allerdings

Word of the Day – “allerdings”
In this episode:

A thorough look at the meanings of "allerdings" why you can use it to express contradiction AND agreement. Yeah, I know... German :)

99 Comments
allerdings-picture-germanHello everyone,

and welcome to our German Word of the Day. This time we will have a look at the meaning of

allerdings

;
 

Allerdings has two translations. Or wait, let’s say, it stands for two idea. Two ideas, that shouldn’t be too big of a problem… unless… they seem to be opposites. Imagine there were a word that means white AND black. What a whacky idea…. (get it? Whack as in white plus b.. not funny? … never mind then) .

Allerdings has the ideas of confirmation and contradiction, so let’s take a loot at it and see if we can get a hold of it, shall we? Great.

Allerdings is a combination of aller and dings. Aller is the genitive form of alle (I’ll add a link to the WODT “alle” at the bottom)

Das wichtigste aller Dinge ist…
The most important thing of all is…
And there we almost had it. The sense of lif… oh… I mean, the words allerdings. All that’s missing is an s, which is an old way to mark something as adverb, and writing the whole thing as one word; but German does that in its sleep. Allerdings started with a meaning like “entirely” , “with/from all its parts”. Here’s an example of how they would use the word 8 centuries ago.

Dein Land und Gut geh;rt allerdings dem K;nig.
Thy land and manor all/completely belongs to the king.
Man kann Lord Bolton nicht allerdings trauen.
You cannot trust lord Bolton with everything. (lit.)
That’s how it started and then began a long, loooong journey of allerdings. First, there people started using it for emphasis.

Ich bin allerdings sehr zufrieden.
I am content “of all things” (lit.)
I am completely/utterly content.
Now, when you emphasize something you are usually kind of convinced of your statement. You think it’s true. So the next meaning of allerdings is not a big surprise…

“Allerdings” being all like… “Yes, indeed”
And while the other ones we had are forgotten, this allerdings is still used… a one word answer to mean indeed.

“30 Euro f;r diese kleine Portion ist aber ganz sch;n teuer.”
“Allerdings.”
“40 Dollars for this small a portion is pretty damn expensive.”
“Indeed.”
;
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Now, while indeed is a good fit in this example, we need to look at the usage a little more closely.
First of all – and this might be my very personal impression – but I feel like allerdings doesn’t really work all that great if you want to agree with a statement about how really really good something was.

“This movie was truly amazing.”
“Indeed.“
“Dieser Film war ok.”
“Allerdings.”
I have asked in a discussion board and others seem to have no problem with that, but I would never use allerdings in this situation. I don’t what I’d say… probably “Meeeh”, because most new films suck. Things were better in the golden age of cinema… the 80s. But anyway, I just feel like allerdings is missing genuine, positive excitement. It does agree, but it is very conscious and reflected about it … at least that’s how I feel. (native speakers, how is it with “indeed”, by the way? Can that sound all enthusiastic?)
Now, a second kind of statements that doesn’t work all that great are statements that contain a negative… not or no.

“Das war kein guter Film.”
“Allerdings.“… meeeeeeehhhhhhh
“That wasn’t a good movie.”
“Indeed.“
In English, you’d just “it wasn’t” I guess and technically, in German, you could say “Allerdings nicht.” but I find it … not wrong but odd. Like… cutting your fingernails really really short and then run them across velvet… uuuuggghhhh. The thought alone makes me shiver. Okay… I guess saying “Allerings nicht” isn’t THAT vexing; but it’s not idiomatic.
So… when does allerdings sound good? Well, it works great with negative judgments, or skeptical ones, or astonished ones, or impatient ones….

“Das ist ein Problem.”
“So ein Kackwetter.”
“Also, das kling aber sehr weit hergeholt.”
“Puh… das war knapp.”
“Ich h;tte wahrscheinlich fragen sollen, bevor ich dein Bier nehme.”
“That is a problem.”
“What crappy weather.”
“Well, that sounds far fetched.”
“Phew… that was close.”
“I guess I should have asked, before taking your beer.”
For all those, “Allerdings” is a great way to agree. Those are allerdings-moments. Not purely negative but always with a negative touch of sorts. And that brings us to another interesting thing about the word, which also leads us to the difference between allerdings and genau.
You see, allerdings is often not only agreeing to the statement… like saying “True”. It also conveys something between the lines. For example, allerdings also agrees to the evaluation or assessment of reality which is inside of the statement. Yeah… that made no sense, I know. But let me give you an example. You are at the reception of B;rgeramt (citizens registration office) because you want to register… the receptionists informs about the expected waiting time upon which you say

Ich muss also 6 Stunden warten?!
So, I have to wait 6 hours?!
;
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On the surface, this is a question. But it only takes an additional ! or some melody to add in the additional message that 5 hours is freaking long.
Now, for example the receptionist is likely to focus on the question-part and say

Genau.
Exactly.
;
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or this ( to sympathize and voice some regret for your having to wait):

Ja, leider./Leider ja.
Unfortunately yes.
;
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Now, suppose it wasn’t the receptionist but a fellow waiter you are having this conversation with, there is a good chance to get a

Allerdings.
;
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as an answer to your question. The person not only affirms that you got the time right, no, the person ALSO thinks that the wait is freaking long. And the allerdings gets that across without much help needed from tone.
The receptionist on the other hand SHOULDN’T use allerdings because it might come across as triumphant…. like… “Damn straight stupid citizen. 6 hours because THIS is how we do it around here.”… okay maybe that’s a little extreme but I hope you get the gist. You complain and depending on who you’re complaining to allerdings can either be “Yeah, I feel you.” or “Yeah, I hear your whining. In your face!”
Let’s take another, a completely different example… mom helps her first grader with the math homework. Kid asks:

Zwei plus zwei ist… ;h… Moment… ;h 4??
Two plus zwei is… uh…. one second… uhm… 4??
Here, the mom would likely say “Genau“(exactly). Saying allerdings would make the issue bigger than it is. Allerdings would be appropriate had the kid sounded REALLY surprised about that.

“So… two plus two is … 4?!?!?! Four as in fantastic four? THE four?”
“Indeed. The very same.”
The kid conveys surprise and the allerdings of the mom acknowledges that… like “Yeah, that was a surprise was it.?”
So… in general, genau is more neutral. Of course it can sound very friendly or grumpy or whatever, but it just confirms the statement. Allerdings, at least if there is a negative or surprised touch in the statement, totally picks up on that touch. It says “You’re right, and what you said between the lines was also right.”Sure, those are nuances and you don’t have to worry all that much. Just use it and if it sounds strange… well, whatever. Strange can be cute. I just thought I’d mention it.
Now, there is another difference between genau and allerdings, and this one is more straight-forward and you should try to remember it. Genau only works if someone figures something out. It doesn’t really work if you make a statement about the weather.

