6
submitted 8 months ago by CoconutKnight@feddit.de to c/germany@feddit.de

Native german speaker here. I have been wondering how difficult it is to learn and understand compound words in German. Also, do you yourself make up your own when needed?

top 6 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] MrFloppy@feddit.de 3 points 8 months ago

I make up my own compound words, when I play the game "Codenames".

[-] bneu@feddit.de 1 points 8 months ago

How do you even play that game in other languages without compound words?

[-] chickenf622@sh.itjust.works 3 points 8 months ago

While it's "clunky" it makes it super easier for a non native speaker to figure out what is meant by it. I personally love how straightforward the language is like ambulance -> krankenwagen (sick car) make sense intuitively.

[-] cabhan@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 8 months ago

When I was starting to learn German, I found it quite intimidating, but once I started having a grasp of the language, I found it actually pretty easy. The trick is just being able to recognize the subwords. Take a word like Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung: once you know Arbeit and Schein, it already starts being easier to see the meaning.

[-] taladar@feddit.de 1 points 8 months ago

Fähigkeit would probably also be useful to know for that one.

[-] Jumi@lemmy.world -1 points 8 months ago
this post was submitted on 18 Jan 2024
6 points (87.5% liked)

Germany

1592 readers
1 users here now

The place to talk/ask about stuff in Germany in English.

Wiki: https://lemmygermany.github.io/wiki/

Many thanks to @Vittelius@feddit.de for creating this!

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS