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1500 questions
13
votes
3 answers
Ursprung der stimmhaften Aussprache von
In zahlreichen Büchern über historische Sprachstufen des Deutschen (z. B. Alt- und Mittelhochdeutsch von Bergmann/Pauly/Moulin) wird darauf hingewiesen, dass die beiden Grapheme und wahrscheinlich nur durch den Artikulationsort unterschieden…
Chris
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13
votes
3 answers
Difference between "zweifeln", "anzweifeln" and "bezweifeln"
I was looking at the verb form from the word "Zweifel" and I found 3 different words:
zweifeln
anzweifeln
bezweifeln
It probably is subtle, but could someone explain me the difference between them, and where I can and can not use them in context?
Enrique Moreno Tent
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13
votes
3 answers
How colloquial is "Er ist in Schwung"?
I have heard this a few years ago, meaning someone is in very good shape, very active, very fit.
But I wonder if it is still said and which connotation this phrase has.
ogerard
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13
votes
3 answers
What is the origin of the phrase "Kennst du Wayne?!"
It is used as the annoying version of "who cares".
I hear this phrase from time to time and wondered about the etymology of it.
What is the origin of the phrase "Kennst du Wayne?"
mbx
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13
votes
3 answers
Was meint hier »ein toller Hecht«?
I'm reading the Harry Potter series in German to brush up on the language. I came across the following sentence:
»Dieser Lockhart ist schon ein toller Hecht, nicht wahr?«
So I guess it's saying something good about him. I looked up "Hecht" and…
Kevin
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13
votes
2 answers
Groß- / Kleinschreibung von Fremdwörtern
Was würdet Ihr als "best practice" für die Groß- und Kleinschreibung von Fremdwörtern sehen? Beispiele: "best practice" ;-), "quick freeze", "squeeze-out"? Macht es einen Unterschied, ob die Begriffe "eingedeutscht" sind?
Ich bevorzuge eigentlich…
tohuwawohu
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13
votes
2 answers
Was bedeutet „auf Draht sein“?
Was meint man mit „auf Draht“ (lit. “on the wire”)? Or what is the English equivalent?
Tom Au
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13
votes
3 answers
Is "neugierig" the temporary desire or the life-long characteristic?
My dictionary translates "curious (inquisitive)" to "neugierig". There are two kinds of inquisitive curiosity, though: the temporary, pressing desire to find something out, and the long-term characteristic to seek knowledge.
Does "neugierig" fit as…
Tim
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13
votes
5 answers
What does "auf Habacht" mean?
I saw this in a book as a sort of military order, but can’t find it in dictionaries:
auf Habacht
What does it mean and why isn’t it mentioned?
unbeli
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13
votes
2 answers
"Ihr" as second person singular
I'm reading "Der Hobbit" and in their first encounter Bilbo and Galdalf address each other as "Ihr". I learned that it's either "du" or "Sie". Is it common to use "Ihr", in literature for instance?
Du darfst auf Deutsch antworten. Ich kann es…
stevenvh
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13
votes
4 answers
Case of an apposition to a genitive
A sentence from a Spiegel Online article:
Der 60-Jährige steht ... an der Spitze eines neuen Gremiums, dem Rat für nationalen Frieden und die Aufrechterhaltung der Ordnung.
Why is it dem Rat and not des Rates, even when the noun it refers to,…
boaten
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13
votes
2 answers
Why and when is the comparative degree used to express the opposite?
Looking at adjectives like "alt", "jung", "lang", "kurz" and their respective comparative degree "älter", etc. I get the impression that their sense is inversed.
Like in "älteres Auto"/older car, the car is not as old as the "altes Auto"/old car.
Or…
PsiX
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13
votes
2 answers
What does "einfach geladen" mean in a physical context?
From a book on electromagnetism:
Der Strahl besteht aus einfach positiv geladenen Ionen.
Should the "einfach" in "einfach geladenen" be translated as "simply", in which case the sentence would retain its meaning if the word were removed, or does…
Tim
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13
votes
2 answers
Hat man »zwei Eltern« oder »zwei Elternteile«?
Auf meiner Website habe ich heute einen Beitrag veröffentlicht, der mit diesem Satz beginnt:
Ein Mensch hat zwei Eltern, vier Großeltern, acht Urgroßeltern und so weiter.
Ein Kommentator hat daraufhin behauptet, kein Mensch habe zwei Eltern,…
Hubert Schölnast
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13
votes
2 answers
Using verbs with same root but different prefixes in same sentence
Can I say something like
Er kommt bei mir vorbei und um.
to mean "he comes by my house and dies", thus expressing the verbs vorbeikommen and umkommen by using kommen only once?
boaten
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