| 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? | |
| 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 | |
| da |
| 1. adv. (local) there; here | |
| Wir fahren nach Hamburg. Meine Frau hat eine Freundin, die da wohnt. - We’re going to Hamburg. My wife has a friend who lives there. | |
| Die Gäste sind noch nicht da. - The guests aren’t here yet. | |
| 2. adv. (temporal) then; so; at that moment | |
| Ich war gerade eingeschlafen, und da kam ein Anruf. - I had just fallen asleep, and that’s when someone called. | |
| Er hat immer weiter auf mich eingeschrien. Da bin ich einfach gegangen. - He just kept on shouting at me. So I just left. | |
| 3. adv. (colloquial) (replaces any takes a reflexive pronoun adverb when the context is clear) | |
| Ich wollte eigentlich Linsensuppe machen, aber da (= dafür, dazu) hatte ich das Rezept nicht. | |
| I was actually going to make lentil soup, but I didn’t have the recipe for it. | |
| Wir haben jetzt ein Angebot gekriegt, aber da (= darüber) müssen wir noch diskutieren. | |
| We’ve now received an offer, but we’ll still need to have discussion about that. | |
| 4. conj. since; as; because; given that | |
| Da die Stelle mit häufigen Auslandskontakten verbunden ist, sind gute Fremdsprachenkenntnisse unerlässlich. - Since the position involves frequent international contacts, good foreign-language | |
| 5. conj. (literary, dated) when | |
| Am Tag, da die Wahrheit offenbar wird, ist es zur Umkehr zu spät. - On the day when the Truth will become manifest, it will be too late for penitence. | |
| 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 | |
| Flüstern |
| 1. n. gerund of flüstern | |
| 2. v. to whisper | |
| Ich kann nur flüstern, mein Hals tut weh. - I can only whisper, my throat hurts. | |
