| 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? | |
| für |
| 1. prep. for | |
| Das Geschenk ist für dich. - The present is for you. | |
| 2. prep. in favor of, in support of | |
| Ich bin für die erste Option. - I'm in favor of the first option. | |
| 3. prep. by the standards of | |
| Für einen Ausländer sprichst du sehr gut Deutsch. - For a foreigner, you speak German very well. | |
| 4. prep. on behalf of | |
| Mein Anwalt wird das für mich beantworten. - My lawyer will answer to that on my behalf. | |
| 5. prep. kind / type of | |
| Was für ein Kuchen ist das? - What kind of cake is this? | |
| 6. prep. (informal) instead of | |
| Für die Hose hab ich jetzt den Rock genommen. - Instead of the trousers which I chose not to buy, I took the skirt. | |
| 7. prep. (colloquial nonstandard) in order to (with zu and infinitive) | |
| Der Papa holt das Werkzeug, für die Waschmaschine zu reparieren. - Daddy is getting his tools in order to repair the washing machine. | |
| was für |
| 1. det. what; what kind of | |
| Was für Getränke habt ihr mitgebracht? - What drinks have you brought? | |
| Du kannst dir vorstellen, was für ein Skandal das war. - You can imagine what a scandal that was. | |
| Was für Bücher liest du? - What kind of books do you read? | |
| 2. det. (in exclamation, with 'ein') (oh) what; (oh) such | |
| Was für ein Verrat! - Oh what treason! | |
| Was für ein Schandfleck! - What an eyesore! | |
| 3. adv. (youth slang) Used to express strong rejection of a particular phrase in a statement by someone else; similar to English what do you mean. | |
| Was für „immer“? Zweimal war ich da. - What do you mean “always”? I went there twice. | |
| Was für „erster Platz“? Ihr werdet letzter, Alter! - “First place”? What are you on about? You’re gonna be last, man! | |
| 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.) | |
| Glück |
| 1. n. happiness, joy, bliss (state or emotion) | |
| Das größte Glück im Leben ist es, geliebt zu werden. - The greatest joy in life is to be loved. | |
| das Streben nach Glück - pursuit of happiness | |
| 2. n. luck, success (mostly when seen as dependant on unearned, accidental factors) | |
| Er hatte immer schon viel Glück bei den Frauen. - He’s always had a lot of luck with the ladies. | |
| 3. n. good luck, chance (positive coincidence) | |
| Viel Glück! - Much luck! | |
| Glück und Pech sind zwei Seiten einer Medaille. - Good luck and bad luck are two sides of a coin. | |
| Es war reines Glück, dass ich die Antwort wusste. - It was pure luck that I knew the answer. | |
| 4. n. (only in specific contexts) luck, chance, coincidence in general, fate | |
| Das Spiel basiert nur auf Glück. - The game is based entirely on chance. | |
| Er haderte mit seinem Glück. - He bemoaned his luck/fate. | |
| 5. v. singular imperative of glücken | |
| 6. v. colloquial of | |
| dass |
| 1. conj. (subordinating) that | |
| Ich habe gehört, dass du krank bist. - I was told that you are sick. | |
| 2. conj. (subordinating, chiefly colloquial) so that | |
| Beeil dich, dass wir bald losfahren können. - Hurry up so that we can take off soon. | |
| 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 | |
| Wetter |
| 1. n-n. weather | |
| 2. n-n. storm | |
| 3. adj. form of wett | |
| So |
| 1. n. (nonstandard) abbreviation of Sonntag, t=Sunday Alternative form of So. | |
| 2. adv. so, such, that | |
| Die Leute sind so nett. - People are so nice. | |
| Dieser Hammer ist nicht so gut. - This hammer is not that good. | |
| Das ist so eine gute Idee! - That is such a good idea! | |
| so und so - such and such | |
| 3. adv. as (followed by an adjective or adverb plus wie in a statement of equality) | |
| Er rennt so schnell wie der Blitz. - He runs as fast as lightning. | |
| 4. adv. thus, like this/that, in this/that way, in this/that manner | |
| Wenn du den Ball so wirfst, triffst du die Zielscheibe. - If you throw the ball like this, you'll hit the target. | |
| 5. adv. then (in that case) | |
| Wirst du wieder gesund, so freue ich mich. - If you get healthy again, then I'll be happy. | |
| 6. adv. (colloquial) expletive; sometimes intensifying, sometimes with no noticeable meaning | |
| Wir sind runtergegangen und haben uns hier so hingesetzt. - We went downstairs and, like, sat down here. | |
| 7. conj. (coordinating) thus, so, pursuant to the aforementioned premises | |
| 8. conj. (subordinating, chiefly archaic, sometimes legal and regional) an, if | |
| So es Euch beliebt. - If it pleases you. | |
| 9. part. (colloquial) (quotative particle, somewhat similar to be like but also combinable with other verbs) | |
| Ich so: "Mach mal dalli!", und er dann so: "Ich bin ja schon dabei!" - I was like, "Hurry up!" and he was like, "I'm already on it!". | |
| Ich dachte mir nur so: "Ja komm, lass stecken." - All I thought to myself at that moment was, "Yeah whatever, forget about it.". | |
| 10. pron. (obsolete, relative) that, which, who | |
| Derhalben sind die Christen schuldig, der Obrigkeit unterthan ... zu seyn in Allem, so ohne Sünde geschehen mag. - That do the Christians owe: to be obedient to the authority ... zu seyn in All | |
| 11. interj. (tlb, colloquial) (a discourse marker in the beginning of a sentence indicating a topic having been dealt with and another being tackled) | |
| 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. | |
| 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. | |
