| 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? | |
| gibt |
| 1. v. third-person singular present of geben | |
| geben |
| 1. v. (ditransitive) to give (changing ownership) | |
| Meine Frau hat mir eine neue Uhr gegeben. - My wife gave me a new watch. | |
| 2. v. (ditransitive) to hand, to pass, to put within reach | |
| Gib mir das! - Give me that! | |
| Gib mir deine Hand. - Give me your hand (to hold). | |
| Könnten Sie mir den Stift geben? - Could you hand me that pen? | |
| 3. v. (impersonal, transitive) Used to indicate that something exists (often with a certain property and/or in a certain location). Usually translated as there be or there exist | |
| Gibt es gute Schulen in der Nähe? - Are there good schools in the neighborhood? | |
| Es gibt kein Wasser in dieser Wüste. - There is no water in this desert. | |
| Das kann es nicht geben. - This is nothing that could possibly exist. | |
| 4. v. (ditransitive, transitive) to communicate (helpful information such as a hint or advice), to signal (in a certain way such as a sign) | |
| Darf ich dir einen Rat geben? - May I give you some advice? | |
| Der Spieler gab ein Signal, dass er eingewechselt werden wollte. - The player gave a signal that he wanted to be substituted. | |
| 5. v. to present; to put | |
| 6. v. to result in | |
| 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? | |
| Heute |
| 1. n. today | |
| 2. adv. today | |
| auf |
| 1. prep. (with dative) on, upon (positioned at the top of) | |
| Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch. - The book is lying on the table. | |
| 2. prep. (with accusative) on, onto, up (moving to the top of) | |
| Ich lege das Buch auf den Tisch. - I’m putting the book on the table. | |
| 3. prep. (with accusative) on (indicating responsibility) | |
| Das erste Getränk geht aufs Haus. - The first drink is on the house. | |
| Das fällt nicht auf dich zurück, sondern auf mich. Ich hab's vermasselt. - That's not on you but on me. I messed up. | |
| 4. prep. (with dative) in, at; used with certain nouns instead of bei or in | |
| Niemand auf der Welt hätte das voraussehen können. - No one in the world could have predicted that. | |
| auf dem Stadtplatz - in the town square | |
| Das Schiff ist auf See - The ship is at sea. | |
| auf der Kirmes - at the fun fair | |
| auf der Post - at the post office (also: bei der Post) | |
| 5. prep. (with accusative) to; used with certain nouns instead of zu or in | |
| auf die Kirmes - to the fun fair | |
| auf die Post - to the post office (also: zur Post) | |
| 6. prep. (with a language name) in (see usage note below) | |
| Was heißt das auf Deutsch? - What’s this in German? | |
| 7. prep. (linguistics) in (of a word: ending with some sound or syllable) | |
| Wörter auf -heit sind weiblich. - Words in -heit are feminine. | |
| Du kannst doch auf (’n) Sonntag nich’ den Rasen mähen! - You can’t mow the lawn on a Sunday! | |
| 8. prep. (with accusative) for (during the continuation of) | |
| auf Jahre hinaus - for years to come | |
| 9. prep. (with accusative) to, for (indicating purpose, goal or wish) | |
| Lasst uns auf deine Gesundheit drinken! - Let's drink to your health! | |
| Sie spielen auf Zeit. - They are playing for time. | |
| 10. prep. (with accusative) by (used to separate dimensions when describing the size of something) | |
| X auf Y Meter groß | |
| 11. adv. (somewhat, informal) open | |
| Die Tür ist auf. - The door is open. | |
| 12. adv. (colloquial) finished; gone (food) | |
| Hast du deine Suppe auf? - Have you finished your soup? | |
| Die Milch is’ auf. - The milk is gone. (consumed) | |
| 13. adv. (colloquial) up; awake; out of bed | |
| Ich war um sechs Uhr auf. - I was up at six o'clock. | |
| 14. interj. carry on (continue or proceed as before) | |
| 15. interj. have a go | |
| dem |
| 1. art. dative singular of der: the | |
| 2. pron. dative singular of der: to whom, to which | |
| Spielplatz |
| 1. n. playground | |
| 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 | |
| Sehen |
| 1. n. (gerund of sehen): "seeing". | |
| 2. v. to see; to have sight | |
| Er sieht nicht gut. - He doesn’t see well. | |
| 3. v. to see (something); to perceive by vision | |
| 4. v. to realize; to notice; to see; to find out | |
| 5. v. to meet (somebody); to meet up; to see; (butnot in the sense of “pay a visit to”, nor as a euphemism for having a romantic or sexual relation) | |
| Siehst du den Markus noch? - Do you still see Markus? (Do you meet him regularly? Are you still friends with him?) | |
| 6. v. to look at; to watch; (the construction with nach often implies a turning of the head; other prepositions can be used depending on the context) | |
| auf/nach etwas sehen - to look at something | |
| 7. v. to check on; to look after; to see to (+preo, nach) | |
| Hast du in letzter Zeit nach dem Baby gesehen? - Have you seen to the baby recently? | |
| 8. v. to decide spontaneously and/or by personal preference; to wait and see | |
| Das werden wir dann sehen. - We’ll see then. / We’ll play it by ear. | |
| Soll ich Nudeln oder Pizza nehmen? — Das musst du selber sehen. - Should I take pasta or pizza? — You’ll have to decide for yourself. | |