“Der Regen nervt.”
“Genau.“… nope…allerdings is MUCH better here.
“The rain sucks.”
“Exactly.“
I guess it is the same in English. Saying exactly makes you sound like you knew it all along and you were just waiting for the other one to find that out.
Anyway… so… if you want to use this allerdings, just to be safe, use it to agree to negative, skeptical or astounded statements.
Now, so far we’ve only used it as a stand alone word. But indeed can also be used in a sentence.

This is indeed a good idea.
So… can we do that with allerdings, as well? The answer is yes… with a giant
BUT in pursuit.
First of all, it doesn’t always work. I have no idea though there is a pattern or “rule”. That’s nothing new though. That’s just language in use. What makes the but so big this time is that you have to be really – really, really, really – have to get the pronunciation right. Raise your voice over the course of the word and put a super strong emphasis on DINGS. Think of it like a fountain that is turned on in mid sentence… blluuuuuuuuuuaaaaSHHHHHhhhhhhhh….
Okay… maybe a picture is better :)

allerdings-pronunciation-pi
;
For the standalone version it is not that strict but also there it is a good idea to put a strong stress on the dings… because if you don’t… it’ll be a different allerdings.

Allerdings being all like… “Yeah… but”
Let’s just start with an example:

“Wir gehen nach der Arbeit was trinken. Willst du mitkommen?”
“Ja, ich muss allerdings vorher noch mal kurz nach Hause.”
“We’re going for a drink after work. Wanna join?”
“Yes, but I’ll have to go home real quick first.”
;
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Allerdings is used to mark up something as a sort-of-contradiction to whatever has been said before. Here, it marks the going home part as a “sort of”-obstacle to my coming with… just like but does.

“Ja, ich muss nur noch mal kurz nach Hause.”
“Yes, I just have to go home real quick.
;
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Now we replaced it with a word that implies “no problem”. I am still telling my co-workers that I have to go home first. But the feel is different. Going home doesn’t sound like a complication or obstschale at all now. So… this is what allerdings does and it is by far the more common use of the word.
Unfortunately, I don’t exactly know how this allerdings evolved from the approving one, we just had. I mean… sometimes they are really close actually.

“Ich will Sonnenblumen pflanzen.”
“Das Land geh;rt allerdings dem K;nig.”
“I want to grow sunflowers.”
“[But] the land is entirely the king’s.”
If it is known that the king hates sunflowers the second statement clearly is a complication, an obstacle. But we could also just think of the meanings as two separate ones. Or how about the other example we had earlier…

Man kann Lord Bolton nicht allerdings trauen. (old use)
One cannot trust Lord Bolton with everything.
Man kann Lord Bolton allerdings nicht trauen. (actual use)
You cannot trust Lord Bolton though.
Both versions are very different but very similar at the same time. They limit the trust on Lord Bolton. But as I said, I don’t know how it happened and it doesn’t really matter that much. Let’s get back to the current usage.
In the first example, we translated it to but. But that is not the only possibility. The exact word doesn’t matter. Sometimes it’s but, sometimes it is though, sometimes it is however and sometimes it is just well in THAT case… I always find a reason not to go running.

Ich wollte eigentlich laufen gehen, [allerdings] (es) ist [[allerdings]] es heute [allerdings] zu kalt.
I wanted to go running, [however / but] it is too cold today [though].
It’s the idea that matters… the idea of contrast or obstacle.
I’d say, let’s keep those in mind and just look at some examples:

“Wir waren gestern Abend schick essen.”
“Und, wie war’s?”
“Nicht so toll, die Portionen waren super klein und vom Geschmack her war’s jetzt auch nicht so die Offenbarung… der Wein war allerdings sehr gut.”
“We were out for a fancy dinner last night.”
“Ad, how was it?”
“Not so great. The portions were super small and as far as taste goes it wasn’t exactly a revelation… the wine was really good though.”
;
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Here, we’re clearly dealing with a contrast. The food was mediocre, the wine was outstanding. This contrast-allerdings is also a very nice “Redemittel”, that you can use to discuss a certain topic in a test.

Arbeiten w;hrend des Studiums kann eine gute Sache sein. Man verdient Geld, kann Netzwerke aufbauen und lernt die Realit;ten der Arbeitswelt kennen.
Allerdings kann es auch zum Problem werden, wenn man seine Energien ;bersch;tzt.
It can be a good thing to work during your studies. You can earn money, build up a network and you get to know the realities of the working world.
However, it can also become a problem if you overestimate your energy.
;
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Now,maybe for some examples where it is more about an obstacle….

“Ich versuche Deutsch zu sprechen, ich lerne allerdings noch nicht so lange.”
“I’ll try to speak German, but I’ve kind of just started learning, though.”
;
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“Ich h;tte gerne zwei Karten f;r La Traviata… und bitte gute Pl;tze. Ist f;r meine Freundin zum Geburtstag.”
“Kein Problem. Wie w;r’s mit diesen Pl;tzen hier… da hat man echt gute Sicht.”
“Hmmm… ich dachte mehr so an so einen Balkon.”
“Das wird dann allerdings sehr teuer.”
“I’d like two tickets for La Traviata… and good seats please; it’s for my girlfriend’s birthday.”
“No problem. How about these ones here… you have a really good view there.
“Hmmm…. I was thinking more like one of those balconies.”
“Well THAT is going to be rather expensive.”
;
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The second example is interesting because it shows that the word IMPLIES that something is an obstacle… it doesn’t really need to be one. I mean… the person probably wouldn’t use allerdings if I was Marc Zuckerberg, because money wouldn’t be an issue.
Here are two more examples where allerdings just marks something as a possible obstacle.

“Kannst du mal vorbeikommen und meinen Computer neu aufsetzen?”
“Ja, allerdings erst n;chste Woche.”
“Could you come by and re-set and install my computer?”
“Yes, not before next week though.”
;
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“Ein Bier und einmal die Tagessuppe bitte.”
“Gerne. Dauert allerdings einen Moment.”
“Kein Problem.”
“One beer and the soup du jour please.”
“With pleasure. It might take a moment though.”
“That’s fine.”
;
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So… I hope those examples gave you an idea how the word is used. Keep in mind the ideas of obstacle and contrast and while neither a contrast nor an obstacle or purely negative, their “dialectic qualities” may be the reason for the lack of enthusiasm the other allerdings, the affirming one, has.
Now, speaking of the first allerdings – we’ve learned that we need to be very exact with the pronunciation or emphasis or it will sound like the second one. So how does the second one sound exactly? For one thing, the contrast-one doesn’t need a specific melody. It can be just flat. The main difference, however, is that the contrast-one lacks a strong emphasis. The stressed syllables are all and dings but in comparison to the rest of the sentence, they almost disappear.

