v. to convey; to carry; to take | |
| etwas aus der Welt schaffen - to take something out of the world | |
| 5. v. to work; to busy oneself | |
| Ich schaffe in einer Fabrik. - I work in a factory. | |
| Frohes Schaffen! (sometimes jocular) - Merry working! | |
| Schaffe, schaffe, Häusle baue (Swabian proverb) - Work, work, build a little house | |
| sich |
| 1. pron. Reflexive pronoun of the third person singular: herself, himself, itself, oneself (direct or indirect object). | |
| 2. pron. Reflexive pronoun of the third person plural: themselves (direct or indirect object). | |
| in |
| 1. prep. (with dative) in, inside, within, at (inside a building) | |
| Es ist in dem Haus. - It is in the house. | |
| Ich habe die Schlüssel im (in dem) Kühlschrank gefunden. - I found the keys in the refrigerator. | |
| Unsere Kinder sind in der Schule. - Our kids are at school. | |
| Er ist in einem Café. - He is at a coffee shop. | |
| Letzte Nacht waren sie im (in dem) Club. - They were at the club last night. | |
| 2. prep. (with dative) in (pertaining to) | |
| in diesem Sinne - in this/that sense | |
| 3. prep. (with dative) in, at, by (at the end of or during a period of time) | |
| Er schloss sein Studium im Alter von vierzehn. - He completed his studies at/by the age of fourteen. | |
| im Alter - in old age | |
| im Mittelalter - during the middle ages | |
| in den 1960er Jahren - in the 1960s | |
| 4. prep. (with accusative) into, to (going inside (of)) | |
| Er geht ins Haus. - He goes into the house. | |
| Wir gehen in die Schweiz. - We are going to Switzerland. | |
| Wir treten in ein neues Zeitalter ein. - We are coming into a new age. | |
| 5. adj. in, popular (in fashion) | |
| der |
| 1. art. the | |
| 2. art. feminine singular of der | |
| 3. art. genitive plural of der | |
| 4. pron. who; that; which | |
| Ich kenne einen Mann, der das kann. - I know a man who can do that. | |
| 5. pron. feminine dative singular of der: (to) whom, which, that | |
| 6. pron. (attributive, stressed) that | |
| Der Mann war es! - It was that man! | |
| 7. pron. (indicative) him, he | |
| Der hat es getan! - It was him who did it! | |
| 8. pron. (differential) the one, him | |
| Der mit dem Mantel - The one with the coat | |
| 9. pron. feminine dative singular of der: (to) that, (to) her | |
| Luft |
| 1. n. air, atmosphere | |
| 2. n. breeze, zephyr, breath | |
| zu |
| 1. prep. to, towards (indicates directionality) | |
| zum Bahnhof - to the train station | |
| 2. prep. with respect to; regarding | |
| Zu Punkt 1 möchte ich bemerken, dass... - With respect to item 1, let me remark that... | |
| 3. prep. along with; with (accompanying (the main thing in question)) | |
| Wasser zum Essen trinken - to drink water with one’s meal | |
| 4. prep. at, on (indicates location) | |
| zu Hause - at home | |
| 5. prep. at (indicates time) | |
| zur richtigen Zeit - at the right time | |
| zu Beginn - at the beginning | |
| 6. prep. by, in, on, at (indicates mode (of transportation, speech, etc.)) | |
| zu Pferd - on horseback | |
| 7. prep. (with a verb) for; (with a noun) as, by way of (for the purpose of) | |
| 8. prep. for (in honor of, or directed towards the celebration or event of) | |
| 9. prep. into (indicates transition into another form or substance) | |
| 10. prep. as, for, to be (to take on the role of) | |
| 11. prep. to (used to indicate ratios) | |
| 12. prep. at (denotes a price or rate) | |
| 13. part. (with infinitives of verbs) to | |
| etwas zu essen - something to eat | |
| 14. adv. (with adjectives and adverbs) too (excessively) | |
| zu schnell - too fast | |
| 15. adv. (by extension, slang) (An intensifier.) | |
| Dieses Essen ist zu lecker! - This food tastes so good! | |
| 16. adv. towards; at | |
| 17. adv. (somewhat, informal) shut; closed; locked | |
| 18. adv. ahead, on (along, forwards (continuing an action)) | |
| 19. adj. (somewhat, informal) shut, closed (made inaccessible or impassable; not open) | |
| Das Geschäft war zu. - The shop was closed. | |
| Die Tür muss aus Brandschutzgründen immer zu sein. - This door must be shut at all times for reasons of fire safety. | |
| Die Tür ist zu, ich komm nicht rein. - The door is locked, I can’t get in there. | |
| 20. adj. closed (not operating or conducting trade) | |
| 21. adj. done up (fastened) | |
| 22. adj. (slang) hammered; very drunk | |
| halten |
| 1. v. to hold | |
| 2. v. to stop; to halt; to hold back | |
| Haltet den Dieb! - Stop the thief! | |
| 3. v. to support; to hold up | |
| 4. v. to keep; to maintain; to hold | |
| Der Wein hält mich jung. - Wine keeps me young. | |
| 5. v. to keep | |
| 6. v. to hold; to keep; to stay | |
| 7. v. to stop | |
| Der Zug hält nicht in Würzburg. - The train doesn’t stop in Würzburg. | |
| 8. v. to take for, to consider (+preo, für) | |
| Hält er mich für einen Trottel? - Does he take me for a fool? | |
| 9. v. to adhere to, to follow (rules, the law, etc.) (+preo, an) | |
| Er ist ein Aufrührer, der sich nicht an Ihre Regeln hält. - He's a rebel who doesn't follow your rules. | |
| 10. v. (with preposition: von) expresses a positive or negative opinion depending on quantity | |
| Ich halte viel von Dieter. - I like Dieter a lot. | |
| Ich halte wenig von Tomaten. - I do not like tomatoes very much. | |
| 11. v. to give (a presentation, lecture etc.) | |
| Ich halte ein Referat morgen. - I'm giving a presentation tomorrow. | |
