fuckyeahdeutsch reblogged
genius2mania submitted:
Concerning the topic of the infamous Eszett. In English :)
Eszett = scharfes S = ß ≠ beta ≠ B
Related posts: Rules for using ss/ß, ScheiBe?
zurzeit v.s. zur Zeit
According to the new Rechtschreibregeln,
zurzeit
- im Augenblick, jetzt, gegenwärtig
- at the moment, now, currently, presently
zur Zeit (+Gen)
- nur wenn eine bestimmte Zeit gemeint ist z.B. zur Zeit Goethes, zur Zeit des Krieges
- only when referring to a specific period e.g. at the time of Goethe, at the time of the war
Are there rules for using the esset? It seems incorrect to write "iβt," and do you ever have to use it? I have taken German for a few years and have never used the esset, I always just write the "ss."
Hey there!
The rules for Eszett (or as we say in German, scharfes S) are actually pretty clear! According to the new rules from the Rechtschreibung, "ißt" is definitely misspelt and it has to be "isst".
Here's the rule:
- ss (Doppel-S)the preceding vowel is short (pronunciation)e.g. dass, r Fluss, nass, (er/sie/es) isst
- ß (Eszett, scharfes S; NEVER beta or B, please)the preceding vowel is long (pronunciation)e.g. e Straße, r Fuß, grüßen, bloßNote: ALL diphthongs (double vowels) are long vowels. For diphthongs, click here.Source: duden.de
I have to emphasize the the ß is NOT a beta nor a B because ever since Lady Gaga sang Scheiße, I have seen 1001 Scheibe/ScheiBe reblogs and with every Scheibe post my heart dies a little inside... :(
Tip: If you don't know how to type the ß character, replacing with ss is perfectly understandable (this is especially important if you're sending letters from a country that doesn't speak German - Ludwigstraße can be written as Ludwigstrasse). This is not allowed in anything academic though (e.g. school essays, any German homework). More info can be found here.
UPDATE: greengodot mentioned something I wasn't aware of, and something I've forgotten about!In summary:
- The alphabet ß is never used in Swiss German.
- The character ß is in lower case; if you need it written in upper case, either write SS (for regular words, e.g. STRASSE) or stick with ß (if it's part of a name, e.g. STRAUß).
Thanks greengodot! :)
Ever since the latest Rechtschreibreform was introduced, many people (Germans included!) have been struggling with the new spelling of words, punctuation and other little details. Here's a website that shows you the most common mistakes and the corresponding correct answer!
Related posts: Deutsche Rechtschreibung Summarised, Challenging Quiz from Duden
For practice on deutsche Rechtschreibung and grammar!
VERY useful, even for Germans.
For a step-by-step version, see here.