Reference · module 31
The little words
Everything this module explains, on one page.
doch and mal
Soften a request the way a German would.
- Komm her is an order. Komm mal her is an invitation. The word mal adds nothing to the meaning and changes the whole tone.
- doch pushes back gently against something unsaid: Das ist doch einfach means but this is easy, surely. It answers an objection nobody made out loud.
- Together they are the standard polite request: Komm doch mal vorbei. Three tiny words and the sentence stops being an instruction.
- None of them translates. They are learned by hearing where they land, which is why they are the last thing a learner picks up and the first thing a German notices.
The mistake you are about to make
Komm her.
Komm mal her.
English softens with please or by asking a question — could you come over. German has no room for that here and uses mal instead. Without it, komm her is an order.
ja, eben, halt
Agree, resign yourself, and point out the obvious.
- ja inside a sentence marks the obvious: Das ist ja klar means well of course that is clear. It is not the word for yes here.
- eben confirms what somebody just said and closes the topic: Eben. On its own it is a complete reply meaning exactly.
- halt says nothing can be done about it: Das ist halt so. Southern German uses halt where the north uses eben, and both mean that is just how it is.
The mistake you are about to make
Ja, das ist klar.
Das ist ja klar.
Ja in the middle of a sentence is not the word yes. Das ist ja klar means "well, obviously". Moving it to the front with a comma turns it back into an answer.
wohl, etwa, denn
Guess, worry and ask with interest.
- wohl marks a guess: Er ist wohl krank means he is probably ill. It is shorter and softer than wahrscheinlich and far more common in speech.
- denn in a question adds interest rather than information: Was machst du denn? is warmer than Was machst du? Leaving it out can sound curt.
- etwa expects the answer no, and often carries alarm: Hast du etwa vergessen? means you haven't forgotten, have you.
The mistake you are about to make
Denn was machst du?
Was machst du denn?
Denn also means because, so it looks like a word that opens a clause. As a particle it never does: it sits inside the question, usually right after the subject.
Getting the tone right
Say the same thing warmly, neutrally and coldly.
- Gib mir das. Gib mir das mal. Gib mir das doch mal bitte. One request, three temperatures, and the words carrying the difference mean nothing on their own.
- In writing they mostly disappear. A contract has no particles, an email to a colleague has one or two, a message to a friend is full of them.
The mistake you are about to make
Gib mir das mal doch.
Gib mir das doch mal.
These words carry almost no meaning and a completely fixed order: doch comes before mal, never the other way round. Getting it backwards is instantly audible.