| Du |
| 1. pron. alternative case form of du you (singular) (especially when used as a direct address in letters) | |
| 2. n. (literally) the thou, the you (singular) | |
| jemandem das Du anbieten - to offer somebody the thou | |
| 3. pron. you (thou, singular familiar) | |
| bist |
| 1. v. second-person singular present of sein | |
| Du bist nicht mein Sohn. - You are not my son. | |
| 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. | |
| Aber |
| 1. n. an objection, a but | |
| 2. conj. but; however; though | |
| Ich mag keine Orangen, aber ich mag Äpfel. - I don't like oranges, but I like apples. | |
| 3. adv. (obsolete, except in compounds) again | |
| 4. adv. (qualifier) rather; quite; unusually; used with adjectives to express a surprising degree, whether this surprise be real or for effect | |
| Das ist aber teuer. - That's rather expensive. ≈ That's more expensive than I would’ve thought. | |
| Du bist aber groß geworden! - Look how tall you’ve become! (said to a child) | |
| 5. adv. nonetheless, nevertheless | |
| 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. | |
| 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 | |
| ungeschickt |
| 1. adj. clumsy (awkward, lacking coordination, not graceful, not dextrous) | |
