"suchen" means "to search", but its prefix versions are about visiting, trying and choosing and other random things. Today, we'll learn how it all makes sense.
Words we'll learn:
suchen, die Suche, versuchen, der Versuch, aussuchen, durchsuchen, untersuchen, besuchen, der Besuch,...
By: Emanuel|121 Comments| Updated:
January 19, 2026
Hello everyone,
and welcome to our German Word of the Day. This time we will take a look at the meaning of
suchen
But not just that.
We will also look at ALL the prefix-versions of suchen that are out there. Ylläsuchen or öxersuchenare… …not out there, luckily. They don’t exist. (got you scared, didn’t I ;)) But versuchen does. And besuchen and a few other really really common ones. And the meanings are … well… some are pretty straight forward. Other are more like a free jazz interpretation of a famous song. You really need to have your music theory down to see a connection. So… are you ready to dig into suchen and see what we can find? Great.
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The meaning of “suchen” (and its prefix versions) - Key Questions
"suchen" is the German word for "to search". It goes with the preposition "nach", so it's "suchen nach". Historically, it's related to to seek, while "search" is related to "circle" You walk around in circles when you search :).
"besuchen" means to visit, but it often sounds a bit formal in everyday talk. People commonly say they "go somewhere" instead. Use the verb "besuchen" only for more formal visits like seeing someone in hospital. Otherwise, go for something with gehen or kommen or fahren.
"aussuchen" means to pick or choose and is very casual. Adding "mir" or "dir" makes it personal, like picking something for yourself or telling someone to choose.
·Ich habe mir etwas ausgesucht. ·I picked something.
"versuchen" is to try to do something, like make an attempt. "probieren" is to try out or sample something, like food, clothes or tools. Use "probieren" for testing and "versuchen" for attempting a result.
·Ich versuche das Projekt heute fertigzukriegen. ·I try to get the project finished today.
·Ich probiere verschiedene Hipster-Filter auf meiner Foto-App aus. ·I'm trying out different hipster filters on my photo app.
Yes, a few worth spotting: "ersuchen" is a formal way to ask or request, "aufsuchen" is a stilted way to say you go to a place, and "heimsuchen" means to haunt or trouble someone.
·Deutsche Grammatik sucht ihn in seinen Träumen heim. ·German grammar is haunting him in his dreams.
(This makes NO sense to me :D… if someone could explain that that’d be awesome )
An American saying is, “A bought lesson is better than a taught lesson.” One ‘buys’ everything one experiences, personally, through trying. Lessons learned by trying can be painful and expensive, but it teaches us what not to do.
Mark
So, ich hab’ ‘ne Frage über “heimsuchen”.
Ich versuche meine Frakturschriftlesensfähigkeit(!) zu verbessern (komisch, nicht?), und hab’ in eine alter Bibel gelesen:
“Denn also spricht der Herr, Gott: Sehet, ich selbst will nach meinen Schafen sehen und sie heimsuchen. Wie ein Hirt seine Herde heimsucht am Tage, wo er inmitten seiner Schafe, die zerstreut waren, ist, so werde auch ich meine Schafe heimsuchen und sie erretten aus allen den Orten, an die sie versprengt wurden am Tage des Gewölkes und der Finsternis.” (Ezechiel 34:11-12)
Hier scheint “heimsuchen” mehr oder weniger “to watch over” oder “to attend to” zu bedeuten, nicht?
(Sorry for the inevitable mistakes in syntax, vocabulary, and adjective endings – correction is welcome)
Ja, diese Bedeutung ist aber NICHT aktuell. Man versteht es aus dem Kontext, dass es nicht negativ ist, aber nur weil man weiß, dass der Text sehr alt ist. Was genau die beste Übersetzung ist kann ich dir nicht sagen, aber guck mal in der Englischen Version nach, vielleicht. In der King James Bible vielleicht :)
Well, the meaning a few hundred years ago was simply “visiting someone”, with good or evil intent. Then it shifted to the evil side and was used for “robbing” also and then it slowly shifted toward haunting. A ghost or dream “visits” your home, basically, with bad intent.
