"Ich nehme einen Americano.""Wir hamm nur Kaffee.""Dann eben Kaffee."
"I'll have an Americano.""We just have coffee.""Meh whatever, then I'll have coffee."
Practice pronunciation - click once to start recording and again to stop
"Heute kann ich nicht.""Dann eben/halt morgen."
"I don't have time today.""All right. Tomorrow then."
Practice pronunciation - click once to start recording and again to stop
"Und, wie war dein Urlaub?""War gut, aber ich hab nix verstanden. Obwohl ich einen Rosetta Stone Kurs gemacht habe.""Deutsch ist eben/haltnicht so einfach."
"And how was your trip?""It was good, but I understood nothing. Even though I did rosetta Stone.""Well, German just ain't that easy."(the first choice would be that it is super simple)
Practice pronunciation - click once to start recording and again to stop
3.
exactly, as I said
(Used as a stand-alone response to someone who paraphrases something you were trying to say and they nail it.)
"Wenn wir erst um 10 losfahren, könnten wir natürlich in den Stau kommen.""Eben, und deshalb will ich um 7 los."
"If we hit the road as late as 10 there's of course the risk that we'll hit traffic.""Exactly/Precisely, and that's why I want to head out at 7 (just as I have said before)"
Practice pronunciation - click once to start recording and again to stop
Das ist eben (genau das) was ich nicht verstehe.
And that is exactly(as I've been trying to tell you) what I don't understand.
Practice pronunciation - click once to start recording and again to stop
"Wenn du gleich zu Thomas gehst, dann nimm doch die Bücher mit. Der wohnt doch um die Ecke von der Bibliothek.""Ach, na eben. Super Idee, dann muss ich das morgen nicht machen."
"If you go to Thomas in a bit, you could take the books with you. I mean, he lives close to the library, right?""Oh, of course. Great idea, then I won't have to worry about that tomorrow."
Practice pronunciation - click once to start recording and again to stop
Wir brauchen einen ebenen Untergrund für das Zelt.
We need a flat surface for the tent.
Word Family
Knowing relations between words can help understand their meanings and build a more connected vocabulary network. Here, you can explore parents and offspring and discover the whole family.
3 shows how many children or parents the word has
get the translations and a link
Loading word family…
***
Sources for Etymology:
Check "eben" on DWDS.de Biggest German Dictionary, great for etymology, usage frequency and collocations)
When you answer with “Eben” as in the fourth definition, could it be conceived as rude? I’m not sure if you can see exactly where I’m coming from but saying “Yeah. That’s what I meant.” could have a negative connotation.
Not in the sense of “Ja, eben!” where that is pretty clear but rather in a more professional or formal setting.
Also, there’s another meaning which I have seen interpreted differently. Cari from EasyGerman in their „HALT+ EBEN“ video said that it can be used to tone that the speaker knows that what they said is already known so they aren’t saying anything new. Then in Benjamin’s from Deutsch mit Benjamin he says that it can serve as a callback indicator, that what was said refers to something the speaker already said. The first definition doesn’t have this presupposition that the fact in the „eben sentence“ was already mentioned but rather is already known in the sense of general knowledge. Which now that I think about it isn’t too far removed a definition but just shows how incredibly hard it is to explain these words. Even Duden doesn’t encompass every meaning that I’ve come across or like in the case above, we have to make a logical leap or think deeply about the connection between different interpretations of the particles.
In Langenscheidt there‘s a definition saying it’s used to make a suggestion that this thought to be the solution to a problem. But in other interpretations this is conceived as saying “just (in the sense of einfach)” so a sentence like: Dann fahr eben mit dem Bus would mean: Dann fahr einfach mit dem Bus
But i’m not sure if that’s exactly what was meant there (maybe you could enlighten me).
I’d advise against using “eben” this way until you’ve heard it a few times in context. Because it’s not always idiomatic and is one of those instances where learners just get it wrong because they don’t have a feel for it.
It usually occurs if speaker A is trying to convey something tricky or problematic or important that has some consequences and the other person then “gets it” and rephrases it and speaker A goes like “Exactly.” – often followed by a “that’s why…”
I don’t really see it being negative, it feels too engaged for me. Speaker A really wants to be understood.
Does that help?
(I’ll answer the other question in a separate comment)
It’d be helpful to have some examples they’re using so I don’t have to watch the videos.