“Das ist allerdings TEUer.”
;
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Here, the strong main emphasis is on TEU. Allerdings just blends in with the rest. And everyone would understand that to mean something like

“Oh, well THAT is expensive.”
with a doubtful or surprised tone. Like… you wanted to buy it but then you find out the price and that is an obstacle to your plan.
Now, the same sentence with the other allerdings:

Das ist allerDINNNGS teuer.
;
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That would be something like

Well, that IS really expensive.
This would be appropriate if someone had remarked already that it is expensive.

Es gibt allerdings ein PROBLEM.
But there is a PROblem.(which is in contrast to the good news I just had)
;
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Es gibt allerDINGS ein Problem.
(But), there IS in fact a problem.
;
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The first sentence would work if the conversation so far had been about how everything is hunky-dory, while the second one could work if the had been a denial of a problem going on, or, if something that has already been mentioned turns out a problem.

“So… this looks like a walk in a park. No problems at all.”
“About that… uhm… the park is actually the Glacier Bay national park in Alaska…. and we have winter.”
“Oh… well THAT IS a problem.
And here, we could use both allerdings-s here and it would be loosely the same statement. Allerdings – A full circle. Yin and yang. Difference in unity. Two aspects of the same side. Not together, not separate – separether. Like in those groovy modern relationships…. oh my, why did I have to get married? Wait, am I?
I think that’s it. That was our German Word of the Day allerdings. I think it is no problem to understand the word, but it is not that easy to use it idiomatically because of all those fine nuances it has. The second one is definitely the one to remember and use… and don’t think in translations.Think in ideas… contrast or obstschale…. here’s a nice picture that might help you reme… oh wait, never mind, that was just a typo.
If you have any questions or suggestions or if you want to give it a shot and make your own example with allerdings... just leave me a comment :).
I hope you liked it and see you next time.

Further reading:

German Word of the Day – “alle”
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99 COMMENTS
Newest
Veen
Veen
 2 months ago
There’s another translation for indeed which seems to be more direct. *in der Tat*

My observation is that it’s used in the place of the first allerdings, when you can’t depend on intonation to do the job.

These are excerpts from two separate stories. Do you think indeed and in der tat can be exchanged here? Or we should use allerdings in some form

“While these were qualities that were perfectly acceptable, perhaps even desirable, in Touchables, Vellya Paapen thought that in a Paravan they could (and would, and indeed, should) be construed as insolence.”

“Es sei ein Kind, ein kleines M;dchen vermutlich. So genau k;nne man das allerdings nicht sagen, weil es ein bi;chen merkw;rdig angezogen sei. Es hie;e Momo oder so ;hnlich. Momos ;u;ere Erscheinung war in der Tat ein wenig seltsam und konnte auf Menschen, die gro;en Wert auf Sauberkeit und Ordnung legen, m;glicherweise etwas erschreckend wirken”

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 2 months ago
The thing with “in der Tat” is that it sounds a bit “theatrical” in daily life. I never ever use it and I don’t hear it either, except when people say it ironically… like… they want to sound like they’re pontificating.

That doesn’t mean that no one uses it but I would stay away from it as a learner as it probably makes you LESS natural.

In the examples you gave, I would not use it in the first one.
This “indeed” feels more like an “actually” to me.

“in der Tat” has a pretty clear vibe of “confirming something” and here that would only fit is “should” has been established before.

You can see that “confirming vibe” in the second example. The author mentions that Momo is weirdly dressed and then says “in der Tat” in context of her appearance being weird – a clear callback.

I wouldn’t use “allerdings” in either of the examples because they’re written prose and words that rely on HOW you say them are a suboptimal choice there :)

 Reply
Leyla
Leyla
 1 year ago
Such a complete and perfect explanation….Thank you so much for this useful article. :)

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 1 year ago
Danke, freut mich, dass er dir gef;llt :).

 Reply
cmilkman
cmilkman
 1 year ago
Hi Emmanuel. I’m making some connections between how to use “aber” and “allerdings”. My mom (borderline native speaker) just corrected a sentence in an email I’m sending to a German bureaucratic institution:

“Diese Unterlage ist aufgrund unerwarteter Verz;gerungen nicht einbezogen, wird Ihnen aber demn;chst zugesandt.”

^This is the corrected version. I’m thrown off because I’m so used to putting “aber” in position zero and also including a demonstrative pronoun. Below is what i had before she corrected it:

Diese Unterlage ist aufgrund unerwarteter Verz;gerungen nicht einbezogen, aber sie wird Ihnen demn;chst zugesandt.

Apparently what my mom just told me today is the smooth native sounding way. If I think about using “aber” the same way “allerdings” is used, it makes more sense. I just didn’t realize that was an option. Do you have any insights about the above sentence? And also, when can I get away with not including a demonstrative pronoun as shown in my example above?

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 1 year ago
Yes, grammatically “aber” can be used like a conjunction but also like an adverb.
Your version of the sentence isn’t wrong by any means. It’s just not as slick as hers.
The reason you can skip the demonstrative here is that it has the same function as in the first half of the phrase (it’s the subject).

– Diese Unterlage [does something], aber [does something else].

If the Unterlage would switch roles and be the object in the second half, then you CAN’T skip.
That’s something that German actually likes to do… if two elements refer to the same thing and have the same function in two parts of the sentence, the second one gets skipped.
here’s an extreme example:

– Maria hat mit Thomas geredet und [sie hat mit ihm] gespielt.

You wouldn’t really think of it as “skipping” but it’s essentially the logic as above.
This stuff works perfectly in German because the final verbs binds things together.
In English, it’s more like two separate phrasings.

– Maria talked and played with Thomas.
– Maria talked with Thomas and played with him.

Hope that helps :)

 Reply
cmilkman
cmilkman
 1 year ago
Yes, it helps a lot to think about omitting pronouns that have the same function in both parts of a sentence.

I feel like it will take a lot of practice to create these types of no-fluff, smooth sentences. I still feel highly uncomfortable not using a conjunction in a sentence like the one we’ve been analyzing (because it feels like I’m putting the verb in position 1), but I guess it’s just a matter of observing when natives construct sentences like that and trying to emulate their sentences.

Thanks a lot for clearing this up.

