How to form complex German words. Compound words in German German write the words from which nouns are formed

Schweinefleischetikettierungsüberwachungs- aufgabenübertragungsgesetz. Sorry what?!

Believe it or not, this 67-letter monster word means "law controlling pork labeling."

Everyone has heard that it is complex, but its compound nouns are something out of the ordinary. But for a foreigner learning German, these nouns can be a philosopher's stone: they are much more common than you realize, so they can help you understand the language in general and improve your ability to speak German more eloquently.

What are compound nouns in German?

Compound nouns are made up of two or more independent words. In fact, everything is very simple: where in Russian and even in English you would use two or three separate words, the Germans simply combine everything into one. For example, a waiting room, also known as a waiting room in English language, includes two words, and in German there is one - Wartezimmer.

What exactly is the problem with these nouns?

The German language is notorious all over the world for its long words, even among people who do not speak German at all. And one of the main problems is that not all compound nouns can be found in the dictionary. It often happens that Germans come up with their own compound nouns, combining two words together to create a new word. An example of such “creativity” in German is the word Unterwegsbier. This is the name for beer that you can take with you on the way to a bar or nightclub, literally translated as “beer on the go.” In Germany you can drink beer in in public places, and although this word is not in dictionaries, it is useful to know!

The noun Rhabarberbarbara is another example of how far one can go in word creation. Watch the video below and, even if you're just getting started, try to get the gist of it.

So, here are some tips that you can follow to help you cope with complex nouns.

• Do not panic!

No matter how crazy long and confusing the word looks, don't give up. Thanks to perseverance and various know-how, any complex noun can be divided into parts and - dammit (!) - made it understandable. The more your German vocabulary expands, the more complex nouns you'll understand straight away.

• Imagine that you are playing a word search game.

Scan the noun with your eyes. If you are able to find even one tiny word inside a big one, you can congratulate yourself - you are one step closer to understanding the meaning. Let's assume you already know that Barbara is the German female name Barbara. This means you are on the right path to understanding the entire word Rhabarberbarbara.

• Look for connecting sounds.

These special sounds exist in almost all languages. They are like bridges standing between sounds that find it difficult to get along with each other. Try saying "a apple." Happened? Most likely no. And all because it should be “an apple”. The connecting -n makes pronouncing “an apple” easier, don’t you agree?

For the same reason, Germans place additional letters between words that make up a compound noun. Here are some examples:

das Schwein (pig) + das Fleisch (meat) = das Schwein e fleisch (pork)

die Tinte (ink) + der Klecks (blot, stain) = der Tinte n klecks (ink blot)

der Schmerz (pain) + das Geld (money) = das Schmerz ens geld (monetary compensation for bodily injury)

der Geist (ghost) + der Fahrer (driver) = der Geist er fahrer (“ghost driver” - a driver who mistakenly drove into the oncoming lane)

-s- or -es-

das Jahr (year) + die Zeit (time) = die Jahr es zeit (time of year, season)
die Verbesserung (improvement) + der Vorschlag (suggestion) = der Verbesserung s vorschlag (suggestion for improvement)

• Try not to think in Russian.

Every time you stop thinking “in Russian I would say this” and start combining words with an eye to the deeper meaning, you take a huge step towards mastering it to perfection!

Good luck with the quest!

Splicing two or more words is one of the main ways of word formation in the German language. For example, das Haus (house) + der Garten (garden) = der Hausgarten (garden at the house). In German such words are called Komposita, that is, complex words.

Splicing words is very convenient, because you don’t need to coordinate words with each other by gender and case. Compare, for example, the word die Zimmerpflanze and the Russian translation “ indoor plant" In the German version, two words are simply written together, but in Russian we have a whole phrase with a complex grammatical structure.

When forming compound words in German, the article, gender and case are determined the last word in a connective, but the stress always falls on the first word. For example, der Handschuh (mitten).

What do you already know about difficult words in German?

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Ways to form compound words in German

Compound words in German can be formed not only from joining several nouns, but also from joining:

