Questions about the German Language

[Varazzeno]

I would like this thread to a place to ask questions about specific things in the German Language. Those who are able to answer please do.

My first question is what is the differance bewteen the two ways to say "a little". Ein Wenig and Ein Bißhen (I think thats how you spell it)? Are they completely interchangable or are they each only uses in certain ways?

[Pottsy]

I think either one works from the looks of things...

[ktnagel]

Being a native speaker, but not a Germanist, i dare say, "ein wenig" would also work for countables, whereas "ein bischen" does not.

In a way, "ein bischen" is near to ''a small piece of", which you cant apply to uncountable goods, like water etc.

hope this helps

thomas

[JockZon]

Hey, just an input. It's "Ein bisschen", two s there and not bischen or bißchen.

ß - eszet - is used after long vowels and the word bisschen has a short i in it.

Hope this was helpful

[criskubli]

There is a very popular song in Germany right now, "Allein Allein" by polarkreist 18.
Although the song is mainly in english, they say almost the entire song; "Allein Allein".
Does that mean like, "Everybody Everybody" or is it just a name?

[Kare]

Hello criskubli.

The word you are thinking about is "Alle, alle". This would be "Everybody Everybody".
"Allein Allein" instead means "Alone, Alone".

[criskubli]

Hello criskubli.

The word you are thinking about is "Alle, alle". This would be "Everybody Everybody".
"Allein Allein" instead means "Alone, Alone".

Danke Schön!

[Was_]

gemeinsam and zusammen.
Ive always been told that they both mean together.
Is this true, and, if it is, does it make a difference which I use?

[Kare]

I am pretty certain that there is a grammar rule that would make this much easier to understand, unfortunately I don't know this one and have to rely on my gut with this one:

Gemeinsam has the connotation of people doing something together. Not just physically being present at the same time at the same place but really working with each other.

Zusammen does mean the same. People can do something "zusammen" too, which means that they choose not to do this individually but in the presence of one another. They may or may not work together. (If in university we agree to do a presentation "zusammen" this means we'll meat once, everyone does his part and we will hold the presentation together. It basically means we are a group, not necessarily that we really do this together. So that "in the presence of one another" is more a connotation thing than somethings that is really implied.)

If you use it in conection with people those things are interchangeable and I don't think that people will interpret much into which one you choose.

There is a difference when you use it in relations to things, though.

Storys can have something "gemeinsam" which means that they share a theme, a plot or something of the like. If they have something "zusammen", than that's colloquial and they are making out, which - given that they are stories - means it's nonsense.
In this way you can compare things, basically using the German Noun "Gemeinsamkeit(en)"

But you can put things away "zusammen", meaning that you placed them both in the same drawer or something like that. If you put a tablecloth "zusammen" however, you are folding it up.
(Ich habe die Tischdecke zusammen gelegt. = I folded the tablecloth up.)
(Ich habe das Geschirr zusammen gestelt. = I pilled up the dishes.)

And if you put things away "gemeinsam", it means that you did it with someone else.
(Wir haben gemeinsam den Tisch gedeckt. = We layed the table together.)
Or you are just really fond of the object you are speaking about. People would look puzzled for a moment were you to say "Ich habe sie gemeinsam weggestellt."
(I have put them away together.)
But if you talk about fotos of greatgrandparents or something or other objects that you think shouldn't be seperated, it would be okay, even if this use is mainly uncommon...


I hope this isn't too confusing.
Sorry, I really can't phrase this any better.
But I hope the basic idea gets through.
Gemeinsam leans more to "to have in common" and zusammen leans more to "together" though they are often used as one and the same.

Does that make any sense?

[Was_]

that is alot to digest, but yes.. i think I understand... Thank you!

[kaoskastle]

I would like to start by stating that I know absolutely no German -- however, I've been trying to figure out this word, and I hear that it might be German, so I figured I'd come to you guys.

The word is "rein", being used in the context of the name of a village. Is this an actual German word or am I once again forced to continue my search to figure out what the heck this word is?

Thanks much!

[JockZon]

Do you mean the river 'Rhein', which you can find in western Germany. The surroundings is called 'Rheinland' (in English: Rhineland). Maybe this wasn't what you were looking for but I cannot think of something else that would be a name of a place/village/whatever.