Questions tagged [german]
For questions about learning English which specifically relate to German words or having the German language as native language. For general questions about the German language, please visit our sister site German Language Stack Exchange.
22 questions
0
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2
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34
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Expression "that comes with it" - correct?
as a German native speaker, I wonder whether the following sentence is correct:
"The text deals with inflation and the problem for young people that comes with it."
"(...) comes with it&...
-2
votes
1
answer
44
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"Mobilize Trike units" - A trike?
I heard a phrase from a movie "Captain America: The Winter Soldier". It is "Mobilize Trike Units".
In German, 'trike' is 'Dreirad'. I know that 'trike' is short for 'tricycle'.
...
- 99
19
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7
answers
8k
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Female Devil (and other -ess problems)
Somewhat related: "Are feminine nouns ending with -ess the only proper option for females?"
In German, I can slap -in on anything that shall be gendered. No exceptions (or at least I can't ...
- 941
2
votes
1
answer
121
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Is Germany's new foreign minister using 'coincidence' right? (or is it a German loan translation)
Germany's new foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, during a press conference said:
"It's not by coincidence that I came here to Brussels on my first day in office,"
In German it would be: '...
- 398
0
votes
1
answer
189
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Translation for "Wir freuen uns auf Sie!" - Is "We are looking forward to you" formal and friendly enough? [closed]
I need to write an email which my company sends out automatically. The goal is to remind users to log in to our online platform. The tone should be formal but also friendly. In German the equivalent ...
- 399
1
vote
1
answer
101
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What is the difference between fraud and a scam?
Are they synonyms? Is one a broader category to which the other belongs?
Both seem to translate to the same German word "Betrug" which means to deceive somebody in order to get a (financial) ...
- 368
0
votes
4
answers
78
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Translations of older or historical professions from German
Should the German term "Bauernvogt", literally meaning "peasants' bailiff" be kept as "Bauernvogt", translated to "peasants' vogt", "vogt of peasantry"...
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2
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2
answers
73
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How can "jemand muss funktionieren" be translated to english?
The german term
Jemand muss funktionieren
is often used to express that somebody has to continue doing his stuff (work, house work, ...) because otherwise there are negative consequences (e.g. for ...
- 123
1
vote
1
answer
975
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Why would one use the german word "ersatz" in english [closed]
I just read a article in a british newspaper and stumbled upon a article where they used the (usually) german word "ersatz" (engl: replacement) without a translation as if it would be normal ...
- 163
3
votes
1
answer
2k
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German order in English numbers? (Can I say 'five and forty' for 'forty-five'?)
In Tolkien's Lord of the Rings Gandalf says:
Five-and-forty leagues as the crow flies we have come, though many long miles further our feet have walked.
What is five-and-forty? Is it really the ...
- 317
1
vote
1
answer
140
views
Quoting a German sentence with double German quotation marks and an apostrophe in a US-English text [closed]
I wish to quote the German sentence
Karl war, wie man so schön sagt, „strack wie Sau“, aber Max’ Freund konnte Karl doch heimfahren.
inside a US-English text. The audience consists of English-...
user37810
-3
votes
1
answer
71
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"Blätterkreis", "Dornenkreis", "Herzkreis", in Englisch
I need to translate the three terms - in the heading - into Englisch.
Blätterkreis: with Blätter I mean the leafs that fall down from trees. Is Leafcircle the correct translation?
Dornenkreis: Is ...
- 101
10
votes
8
answers
2k
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Is there a figure of speech for "illlness which passes without a special treatment"?
In German we have a figure of speech: "Das geht von selbst vorbei", which normally means that an illness will pass without the need to treat it with medicaments or something special at all.
Is there a ...
5
votes
3
answers
217
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What is "Vermittlung" (finding two parties, one needs something one offers something) in English?
I am looking for a verb which is called "vermitteln" in German. According to dict.leo.org did not give good results. An example sentence would be:
German: Die Firma vermittelt Jobs.
English by ...
- 368
5
votes
2
answers
452
views
How can you express when somebody makes a claim more solid?
I would like to express that somebody gives a reason to believe a claim. Something among the lines
They fortify their claim by ...
They back their claim up by ...
They support their claim by ...
In ...
- 368
0
votes
1
answer
84
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Looking for a translation of a German expression "mit an Sicherheit grenzender Wahrscheinlichkeit"
In German language you use an expression mit an Sicherheit grenzender Wahrscheinlichkeit to say that you are almost one hundred percent sure/certain.
A particularity of that expression is that it has ...
- 167
1
vote
1
answer
769
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Lyrics to the German national anthem at American wedding [closed]
This might sound at first as an odd question, almost off-topic, but given that I'm looking for lyrics in English I think it still qualifies.
I'm watching episode 12 of the second season (S02E12) of "...
- 4,407
1
vote
2
answers
1k
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Subject-Object-Verb (EN) and Subject-Verb-Object (GER)
Currently a friend of mine is learning English (he is German, as I am) and we are trying to figure out some basic sentences where German grammar is not directly applicable to English grammar. Because ...
- 113
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votes
3
answers
4k
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"What is it like?" vs "How is it to?"
The German language (my mother tongue) does not offer different question words for asking for an adjective and for an adverb. In both cases Wie? is used which literally means How? in English. This ...
2
votes
1
answer
289
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How to translate German “auswalzen / breitwalzen” to English?
German has the very vivid words "auswalzen" / "breitwalzen" for "elaborating on a detail much more than necessary in the given context". Literally it means "roll into a laminar shape".
Is there a ...
- 121
1
vote
2
answers
2k
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Expressing uncertainty - "It was not clear if ..."
Is it correct to say
It was not clear if he wanted to as A or B.
this "is not clear" is what I am not sure about. I want to express that something was uncertain.
It is a rather direct ...
- 368
3
votes
1
answer
288
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Commas in Compound Sentences?
I'm confused about commas in English language.
German : <main clause> and <main clause>.
English: <main clause>, and <main clause>.
In German I know two main clauses ...
- 165