By the way I just listened to your guest appearance on the Easy German podcast and I was cracking up at your squabble with Manuel on U-bahn WLAN :)

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 1 year ago
Hahahaha, yeah, we could squabble way more but they’re trying to keep it low :D. For some reason I enjoy challenging Manuel’s views, even if he’s right :)

 Reply
cmilkman
cmilkman
 1 year ago
Ja, deine Lust darauf, Manuels Ansichten zu widersprechen, ist mir definitiv aufgefallen. Freundliche Debatten machen die Unterhaltungen unterhaltsamer, von daher sch;tze ich dass sie gutes Feedback ;ber die Episode bekommen habe.

 Reply
Osdolai
Osdolai
 1 year ago
I think the correct answer to the statement “The rain sucks” is not really “Exactly” but rather “I know” or “I know, right?”. “Exactly” just doesn’t sound right unless there is a whole previous context that would make it fit it properly.

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 1 year ago
How about “I agree” then? I feel like “I know” is a bit too weak in comparison with “allerdings”

 Reply
Sharon Tatlock
Sharon Tatlock
 3 years ago
I had a little time to spare so decided to read some flashcards I had made. One was “allerdings” The translations I have for it are “certainly, absolutely and indeed”
I wanted examples of where this word fits into a German sentence. And that is where I found your Word of the day.
So….one hour later, I have read the whole thing about “allerdings” and I have read all the comments and replies.
Yourdailygerman.com has a way of grabbing my attention and keeping it. I love how deeply you explore the possibilities of a single word. I save all of your Words of the day. I really enjoy reading them.
Thank you so much for all your hard work and for your humour.
Vielen dank und ich w;nsche dir ein frohes neues Jahr.

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 3 years ago
Danke dir f;r das tolle Feedback :).
Dir auch ein sch;nes neues Jahr, und viel Spa; hier!!

 Reply
Anonymous
Anonymous
 3 years ago
Your posts are the best. It makes me want to learn a language that I have started to hate just because is so damn hard to learn

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 3 years ago
Thanks :). And keep hating it. Use the hate as a driving force toward fluency. Who’s boss? You or this pretentious stuck up German :D?

 Reply
Anonymous
Anonymous
 3 years ago
Ich habe denke das ich kenne Deutsch zu lernen, aber es ist allerdings schwerig.

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 3 years ago
Mach weiter, du schaffst es :)!

 Reply
Anonymous
Anonymous
 4 years ago
Ich weib nicht

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 4 years ago
Was wei;t du nicht? Vielleicht kann ich dir helfen.

 Reply
western5tar
western5tar
 5 years ago
you asked i the blog “native speakers, how is it with “indeed”, by the way? Can that sound all enthusiastic?)”..

Although your question was likely rhetorical, I’m answering just in case it wasn’t. LOL.

Indeed, to me, sounds like a “reserved and/or conditional agreement”.

Sort of like saying ” Yes, I agree to some of what you just said, but not all of it, so I will leave it at that so as to not get into a controversial conversation with you”

or

“… I’m justing going to say yes to make you go away, but I totally disagree with you… “. Indeed in this case is more of a verbal utterance you are both saying to this person you are disagreeing with politely, and to your own thought in your mind that just told you ” this guy’s an idiot”… indeed..

and of course it could just be an overly academic way of saying I totally agree with you MIND and Soul ! (but not heart).

It all depends on “how” it is said and with what facial expressions come with it.

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 5 years ago
It wasn’t rhetorical at all. Thanks for clearing that up :)

 Reply
Dinger1994
Dinger1994
 5 years ago
My last name is Allerdings. There are people that live in the Ukraine, Spain, Canada, Russia, Germany, and the United States that I know of who also have Allerdings as a last name. Everyone in my line of Allerdings gets referred to as the “Dingers” quite a bit.

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 5 years ago
Weird, I never heard about this as a family name in Germany :)

 Reply
Jacob Allarding
Jacob Allarding
 4 years ago
This is so cool to hear! My last name is Allarding and I live in the United States. I think my grandfather somehow changed it from Allerding to Allarding but I have not been able to confirm that. Do you have any connections with any other Allerdings? Do you know any more family history? I always wish I knew more about my family history.

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 4 years ago
Wow, it’s really cool that this is a name :). I’ll have to check if there are “Allerdings” in Germany

 Reply
Nams
Nams
 5 years ago
Hello Emanuel,

I was just checking the context of ‘Positive or more nice way of using word Indeed’
and searched for context usage on internet:

here are two examples:

Indeed I take this opportunity first of all to commend the company for striving to maintain the service despite very considerable
Tats;chlich ergreife ich diese Gelegenheit vor allem, um die Gesellschaft daf;r zu loben, da; sie sich bem;ht, den Dienst

Indeed = Tats;chlich

Although, as pointed out , the labour rules imposed on OTE are indeed an exception to the ordinary labour law applied to date
Auch wenn, wie in Punkt 93 angef;hrt, der der OTE auferlegte arbeitsrechtliche Status wirklich eine Ausnahme vom allgemein geltenden arbeitsrechtlichen

indeed = wirklich (kind of affirmation)

Could you please explain the above context?

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 5 years ago
In the first example, I wouldn’t translate “indeed” at all. “tats;chlich” is WAY too strong and factual for that situation, in my opinion.
In the second example, I would use either “tats;chlich” or “in der Tat” . The latter is a bit weaker in the contrast that it implies.
So yeah… I don’t like the translations very much. Where’d you find these?

 Reply
Jake Allarding
Jake Allarding
 5 years ago
My last name is Allarding! I wonder if it is in anyway related… very interesting. This was a really fun read! Thank you! Also if anyone knows anymore history about the word allerding or allarding I’d love to hear about it.

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 5 years ago
I don’t have specific background about the name and I’ve never heard it before but I checked and there are people with that name in Germany too. And in Belgium. I’m pretty sure that it DOES have connections to “allerdings” though. “Ding” is just so common in the Germanic languages.

 Reply
James
James
 6 years ago
Hi Emanuel, could you please help translate this instance in which I heard allerdings used. It comes from an economics lecture at my uni (recorded online so I could pause and rewind it). The professor is talking about a concept which he first introduced with some graphs, then went on to talk about it in general, now he’s going on to another graph to explain it:

“… aber jetzt schauen wir’s nochmal graphisch an. (shows graphic) Was Sie hier sehen ist auch eine Transformationskurve, allerdings die gemeinsame Transformationskurve, die gemeinsame Produktionsm;glichkeitenkurve von Robinson und Freitag. Vorher hatten wir die individuellen Transformationskurven betrachtet, jetzt betrachten wir die gemeinsame.”