Macht das Sinn?
Kleine Korrektur:
Was mich jetzt interessiert… oder
Wofür ich mich jetzt interessiere
Und “erahnen” passt nicht. Zu fancy! Keep it simple :)!
Those to are really really close. Maybe “suchen” is a little more goal oriented, as in you know that what you’re looking for exists. So if you were searching for a nice bar with good cocktails an a neighborhood, but you have no specific one in mind, then I think “suchen nach” sounds more fitting. BUt that might be just me. I’d recommend not worrying about this too much (or at all).
Thanks for reply. I am not treating too much. Just though, it would be good to know. I think I remember that I read (Suchen nach) could imply a lost item, intensive serch
Elena
Love the website. So helpful! Thanks for posting (:
Karl
Great blog! One little question – as I’ve been reading Tolkien’s biography, there was a sentence:
Er besuchte nun Gymnasium…
It makes perfect sense to me, as it’s more or less same way to say about going to school in my native Polish language (less sense in English though – he wasn’t visitor, he was visiting school everyday as a schoolboy). My question is – is this an old fashion way to say about going to school? Could not find many clues in dictionaries.
Ps. Polish have more in common with German than one could image :)
Nah, that phrasing is pretty standard. It sounds a bit official and I wouldn’t expect a school boy to use it but in newspapers and such it’s standard. Also for university and I think even seminars. Oh and for cultural events like opera or cinema we say besuchen, too. Kinobesuch for example. Great to hear the Polish perspective, by the way. It’s really rare on this blog for some reason.
In the matter of fact there is plenty of nouns that they are the very same or akin like to each other and sharing the meaning and some verbs as well. No doubts about that (we could discuss which language was first with those words though :) My personal opinion is that they somehow related in grammar in general or in particular cases especially as well :)
Well, just by the sound and the looks, polish and German are really different but when you consider that the languages have been neighbors forever, it would be weird if they didn’t share words, actually. The one I know is Gurke, I think we got it from your ogorek (sorry if this is not Polish, I just used what I had in my memory). I’ve heard that Polish is one of the most sophisticated and difficult languages in Europe. I’m curious as to what Polish people think about German… do they also find it as hard as English speakers or people coming from the Romance languages? Or are you less confused by all the grammar :)
Yes, you are absolutely correct – ogorek (ogórek) is Polish version of German Gurke. This one has possibly Sanskrit origin (as we all speak Indo-European). But vegetables and fruits are often shared between languages, especially – those which were introduced to our part of the World later, like potatoes. We do have two words for those – one reminds me of Dutch aardappel – ziemniak – the ground/sole thing (not a ground apple through). Another one is kartofel – that one came for sure from German Kartoffel. But there is more – the true friend from the top of my head is DACH – in both languages meaning ‘roof’. Or – to not get to far from roofing – Deckel – German for blanket or siling. In Polish if you suggest that someone has issues under his ‘dekiel’ – it means er ist eine Spinne. Another example – Schild / Szyld – hanging banner in front of the shop. A few more would be:
Knaipe – knajpa – pub Kumpel – kumpel – friend Typ – typ – a guy, a fellow (as in: That guy is crazy)
AND MANY MORE :)
As I learn German I do approach many words having similar meaning and sound (but later forget them). Compare ‘schicken’ to ‘szykowac’ – in German it’s to send a parcel, while in Polish it could mean to prepare a parcel or luggage or yourself before a travel. Somehow I find ‘sein schicken’ as sharing the concept, to get yourself prepared and updated.
I’m not really qualified to answer what Polish people think about German language – we would need to ask all of us :) But as of my friends none of them knows German for real, we all learn English, it’s rare to learn any other language – if you do it it mostly means you’ve been forced to do so at school :) Most common opinion is that German is very difficult. Few consider it’s even impossible to learn. Some complain that German sounds harsh. Like Polish does not sounds crazy? Kind of snake language, to much tschshshshsh sounds we have :)
But I would say – German is not SO difficult. I’ve got a great book for learning – Wort Fur Wort Polnisch – for German people to learn Polish. It always cheers me up that German part is rather simpler :)
Wow, you say “Kumpel”? That is really cool :). And using a text book from your target language teaching your mother tongue… that’s a great idea actually.
der Libyer
Vielen Dank!
der Libyer
Hello Emmanuell, When do you “suchen” somebody (or something?) and when do “suchen NACH” sb or sth?
Sie sucht einen Partner Er sucht nach dem alten Mann
I assume transitive suchen with people means searching for the purpose of love or marriage etc but with “nach” it’s not. Am I right and is there more to it? What about objects, can you suchen a car, keys, etc?
Those two are hard to tell apart. They’re synonyms in a lot of situations. You can definitely suchen objects and I think you can also suchen nach a partner. I feel like “suchen nach” has a bit more actual factual searching in it. Like… searching something that got lost. But that might just be me. So I’d say treat them as synonyms.
Anonymous
Perhaps I’m a little fussy, but is there any difference between “etwas suchen” and “nach etwas suchen”? Thanks in advanced!
Not really. One might be more idiomatic than the other in a certain context but I don’t think there’s a “system” or anything. “etwas suchen” is a bit more immediate and focused, maybe.
– Searching for Sugar Man.
Here for example, I’d use “nach Sugar Man suchen”. The other one wouldn’t really do the scope justice.
Aha, ich habe die Antwort gefunden. Aber mein Wörterbuch sagt, das beide ‘durch’ möglich sind. Trennbares ‘durch’ soll bei suchen nach etwas benutzt werden und untrennbares ‘durch’ soll bei suchen irgendwo verwendet sein. Also…
Ich habe alles durchsucht, konnte aber mein Portemonnaie nicht finden
Wo hast du das denn gelesen? Es stimmt, dass “durch” beides sein kann, also trennbar und nicht trennbar. Mit “suchen” ist es aber immer “nicht trennbar”. Zumindest in Standarddeutsch. “Durchgesucht” klingt für mich falsch.
– Ich habe das Zimmer (nach meinem Portemonaie) durchsucht
Ne, “absuchen” und “durchsuchen” ist beides ziemlich gründlich. Etwas weniger gründlich wäre vielleicht
– Ich habe die Kommentare durchgeguckt
und noch weniger
– Ich habe in den KOmmentaren gesucht/geguckt.
Das “durch” impliziert “komplett”… wie bei “durch den Tunnel” vs “in den Tunnel”
Peter
It just hit me that versuchen is better translated as “attempt” than “try” in English and that they are both connected to temptation ” – die Versuchung. Thanks for the great blog
Haha … damn… I totally didn’t see that connection :)
Ewan
Koenntest du etwas fuer mich bitte erklaeren? Ich bemerke immer die zwei Worte “nun” und “jetzt”. Ich verstehe, dass beide (*beides?) “now” bedeuten. Aber ich weiss nicht, ob es einen Unterschied zwischen ihnen gibt. P.S. Sorry if you can’t understand my terrible German. P.P.S. Sorry about the lack of umlauts, I don’t have them on my keyboard, and I couldn’t be arsed pasting them :(
Keine Sorge… ich habe alles verstanden und… es war alles richtig !! :). Sehr gut. Für “nun” und “jetzt” mach ich mal ein WiTD-Special… der Kern ist, dass “jetzt” sehr punktuell ist… mehr so wie “right now”. Ach und wegen der Umlaute… pff… egal. Ich habe bei Französisch auch nie die Akzente geschrieben.. und du machst ja sogar die Version mit “e” :)
mb
I am curious why is there: “Die Polizei hat mich durchsucht. Police frisked me.” instead of: Die Polizei hat mich durchgesucht ? I love your blog. Greets :)
Good question… I forgot to mention that in the post. It’s because the “durch” in “durchsuchen” is strongly linked… or non-seperable. Just like “ver” or “be”. So the word has the emphasis on the second syllable… “durchSUUchen”. “Durch” is one of the few prefixes that can be both seperable and non seperable. Hope that helps :)
Nah…the standard case for the measure is accusative
– Das ist einen Euro wert.
