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Word of the Day - "denn" - 09-13-2012
by German-is-easy - German is easy! - https://yourdailygerman.com
Word of the Day - "denn"
by German-is-easy - Thursday, September 13, 2012
https://yourdailygerman.com/2012/09/13/denn-meaning/
Hello everyone,
and welcome to our German Day of the Word.... just making sure you are awake ;). This time we will
have a look at the meaning of:
denn
And a quick note on pronunciation first: try to make a difference to the German den. Denn is like the
English den, German den has a long "e". Here they are.
den - denn
Cool. Next, a quick note an denn and dann because people often mix them up. 300 years ago both words
were synonyms. But just as their English brothers then and than diversified in meaning and mustn't be
mixed up nowadays, so did the German denn and dann. But of course the meanings in German are
different than the ones in English. I mean come on... things gotta be confusing, right? Dann does totally
NOT mean than and denn often DOESN'T translate to then. I don't want to talk too much about dann
here so let's just say dann is essentially an answer to the question when?
Wann?
Dann!
When?
Then!
Denn cannot under no circumstances ever answer anything.
But it can do a lot of other things and we'll clear them all up today. Sounds good? Then let's jump right
in...
Denn has 3 meanings or better functions... it has a normal every day job to pay the rent, it also has a
flourishing flavoring particle business going on the side and sometimes it has to help its buddy als with
the comparisons. Let's start with the day job.
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Word of the Day - "denn" - 09-13-2012
by German-is-easy - German is easy! - https://yourdailygerman.com
"denn" and "weil"
Denn is a possible translation for because. Just like weil. Both words do the same thing: they introduce a
reason for something. And yet, there is a difference between denn and weil and that difference lies in the
grammar and structure. Weil is what in grammar jargon is called subordinating congestion... or ...
something like that ... but we'll just call it intro word. So weil is one of those words that make the verb
leave its precious second position and go to the end.
Ich esse eine Pizza, weil ich hungrig bin.
I eat a pizza, because I am hungry.
The second part of the sentence said as a statement alone would be:
Ich bin hungrig.
I am hungry.
Adding because in English doesn't affect the structure at all; adding weil in German makes habe move to
the end.
This does not happen with denn. Denn leaves the structure untouched.
Ich esse eine Pizza, denn ich bin hungrig.
I eat a pizza, because I am hungry.
So here you have pretty much a word to word translation in the same order. BUT: Don't think that weil is
weird or an exception. If fact most the vast majority of introductory words make the verb move. Denn is
the exception here. Denn hangs out with aber and und at the stranger table.
Anyways.. so weil makes the verb move, denn doesn't. So far so good.
There is a second difference between denn and weiland I will get a little nerdy here in my explanations...
so please indulge me :)
The weil-sentence is what I call a minor sentence... it is sort of additional information to what is going on
in the main sentence and it answers the question why?. Now, additional information to the main action
can be placed in different positions in the main sentence. It is not really crucial, where it is as long as it is
given within the scope of the sentence.
Ich esse eine Pizza, weil ich Hunger habe.
Weil ich Hunger habe, esse ich eine Pizza.
Ich esse, weil ich Hunger habe, eine Pizza.
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Word of the Day - "denn" - 09-13-2012
by German-is-easy - German is easy! - https://yourdailygerman.com
All 3 version mean the same and are fully 100% grammatical. They just sound a little different, have a
different rhythm. The last one certainly is the least common one, and yet it might be chosen at times when
it nicely fits the style of the surrounding sentences.... mind you... we are not talking about content here...
just style. Yep... we are talking about style in the context of German. So... the weil-sentence can stand at
not all but various positions in a sentence.
This is NOT possible with denn. The denn-part is also answering the question why? but it is maybe a
little less additional but rather a second action put in relation to the first. The connection is expressed
using denn. But you cannot use a connector if hasn't been anything to connect to and hence denn only
works if the first part has been already said... wow that was complicated... it all boils down to:
the denn-sentence is always after the other part, the weil-sentence can move around around.