The graph he is showing is basically the first 2 graphs we looked at put on top of each other, so they are already introduced to us. I felt like he slightly accentuated the *dings* part, but he talks quite fast so it wasnt a big emphasis. What he really accentuated was the first “gemeinsame”, like “allerdings die geMEEEINsame Transformationskurve, …”. It only seems to make sense with the “indeed” translation, like “here is indeed the curve we looked at before”. There is no way I can think of that there is some obstacle to what he is doing, like that the graphs weren’t very good or something. Could you also explain a bit how this indeed version works inside a sentence? Does it have some kind of negative/postive connotation, or is it kind of like an unstressed “ja”, like “you already know this information”?

Cheers

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 6 years ago
You’re right that the idea of obstacle isn’t of much help here. Still, the job of “allerdings” is to mark a contradiction. Before, you looked at individual transformation curves, now you’re looking the combined one. You can use “aber” instead of “allerdings” and have the EXACT same sentence with the same feel.

– This is also a transformation curve but this one is the COMBINED (GEMEINSAME) transformation curve.

Maybe using “allerdings” makes it sounds a little tiny bit more like a reveal. This and the fact that he rephrases the information in the second sentence gives me the feeling that he really really wants to make sure that the students can follow him. Like… he puts an unusual amount of effort into telling the audience that the new curve is the combined curve.
If you really want to fit in the idea of obstacle there, you could think of there being some obstacle to understanding the new curve because it is different in one regard… but that’s playing around. Just think of this “allerdings” as “aber”.

By the way… in theory it could be the indeed-allerdings but not in this case, because the curves before and after are NOT the same. He establishes this contradiction further in the second sentence, that’s why there’s no doubt.
Hope that helps

 Reply
James
James
 6 years ago
Cheers mate

 Reply
skinnykinny
skinnykinny
 6 years ago
Emanuel, how about this one,

“…Dann folgt der sportliche Abschnitt unseres heutigen Tages: Sie haben die Gelegenheit, mit einem Bergf;hrer auf die Neureuther H;tte zu wandern. Gute Wanderschuhe und etwas Kondition brauchen Sie allerdings schon, um die knapp 500 H;henmeter zu ;berwinden…”

With the allerdings, does it sound like, that mountain is a piece of cake, but you still need your Wanderschuhe, and that’s a little bit hassle?
And what’s with the schon here?

Vielen Dank! :)

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 6 years ago
This one is pretty much the same as “aber”… maybe a little less “but-y”. I think the whole text is trying to market to people who are NOT experienced hikers. The “allerdings” sets up that the hike will be a “hike-y” hike that’ll make you feel your legs the day after. If I had to translate that I’d use:

– You do need some stamina and good shoes though to hike up those 500 “meters of height” (no idea what the idiomatic word is for “H;henmeter”)

So the “allerdings” is like “aber”, the “schon” is the affirmation-schon. It reaffirms that you need those shoes and stamina even though it’s vacation for untrained hikers (all that is between the lines). YOu could leave it out and move the “allerdings” a bit to the rear. That would convey the same meaning, the “schon” just makes it smoother (and more colloquial, which might be a desired effect)

– Gute Schuhe und etwas Kondition brauchen Sie allerdings, um die 500…

Hope that helps.

 Reply
skinnykinny
skinnykinny
 6 years ago
Danke sch;n! :)

 Reply
berlingrabers
berlingrabers
 7 years ago
This might be specifically American, but for the affirmative meaning of “allerdings,” I would often say “Seriously!” as a one-word response. I think it’s actually a pretty darn good fit.

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 7 years ago
Just to make sure…

“It’s too hot today”
“Seriously.”

With the voice lowered, right?

 Reply
berlingrabers
berlingrabers
 7 years ago
That’s the one. :)

 Reply
Andy
Andy
 7 years ago
Ich habe gerade gemerkt, dass du nochmals vergessen hast, einen Artikel auf der Word of the Day Seite zu stecken :). Die Seite fehlt diesen Artikel :). Wenn du einen solchen wundersch;nen Artikel gemacht hast, trotzdem aber keine Verbindung dazu setzt, muss man danach durch die Home Seite suchen!

 Reply
Mika
Mika
 8 years ago
I think this entire website is just brilliant! I am grateful you exist.

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 8 years ago
Aw, thanks so much… I’ll tell my mom :)

 Reply
Mika
Mika
 8 years ago
She conceived you with a blend of rich humour and sharp wit, so to say. Chapeau!

 Reply
Mintas Lanxor
Mintas Lanxor
 2 years ago
While I have nothing against websites like this, the best way to learn a foreign language as it is spoken today is to use contemporary newspapers, magazines, and other popular culture outlets. Watching movies with subtitles provided by professional translators is a big help too. Also, looking up unfamiliar words in, let’s say, a German-German dictionary will enable you to learn a few additional words and phrases in the process as the unfamiliar word is explained and as sentence examples are given. Most people want to communicate or understand a written text, not to become pedantic philologists obsessing about nuances of single words. Such nuances will be picked up from the context anyway, depending on the curiosity and ambition of the student.

 Reply
Sam
Sam
 8 years ago
Cool article dude.

For “indeed”, I do think the meaning may lean more toward a neutral meaning, or may come across as more intelligent/sophisticated. Overall, I think it can be used however you want it to. However, for a more positive meaning, it would sound better to add a couple extra words.

+That movie was the shit!
-It was indeed/Indeed it was

If you just said “indeed” in this example, it was sound a little too brief and wouldn’t convey as positively, but overall would still sound fine. Here are a couple more examples using “indeed” for fun:

+So the square root of 256 is 16?
-Indeed.

+Learning German is fun.
-Indeed it is/it is indeed.

+That exam last week sucked.
-Indeed.

At least this is how I talk with my friends here in the United States.

I’m curious about phrases to agree with someone about something.

+The rain sucks.
-Indeed (it does)/Agreed/It does/Yeah.

(“yeah” alone sounds like more like just an acknowledgement in this case, but is still used to agree with something stated)

+Nein Mann is an awesome song.
-Indeed (it is)/Agreed/It is/Yeah

.In these examples “yeah” alone sounds like more like just an acknowledgement in this case, but is still used to agree with something stated.
I feel like these short responses work for agreeing positive statements if you use the right tone of voice.

For responses like these, are there anything other words or phrases to consider besides genau and allerdings?

Also, for “So ein Kackwetter” the better translation would be “What crappy weather”
The current one sounds foreign. :)

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 8 years ago
That’s a hard question actually… I mean, what other ways for agreeing there are. There is a sort of “slang” one that is very common among younger people

– Auf jeden.

It is a shortened version of “auf jeden Fall” and it rose to power when Hip Hop was a thing in the 90s :)
It is still very wide spread but might sound a bit out of place at work. I guess for stuff like movies or songs or other opinions you could use

– Find ich auch.

and for statements about the weather just a “Hmmm”. You can make it sound very enthusiastic and quite pissed, just depends on the melody :)

 Reply
schwanzschwanz
schwanzschwanz
 4 months ago
What about “stimmt”?

