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In English mathematical sign = is typically pronounced as equals

For example A = B is pronounced: A is equal to B or in programming A != B is pronounced A is not equal to B

How do you pronounce it in German?

iasonotk
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1 Answers1

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The usual way to say it is "ist gleich" or, shorter, "gleich".

a = b : "a (ist) gleich b"
a ≠ b : "a (ist) ungleich b"
a ≤ b : "a (ist) kleiner gleich b"
a ≥ b : "a (ist) größer gleich b"
a < b : "a ist kleiner als b" or "a ist kleiner b" or "a kleiner als b" or "a kleiner b"
a > b : "a (ist) größer (als) b"

for (i=1; i<=b; i++)

"For, Klammer auf, i gleich eins, Semikolon, i kleiner gleich b, Semikolon, i plus plus, Klammer zu"

As pointed out in the comments, a programmer familiar with this kind of syntax would probably shorten that to something less verbatim, but I'm just using this example here for the = and <= that it contains.

Also, almost all programming languages differentiate between an assignment operator and an "equals" comparison. For example, in languages with a C-based syntax, it's = vs ==. To my knowledge, there is no agreed-upon way of making that distincton when reading out loud. See the discussion in the comments for some suggestions. For me, in C-style languages, I'm mostly just reading assigments as "gleich" vs. comparison as "gleich gleich", but I have heard different ways to put it. Many of these make sense in themselves as long as they are used consequently.

HalvarF
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    In simple numerical computations, also "ist" (or "macht"), e.g., 1+1=2 "eins plus (or colloquially: und) eins ist zwei" or (from the Pippi Langstrumpf song) 3 × 3 = 4 "drei mal drei macht vier" – Hagen von Eitzen Jan 29 '22 at 20:53
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    "For, Klammer auf, i gleich eins, Semikolon, i kleiner gleich b, Semikolon, i plus plus, Klammer zu" Not sure if you are serious, but no programmer I know would talk like that "Für i gleich eins bis I kleiner gleich b, inkrementiere i" might be reasonable, but people would usually say "Das ist eine For-Schleife von eins bis einschließlich b mit i als laufvariable" (the "einschließlich is important). – Polygnome Jan 30 '22 at 15:25
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    and in mathematics, a < b is sometimes spoken "a echt kleiner b" to not mix it up with a <= b – Bobby J Jan 30 '22 at 17:00
  • Instead of ungleich often nicht gleich (not equal) is used. – Jens Schauder Jan 31 '22 at 07:11
  • How to pronounce "semicolon" in German? The most common way is "Strichpunkt". – rexkogitans Jan 31 '22 at 08:14
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    @rexkogitans I never heard anyone use "Strichpunkt". Is that regional? I would say the most common way is just "Semikolon". – kapex Jan 31 '22 at 09:13
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    @kapex In Austria it's definitely Strichpunkt, for what it's worth. I don't think I have ever heard somebody say "Semikolon" in normal conversation. – xLeitix Jan 31 '22 at 10:11
  • In Germany the word "Semikolon" has replaced "Strichpunkt" in language in the last 40 years. Shows how old I am nowadays. In addition in programming "==" can be spoken/written as "wird zu" oder "wird gleich" to distinguish the mathematical from the programmatical expression. – Knut Boehnert Jan 31 '22 at 10:42
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    @KnutBoehnert Agree with the first statement: I've barely heard anyone speaking of "Strichpunkt" in Germany. But don't you mean = (assignment) instead of == (comparison)? – leun4m Jan 31 '22 at 10:46
  • Bavarian here. No one in my region uses “Semikolon” (including elementary schools), the acknowledged term is “Strichpunkt”. So definitively a regional thing. – Boldewyn Jan 31 '22 at 12:24
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    @Polygnome I mean, I guess I am indeed not a programmer you know, but the way it is phrased in the answer is absolutely how I would read it out loud to my students in a beginner's programming course. If I read it as you would suggest, nobody would know what I’m talking about, as they’re just learning about the concept of a for loop. – mdomino Jan 31 '22 at 12:35
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    @mdomino: We're far off the track now, but in general one would not read out such a construct when teaching. One would likely show the construct, and voice it either in the closely related form like mentioned above ("Für jedes i ..."), sounding almost but not quite like a normal sentence; or one would take a long detour and explain the background of the expression with all its semantics. Speaking the individual symbols out loud basically only occurs during something called "pair programming" when you literally want to tell the other person which buttons to press. Just my 2ct. ;) – AnoE Jan 31 '22 at 13:19
  • @leun4m Correct. – Knut Boehnert Jan 31 '22 at 13:19
  • @AnoE Well, as I said, that's how I do in fact read it out in my classes, when I teach absolute coding beginners at university, as they code their first ever loop. Those are beginners that just learned what a variable is, so when I teach them about for loops, I first type it, then read it out aloud to them (as they might type along) and then proceed to explain what every part of the for loop declaration does. – mdomino Jan 31 '22 at 13:24
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    For anyone interested in the Semikolon / Strichpunkt debate - I found a map of Germany - this really is a question if you are from the north or south :) – leun4m Jan 31 '22 at 13:38
  • @Polygnome: I agree with your point, programmers who are famailiar with C-like languages would probably shorten it. I would, too. This was really an example for reading the line as it is, without putting in knowledge about the meaning of the syntax. – HalvarF Jan 31 '22 at 16:37