Honestly, as a German I can not quite understand the obsession of the English speaking world with the question whether a word exists or not. If you have to express something for which there is no word, you have to make a new one, preferably by combining well-known words, and in the very same moment it starts to exist. Agree?
Deutsche Freunde, could you please create for me a word for the extreme depression I feel when I bend down to pick up a piece of litter and discover two more pieces of litter?
um = around
die Welt = world
die Umwelt = environment
ver = prefix to indicate something difficult or negative, a change that leads to deterioration or even destruction that is difficult to reverse or to undo, or a strong negative change of the mental state of a person
der Müll = garbage, trash, rubbish, litter
-ung = -ing
die Vermüllung = littering
ver- = see before
zweifeln = to doubt
-ung = see before
die Verzweiflung = despair, exasperation, desperation
die Umweltvermüllungsverzweiflung = …
This is a german compound on the spot master class and I am LIVING
#my german is still too basic for this but I desperately want a compound word for how much these compound words piss me off
das Monster = monster
das Wort = word
der Groll = grudge, anger, malice, rancor
der Monsterwortgroll = …
Monsterwortbildungsimitationsunfähigkeitsverzweiflungsgroll
die Bildung = formation
die Imitation = imitation
un- = un-, in-
fähig = able
-keit = -ility
die Unfähigkeit = inability
der Monsterwortbildungsimitationsunfähigkeitsverzweiflungsgroll = anger about the inability to imitate the formation of monster words
What I’m curious about: If a German person came out with the word
‘Monsterwortbildungsimitationsunfähigkeitsverzweiflungsgroll’
would a German listener just instantly know what they were on about, and get the highly specific meaning of the monster word?
Yes, without a second of thinking. Because saying the word takes time so the listener understands the word while it is being said.
Serious question—if you don’t know/can’t remember the actual word for something, if you make up a compound word that gets the point across (such as saying “kindhund” when you mean puppy), will native speakers generally applaud your effort or think you sound ridiculous?
A native speaker will understand, will acknowledge that you have understood that principle of the German language, and will probably think ‘how cute’.
My foreign exchange student did that all the time when she couldn’t remember words. It was awesome, I understood her perfectly, and I’m still in awe at how well she picked up on How To German. So feel free to make your own compound words whenever you need!