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 4 months ago
That works, too, but it’s quite “factual”. So it’s a bit weird to use it for an emotional statement like “The rain sucks.”
A bit like saying “That is correct.” in English.

 Reply
aanutka
aanutka
 8 years ago
Enjoyed reading this so much! Great blog.

 Reply
JC
JC
 8 years ago
Thanks for another great article. I hope it’s okay if I correct a subtle point in one of your English sentences:

“We’ll go for a drink after work. Wanna come?” Should be: “We’re going…”

“We’re going” usually sounds like “I have plans with another person other than you to go” although it can also be plans with the person you’re talking to: Person A “Let’s go to the movies tonight.” B “We’re going to my friend’s house, remember?” (= you and I are..)

“We’ll go” sounds like you’re making a plan now. A “how are we going to get beer?” B “we’ll go to the supermarket on our way home.” It sounds odd without a question or at least some kind of implied uncertainty about how you were going to do something.

“We’re going” can be used to make up plans but it sounds like either an order or a reminder. Get your things, we’re going.

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 8 years ago
Sweet… another nuance learned. Only 107162553618 to go :D. Vielen Dank :)

 Reply
Sam
Sam
 8 years ago
Really good artice, I think it would be a good idea if there were exercises at the end though so people can get used to the concept of it, especially those like me who arent living in German-speaking countries and aren’t that exposed to German being spoken. Maybe a link to some online? (as I imagine doing this already takes a high percentage of your free-time)

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 8 years ago
Yeah… I totally agree that would be nice but as you said, I am at the limit of what I can do in my free time. Online would be an option of course but at least for the stuff as specific as this one, I don’t think there is anything… gosh, I need an assistant :).

 Reply
misev
misev
 8 years ago
Intuitively I’ve always translated allerdings as ‘all things considered..’

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 8 years ago
I guess that works for a lot of the meanings, just depends on tone :).

 Reply
Grateful Reader
Grateful Reader
 8 years ago
> Wenn der Polizist Arzt wird, dann ist er Arzt und nicht mehr Polizist.

Wie dr;ckt man dann die Idee aus, dass der Polizist Arzt wurde, ohne seine polizeiliche Stelle verlassen zu haben?

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 8 years ago
“Der Polizist hat ein Medizinstudium absolviert, danach jedoch weiter als Polizist gearbeitet ” :)
Man kann zwar zwei Berufe haben (ich bin Kellner und Schauspieler) aber bei Polizist und Arzt geht das rein semantisch nicht zusammen in meinem Kopf :)

 Reply
Grateful Reader
Grateful Reader
 8 years ago
> “Der Polizist hat ein Medizinstudium absolviert, danach jedoch weiter als Polizist gearbeitet ” :)

Und in ein paar W;rtern? ;)

 Reply
Grateful Reader
Grateful Reader
 8 years ago
… ist auch/dazu … geworden … ?

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 8 years ago
Ne, keine Chance… das ist ein semantisches Problem glaube ich. “Arzt werden” impliziert ein Studium. Man wird das nicht einfach so. Und das gleiche gilt auch f;r Polizisten. Ausserdem ist es bei beiden so, dass man es irgendwie nur ist, wenn man einen Job hat… vor allem bei Polizist. Du kannst immer sagen “Ich bin Programmierer und suche einen Job”, aber “Ich bin Polizist und such einen Job” ist irgendwie komisch :)

 Reply
Grateful Reader
Grateful Reader
 8 years ago
Na ja, man kann sich leicht vorstellen, dass irgendwo Polizei;rzte auch als Polizisten z;hlen, haben also R;nge usw.
Und so studiert ein Polizist, um Arzt zu werden, und wird dann einer, ohne den Beruf des Polizisten zu verlieren.
Wenn du noch nicht ;berzeugt bist, denke an Milit;r;rzte, die R;nge haben. Ich kann also andere analoge Beispiele anf;hren, von Semantik sollte abgesehen werden, da das nicht der Punkt ist. ;)

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 8 years ago
Was kann l ich sagen :)… du hast mit allem Recht, aber es funktioniert in meinem Kopf nicht und der Grund ist nicht Grammatik :)

 Reply
Guilherme
Guilherme
 8 years ago
Gro;artig! Ich habe allerdings eine Zweifel:

Also “werden” bedeutet auch “will” und “become”, trotzdem, so wie man in deinem Beispiel sieht, “zum Problem werden” wird ;bersetzt nicht anders als “eine Problem werden” ;bersetzt w;rde, n;mlich “to become a problem”. Also ich frage mich gerade ob es einen gro;en Unterschied gibt zwischen “etwas werden” und “zum etwas werden”. Ich habe das Gef;hl gehabt dass z.e.w. vielleicht ein bisschen umgangssprachlicher sei und mir klingt e.w. zwar etwas n;chtern und formell, aber ich bin ganz nicht sicher.

Au;erdem, ich wei; nicht, ob du bereits dar;ber geschrieben hast, aber wenn nicht, kannst du vielleicht in deinen Pl;ne aufnehmen, ;ber die Deutsch Partizip Pr;sens und die zum + Verben Ausdr;cke zu schreiben? Die sind so weit verbreitet, und ich glaube dass sie so n;tzlich sind, jedoch, weil sie so sehr Deutsch sind bin ich nicht immer sicher, wie sie zu verwenden und was sie bedeuten.

 Reply
Grateful Reader
Grateful Reader
 8 years ago
Das hab ich mich auch gefragt.

Duden:

2a) eine Entwicklung durchmachen
Beispiele
er will Arzt werden
was willst du werden?
sie wurde seine Frau
Vater werden
etwas wird Mode
ein Traum ist Wirklichkeit geworden
wenn das kein Erfolg wird!
: eine werdende Mutter (eine Frau, die ein Kind erwartet)

2b) sich zu etwas entwickeln
Beispiele
das Kind ist zum Mann geworden
das wird bei ihm zur fixen Idee
das wurde ihm zum Verh;ngnis

Also, rein vom Gef;hl her w;rde ich sagen, der Unterschied besteht darin, dass im ersten Fall das Werden etwas “schw;cher” und passiver geschieht als im zweiten. Im zweiten Fall geht es um Transformation.
Der Polizist will Arzt werden. D.h. es kann sein, dass er auch Polizist bleibt.
Aber: er will vom Polizisten zum Arzt werden. Er ist also kein Polizist mehr.
Ich vermute aber, dass es viele F;lle gibt, in welchen beide Varianten m;glich w;ren.

