I can read a long German compound word and give its article, ask “Where's the train station?”, and say exactly which one of several I need.
Long words and the words for “this” and “which”
Long words and the words for “this” and “which”
In town you ask “where is it?” and “which one?”, and you read signs full of long glued words.
A compound is written as one word, where English often uses two (train station, city map). Gender and article come from the LAST word; the stress is on the first:
• die Stadt + der Plan = der Stadtplan
• der Rat + das Haus = das Rathaus
• die Bahn + der Hof = der Bahnhof, then der Hauptbahnhof
• halten + die Stelle = die Haltestelle
• das Hotel + das Zimmer = das Hotelzimmer
dieser means “this”. It takes the endings of the definite article: dieser Bahnhof, diese Kirche, dieses Museum. In the Akkusativ the masculine gives diesen: Ich kenne diesen Marktplatz nicht.
welcher means “which (of several)”: the same endings — welcher, welche, welches, masculine Akkusativ welchen. It starts the question: Welchen Hauptbahnhof suchen Sie?
To ask the way: Wo ist …? plus the Nominativ (the subject form) — Wo ist der Marktplatz? The verb comes second, as in English. Set answers: im Zentrum, am Bahnhof, in der Stadt.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “die Stadtplan” — gender from the last word: der Stadtplan.
• NOT “das Marktplatz” — correct: der Marktplatz.
• NOT “Welcher Bahnhof suchen Sie?” — masculine object: Welchen Bahnhof.
• NOT “dieser Kirche” — feminine: diese Kirche.
• NOT “der Haupt Bahnhof” — one word: der Hauptbahnhof.
How a long word is put together
The article comes from the last word; the stress falls on the first.
| First word | Second word | Compound word |
|---|---|---|
| die Stadt | der Plan | der Stadtplan |
| der Markt | der Platz | der Marktplatz |
| der Rat | das Haus | das Rathaus |
| die Bahn | der Hof | der Bahnhof |
| halten | die Stelle | die Haltestelle |
| das Hotel | das Zimmer | das Hotelzimmer |
dieser and welcher
The endings are the same as for the definite article; in the Akkusativ only the masculine changes.
| Gender and case | dieser (this) | welcher (which) |
|---|---|---|
| masculine, Nominativ | dieser Bahnhof | welcher Bahnhof |
| masculine, Akkusativ | diesen Bahnhof | welchen Bahnhof |
| feminine | diese Kirche | welche Kirche |
| neuter | dieses Museum | welches Museum |
Lesson notes
Long words and the words for “this” and “which”
In town you ask “where is it?” and “which one?”, and you read signs full of long glued words.
A compound is written as one word, where English often uses two (train station, city map). Gender and article come from the LAST word; the stress is on the first:
• die Stadt + der Plan = der Stadtplan
• der Rat + das Haus = das Rathaus
• die Bahn + der Hof = der Bahnhof, then der Hauptbahnhof
• halten + die Stelle = die Haltestelle
• das Hotel + das Zimmer = das Hotelzimmer
dieser means “this”. It takes the endings of the definite article: dieser Bahnhof, diese Kirche, dieses Museum. In the Akkusativ the masculine gives diesen: Ich kenne diesen Marktplatz nicht.
welcher means “which (of several)”: the same endings — welcher, welche, welches, masculine Akkusativ welchen. It starts the question: Welchen Hauptbahnhof suchen Sie?
To ask the way: Wo ist …? plus the Nominativ (the subject form) — Wo ist der Marktplatz? The verb comes second, as in English. Set answers: im Zentrum, am Bahnhof, in der Stadt.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “die Stadtplan” — gender from the last word: der Stadtplan.
• NOT “das Marktplatz” — correct: der Marktplatz.
• NOT “Welcher Bahnhof suchen Sie?” — masculine object: Welchen Bahnhof.
• NOT “dieser Kirche” — feminine: diese Kirche.
• NOT “der Haupt Bahnhof” — one word: der Hauptbahnhof.