Improve your written German with the Lingolia Writing School.
Get answers to burning questions like: is it wie gehts or wie geht’s? Are German quotation marks really written like that? And the age-old question: Do I really need a capital letter with all German nouns? (Spoiler: yes, you do).
The answers to these questions and many more are explained below so that you can avoid typical mistakes and write German texts like a pro.
Commas (,) let us divide up elements in a sentence to make it more readable. Although German often uses commas in the same way as English, there are some key differences.
- Example:
- Ich hoffe, dass es dir gefällt.I hope you like it.
Apostrophes (’) are used much less in German than in English. Learn to avoid typical mistakes with German apostrophes with Lingolia.
- Example:
- Ich habe ’ne ganze Stunde gebraucht.It took me a whole hour.
Quotation marks („ ”) in German are used in the same way as in English: for direct speech, titles and emphasis. However, the opening quotation marks are placed low down and both sets of quotation marks have the 99 form.
- Example:
- Hans rief: „Ich habe Angst!”Hans cried, “I’m scared!”
Stylistic devices (also known as rhetorical devices) like alliteration, metaphor and onomatopoeia help make your writing more interesting.
- Examples:
- Land der Dichter und DenkerLand of poets and thinkers. (alliteration)
- Die Tür quietscht.The door squeaks. (onomatopoeia)