I don’t think “marking as already known/as common knowledge” is a good angle for “eben” and I’m pretty sure their examples can be explained better with a different angle (mine :D).
“Wecker um 6?? Warum denn so früh? Wir müssen erst um 9 am Flughafen sein.”
“Naja… die bauen halt immer noch.”
“Ohhh shit stimmt. Es gibt nur eine Spur und ständig Stau.”
“Eben!!”
(let me know if you need a translation)
Here, there is “common knowledge” involved, but that is NOT the point of eben at all. The point here is that the speaker understood the “issue”. English translation would be “Exactly.” or “That’s what I’m saying.”.
Which does refer back to what someone already said… as per Benjamins “definition”. But that is a SUPER generic “explanation”. Hundreds of words “refer back” to what was said before.
Generally, I don’t think any Youtube channel does a good job with these particles, because they all just research on the web and then paraphrase that. They do not actually analyze this stuff.
As for your last example.. that is 100% the “verbal shrug” (my third definition). You can swap in “halt” there without changing anything, or also “halt eben”.
“einfach” works, too. But “einfach” can also work as a “first suggestion”, while here, this is clearly an “alternative”, otherwise the “eben/halt” wouldn’t make sense.
This verbal shrug seems to contain a lot of the other “definitions” then. I do find it easier to have it divided into more categories because it is easier to check if you are using it correctly that way. I was reading Kafka’s diaries yesterday and this section came up which also seems like a verb shrug and could be replaced by einfach but also kind of fits into the context of “referring to what was said”
“Ich glaube, man sollte überhaupt nur solche Bücher lesen, die einen beißen und stechen. Wenn das Buch, das wir lesen, uns nicht mit einem Faustschlag auf den Schädel weckt, wozu lesen wir dann das Buch? Damit es uns glücklich macht, wie Du schreibst? Mein Gott, glücklich wären wir eben auch, wenn wir keine Bücher hätten, und solche Bücher, die uns glücklich machen, könnten wir zur Not selber schreiben.”
I did not make myself clear at the start though and that’s completely my fault. The meaning I mentioned from both Cari and Benjamin wasn’t in this form of a one word answer. I just loaded the comment with every trepidation that eben caused me. This eben is more in the style of: (4 sentences about Paris as a place to live) and then: das macht’s dann halt/eben natürlich sehr attraktiv. Dann da immer hinzufahren.
I was planning to include examples of these two definitions but both of them used a long interview of someone. I can include a timestamped link if you want to have a look (both clips last about 20 seconds; 10 if you hold the spacebar!) EasyGerman: https://youtu.be/zIgu_Nyzafg?feature=shared&t=510
These can also be considered a verbal shrug but Cari also used the verbal shrug definition and this definition was something separate.
I also do understand if you don’t want to watch it not to set a bad precedent of people sending you things. I could transcribe it in a few days.
I don’t know, eben is weird. I use most of the other well known particles rather often and with relative ease but some of eben’s use cases still elude me. But that’s how I felt for the others. It’s just takes a bit of time. Your articles have really helped dabei
Yes, the Kafka quote is a verbal shrug to me. This, “Meh, if not A then B”. And it’s a nice example because it allows us to actually see why “eben” is used that way… the original sense is “even” as in “the same”. LIke “A or B… same to me”.
About this example:
– “das macht’s dann halt/eben natürlich sehr attraktiv. Dann da immer hinzufahren.”
This falls into the category “verbal shrug” to me, but it only makes sense to you if you have read my article on “halt” and especially “halt 2.0”. Germans often use “halt” unconsciously in a slightly defensive way. Like, hedging their statement against challenges. Sometimes, it’s because they feel like they didn’t phrase it well and sometimes they feel like someone might disagree. Not that anyone would really do that. It’s more like a “hedge”.
The clip of Easy German is EXACTLY this type of hedging. Bro is not feeling confident and hedges his talk with this “halt”. A bit like “don’t blame me, it’s just what it is.”
The clip of Benjamin is more of a callback, “halt” would feel different here. Callback in a sense that she is saying a long sentence/block and this “eben” (to me) feels like pointing back to the notion of working with the students. It is 100% something you would NOT want to translate.
As for having more definitions… if that works for you that’s great, but I find that things get rather arbitrary very quickly. Like you have 12 things a word can express.. some are often contradictory then and probably there’s another use out there where you could ask “Why is that not number 13”.