Ich esse eine Pizza, denn ich habe Hunger. (right)
Denn ich habe Hunger, ich esse eine Pizza. (wrongst)
Both sentences are NOT connected in the second version. There is NO connector between them. There is
just the denn-connector at the beginning, but there is nothing to connect to there. If you are confused by
all this reasoning, don't worry... it is not important after all. Just remember that the denn-part always has
to be second while the weil-part doesn't.
Now what about the usage of denn and weil? Well, for the most part they are doing the same thing so you
can chose either one. There is one difference however and that is scope. Weil is closer to the part that
came right before it while denn has a bigger range. This can make a difference. Here is an example
Die Chefin ist sauer, dass das Meeting gecancelt wurde,
- weil sie nach New York geflogen ist.
- denn sie ist nach New York geflogen.
The boss is pissed that the meeting was cancelled because she flew to New York
Because she flew NY just for this, the boss is pissed, that the meeting was cancelled.
The weil -sentence doesn't span very far so it sounds as if it gives the reason for the meeting being
canceled. The denn-sentence is different. Remember... a denn-sentence is a major-sentence with a verb in
position number 2. So it is on par with the "boss is pissed"-sentence and thus, although there is a side
sentence in between, we assume that the denn-sentence refers to the other main sentence so it tells us why
the boss is pissed. We can make it even more clear if we give reasons for both parts.
Die Chefin ist sauer, dass das Meeting gecancelt wurde, weil die Präsentation nicht fertig ist, denn
sie ist nach New York geflogen.
Because she flew to NY, the boss is pissed that the meeting was cancelled because the
presentation isn't finished.
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Word of the Day - "denn" - 09-13-2012
by German-is-easy - German is easy! - https://yourdailygerman.com
It is pretty contrived but I hope it helps illustrate what is happening. The weil-sentence explains the one
right before it. The denn-sentence, being a top-level sentence explains the other top level sentence... the
one telling us that the boss is pissed... My English translation probably sound awful and people would use
a different phrasing altogether but anyway. Denn and weil have a different range so in more complex
sentences one might be more appropriate than the other.
However, in many situations it depends on flow of the text or personal preference which one people use.
Sometimes the denn-sentence just sounds better and the same expressed with weil would be boring.
Google-ngram suggests that both of them are used equally often with a slight edge for weil. I'd say in
daily speech, weil is used about 70 % of the time. For you it will be enough to use weil and let denn
slowly unconsciously sink into your active vocabulary.
"denn" - a curious filler
Denn is also used as a flavoring particle. Here is an example from daily speech.
"Hey, ich muss dir was erzählen."
"Was denn?"
"Ich habe heute 100 Euro gefunden."
"Oh, wo denn?"
"Auf der Strasse vor meinem Haus."
"Lädst du mich denn auf ein Bier ein?"
"Klar."
"Hey I have got to tell you something."
"Oh What is it?"
"I found 100 € today."
"Oh, and where?"
"On the street, in front of my house."
"So, are you going to invite me for a beer then?
"Sure."
There are 2 observations we can make here... the first one is that denn doesn't seem to have a consistent
translation... wow. That is SO unique for flavoring particles ;). The second and more important feature is
that denn is only used in the questions here. That is no coincidence. Denn as a flavoring particle DOES
ONLY WORK IN questions!
And what exactly does it do? First of all it is a filler. An important filler. A "naked" question word would
sound rather harsh.
"Hey, ich habe heute was cooles gesehen."
"Was?"
"Hey I've seen something cool today."
"What?"
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Word of the Day - "denn" - 09-13-2012
by German-is-easy - German is easy! - https://yourdailygerman.com
To make this sound friendly you would need to lengthen it a lot while doing all kinds of turns with the
melody... whaaaaaat? Both languages, English and German try to soften this by adding some filler like
oh, and or was it or... denn.