• adjectives and nouns, for example, weiß (white) + der Wein (wine) = der Weißwein (white wine), groß (big) + das Projekt (project) = das Großprojekt (large project),
• verbs and nouns, for example, schreiben (to write) + der Tisch (table) = der Schreibtisch (desk), fahren (to go) + das Zeug (object) = das Fahrzeug ( vehicle), schwimmen (swim), das Bad (bathroom) = das Schwimmbad (pool),
• adverbs and nouns, e.g. wieder (again) + die Gabe (gift) = die Wiedergabe (reproduction), vorwärts (forward) + die Bewegung (movement) = die Vorwärtsbewegung (movement forward), links (left) + der Abbieger (that who turns) = der Linksabbieger (vehicle turning left),
• pronouns and nouns, for example, all (all) + die Macht (power) = die Allmacht (omnipotence), ich (I) + Kult (cult) = der Ich-Kult (cult of self), wir (we) + das Gefühl (feeling) = das Wir-Gefühl (feeling of unity),
• prepositions and nouns, for example, mit (with) + der Arbeiter (employee) = der Mitarbeiter (employee), vor (before) + die Speise (food) = die Vorspeise (aperitif), nach (after) + der Winter (winter) = der Nachwinter (spring frosts),
• particles and nouns, for example, nicht (not) + die Achtung (respect) = die Nichtachtung (disrespect), nicht (not) + die Anerkennung (recognition) = die Nichtanerkennung (non-recognition), nur (only) + der Hausmann (householder) = der Nurhausmann (non-working householder),
• adjectives and adjectives, for example, hell (light) + blau (blue) = hellblau (light blue), dunkel (dark) + grün (green) = dunkelgrün (dark green), dunkel (dark) + rot (red) = dunkelrot (dark red).

Some complex words are constructed using so-called frozen forms (German: Scheinwort), that is, words that are not themselves used in modern German, but for some historical reasons are still preserved as part of some words. For example, Auerochse (bison), Brombeere (blackberry), Damhirsch (doe).

Longest word in German

If you have already understood the principle of how compound words work, then you are probably interested in knowing how long words can be in German. In 1999, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Germany) passed a law transferring beef labeling control responsibilities. The official German wording of the law is Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz. Impressive, right? Of course, this is a living example of how an entire sentence of the modern German language can become one word!

It is not surprising that many deputies laughed at this formulation. After this the minister Agriculture Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Till Backhaus apologized for the excessive length of the title of the law.

More German practice with Eliane

If you want to master the art of forming complex words in German, sign up for first free lesson in our online center. The class will be taught by one of our professional tutors from Germany– Christoph Deininger and Eliane Roth. They will be happy to answer all your questions related to the German language and German culture, and will also help you draw up optimal schedule classes.

In the German language there are quite a few nouns made up of several words that can be used to express a three-dimensional meaning or an entire expression. Compound nouns in German are words that are formed from two or more stems:

two words: das Schlafzimmer - bedroom;

three words: das Kopfsteinpflaster - cobblestone street;

four words: der Schreibtischdrehstuhl - a chair to a desk, rotating on an axis.

The Germans are generally masters at creating new words from a wide variety of word combinations:

der Handschuh - die Hand (hand) + der Schuh (shoe) = mitten;

der Hexenkessel - die Hexe (witch) + der Kessel (cauldron) = hell;

die Hornhaut - das Hörn (horn) + die Haut (skin) = cornea (eyes);

die Kornblume - das Korn (grain) + die Blume (flower) = cornflower.

Compound nouns in German consist of:

1. noun + noun: der Tischtennis - die Tisch + der Tennis = table tennis;

2. adjective + noun: die Hochschule - hoch+die Schule = higher school;

3. verb + noun: der Bestimmungshafen - bestimmen + der Hafen = destination port;

4. noun + verb: der Haushalt - das Haus + halten = household;

5. numeral + nouns: der Zweijahrplan - zwei + das Jahr + der Plan = two-year plan;

6. preposition + noun: der Mitarbeiter - mit + der Arbeit = employee.

The words that make up a compound noun can be added to each other:

1. directly: das Gasthaus (hotel);

2. using connecting elements:

-(e)s - die Lebensmittel (food product);

E: der Tragehandel (trade from trays);

Er: das Landerspiel (international meeting);

-(e)n: der Firmensitz (location of the company);

O: die Psychogygiene (mental hygiene).

The gender of compound nouns depends on the gender of the base word. The first part is the modifier, the last part of the compound word is the base word. The emphasis falls on the defining words.

In the word Küchenschrank (kitchen cabinet) the main word is der Schrank, so the whole word will have a masculine gender - der Küchenschrank. In the phrase Kontensperrung (blocking an account), the main word is die Sperrung, therefore the entire word will be feminine.

If two or more complex nouns are listed that have the same stems or defining words, then write one complex noun, replacing common part with a hyphen, for example: die Kindergarten und -krippen (kindergartens and nurseries).

According to the new spelling rules, complex words can be written with a hyphen, especially if they end and begin with the same letter, for example, Flusssand - Fluss-Sand, See elefant - See-Elefant, etc.

Compound nouns in German, when translated into Russian, can have:

1. one word: der Warenaustausch - barter;

2. compound noun: die Schaffenkraft - efficiency;

3. combination of an adjective with a noun: der Kurzstreik - short strike;

4. two nouns: die Lieferfirma - supplier company;

5. combination of a participle with a noun: der Berufstätige - working in a specialty;

Compound German nouns is the hallmark of the German language. They are understood as words in which several different roots coexist. Moreover, their number in some cases amounts to tens.