Sorry for the late answer. Thank you for taking the time to watch the clips and answer these. I do feel like I have a much better grasp of it since then.
About the definitions. As a mathematician (in training) I do find a general and therefore often shorter definition much more elegant and that’s why I wouldn’t change your definitions from above to accommodate to what I talked about. Language is eben not an exact science so if I did end up finding 50 definitions for „eben“, one could then argue that definition 8 and 17 are too close to be considered different. But I still think that looking through a list like that would be instructive and should have a place alongside the more elegant definitions. So why is that number not 13? I’d reply let’s make it 14.
How many meanings does the German word 'eben' have?
eben has 4 distinct meanings: 1. just now, just a second ago, 2. "verbal shrug", 3. exactly, as I said, 4. smooth, without bumps.
What is the comparative and superlative of 'eben'?
comparative: ebener / superlative: am ebensten
What is 'eben' related to?
The word 'eben' is related to *ebna-.
Where can I learn more about 'eben'?
Here are some articles where you can learn more about 'eben':
Time 4.2 – Words for the Past We'll go over the most important German time adverbs that refer to the various points in the past. Also: what you think "früher" is and what it actually is :) Vocab: gerade, vorhin, kürzlich, vor kurzem, früher,ebe Read article
The meanings of “eben” and “gerade” "eben" and "gerade" are brothers in spirit. One is about "flat", the other about "straight" and Germans use both of them in the context of time. But why? And how? Read article
The Meanings of “eben and gerade” (Part 2) We'll explore how "eben" and "gerade" are used in context of time and as these weird particles that seem to appear anywhere. Featuring: a really scary cat. Vocab: eben, gerade, eben gerade, gerade eben Read article
Audio Speed
Dark Mode
When you answer with “Eben” as in the fourth definition, could it be conceived as rude? I’m not sure if you can see exactly where I’m coming from but saying “Yeah. That’s what I meant.” could have a negative connotation.
Not in the sense of “Ja, eben!” where that is pretty clear but rather in a more professional or formal setting.
Also, there’s another meaning which I have seen interpreted differently. Cari from EasyGerman in their „HALT+ EBEN“ video said that it can be used to tone that the speaker knows that what they said is already known so they aren’t saying anything new. Then in Benjamin’s from Deutsch mit Benjamin he says that it can serve as a callback indicator, that what was said refers to something the speaker already said. The first definition doesn’t have this presupposition that the fact in the „eben sentence“ was already mentioned but rather is already known in the sense of general knowledge. Which now that I think about it isn’t too far removed a definition but just shows how incredibly hard it is to explain these words. Even Duden doesn’t encompass every meaning that I’ve come across or like in the case above, we have to make a logical leap or think deeply about the connection between different interpretations of the particles.
In Langenscheidt there‘s a definition saying it’s used to make a suggestion that this thought to be the solution to a problem. But in other interpretations this is conceived as saying “just (in the sense of einfach)” so a sentence like:
Dann fahr eben mit dem Bus
would mean:
Dann fahr einfach mit dem Bus
But i’m not sure if that’s exactly what was meant there (maybe you could enlighten me).
And I could honestly go on.
About the first question:
I’d advise against using “eben” this way until you’ve heard it a few times in context. Because it’s not always idiomatic and is one of those instances where learners just get it wrong because they don’t have a feel for it.
It usually occurs if speaker A is trying to convey something tricky or problematic or important that has some consequences and the other person then “gets it” and rephrases it and speaker A goes like “Exactly.” – often followed by a “that’s why…”
I don’t really see it being negative, it feels too engaged for me. Speaker A really wants to be understood.
Does that help?
(I’ll answer the other question in a separate comment)
About the second question:
It’d be helpful to have some examples they’re using so I don’t have to watch the videos.
I don’t think “marking as already known/as common knowledge” is a good angle for “eben” and I’m pretty sure their examples can be explained better with a different angle (mine :D).
(let me know if you need a translation)
Here, there is “common knowledge” involved, but that is NOT the point of eben at all. The point here is that the speaker understood the “issue”. English translation would be “Exactly.” or “That’s what I’m saying.”.
Which does refer back to what someone already said… as per Benjamins “definition”. But that is a SUPER generic “explanation”. Hundreds of words “refer back” to what was said before.
