| Guidelines for German-English | last updated: 2012-01-20 |
If you need more information than these guidelines can provide, please see the unofficial manual / FAQ document provided by Tomaquinaten at http://users.dict.cc/tomaquinaten/.
In addition to these tags other short clarifying comments in square brackets, such as "[derb]" or "[rare]" are permitted, too. When using an abbreviation not listed here, it must be absolutely clear in its meaning, otherwise it has to be written out in full.
You are invited to contribute to dict.cc by adding new and verifying existing translations. Just try it, even without registration - you cannot do any harm! Every entry has to be checked by several users and an integrated rights management system enables users to gain more voting power over time, according to the quality of their previous votes. Have a look at the system: http://contribute.dict.cc/
Each translation of a word is a separate entry within dict.cc. This is necessary to avoid duplicate entries.
Don't change a correct translation only because you know a better one. Post the better one as a new entry instead.
Incorrect:
home ....... Zuhause {n}, Heim {n}, Heimat {f}
(one entry)
Correct:
home ....... Zuhause {n}
home ....... Heim {n}
home ....... Heimat {f}
(three entries)
Exception: For longer entries (5+ words per language) it's okay to contain a variation of short words that don't change the meaning: to be devastating to / for sth. would be acceptable as one entry (please uses spaces before and after the slash in this case).
RULE OF THUMB
Always confirm the first correct posting!
It only has to be correct. If it's not the best possible version a better translation can be posted as a new entry.
FINE PRINT / DETAILS
If the proposed entry is not the most usual translation of an entry, but is not wrong, please vote to confirm it.
In case of several correct variants within an entry under discussion (different votes), vote for the version posted first, unless the only difference to the first version is a clarifying comment in square brackets (this doesn't cause outvotes).
If the entry is incorrect and the first voting is [del], confirm the [del] vote.
In case of duplicate entries, confirm the one posted first, improve it in case of errors and delete the one posted later.
If you know a different translation or spelling variant or if such a variant emerges in the voting process, please post it as a new entry and indicate (in a comment to the original version, which you are voting for) that you have made such an additional entry. If possible, please notify the supporters of the rejected version.
dict.cc also includes a function to split translations. This should be used sparingly to avoid creating duplicate entries.
Search results are sorted and grouped by:
1. the number of words per term
2. the main word classes "other", "verbs" and "nouns"
3. statistical information from the vocabulary trainer
The two main factors can be influenced by contributing users, please see the bracket section below.
Different types of brackets serve different purposes on dict.cc:
<angle> ..... abbreviations (don't count as words for sorting, but act as keywords)
[square] ..... visible comments (don't count as words for sorting, don't act as keywords)
(round) ....... for optional parts (count as words for sorting, act as keywords)
{curly} ........ word class definitions (use word class field instead, except for gender tags like {f}, {pl}, ...)
Example abbreviation: Abkürzung {f} <Abk.> .............. would be found for the keyword "Abk"
Example comment: Vorschneider {m} [Gewinde] ... would not be found for the keyword "Gewinde"
(To still find this entry for the keyword "Gewinde" you can search for the term in square brackets: "[Gewinde]")
When searching for "Abkürzung" or "Vorschneider", these examples would be treated as one-word entries, so they would be listed on top of the search results pages. If the brackets were round, the examples would be treated as two-word entries, listed further below.
Square brackets are used for disambiguations, explanations, usage hints or to add prepositions to one-word entries as in "fähig [zu]", "Gefahr {f} [für]" or "capable [de]".
Inflected words (plurals, superlatives, conjugations, ..., except gender-specific forms of adjectives) can be entered as translations if the inflected forms directly correspond with each other. The entries gone ... gegangen or houses ... Häuser {pl} would be okay.
As a rule, the basic forms (lemmata, like "to go", "house") should be entered before inflected forms. For inflected forms it's sufficient to have only a few (the most important) translations. The basic form can vary from language to language (usually it's the infinitive, but, for example, Bulgarian verbs will have the first person form of the present tense). If you're unsure about what the basic form is, you can always post a question in the forum. In case an entry has no basic form, its variants should be entered into the dictionary as separate entries.
The connections between the different forms ("go, went, gone") are not part of the translation entries themselves, they are stored using a separate function of dict.cc. See the menu item "Inflections" for more.
GENDER TAGS
Nouns are assigned to the "noun" class automatically if a gender or plural tag is inserted.
That's why gender tags - {f}, {n}, {pl}, {ж}, {m.pl}, ..., anything in curly brackets - should only be used with nouns.
In case of expressions consisting of multiple nouns, use the gender tag only for (and immediately after) the grammatically dominant noun, e.g. bicchiere {m} da vino (plural: "i bicchieri da vino").
If there isn't a single grammatically dominant noun, as in "Hinz und Kunz", "Umarmungen und Küsse" or "Wartung, Reparatur und Instandsetzung", don't use gender tags and set the word class to "noun" manually.
For proper nouns or terms taken from foreign languages that consist of multiple words, the gender tag should be placed at the end of the term, e.g. for German: Circulus virtuosus {m}, Cosa Nostra {f}, Crêpe Suzette {f}.
PLURAL / SINGULAR TAGS
For nouns in languages without grammatical gender, such as English, Hungarian or Turkish, use {pl} and {sg} in the respective field to denote plural or singular if unusual or different from the grammatical number in the other language.
If both languages in the pair have no grammatical gender, use the tags when the grammatical number is not the same on both sides.
MULTIPLE GENDER TAGS
If a noun can carry multiple grammatical genders while keeping the same meaning, add all tags in a row: Teil {m} {n}.
If a noun's meaning or context differs according to the gender used, use separate entries:
electricista {m} - electrician
electricista {f} - electrician [female]
[female] (or [nő] for Hungarian, [kadın] for Turkish, ...) can be used in languages without gender, for feminine terms with no distinct corresponding female term (eg. politician, neighbour). Examples:
Krankenpflegerin {f} - nurse [female]
Touristin {f} - turista [nő]
(In some languages, all nouns belonging to one grammatical gender also belong to another (e.g. Norwegian feminine). This specific gender carries the tag {m/f} to indicate that they can be regularly used with grammatical endings specific to both feminine and masculine nouns.)
MANUAL CLASSIFICATION
Names of persons, institutions etc. without gender tags should be manually marked as nouns.
Nouns used attributively should be marked as "adj", not as "noun" or "attr".
forum Verbs and verb phrases should be entered in the infinitive (or corresponding form) and assigned to the "verb" class. Don't use this class for inflected verb forms like the past tense, the imperative or the present and past participles.
There is no further formal classification of verbs on dict.cc.
However, transitive and reflexive verbs can be entered together with an abbreviated object like "sth.", "jdm.", "qn.", "jdn./etw.", "etw. [Akk.]", "oneself", "sich" or an example object. Verbs that can be both transitive and intransitive may include the placeholder in parentheses, as in "compter (qc.)".
ADJECTIVES, including nouns and participles used as adjectives, have to be assigned to the class "adj". When adjective and adverb forms are identical on both sides, both classes can be assigned, otherwise separate entries must be made.
Additional grammar information can optionally be given using one of the following comments:
-- [attr.] for adjectives used only before nouns they modify and which cannot be used after verbs of being or becoming;
-- [postpos.] for adjectives used only after nouns they modify or verbs they accompany;
-- [pred.] for adjectives used only after verbs of being or becoming.
PARTICIPLES in addition should be classified as "pres-p" or "past-p", according to their tense.
ADVERBS, PREPOSITIONS, CONJUNCTIONS AND PRONOUNS have to be classified manually (adv, prep, conj, pron). Interjections and exclamations should be classed "[none]".
OTHER WORD CLASSES
Entries that do not belong to any specific word class (part of speech, lexical category), such as whole sentences, examples and fixed expressions, as well as cardinal numbers, should be marked with "[none]".
Up to three subjects can be assigned to each entry. The assignment can be changed by reasonably experienced users (>50 votes) anytime. This change is visible immediately, without approval from other users.
There is a fixed catalog of subjects, changeable only after discussion in the contribute section of the forum.
If a translation entry could be assigned to more than three subjects, please either use no subject at all, or only the widest and most typical ones.
Names and titles of works of fiction (cinema, television, literature, music) should be included in the subject [F] to separate them from other entries. Only terms of general interest should be added.
If one of the languages of the pair is the original language of the work's title, please also include the name of the author (director) of the work of fiction on that side. If the original title of the work of fiction is in a third language, you may include the author's name on either side.
for botanical, medical or similar entries can be added to the left column [in square brackets].
This information is optional.
Placeholders for "somebody" and "something", like sb., sth., jd., etw., jdm., ..., and their equivalents in other languages are written in lower case letters even if they appear at the beginning of an entry.
forum Preferred form: non-standard term [ugs./obs./pej./...] [standard term]
Existing variants that don't need to be changed: non-standard term [ugs./obs./pej./... für/for: standard term]
The following form is ambiguous and should be avoided: non-standard term [ugs./obs./pej./...: standard term]
Use: tumbrel [obs.] [ducking stool] ... Means that "tumbrel" is obsolete, and there is another word for it.
Don't use:tumbrel [obs.: ducking stool] ... It's not clear to everyone which one of the words is meant to be obsolete.
For formatting questions not covered in the guidelines, please check the existing vocabulary for similar cases.
If you don't find clear conventions, please discuss the issue using the Contribute section of the forum or ask Paul before adding or re-opening translations.
Nouns (singular): Include a gender tag in the German column ... Example: Hund {m}
Nouns (plural): No regular gender tag, just add "{pl}" ............. Example: Hunde {pl}
For multiple-word entries only the most important noun per entry should be tagged.
If the noun is not the most important part of the entry (for example in verb phrases, figures of speech, sentences), don't tag it.
Verbs (infinitive): Include "to" in the English column ................ Example: to read
Other types: Use the class field to indicate the correct word class.
Nouns and verbs formatted as above will be assigned the correct word class if class field is empty.
should be entered in their indefinite (ein/eine) forms:
Echter {m}
Echtes {n}
Echte {pl}
Previously two forms had to be entered, separated by the "|" symbol. This is now deprecated. Please use the inflection feature instead.
should be entered as follows:
because sb. took part - weil jd. teilnahm
sb. took part - jd. nahm teil
Please see section 1.
In addition to these tags other short clarifying comments in square brackets, such as "[derb]" or "[rare]" are permitted, too. When using an abbreviation not listed here, it must be absolutely clear in its meaning, otherwise it has to be written out in full.
General Information and Guidelines
This applies to all language pairs. See language-specific information below. In case of questions please ask Paul!
last updated: 2010-07-28 history1. You can improve dict.cc!
You are invited to contribute to dict.cc by adding new and verifying existing translations. Just try it, even without registration - you cannot do any harm! Every entry has to be checked by several users and an integrated rights management system enables users to gain more voting power over time, according to the quality of their previous votes. Have a look at the system: http://contribute.dict.cc/last updated: 2012-01-20 history2. One translation per entry
Each translation of a word is a separate entry within dict.cc. This is necessary to avoid duplicate entries.Don't change a correct translation only because you know a better one. Post the better one as a new entry instead.
Incorrect:
home ....... Zuhause {n}, Heim {n}, Heimat {f}
(one entry)
Correct:
home ....... Zuhause {n}
home ....... Heim {n}
home ....... Heimat {f}
(three entries)
Exception: For longer entries (5+ words per language) it's okay to contain a variation of short words that don't change the meaning: to be devastating to / for sth. would be acceptable as one entry (please uses spaces before and after the slash in this case).
last updated: 2010-12-10 history3. Several Correct Variants
RULE OF THUMBAlways confirm the first correct posting!
It only has to be correct. If it's not the best possible version a better translation can be posted as a new entry.
FINE PRINT / DETAILS
If the proposed entry is not the most usual translation of an entry, but is not wrong, please vote to confirm it.
In case of several correct variants within an entry under discussion (different votes), vote for the version posted first, unless the only difference to the first version is a clarifying comment in square brackets (this doesn't cause outvotes).
If the entry is incorrect and the first voting is [del], confirm the [del] vote.
In case of duplicate entries, confirm the one posted first, improve it in case of errors and delete the one posted later.
If you know a different translation or spelling variant or if such a variant emerges in the voting process, please post it as a new entry and indicate (in a comment to the original version, which you are voting for) that you have made such an additional entry. If possible, please notify the supporters of the rejected version.
dict.cc also includes a function to split translations. This should be used sparingly to avoid creating duplicate entries.
last updated: 2009-11-11 history4. Sorting of Search Results
Search results are sorted and grouped by: 1. the number of words per term
2. the main word classes "other", "verbs" and "nouns"
3. statistical information from the vocabulary trainer
The two main factors can be influenced by contributing users, please see the bracket section below.
last updated: 2011-03-29 history5. Brackets
Different types of brackets serve different purposes on dict.cc:<angle> ..... abbreviations (don't count as words for sorting, but act as keywords)
[square] ..... visible comments (don't count as words for sorting, don't act as keywords)
(round) ....... for optional parts (count as words for sorting, act as keywords)
{curly} ........ word class definitions (use word class field instead, except for gender tags like {f}, {pl}, ...)
Example abbreviation: Abkürzung {f} <Abk.> .............. would be found for the keyword "Abk"
Example comment: Vorschneider {m} [Gewinde] ... would not be found for the keyword "Gewinde"
(To still find this entry for the keyword "Gewinde" you can search for the term in square brackets: "[Gewinde]")
When searching for "Abkürzung" or "Vorschneider", these examples would be treated as one-word entries, so they would be listed on top of the search results pages. If the brackets were round, the examples would be treated as two-word entries, listed further below.
Square brackets are used for disambiguations, explanations, usage hints or to add prepositions to one-word entries as in "fähig [zu]", "Gefahr {f} [für]" or "capable [de]".
last updated: 2010-06-11 history6. Inflected Terms
Inflected words (plurals, superlatives, conjugations, ..., except gender-specific forms of adjectives) can be entered as translations if the inflected forms directly correspond with each other. The entries gone ... gegangen or houses ... Häuser {pl} would be okay.As a rule, the basic forms (lemmata, like "to go", "house") should be entered before inflected forms. For inflected forms it's sufficient to have only a few (the most important) translations. The basic form can vary from language to language (usually it's the infinitive, but, for example, Bulgarian verbs will have the first person form of the present tense). If you're unsure about what the basic form is, you can always post a question in the forum. In case an entry has no basic form, its variants should be entered into the dictionary as separate entries.
The connections between the different forms ("go, went, gone") are not part of the translation entries themselves, they are stored using a separate function of dict.cc. See the menu item "Inflections" for more.
last updated: 2011-08-01 history7. Word Classes: NOUNS
GENDER TAGSNouns are assigned to the "noun" class automatically if a gender or plural tag is inserted.
That's why gender tags - {f}, {n}, {pl}, {ж}, {m.pl}, ..., anything in curly brackets - should only be used with nouns.
In case of expressions consisting of multiple nouns, use the gender tag only for (and immediately after) the grammatically dominant noun, e.g. bicchiere {m} da vino (plural: "i bicchieri da vino").
If there isn't a single grammatically dominant noun, as in "Hinz und Kunz", "Umarmungen und Küsse" or "Wartung, Reparatur und Instandsetzung", don't use gender tags and set the word class to "noun" manually.
For proper nouns or terms taken from foreign languages that consist of multiple words, the gender tag should be placed at the end of the term, e.g. for German: Circulus virtuosus {m}, Cosa Nostra {f}, Crêpe Suzette {f}.
PLURAL / SINGULAR TAGS
For nouns in languages without grammatical gender, such as English, Hungarian or Turkish, use {pl} and {sg} in the respective field to denote plural or singular if unusual or different from the grammatical number in the other language.
If both languages in the pair have no grammatical gender, use the tags when the grammatical number is not the same on both sides.
MULTIPLE GENDER TAGS
If a noun can carry multiple grammatical genders while keeping the same meaning, add all tags in a row: Teil {m} {n}.
If a noun's meaning or context differs according to the gender used, use separate entries:
electricista {m} - electrician
electricista {f} - electrician [female]
[female] (or [nő] for Hungarian, [kadın] for Turkish, ...) can be used in languages without gender, for feminine terms with no distinct corresponding female term (eg. politician, neighbour). Examples:
Krankenpflegerin {f} - nurse [female]
Touristin {f} - turista [nő]
(In some languages, all nouns belonging to one grammatical gender also belong to another (e.g. Norwegian feminine). This specific gender carries the tag {m/f} to indicate that they can be regularly used with grammatical endings specific to both feminine and masculine nouns.)
MANUAL CLASSIFICATION
Names of persons, institutions etc. without gender tags should be manually marked as nouns.
Nouns used attributively should be marked as "adj", not as "noun" or "attr".
last updated: 2011-08-26 history8. Word Classes: VERBS
forum Verbs and verb phrases should be entered in the infinitive (or corresponding form) and assigned to the "verb" class. Don't use this class for inflected verb forms like the past tense, the imperative or the present and past participles.There is no further formal classification of verbs on dict.cc.
However, transitive and reflexive verbs can be entered together with an abbreviated object like "sth.", "jdm.", "qn.", "jdn./etw.", "etw. [Akk.]", "oneself", "sich" or an example object. Verbs that can be both transitive and intransitive may include the placeholder in parentheses, as in "compter (qc.)".
last updated: 2011-11-18 history9. Word Classes: OTHER
ADJECTIVES, including nouns and participles used as adjectives, have to be assigned to the class "adj". When adjective and adverb forms are identical on both sides, both classes can be assigned, otherwise separate entries must be made.Additional grammar information can optionally be given using one of the following comments:
-- [attr.] for adjectives used only before nouns they modify and which cannot be used after verbs of being or becoming;
-- [postpos.] for adjectives used only after nouns they modify or verbs they accompany;
-- [pred.] for adjectives used only after verbs of being or becoming.
