| nur |
| 1. adv. only, just, merely, simply | |
| Nur reife Kirschen dürfen auf den Kuchen. - Only ripe cherries may go on the cake. | |
| Du musst nur die Werte eingeben und den Rest macht der Computer. - You just have to enter the values and the computer will do the rest. | |
| 2. adv. ever; at all | |
| Ich helfe dir, wo ich nur kann. - I’ll help you wherever I can. | |
| 3. adv. however, though | |
| Wir könnten es versuchen. Nur wären die Risiken sehr hoch. - We could try. The risks would be very high, however. | |
| 4. conj. (chiefly colloquial) but | |
| Ich wär auf jeden Fall dabei, nur ich hab echt keine Zeit. - I’d definitely come along, but I really don’t have the time. | |
| wir |
| 1. pron. we | |
| freilich |
| 1. adv. admittedly | |
| 2. adv. (especially, Southern German) certainly, of course, sure | |
| Auf die Frage, ob sie ihm beim Umzug helfen würde, antwortete sie nur: „Freilich!“ - Regarding the question of whether or not she would help him move, she replied simply, “of course!” | |
| Können |
| 1. n. (gerund of können); skill, ability | |
| 2. v. to be able (to do or be something), to have the possibility of; can. | |
| 3. 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. | |
| 4. 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. | |
| 5. 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. | |
| 6. 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 | |
| 7. 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. | |
| 8. v. (auxiliary) to be in the legal situation of being able to realize a legal effect even if it be legally disallowed | |
| | |
| 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? | |
| nicht |
| 1. adv. not, non- (negates the meaning of a verb, adjective, or adverb) | |
| Bitte nicht stören! - Please do not disturb! | |
| Das ist nicht wahr. - That is not true. | |
| 2. interj. (tag question, dated, or formal) right?; is it?; is it not? | |
| Du bist sicher die Claudia, nicht? - You must be Claudia, aren't you? | |
| Mehr |
| 1. n. increase, excess | |
| ein Mehr an Arbeit, Steuern, Unkosten, ... - an excess of work, taxes, costs, ... | |
| 2. n. majority, more than half (50%) of some group | |
| Der Gesetzesentwurf der Volksinitiative scheiterte am Volksmehr. | |
| 3. pron. something more | |
| sich für mehr halten - to think one is something more | |
| Mehr will er nicht bezahlen. - He doesn't want to pay more. | |
| Er sieht mehr als ich. - He sees more than I see. | |
| 4. det. comparative of viel; more | |
| Willst du mehr Essen? - Do you want more food? | |
| mit mehr oder weniger Erfolg - with a greater or lesser degree of success | |
| Ich habe mehr Haare als du. - I have more hair than you. | |
| zwei Kilo mehr - two more kilos | |
| 5. adv. more | |
| immer mehr - more and more | |
| 6. adv. (with negation) no longer, never again, nothing more, not anymore | |
| Er ist kein Kind mehr - He is no longer a child. | |
| Ich mag dich nicht mehr. - I don't like you anymore. | |
| nicht mehr lange - not much longer | |
| nichts mehr - nothing more, nothing left | |
| nie mehr - never again | |
| Lesen |
| 1. n. (gerund of lesen); reading | |
| 2. v. to read (look at and understand symbols, words, or data) | |
| 3. v. to select and gather or harvest (things like grapes) | |
| denn |
| 1. conj. for; because; since | |
| Ich möchte diese Hose kaufen, denn sie gefällt mir sehr. - I'd like to buy these pants since I like them a lot. | |
| 2. conj. (after a comparative, archaic, or dialectal) than | |
| 3. adv. (in a question, modal particle) then, ever, but, now (used for emphasis or to express interest, surprise or doubt, or in rhetorical questions) | |
| Wo ist er denn? - Where is he, then?/Where ever can he be? | |
| Wieso denn? - How so, then? | |
| Was denn? - But what? | |
| 4. adv. (rather rare) thus, so; (expresses a consequence; see usage notes) | |