Generally, I don’t think any Youtube channel does a good job with these particles, because they all just research on the web and then paraphrase that. They do not actually analyze this stuff.
As for your last example.. that is 100% the “verbal shrug” (my third definition).
You can swap in “halt” there without changing anything, or also “halt eben”.
“einfach” works, too. But “einfach” can also work as a “first suggestion”, while here, this is clearly an “alternative”, otherwise the “eben/halt” wouldn’t make sense.
Let me know if that helps.
This verbal shrug seems to contain a lot of the other “definitions” then. I do find it easier to have it divided into more categories because it is easier to check if you are using it correctly that way. I was reading Kafka’s diaries yesterday and this section came up which also seems like a verb shrug and could be replaced by einfach but also kind of fits into the context of “referring to what was said”
“Ich glaube, man sollte überhaupt nur solche Bücher lesen, die einen beißen und stechen. Wenn das Buch, das wir lesen, uns nicht mit einem Faustschlag auf den Schädel weckt, wozu lesen wir dann das Buch? Damit es uns glücklich macht, wie Du schreibst? Mein Gott, glücklich wären wir eben auch, wenn wir keine Bücher hätten, und solche Bücher, die uns glücklich machen, könnten wir zur Not selber schreiben.”
I did not make myself clear at the start though and that’s completely my fault. The meaning I mentioned from both Cari and Benjamin wasn’t in this form of a one word answer. I just loaded the comment with every trepidation that eben caused me. This eben is more in the style of: (4 sentences about Paris as a place to live) and then: das macht’s dann halt/eben natürlich sehr attraktiv. Dann da immer hinzufahren.
I was planning to include examples of these two definitions but both of them used a long interview of someone. I can include a timestamped link if you want to have a look (both clips last about 20 seconds; 10 if you hold the spacebar!)
EasyGerman: https://youtu.be/zIgu_Nyzafg?feature=shared&t=510
Benjamin: https://youtu.be/yv5HihNB_oM?feature=shared&t=344
These can also be considered a verbal shrug but Cari also used the verbal shrug definition and this definition was something separate.
I also do understand if you don’t want to watch it not to set a bad precedent of people sending you things. I could transcribe it in a few days.
I don’t know, eben is weird. I use most of the other well known particles rather often and with relative ease but some of eben’s use cases still elude me. But that’s how I felt for the others. It’s just takes a bit of time. Your articles have really helped dabei
Yes, the Kafka quote is a verbal shrug to me. This, “Meh, if not A then B”. And it’s a nice example because it allows us to actually see why “eben” is used that way… the original sense is “even” as in “the same”. LIke “A or B… same to me”.
About this example:
– “das macht’s dann halt/eben natürlich sehr attraktiv. Dann da immer hinzufahren.”
This falls into the category “verbal shrug” to me, but it only makes sense to you if you have read my article on “halt” and especially “halt 2.0”. Germans often use “halt” unconsciously in a slightly defensive way. Like, hedging their statement against challenges. Sometimes, it’s because they feel like they didn’t phrase it well and sometimes they feel like someone might disagree.
Not that anyone would really do that. It’s more like a “hedge”.
The clip of Easy German is EXACTLY this type of hedging. Bro is not feeling confident and hedges his talk with this “halt”. A bit like “don’t blame me, it’s just what it is.”
The clip of Benjamin is more of a callback, “halt” would feel different here. Callback in a sense that she is saying a long sentence/block and this “eben” (to me) feels like pointing back to the notion of working with the students. It is 100% something you would NOT want to translate.
As for having more definitions… if that works for you that’s great, but I find that things get rather arbitrary very quickly. Like you have 12 things a word can express.. some are often contradictory then and probably there’s another use out there where you could ask “Why is that not number 13”.
Sorry for the late answer. Thank you for taking the time to watch the clips and answer these. I do feel like I have a much better grasp of it since then.
About the definitions. As a mathematician (in training) I do find a general and therefore often shorter definition much more elegant and that’s why I wouldn’t change your definitions from above to accommodate to what I talked about. Language is eben not an exact science so if I did end up finding 50 definitions for „eben“, one could then argue that definition 8 and 17 are too close to be considered different. But I still think that looking through a list like that would be instructive and should have a place alongside the more elegant definitions. So why is that number not 13? I’d reply let’s make it 14.