Jetzt warten wir auf Emanuels Erkl;rung :D

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 8 years ago
Das ist eine echt gute Frage. Es gibt definitiv einen Unterschied. Ich habe ein bisschen ;berlegt, mir ist aber nix eingefallen… bis ich die Beispiele von Grateful Reader gelesen habe. Und jetzt w;rde ich einfach mal sagen:

– werden zu – turn into
– werden – to become

Ich glaube, das funktioniert ganz gut.

– I want to turn into a doctor… nope
– I turn into a mother…nope
– the dream turns into a reality.. well, it works but “become” sound better to my ears

In allen diesen Beispielen funktioniert nur “werden”.

– the kid turns into a man… yep
– Bruce banner turns into the hulk… yep
– this turns into a spleen… yep

“to become” funktioniert in diesen Beispielen auch, aber “to turn” eben auch, und in Deutsch ist es entweder nur “werden zu” (Hulk) oder beides.
Das, was du vorgeschlagen hast, mit “schw;cher”, das glaube ich eher nicht. Wenn der Polizist Arzt wird, dann ist er Arzt und nicht mehr Polizist. Ich glaube auch, dass eher “werden zu” passiv ist. Oder nicht passiv aber mehr impulsgesteuert. Das Stichwort “Transformation” ist aber ganz passend f;r “werden zu”.
Und wie du gesagt hast… es gibt viele F;lle, wo beides geht.

– Du wirst langsam ein richtig guter Koch.
– Du wirst langsam zu einem richtig guten Koch.

Ohne das “langsam” klingt das erste Beispiel aber schon anders… dann klingt es sehr nach dem “Beruf”.

 Reply
Haleem Husnu
Haleem Husnu
 8 years ago
My friend please dont stop writing new things…we are lost without u..hahahahaha…hope it was really a jke…a scary one i should say..lol

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 8 years ago
Yeah, it was just my April’s fool joke and I forgot to take it out this morning :).

 Reply
Grateful Reader
Grateful Reader
 8 years ago
Emanuel, w;rdest du folgender Formulierung zustimmen?

Wenn man ;ber etwas denkt, geht es um Inhalte bzw. Details der Gedanken.
Wenn man an etwas denkt, geht es blo; um Objekt(e) des Denkens.

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 8 years ago
Nicht ganz… “denken ;ber” hat eigentlich immer diese Struktur:

– Ich denke etwas ;ber etwas/jemanden.

Da geht es prim;r um meine Meinung.
Was du meinst, ist, glaube ich, “nachdenken ;ber”
Da geht es tats;chlich um Inhalte und Aspekte.

– Ich denke ;ber das Buch nach.

“Denken an” ist in der Tat “praktischer”

– Ich denke an meinen Termin.

Es kann aber auch um die damit verkn;pften Emotionen gehen:

– Ich denke an meine Ex.

Da denke ich nicht nur an sie sondern an alles was man so zusammen gemacht hat und so.

– Ich denke ;ber meine Ex nach.

Das ist mehr eine Suche nach Antworten. Warum war sie so sie sie war? Kann ich sie zur;ckgewinnen?

Hilft das?

 Reply
Grateful Reader
Grateful Reader
 8 years ago
> Hilft das?

Jup, danke!

 Reply
gallia_a
gallia_a
 2 years ago
I have a hard time understanding one phrase in this comment, und zwar “Warum war sie so sie sie war?”. I *think* it means “Why was she the way she was?”, but why “sie” is repeated twice in the second part? Could it be a typo, and the actual question be “Warum war sie so wie sie war?”

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 2 years ago
Again, good question, but it’s just a typo this time. Sorry for the confusion it caused!! And hooray for your intuition!

 Reply
gallia_a
gallia_a
 2 years ago
Thanks for the clarification, and for the kind words
Danke f;r die Erkl;rung, und f;r die nette W;rter (hoffentlich ist meine ;bersetzung richtig…)

 Reply
gallia_a
gallia_a
 2 years ago
… f;r die **netten** W;rter ?

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 2 years ago
Ja, genau :)

 Reply
Nan
Nan
 8 years ago
Last post ever! Wie Schade – I have only just found the site. I will enjoy reading through the previous posts…

 Reply
Andy
Andy
 8 years ago
Ich denke dass ich sagen sollte: Das hast gesagt, du wirst nie mehr f;r uns schreiben, trotzdem sagt es am Ende “see you next time”. Also dein Unterricht war sehr gut, allerdings ein bisschen falsch. :) Ist meine letzte Nachricht falsch? “Du hast allerdings das Gegenteil geschrieben.”? Oder soll man nur “Aber” sagen?

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 8 years ago
Also grammatisch war der Satz richtig, aber ich habe ihn (den Satz) nur im Kontext verstanden. Du hast ja im ersten Kommentar schon beide Aspekte genannt… und ich wei; nicht, worauf sich der zweite Kommentar bezieht. Das w;re aber mit “aber nicht anders.
Das “allerdings” in deinem letzten Kommentar war aber perfekt :)

 Reply
Andy
Andy
 8 years ago
Du hast gesagt, du wirst nie mehr f;r uns schreiben, aber am ende sagt es “see you next time”? Also, was ist denn los??? :LOL:

 Reply
Andy
Andy
 8 years ago
Du hast allerdings das Gegenteil geschrieben :).

 Reply
Shlaubach
Shlaubach
 8 years ago
Is this being your last post due to today being April Fool’s day OR is it me just observing it’s Fool’s day and won’t believe it’s your last post?
Anyway, please don’t stop posting. I always go to your blog to understand specific German words and I’m still a beginner in German.

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 8 years ago
Nah, it’s just a joke :)

 Reply
Mehmet
Mehmet
 8 years ago
Das war allerdings nur ein Aprilscherz, dass du keine Artikel mehr schreiben wirst, oder?

(Am Anfang wurde mir ein bisschen beunruhigend, weil der Artikel am 31. M;rz gepostet wurde, aber dann habe ich es mit Erleichterung gelesen, was du am Ende geschrieben hast- see you next time indeed)

 Reply
Charles
Charles
 8 years ago
What’s with the weird headlines? Clothes trump character? Cat porn?

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 8 years ago
Just my April’s fool’s nonsense :)

 Reply
leo odongo
leo odongo
 8 years ago
Das war sehr gut, allerdings ein bischen lang! Nein , das war nicht lang, ich nur uebe, wie ich “allerdings” verwenden kann!!! Vielen Dank

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 8 years ago
100% Perfekt! :)

 Reply
Grateful Reader
Grateful Reader
 8 years ago
Positive indeed:

Interjection
indeed
indicates emphatic agreement
“I’m a great runner.” “Indeed!”

