| 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? | |
| ist |
| 1. v. third-person singular present of sein | |
| sein |
| 1. v. (copulative, with a predicate adjective or predicate nominative) to be | |
| Das ist schön. - That is beautiful. | |
| Das ist ein Auto. - That is a car. | |
| 2. v. (with a dative object and certain adjectives) to feel, (to experience a condition) | |
| Usage: In this sense sein is always conjugated in the third person singular and takes a Dative noun. The impersonal subject es may be present, but is often taken as implied. For example: "Mir i | |
| Ist dir kalt? - Are you cold? | |
| Mir ist schlecht. - I'm sick. | |
| Dem Mann ist schwindelig. - The man feels dizzy. | |
| Den Kindern ist langweilig. - The children are bored. | |
| 3. v. (with a dative object and nach or danach, sometimes with zumute) to feel like, to be in the mood for | |
| Usage: As in the previous sense sein takes a Dative noun and is always conjugated according to the impersonal subject es, although it is usually omitted. | |
| Uns ist nach einem Film zumute. - We feel like watching a movie. | |
| Mir ist nicht danach. - I don't feel like it. | |
| 4. v. (auxiliary) forms the present perfect and past perfect tenses of certain intransitive verbs | |
| Er ist alt geworden. - He has become old. | |
| 5. v. to exist; there to be; to be alive | |
| Was nicht ist, kann noch werden. (a common proverb) - That which does not exist now, may come into existence. | |
| Wenn ich nicht mehr bin, erbst du das Haus. - When I am no more, you'll inherit the house. | |
| 6. v. to have the next turn (in a game, in a queue, etc.) | |
| Du bist. - It’s your turn. | |
| Du bist nach mir. - Your turn is after mine. | |
| 7. v. to be "it"; to be the tagger in a game of tag | |
| Du bist! - You're it! | |
| Ich bin nicht mehr. - I'm not it anymore. | |
| 8. det. his | |
| Daniel schickt seiner Schwester eine SMS. - Daniel is sending a text to his sister. | |
| Der Kater spielt oft mit seinen Spielsachen. - The cat often plays with his toys. | |
| 9. det. its (agreeing with a masculine or neuter noun) | |
| der Mond und sein Licht - the moon and its light | |
| das Schaf und seine Lämmer - the sheep and its lambs | |
| 10. det. (informal) Used to express an approximate number, often with so. | |
| Der kostet so seine zweihundert Euro. - That one costs around two hundred euros. | |
| 11. det. one's | |
| Man muss seinem Herzen folgen. - One must follow one’s heart. | |
| Gut |
| 1. n. commodity, property, possession, good | |
| 2. n. a large farmstead, estate related to agriculture. | |
| 3. adj. good (acting in the interest of what is beneficial, ethical, or moral) | |
| Wir müssen gut sein, um uns gut zu fühlen. - We must be good to feel good. | |
| 4. adj. good (effective; useful) | |
| 5. adj. good (fortunate) | |
| 6. adj. good (having a particularly pleasant taste) | |
| 7. adj. all right, fair, proper (satisfactory) | |
| 8. adj. good (full; entire; at least as much as) | |
| 9. adv. well (accurately, competently, satisfactorily) | |
| Die Mannschaft hat gut gespielt. - The team played well. | |
| 10. adv. a little more than (with measurements) | |
| 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. | |
| 11. adv. easily, likely | |
| Dieser Gegenstand ist gut zu finden. - That item is easily found. | |
| Es kann gut sein, dass du nächstes Jahr verheiratet bist. - You may well be married next year. | |
| 12. interj. okay, all right, now then | |
| Gut, dann fangen wir mal an. - All right, then let's get started. | |
| Wenn |
| 1. n. (informal) if | |
| 2. conj. when | |
| Sag bitte Bescheid, wenn du fertig bist! (Tell me when you're done!) | |
| 3. conj. if (on the condition that) | |
| Was tun, wenn ich nicht weiß, ob sie mich liebt? (What (to do) if I don't know if she loves me?) | |