Formation of compound nouns in German avoids excessive repetition of the genitive case and simplifies the use of difficult German grammar in speech.

Compound nouns in modern German

In the German language there are a huge number of nouns that consist of several words and allow you to express a voluminous meaning.

Compound nouns in German. examples:

• Two words: das Schlafzimmer - bedroom.
• Three words: das Kopfsteinpflaster - cobblestone street.
• Four words: der Schreibtischdrehstuhl - a chair to a desk, rotating on an axis.

The Germans are masters at creating interesting phrases:

• Der Handschuh - die Hand (hand) + der Schuh (shoe) = mitten.
• Der Hexenkessel - die Hexe (witch) + der Kessel (cauldron) = hell.
• Die Hornhaut - das Hörn (horn) + die Haut (skin) = cornea (eyes).
• Die Kornblume - das Korn (grain) + die Blume (flower) = cornflower.

Table 1. Compound nouns in German: methods of formation.

The gender of compound nouns depends on the gender of the base word. The first part is the defining word, the last part of the compound word is the main word. The emphasis falls on the defining words.

If two or more compound nouns are listed that have the same stems or defining words, then write one compound noun, replacing the common part with a hyphen, for example: die Kindergarten und -krippen (kindergartens and nurseries).

According to the new spelling rules, complex words can be written with a hyphen, especially if they end and begin with the same letter, for example, Flusssand - Fluss-Sand, Seeelefant - See-Elefant, etc.

Translation of German compound nouns into Russian

Compound nouns in German are often formed during conversation, so you need to learn how to translate without resorting to a dictionary.

Ways to translate complex nouns in German

There are several ways to translate complex nouns into Russian. For ease of reference, we suggest using Table 2.

Table 2. Features of the translation of German compound nouns.

Formation of complex words from nominal parts of speech and verbs

One of the striking features of the German language is the formation of compound words, which, although it is currently developing most actively in the field business communication, but is still present in other layers of the linguistic community. […] It is worth noting, however, that nouns and verbs behave differently.

A compound noun always represents a kind of linguistic unity, the members of which follow directly after each other and bear one main emphasis; and the important thing is that any part of speech can act as the first member. Compare compound words with the root –fahrt, such as: Abfahrt (departure), Vorfahrt (travel first rule), Überfahrt (railroad crossing), Zufahrt (access), Rundfahrt (excursion), Schwarzfahrt (using a car without the owner’s consent ), Wohlfahrt (charity), Bergfahrt (trip to the mountains), Schifffahrt (shipping), Vergnügungsfahrt (pleasure ride), Wallfahrt (pilgrimage) - the first elements here are adverb, preposition, adjective, noun and verb. The verb does not have such freedom. Only in a very limited environment can verbs form complex words that represent a stable temporal and semantic unity. In essence, such complex words exist only with linguistic indicators that indicate the end of an action or its relation to the world. These are prefixes called prefixes (be-, er-, ent-, ge-, ver-, zer-, miß-), which are not used as independent words, and a number of prepositions (über/ unter, durch/ um, wider), to which you can add the adjective voll. Examples are complex words with the verbs fahren (to go) and stehen (to stand): befahren (to ride), erfahren (to recognize), entfahren (to break out), verfahren (to act), überfahren (to move), durchfahren (to drive through), umfahren (to run over ), widerfahren (to occur); bestehen (to consist), erstehen (to acquire), gestehen (to recognize), verstehen (to understand), überstehen (to withstand), unterstehen (to obey), umstehen (to surround), widerstehen (to resist) (you can also add: missraten (to advise against) and vollziehen (commit)). Compound words that appear to be formed from nouns, such as weissagen (to predict) and wetteifern (to compete), are actually derived from nouns. Therefore, the verb takes part only to a small extent in the formation of these complex words.

By a complex word, Reichling understands only such a combination of words, the elements of which always follow each other inseparably and can change place in a sentence only as a single whole; another condition is that the members must be united by a common stress. No member can be separated. Names like Heiliges Land (Holy Land), Rotes Meer (Red Sea) are not complex words, but phrases that in this case denote one object; the combination of an adjective and a noun, from the point of view of language, is not a word, but is combined due to the relationship to the object (that is, extralinguistically). In accordance with this, words with the so-called. separable prefixes such as ausgehen (to go out) (er geht aus) cannot actually be compounds.

Obviously, this is due to the fact that in German the sentence is built around a verb, and the verb plays a decisive role. The verb is associated with the process of constructing a sentence in time. In a simple narrative sentence (“Aussagesatz”) the “finite”, i.e. finite, form of the verb always takes second place, while the verb in the impersonal form tends to the end of the sentence: wir werden morgen die Versammlung besuchen (We will go to the meeting) – wir haben gestern die Versammlung besucht (We went to the meeting yesterday). No one will deny that in the German mind the personal and impersonal forms of the verb are connected with each other. Both forms interact to form the characteristic German sentence frame, which in a simple declarative sentence helps transform temporal sequence into simultaneous coexistence in the mind. It is the distance of the personal and impersonal forms from each other (and, consequently, their separation in time) that contributes to the fact that the sentence is perceived as an integral unity.

