How to use online dictionaries to look up German words - Part I
Introduction
It has become fashionable in recent years to use online dictionaries instead of “old-fashioned” printed dictionaries. There are undoubtedly many advantages to the use of these online resources, but it is not always as straightforward as it seems.
Objectives
In this first learning object we will look into the technical issues of typing in words and of navigating through the sites. We will look at four different online dictionaries.
Activity 1: Navigating through the dictionary sites
In this activity you will get a first impression of the different dictionaries.
Once you opened a link to a dictionary, leave it open for easier navigation.
Instruction
Type in the word "kommen" and try to understand the explanations given in each dictionary.
3 of the dictionaries have explanations in German. If you want to know the meaning of the main words, look in the help section below where you will find a glossary.
Glossary: ableitbar – derivable, deducible Flexionstabelle – conjugation / declension table Grundformen – basic forms im Zusammenhang - in context keine - no nachschlagen – to look up speichern – to save Substantive – nouns suchen – to look up Treffer – hit(s) unmittelbar – direct weitere – further Wendungen / Ausdrücke – phrases / expressions Wörterbuch - dictionary
The "Unmittelbare Treffer" (direct hits) are arranged in alphabetical order and NOT in order of importance!
Under "Weitere Treffer" you will find the word used in context, this time not in alphabetical order, but arranged in word categories such as nouns and verbs.
Finally you have special phrases.
There is also an information button with definitions and an audiofile with the pronunciation.
It is divided into word categories. Here: kommen is a verb. The pronunciation appears in brackets.
The word categories are divided into different meanings (numbered). For the first category of "kommen" you have 37 meanings followed by "Wendungen" (phrases). After each meaning you get the imperfect form and the past participle form + the auxiliary verb which is used for the perfect tense (here: sein). For each meaning you get a synonym in brackets. Within each meaning you get a number of examples in context.
It is very similar to "Pons" in this case because it gives you the word category (irregular intransitive verb with "sein"), then it is subdivided into different meanings with synonyms in brackets and examples in context. It is more concise than the other two dictionaries.
This site also has quizzes and games. What happens when you type in "kommen"?
When you have typed it in, there will be like a drop-down list with the word in context. You can immediately click on the phrase you are looking for, or alternatively you click on "Translate".
This dictionary does not give you information about the part of speech (whether it is a verb or noun, etc).
It gives you the pronunciation and synonyms and numerous examples under "similar terms".
Activity 2: Looking up words with special characters
In German there are special characters that are difficult to type with an English keyboard (umlauts and ß). In this activity we will look into ways of how to tackle the problem. Of course you can always use alt + a certain key combination. See under "help" for all the combinations. However this is quite time-consuming and there are other ways around it.
Instruction
Try different options for looking up the word "Grüße". Use all 4 dictionaries again and see what solutions they come up with. Each dictionary has a different approach.
It does not work if you leave out the umlaut, i.e. if you type "u" instead of "ü". The dictionary accepts all the other variations. This means you can type in "gruesse" instead of "Grüße".
From the given translations you can see that "Grüße" must be plural (regards, etc.). You are also given the basic form, i.e. singular form "Gruss" (normally it should be "Gruß"). If you click on "Flexionstabelle: Gruss *)" from canoo.net, you will see the declension of "Gruß", including "Grüße" as the plural form.
This is the handiest dictionary for umlauts. You can easily click on the boxes with the umlauts, but it also accepts all the other possibilities, even "grusse" without umlaut. "Gruß" as a noun is followed by <-es, Grüße> with "-es" being the genitive form and "Grüße" being the plural form.
Please do the same exercises with this dictionary.
No matter which combination you type in, you will always get the same results: "Gruß" and "grüßen".
As you can see, the noun "Gruß" is followed by the masculine article (der), then by the genitive form "Grußes" and then by the plural form "Grüße". So this dictionary also tells you that "Grüße" is the plural form of "Gruß".
If you do not use an umlaut and just type "u", it is misleading. It comes up with the suggestion "Gott zum Gruße" (God be with you). "Gruße" is dative singular and not plural.
All other variations are accepted, and the dictionary states that it is a noun. It also includes an audiofile with the pronunciation. However, it does not give you explicit information on gender, genitive or plural forms, but from the translations you can see that it is plural.
Activity 3: Different meanings with and without umlaut
As pointed out, the umlaut can change the meaning of a word. In this activity you will get a few examples of how the meanings can differ.
Instruction
Please look up the following words in any of the online dictionaries provided and fill in the correct translation.
Kuchen = cake
Küchen = kitchens
fallen = to fall
fällen = to fell
zahlen = to pay
zählen = to count
Would you like to review the main points?
There are a few rules that apply to all four dictionaries:
1) Nouns need not to be capitalised to be recognised.
2) In all cases you can use ae, oe, ue and ss instead of the umlauts or ß.
3) It can be misleading to leave out the umlaut even if the dictionary accepts this version. You might end up with the wrong meaning.
You should now be ready to work through the second learning object on dictionary skills.