 Reply
ubungmachtdenmeister
ubungmachtdenmeister
 8 years ago
Tolle Post. Ich habe nicht ;ber die zweite bedeutung gewusst. Du hast allerdings ein Paar Fehler gemacht. Did I get it right this time? The “If it is known that the kings hates” sentence should either be that kings hate or the king hates. Also is the obstacle written like obstschale on purpose or is that some random spellchecker error? Das wei; ich nicht. I don’t usually point out the mistakes if I find them but I wanted to try and use the contrast allerdings. I don’t know of a positive sounding indeed for the record. Here is how it sounds to me.

Example 1
Not so intelligent guy – this weather is rubbish
More intelligent guy – indeed (of course it is you dull and uninteresting little man, we do live in Scotland of course)

Example 2
Nsig – did you know that cars can only have their tyres changed on Wednesdays?
Mig – what a preposterous notion, (mutters to himself – tyres changed only on Wednesdays indeed, what an idiot)

Hope that clears how I understand the word to sound.

 Reply
Grateful Reader
Grateful Reader
 8 years ago
“Also is the obstacle written like obstschale on purpose or is that some random spellchecker error?”

Hast du den Link nicht angeklickt? ;)

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 8 years ago
Diesmal war es perfekt!! :) Aber ich habe eine andere Korrektur… in Deutsch sagt man nicht “wissen ;ber”, wenn es um eine bestimmte Sache geht, die man wei;. Man sagt entweder “von” (for the every day stuff)

– I know about your blog/cat/Idee.
– Ich wei; von deinem Blog/deiner Katze/deiner Idee.

or “um”, wenn es fancy sein soll.

– Ich wei; um deine Vorbehalte.
– I know about your reservations.

Oder, zumindest im Kontext von Vokabeln und Bedeutungen, sagt man auch einfach “kennen”

– Ich kannte diese Bedeutung nicht.

Danke deine Einsch;tzung von “indeed”. Ich nehme es, wenn ich Englisch spreche, fast nur zum Spa;… immer wenn ich Britisches Englisch imitieren will :). Und danke auch f;r die Korrekturen. Das mit Obstschale war Absicht. Obstacle ist komisch.. wenn man es zu oft schreibt, dann “verschwimmen” die Buchstaben. Zumindest ging es mir so. Und ich war mal gespannt, wieviele Leute es ;berhaupt merken :).
Konntest du das alles lesen?
Ich hab’ gesehen, dass du Scottish-Is-Easy angefangen hast. Gl;ckwunsch!!

 Reply
ubungmachtdenmeister
ubungmachtdenmeister
 8 years ago
Lol. Verschwimmen buchstaben. Ja, das konnte ich alles lesen. Es gibt ein Paar worter, dass ich keine ahnung haben aber die macht nix. Ja benutze ich nur je “indeed”, wenn ich komisch sein will. Ja meine erste post sollte am ersten April komplett sein, allerdings geht es nicht so. trotzdem will ich weitermachen. Danke sch;n f;r deine “gl;ckwunsch”. Das freut mich immer sehr. Ich Hoffe, dass ich sinn gemacht habe.

Nachdem habe ich die erste post geschreiben, denn lade ich dich dazu ein.

 Reply
Paul
Paul
 8 years ago
Thanks for another good post. “Allerdings” is actually one of my favorite German words, because I use it so often in writing emails to my German penpals. It is the main word I use for “however”. My question:

How does “allerdings” differ from “jedoch”? Both mean “however”? Can you start a sentence out with jedoch, like you can with allerdings? Zum Beispiel: “Ich will heute Abend ins Kino gehen. Jedoch, habe ich viel zu tun”. Are both words interchangable? I need to expand my German vocab in my emails, I feel like I use allerdings too much! Danke.

-Paul

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 8 years ago
Good question… so “jedoch” and “allerdings” do have a lot in common.
I feel like “jedoch” is a little more extreme, so to speak. In many occasions, there is already a notion of “what a pity” in it and it is more “exclusive”.

– Ich w;rde gerne kommen, muss jedoch/allerdings arbeiten.

To me, with “allerdings” I’d feel like there is still a chance, while “jedoch” makes it pretty clear that it is not going to happen. In other words, an “allerdings” is easier to retract using a “but” than a “jedoch”.

– Die Hose ist sch;n, allerdings auch sehr teuer. Das ist jedoch kein Problem, denn ich bin Deutschlehrer und also stinkreich.

It wouldn’t work as well the other way around… like … statement – contrast- countercontrast… “jedoch” is just too definite for that.
Also, “allerdings” is more flexible with regards to placement.

– Heute abend [ 1 ] muss ich [ 2 ]mit meinem Sohn [ 3 ]noch Mathe ;ben.

In theory, “jedoch” can take any place “allerdings” can but to me “jedoch” in 2 and especially 3 would sound quite scripted. And again, “allerdings” just says “well, this is a hurdle” while “jedoch” kind of says “well, this is wall”.
And lastly, I think “jedoch” is more used in writing in general. I don’t know why, but it doesn’t really “flow” well. So I’d go with “aber” and “allerdings” and save “jedoch” for somewhat longer narrations of events, where there is a contrast to be expressed. That’s just me, so other people might feel different but I hope that helps a bit … maybe just try it in your mails and ask for some feedback :)

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Paul
Paul
 8 years ago
Danke f;r Ihre Antwort! Sehr hilfreich.

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 8 years ago
Sag bitte “du”… das f;rmliche “Sie” f;hlt sich extrem komisch an (it weirds me out) :)

 Reply
gallia_a
gallia_a
 2 years ago
In the last example, would position [1] be possible? Wouldn’t that be against the “main verb in position 2”-rule?

 Reply
German-is-easy
Author
German-is-easy
 2 years ago
Very good observation and question!!!

I wrote this comment a while ago and you had me thinking for a minute.

The thing with slot [1] is (and I didn’t make that clear at all) that it’s an appendix to the first box “Heute abend”.
The structure is quite similar to

– Tonight however, I want to chill

This is kind of one unit with “however” modifying “tonight”.
I’m not sure if English native speakers can perceive the “however” also as a separate unit, like

– Tonight, however, I want to chill.

IN German, the words in [1] are essentially part of slot one, so the verb is still in position two.
Here’s a similar example where it is a little more obvious what I mean:

– Heute nach dem Kurs gehe ich…

“nach dem Kurs” could be a unit on its own but here it’s just a tag-on to the “heute”, so the whole chunk is one unit.

Hope that helps!!

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gallia_a
gallia_a
 2 years ago
Yes, it helps. I thought of that, but as a non-native speaker, I couldn’t think that it wasn’t a separate box.
Thanks for the explanation

 Reply
Lucius
Lucius
 8 years ago
excellent post for a very irritating word. thanks very much, Lucius