Denn just makes you sound less harsh and it gives you more options to express your feelings with tone
and melody. It DOESN'T, as many sources online suggest, signal interest. I mean, come on... it's a
question! That's what signals interest.
Denn is a filler, an extra syllable that gives you room to express yourself. You can make it sound
annoyed, surprised, super curious, angry... whatever.
"Hey, ich muss dir was zeigen.
"Was denn." (4 versions)
"Hey, I gotta show you something."
"Oh what ? /What is it?"
However, probably on account of its filler-power denn always sounds a bit casual... a detective would
never ask the suspect where denn the money is. That wouldn't sound too intimidating.
So, I hope this gives you an idea. Now some more examples.
Wo ist denn eigentlich meine Brille?
Oh by the way, where are my glasses?
Wie hast du denn nur die IHRE Telefonnummer gekriegt?
How the hell did you get HER phone number?
As you can see, denn is not restricted to short questions. But in a long question, there is nothing to fill
especially not if there are other fillers in there, too. Well... in German there can never be enough filler. I'd
say in those examples denn gives the same flavor as an initial so does in English. Sometimes it has a
slight undertone of at least but I think you can figure that out yourse.. ok ok I am just too lazy :).. what? If
I can denn make an example? Of course.
"Mein Arm tut immer noch wahnsinning weh."
"Kannst du denn (wenigstens) schlafen?
"My arm still hurts incredibly."
"Can you sleep at least?"
Alright... so... feel free to include denn into all questions you have... but never... never in an answer. It
just doesn't work as a flavoring particle there.
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Word of the Day - "denn" - 09-13-2012
by German-is-easy - German is easy! - https://yourdailygerman.com
"Denn" - the other "als"
Contemporary German (hahaha... writing that was a real joy for some reason) uses the word als for
unequal comparisons.
Thomas ist größer als Maria.
Thomas is taller than Maria.
This is confusing for English natives as als looks awfully like as while than looks awfully like denn or
dann but you will have to put up with it. If you don't like it then get a time machine (buy a time machine
at Amazon) and go back some hundreds of years. Back then Germans were using denn a lot more. Still a
bit confusing because it is not dann but anyways. I have no idea why Germans switched from denn to als
for uneven comparisons but they did. However, there are 2 occasions in which the old fashioned
comparing denn still has to do the job. The first is to avoid double als. As you know als itself has a LOT
to do and means a LOT of things so sometimes this happens.
Ich bin jetzt größer als als Kind.
I am now taller than as a kid.
Here we have a comparing als and a whatever you want to call that -als. In spoken German, I think most
people don't bother and say als als but in writing the comparing als will be replaced by denn. I have to
say though, that this sounds really high class already. Do it and your German teacher will be secretly
impressed.
Ich bin jetzt größer denn als Kind.
Alright... there is also one fixed expression that still uses denn to for comparison: denn je.
Herkules ist stärker denn je.
Herkules is stronger than ever.
This doesn't even work with als. Denn je is still quite common but it certainly sounds like very high
German. So if you drop a denn je in a sentence people will be secretly impressed by your level of
German.
But other than that I would not recommend to use denn as than in German. Sometimes it works and you
may read it here and there but at the least you will sound like your are stage acting and in the worst case
people will be confused because denn has other meanings that are more common. But denn je is than
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Word of the Day - "denn" - 09-13-2012
by German-is-easy - German is easy! - https://yourdailygerman.com
ever so go ahead and make some jaws drop.
Now, as a quick recap here is the then-than-denn-dann-als-as mind map ... in writing.
Then is dann.
Than is als.
As is wenn, als and if as is introducing a reason also denn.
German can be so much fun, right? Meh, not really.
Anyway, that's it for today. This was our look at the meaning and use of denn. It can mean weil, but it has
a different scope and at least in spoken German the more common denn is the question filler. People add
it to questions to make them sound more casual or, in combination with question words, to get a little
more room to express yourself using your voice.
As always, if you have any questions or suggestions leave me a comment. I hope you enjoyed it.
Till next time.
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