However, how then should we view the relationship between personal and impersonal forms? On the one hand, linguistic flair (and adherence to the Latin tradition in the study of language) suggests that both forms are one (albeit analytical, as it is usually called). However, on the other hand, the imfinite form of the verb plays a role that it shares with numerous other linguistic structures. So, you can say, for example: Die Versammlung hat um acht Uhr begonnen (The meeting began at eight o'clock); or Die Versammlung fing um acht Uhr an (The meeting began at eight o'clock); in addition, Wir werden die Versammlung besuchen (We will go to the meeting) – Wir nehmen an der Versammlung teil (We will take part in the meeting); further – Ich werde sein Verhalten beobachten (I will observe his behavior) – Ich gebe auf sein Verhalten acht (I will pay attention to his behavior). In the place that in the first case is occupied by the verb in the non-finite form (which is usually considered as a single whole together with the finite verb), in the second case there is a preposition or a noun, which is placed directly next to the verb only in a subordinate clause.

[…] This means that the question of the integrity of the word for nominal parts of speech and for the verb must be resolved differently. Only among names (and, above all, nouns) there are complex words that are given in a statement and in all types of syntactic connections. The close connections into which the verb enters depend on time and, when forming a sentence, each time lead to a predictable result. […]

Compound word and infinitive

These circumstances play a role in the debate about changing our spelling; we are talking about the question of whether it is necessary to write a noun and a verb together and, if necessary, then when. By adhering to the rule of capitalizing nouns, we are forced to make a difficult decision. We need to determine whether we will consider a noun, which seems to us to be closely related to a verb, as a noun or as part of a verb, whether we will therefore, along with teilnehmen (take part), achtgeben (pay attention), haushalten ( to run a household) also write radfahren (to ride a bicycle), skilaufen (to ski), kopfstehen (to stand on one's head) (i.e., would we consider a noun as a verbal element when it comes before the infinitive or before the verb form completing subordinate clause). Today there is apparently a developing tendency to think that in such cases there is a close connection between the noun and the verb. The reason for this is the presence of corresponding nominal forms, based on which the verb forms are formed. Since we have the noun Haushalt (farm), we say haushalten (to farm), because we know the word Radfahrer (cyclist), we use radfahren (to ride a bicycle); since we use Skilaufen (skiing) and Skiläufer (skier), we write skilaufen (skiing); the word Blindflug (blind flight) refers to the appearance of the verb blindfliegen (to fly blindly), and the word hellsehen (to be perspicacious) is associated with the noun Hellseher (clairvoyant) (in the last two cases the verb is combined with an adjective). Such formations are largely limited to the infinitive, so we can safely say that in these cases verb infinitives can be formed from complex nouns. […] Thereby characteristic feature the noun becomes, to a limited extent, suitable for the verb. In this case, a circular process occurs. At the beginning there is a phrase: Er fährt auf dem Rad (He rides a bicycle). Under the influence of a noun, it can develop into a real compound word, in which traces of a syntactic connection are then erased (here a preposition and an article), as always happens in the formation of nominal compound words; The essence of a complex word is that it neutralizes syntactic relations that do not relate to the word, but only to the sentence. Therefore, Auf dem Rade fahren der Radfahrer (A cyclist rides a bicycle) appears. Since a new, unified concept is being introduced here, the language would also like to have a single name for this action. This completes the circular process that leads from the phrase auf dem Rad fahren and the noun Radfahrer to the formation of the corresponding verb radfahren. How syntactic connections can lead to the formation of an independent compound word is shown by such compounds as Afrikareisender (explorer of Africa) (from: Er reist durch Afrika (He travels in Africa)) and Türsteher (gatekeeper) (from: er steht /immer/ vor der Tür (He stands /always/ at the door)). Whether verbs will subsequently be formed from such nouns depends on the frequency of their use.

St. Petersburg State University

Faculty of Philology

Department of English Philology

Work on translation practice

(in German)

Die Zusammensetzung im Deutschen

H. Brinkman

Difficult words in German

(pp. 27 – 30)

Completed by a fifth year student, group 10 of the Department of English Philology

Scientific director

Saint Petersburg

German grammar, T. Henzen, V. Word formation in the German language, ed. 2. – 1957.

Weissagen is derived from wîs-sago, which in turn is a reinterpretation of dvn. wîzzago "prophet"

Reichling, A.: Het Woord (Nijenegen 1935).