German/Q&A

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German : Print Versions • Lessons • Grammar • Appendices • About • Q&A • Planning

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Contents 1 Pronounce 2 Pronouncing 'ch' 3 How do you write <ß>? 4 Do you have any good links to help with improving reading/listening skills? 5 could you give some indication of time phrases? 6 Translations 7 Standard pronunciation

[edit] Pronounce

Q:How do you say German ß

A: The symbol is equivalent to "ss". See Eszett.

A (revised): To make it more clear on the pronouncion part, it is pronounced like the ending of "nice."

[edit] Pronouncing 'ch'

How do you know when to pronounce 'ch' as shh or as hhhhhc? -- 17:55, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

A lot of the time, when you have sch, it makes a shh sound. Otherwise, it is mostly hhhhhc. There are exceptions though. -- 16:28 EST, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

A (revised): The hhhhhc is after a, o, u, au. The shh is after e, i, ä, ö, ü, äu, ei and ie. However the real "sh" sound is made by sch. -- Je suis 05:19, 29 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] How do you write <ß>?

Could someone point me in the direction of an article explaining how to handwrite <ß>? I don't know how to make <ß> look different from <B>. Thanks!

A : On Windows/PC use Alt+225 using numeric keyboard. -- AwenStormFool 11:19, 06 October 2006 (UTC)

This might help - Rappo 16:07, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

A when writing "B" I beginn with a vertical stroke at the top and stop at exactly at the line. Then the right part is added, beginning again at the top. The result is a bit edged. "ß" starts at the bottom (some mms below the line, that's probably most important), and is then drawn without any stop, what makes it look curvy at the top. You can see this very cleary in these pictures:

hope that helps... --Tigerdrake 18:44, 5 August 2007 (UTC) (german native speaker)

A There is a second way to write this. Here you have a picture of this one:

[edit] Do you have any good links to help with improving reading/listening skills?

In http://ilovelanguages.com/index.php?category=Languages%7CBy+Language%7CGerman you have directory of resources for the German language. If you don't find them useful, try asking in a language forum like unilang.org or performing a google search with terms you expect to appear in the results (eg, add "grammar" or "excercises" or whatever)--Pfc432 04:06, 15 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] could you give some indication of time phrases?

Q: I know there is a note about where time is placed in a sentence, but what case are time phrases usually given in? And what about 'seit' ?

A: In a sentence, time can be placed wherever you want. However, it's customary to use the order Temporal, Kausal, Modal, Lokal, when you have more tan one complement in a predicate. In that case, the first complement should be the on indicating time (eg. Ich bin gestern nach München gefahren. instead of 'nach München gefahren gestern').

Time phrases are usually given in Akusativ. Eg, Jeden Tag gehe ich arbeiten.

The preposition Seit always requires Dativ. So, we say: Seit einem Jahr besuche ich die Wikipedia.

Hope this helps. --Pfc432 04:03, 15 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Translations

Q: Is there anyone who can maybe tell me a few tiny German phrases? As in writing, how do you say "Shh!" or "Hahaha!" ??? I know they differ in languages. Danke! <3 -t

A: In German you also use "Hahaha" to signify laughter. Alternatively, it could also be "hehehe", or a more giggly "hihihi", or a Santa Claus-y "hohoho", depending on the specific sound of the laughter you want to emulate. "Shh!" (as in telling someone to be silent) can be "Sch!" (sounds the same) or "Psst!". "Shh" to soothe someone is also "Sch" in German. 217.95.246.44 (talk) 21:14, 13 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Standard pronunciation

Q: In what city (area) of Germany do they speak the most "prestigious" form of German in terms of pronunciation? I'm thinking about moving to German for a short while to master the language but I don't want to get stuck with some local accent? I mean something similar to English RP. --81.15.33.134 (talk) 04:35, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

what is article of "Dienstagnacht"

what is article of "Dienstagnacht"