this post was submitted on 18 Jan 2024
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Learning german compund words (feddit.de)
submitted 10 months ago by CoconutKnight@feddit.de to c/germany@feddit.de
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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?

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[–] chickenf622@sh.itjust.works 3 points 10 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.

[–] MrFloppy@feddit.de 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

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

[–] bneu@feddit.de 1 points 10 months ago

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

[–] cabhan@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

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 10 months ago

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

[–] Jumi@lemmy.world -1 points 10 months ago

Yes, we do