| man |
| 1. pron. one, you (indefinite pronoun; construed as a third-person singular) | |
| Man kann nicht immer kriegen, was man will. - You can’t always get what you want. | |
| Manchmal muss man Kompromisse machen. - Sometimes one must compromise. | |
| 2. pron. they, people (people in general) | |
| Zumindest sagt man das so... - At least that’s what they say... | |
| 3. pron. someone, somebody (some unspecified person) | |
| 4. pron. they (some unspecified group of people) | |
| 5. adv. (colloquial regional northern Germany) just; only | |
| Komm man hier rüber! - Just come over here! | |
| Das sind man dreißig Stück oder so. - These are only thirty or so. | |
| das |
| 1. art. singular of der: the | |
| 2. pron. singular of der | |
| 3. pron. (relative) who, that, which | |
| Ich kenne ein Mädchen, das das kann. - I know a girl who can do that. | |
| Das kann es nicht geben. - This is nothing that could possibly exist. | |
| 4. pron. (demonstrative) this, that, it | |
| Das ist mein Haus. - This is my house. | |
| er - Er wissen | |
| Ich hab das nicht. - I don’t have it. (i.e. the thing mentioned) | |
| 5. pron. (regional, northern Germany) it (subject of an impersonal verb) | |
| Das regnet schon wieder. - It’s raining again. | |
| Wissen Sie, wie spät das ist? - Do you know what time it is? | |
| 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 | |
| was |
| 1. pron. (interrogative) what | |
| Was machst du heute? - What are you doing today? | |
| 2. pron. (relative) which ((referring to the entire preceding clause)) | |
| Sie tanzte gut, was er bewunderte. - She was a good dancer, which he admired. | |
| 3. pron. (relative) that, which ((referring to das, alles, etwas, nichts, and neuter substantival adjectives)) | |
| Das ist alles, was ich weiß. - That's all that I know. | |
| Das ist das Beste, was mir passieren konnte. - That's the best that could have happened to me. | |
| 4. pron. (relative, colloquial) that, which ((referring to neuter singular nouns, instead of standard das)) | |
| Siehst du das weiße Haus, was renoviert wird? - Do you see that white house, which is being renovated? | |
| 5. pron. (indefinite, colloquial) something, anything ((instead of standard etwas)) | |
| Ich hab was gefunden. - I've found something. | |
| 6. pron. (interrogative, dated) why (with emphasis, astonishment or disapproval) | |
| Was birgst du so bang dein Gesicht? - Why on earth are you hiding your face so fearfully? | |
| 7. adv. (colloquial) a little, somewhat | |
| Ich komm was später. - I'll arrive a little later. | |
| 8. adv. (interrogative, colloquial) why, what for | |
| Was bist du heute so stumm? - Why are you so silent today? | |
| man |
| 1. pron. one, you (indefinite pronoun; construed as a third-person singular) | |
| Man kann nicht immer kriegen, was man will. - You can’t always get what you want. | |
| Manchmal muss man Kompromisse machen. - Sometimes one must compromise. | |
| 2. pron. they, people (people in general) | |
| Zumindest sagt man das so... - At least that’s what they say... | |
| 3. pron. someone, somebody (some unspecified person) | |
| 4. pron. they (some unspecified group of people) | |
| 5. adv. (colloquial regional northern Germany) just; only | |
| Komm man hier rüber! - Just come over here! | |
| Das sind man dreißig Stück oder so. - These are only thirty or so. | |
| tut |
| 1. v. third-person singular present of tun | |
| Es tut mir leid. - I am sorry. | |
| 2. v. second-person plural present of tun | |
| 3. v. plural imperative of tun | |
| tun |
| 1. v. To do (to perform or execute an action). | |
| Tu es! - Do it! | |
| Man tut, was man kann. - One does what one can. | |
| Er tat das, was man ihm gesagt hat. - He did as he was told. | |
| Das einzige, was er je tat, war arbeiten. - The only thing he ever did was work. | |
| 2. v. (with dative) To do something (positive or negative) to someone. | |
| Der tut Ihnen nichts! - He won't hurt you! (said for example about a dog) | |
| Mein Mann hat mir so viel Gutes getan. - My husband has done me so much good. | |
| 3. v. To make a difference; to be different. | |
| Tut sich das viel? - Does that make much of a difference? | |
| Die beiden Kameras tun sich nichts. - The two cameras are no different i.e. neither better than the other. | |
| 4. v. (somewhat informal, with “so” or “als ob”) To fake; to feign; to pretend. | |
| Er hat nur so getan. - He just faked it. | |
| Er tut, als ob er nichts wüsste. - He pretends to know nothing. | |
| 5. v. (chiefly colloquial) To put, to place, to add. | |
| Tu das hier rein. - Put it in here. | |
| Ich würde noch was Salz an die Kartoffeln tun. - I would add some more salt to the potatoes. | |
| 6. v. (chiefly colloquial, with “es”) To work, to function. | |
| Die Uhr tut’s nicht mehr. - The clock doesn’t work anymore. | |
| 7. v. (chiefly colloquial, but acceptable in writing) Used with thepreceding infinitive of another verb to emphasise this verb | |
| Er singt immer noch gern, aber tanzen tut er gar nicht mehr. - He still loves singing, but as to dancing, he doesn't do that anymore at all. | |
| 8. v. (colloquial non-standard) (Used with thefollowing infinitive of another verb, often to emphasise the statement) | |
| Ich tu doch zuhören! - I am listening! (as a response to the reproach that one is not) | |
| Ich tu das jetzt mal aufräumen. - I’m cleaning this up now. | |
| 9. v. (colloquial non-standard) (Used in the past subjunctive with the infinitive of another verb to form the conditional tense (instead of standard würde)) | |
| Ich tät mir das noch mal überlegen. - I would think about that again. | |
| gegebenenfalls |
| 1. adv. possibly; if circumstances require; where applicable | |
| Auch |
| 1. Proper noun. , common in Southern Germany as an occupational surname for those who watched livestock at night | |
| 2. adv. also; too; as well (in addition to whatever or whoever has previously been listed) | |
| Ich will auch ein Eis. - Stress on “auch”: I too want icecream. | |
| Ich will auch ein Eis. - Stress on “Eis”: I want icecream, too. | |
| 3. adv. Used for emphasis. | |
| 4. adv. (To confirm a preceding statement by someone else): really, actually, indeed, in fact | |
| 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. - You should go to the police. ― I will. | |
| 5. adv. (To ask for confirmation of something one considers necessary.) | |
| Hast du das Licht auch ausgemacht? - Did you make sure to turn off the light? | |
| 6. adv. (To imply that something is unreasonable.) | |
| 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 wit | |
| Warum müssen die auch alle ihren Müll hier abladen! - Why do they all have to dump their rubbish here! | |
| 7. adv. even ((implying an extreme example in the case mentioned, as compared to the implied reality)) | |
| 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. | |
| 8. adv. ever (as in whatever, whenever, however, etc.) | |
| Was du auch tust, es wird immer einer besser sein. - Whatever you do, someone will always do it better. | |
| 9. interj. (in answering a yes-no question, used to express that the thing asked about covers part of the truth but not all of it); “yes, and more” | |
| Ach, du bist Bauingenieur. Dann baust du Brücken? — Auch. - Oh, you’re a construction engineer. So you build bridges? — Yeah. And other things, too. | |
| Begründen |
| 1. n. gerund of begründen | |
| 2. v. to make an argument for something, to justify, to give a reason | |
| 3. v. to establish, to found | |
| 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 | |
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