| 5. adv. (colloquial regional northern Germany) then, after that, in that case | |
| 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. | |
| 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 | |
| Lesen |
| 1. n. (gerund of lesen); reading | |
| 2. v. to read (look at and understand symbols, words, or data) | |
| 3. v. to select and gather or harvest (things like grapes) | |
| wird |
| 1. v. third-person singular present of werden | |
| werden |
| 1. v. (auxiliary) will; to be going (to do something); forms the future tense | |
| Ich werde nach Hause gehen. - I will go home. | |
| 2. v. (auxiliary) would; forms the subjunctive tense of most verbs | |
| 3. v. (auxiliary) to be done; forms the passive voice | |
| Das Buch wird gerade gelesen. (present tense) - The book is being read. | |
| Ich wurde in Europa geboren. (preterite tense) - I was born in Europe. | |
| Er war geschlagen worden. (past perfect tense) - He had been beaten. | |
| 4. v. (copulative, past participle geworden) to become; to get; to grow; to turn | |
| Es wird heißer. - It's getting hotter. | |
| 5. v. (with a dative object and certain adjectives) to begin or come to feel or experience (a condition) | |
| Usage: In this sense werden 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. (See the usage no | |
| Wird dir kalt? - Are you getting cold? | |
| Den Kindern wird langweilig. - The children are getting bored. | |
| Von Mayonnaise wird mir schlecht. - Mayonnaise makes me sick. (Literally: From mayonnaise I become sick.) | |
| 6. v. (copulative, colloquial) to be, to happen, to occur (in the future) | |
| Wir werden zusammen glücklich. - We will be happy together. | |
| Was wird aus mir? - What will become of me? | |
| 7. v. (colloquial) to be going to work | |
| Das wird so nichts. - It will not work like that. | |
| im |
| 1. contraction. contraction of in dem ; in the | |
| 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) | |
| dem |
| 1. art. dative singular of der: the | |
| 2. pron. dative singular of der: to whom, to which | |
| Schulunterricht |
|
| nicht |
| 1. adv. not, non- (negates the meaning of a verb, adjective, or adverb) | |
| Bitte nicht stören! - Please do not disturb! | |
| Das ist nicht wahr. - That is not true. | |
| 2. interj. (tag question, dated, or formal) right?; is it?; is it not? | |
| Du bist sicher die Claudia, nicht? - You must be Claudia, aren't you? | |
| Mehr |
| 1. n. increase, excess | |
| ein Mehr an Arbeit, Steuern, Unkosten, ... - an excess of work, taxes, costs, ... | |
| 2. n. majority, more than half (50%) of some group | |
| Der Gesetzesentwurf der Volksinitiative scheiterte am Volksmehr. | |
| 3. pron. something more | |
| sich für mehr halten - to think one is something more | |
| Mehr will er nicht bezahlen. - He doesn't want to pay more. | |
| Er sieht mehr als ich. - He sees more than I see. | |
| 4. det. comparative of viel; more | |
| Willst du mehr Essen? - Do you want more food? | |
| mit mehr oder weniger Erfolg - with a greater or lesser degree of success | |
| Ich habe mehr Haare als du. - I have more hair than you. | |
| zwei Kilo mehr - two more kilos | |
| 5. adv. more | |
| immer mehr - more and more | |
| 6. adv. (with negation) no longer, never again, nothing more, not anymore | |
| Er ist kein Kind mehr - He is no longer a child. | |
| Ich mag dich nicht mehr. - I don't like you anymore. | |
| nicht mehr lange - not much longer | |
| nichts mehr - nothing more, nothing left | |
| nie mehr - never again | |
| gelehrt |
| 1. Participle. past participle of lehren | |
| 2. adj. learned, scholarly | |
| lehren |
| 1. v. to teach a class, a subject; to be a teacher | |
| Ich lehre Geschichte. - I teach history. | |
| Sie lehrt an der Uni. - She's a teacher at the university. | |
| 2. v. (formal, ditransitive) to teach somebody something | |
| Meine Großmutter lehrte mich das Stricken. - My grandmother taught me knitting. | |