PARTICIPLES in addition should be classified as "pres-p" or "past-p", according to their tense.
ADVERBS, PREPOSITIONS, CONJUNCTIONS AND PRONOUNS have to be classified manually (adv, prep, conj, pron). Interjections and exclamations should be classed "[none]".
OTHER WORD CLASSES
Entries that do not belong to any specific word class (part of speech, lexical category), such as whole sentences, examples and fixed expressions, as well as cardinal numbers, should be marked with "[none]".
last updated: 2011-07-22 history10. Subject Labels (like med.)
Up to three subjects can be assigned to each entry. The assignment can be changed by reasonably experienced users (>50 votes) anytime. This change is visible immediately, without approval from other users.There is a fixed catalog of subjects, changeable only after discussion in the contribute section of the forum.
If a translation entry could be assigned to more than three subjects, please either use no subject at all, or only the widest and most typical ones.
last updated: 2009-11-11 history11. Works of Fiction
Names and titles of works of fiction (cinema, television, literature, music) should be included in the subject [F] to separate them from other entries. Only terms of general interest should be added.If one of the languages of the pair is the original language of the work's title, please also include the name of the author (director) of the work of fiction on that side. If the original title of the work of fiction is in a third language, you may include the author's name on either side.
last updated: 2010-01-11 history12. Latin Names
for botanical, medical or similar entries can be added to the left column [in square brackets]. This information is optional.
last updated: 2011-02-27 history13. Placeholders
Placeholders for "somebody" and "something", like sb., sth., jd., etw., jdm., ..., and their equivalents in other languages are written in lower case letters even if they appear at the beginning of an entry.last updated: 2011-07-14 history14. Non-standard terms [with standard terms in comments]
forum Preferred form: non-standard term [ugs./obs./pej./...] [standard term]Existing variants that don't need to be changed: non-standard term [ugs./obs./pej./... für/for: standard term]
The following form is ambiguous and should be avoided: non-standard term [ugs./obs./pej./...: standard term]
Use: tumbrel [obs.] [ducking stool] ... Means that "tumbrel" is obsolete, and there is another word for it.
Don't use:
last updated: 2011-04-27 history15. Other Rules
For formatting questions not covered in the guidelines, please check the existing vocabulary for similar cases. If you don't find clear conventions, please discuss the issue using the Contribute section of the forum or ask Paul before adding or re-opening translations.
Rules and Conventions: German - English
For types of entries not defined here, just look up similar terms with dict.cc and adjust your formatting accordingly.
last updated: 2009-06-20 history16. Basic Formatting Rules
Nouns (singular): Include a gender tag in the German column ... Example: Hund {m}Nouns (plural): No regular gender tag, just add "{pl}" ............. Example: Hunde {pl}
For multiple-word entries only the most important noun per entry should be tagged.
If the noun is not the most important part of the entry (for example in verb phrases, figures of speech, sentences), don't tag it.
Verbs (infinitive): Include "to" in the English column ................ Example: to read
Other types: Use the class field to indicate the correct word class.
Nouns and verbs formatted as above will be assigned the correct word class if class field is empty.
last updated: 2009-10-09 history17. Adjectivally Declined Nouns (also known as weak nouns)
should be entered in their indefinite (ein/eine) forms:Echter {m}
Echtes {n}
Echte {pl}
Previously two forms had to be entered, separated by the "|" symbol. This is now deprecated. Please use the inflection feature instead.
last updated: 2010-09-27 history18. Separable Verbs in Phrases
should be entered as follows:because sb. took part - weil jd. teilnahm
sb. took part - jd. nahm teil
last updated: 2010-03-04 history19. Unofficial Manual / FAQ
Please see section 1.| back to top | home | © 2002 - 2012 Paul Hemetsberger | contact |
English-German online dictionary developed to help you share your knowledge with others. More information!
Contains translations by TU Chemnitz and Mr Honey's Business Dictionary (German-English). Thanks on that account!
Links to this dictionary or to single translations are very welcome! Questions and Answers
Contains translations by TU Chemnitz and Mr Honey's Business Dictionary (German-English). Thanks on that account!
Links to this dictionary or to single translations are very welcome! Questions and Answers