Not “eines Euros” … the Genitive has a slightly different meaning
– Das ist nicht der Rede wert. – It is not worthy of the talk.
– Das ist nicht die Rede wert. – The talk is worth more than “it”.
The accusative is kind of for the common notion of exchange or trade… one for the other… while the Genitive doesn’t directly compare them. I think the following example makes it more clear:
– Er ist ihrer nicht wert.
This doesn’t mean that he and she have the same value… it means that he is not worthy of her.
– Er ist sie nicht wert.
That could be said on an animal market… like… I want to trade my steer (der Stier – er) against your cow (die Kuh – sie) and you’re like
– No.. your steer is not worth my cow.
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An American saying is, “A bought lesson is better than a taught lesson.” One ‘buys’ everything one experiences, personally, through trying. Lessons learned by trying can be painful and expensive, but it teaches us what not to do.
So, ich hab’ ‘ne Frage über “heimsuchen”.
Ich versuche meine Frakturschriftlesensfähigkeit(!) zu verbessern (komisch, nicht?), und hab’ in eine alter Bibel gelesen:
“Denn also spricht der Herr, Gott: Sehet, ich selbst will nach meinen Schafen sehen und sie heimsuchen. Wie ein Hirt seine Herde heimsucht am Tage, wo er inmitten seiner Schafe, die zerstreut waren, ist, so werde auch ich meine Schafe heimsuchen und sie erretten aus allen den Orten, an die sie versprengt wurden am Tage des Gewölkes und der Finsternis.” (Ezechiel 34:11-12)
Hier scheint “heimsuchen” mehr oder weniger “to watch over” oder “to attend to” zu bedeuten, nicht?
(Sorry for the inevitable mistakes in syntax, vocabulary, and adjective endings – correction is welcome)
Ja, diese Bedeutung ist aber NICHT aktuell.
Man versteht es aus dem Kontext, dass es nicht negativ ist, aber nur weil man weiß, dass der Text sehr alt ist.
Was genau die beste Übersetzung ist kann ich dir nicht sagen, aber guck mal in der Englischen Version nach, vielleicht. In der King James Bible vielleicht :)
Stimmt, keineswegs aktuell!.
Verschiedene deutsche Übersetzungen benutzen “suchen”, “zusammensuchen/zusammenbringen”, “kümmern”, oder sogar “nachfragen”. Englische Übersetzungen benutzen “seek (out)”, “search (out)”, “look (for/after)”, “visit”, usw.
Was ich interessiere mich für jetzt ist, wie genau die Bedeutung sich änderte.
Was erahnst Du?
Well, the meaning a few hundred years ago was simply “visiting someone”, with good or evil intent.
Then it shifted to the evil side and was used for “robbing” also and then it slowly shifted toward haunting.
A ghost or dream “visits” your home, basically, with bad intent.
Macht das Sinn?
Kleine Korrektur:
Und “erahnen” passt nicht. Zu fancy! Keep it simple :)!
Klar!
Statt ‘erahnen’, was soll man nutzen?
Was würdest du in Englisch verwenden?
“to guess” oder “to speculate”
Hmm, “raten” klingt zu “guessy” in Deutsch.
Ich würde einfach “denken” oder “glauben” benutzen.
Oder “vermuten” aber ganz ehrlich, mir gefällt “denken” hier am besten.
Also, “Was mich jetzt interessiert ist, wie genau die Bedeutung sich änderte. Was denkst Du?”
Genau. Und lieber “geändert hat” statt “änderte”.
Good evening –
I read this but this must be a typo:
Mein lokaler Autohaendler hat das Modell, nachdem ich suche, nicht.
Thanks
Margie
Yes, it should be “nach dem” :)
Hi Emanuel, a very belated happy new year :)) .
The following is a description of “Versuchung” ie Temptation from Linguee, can you Please tell me why its der Versuchung and Not die Versuchung.
“Ich konnte der Versuchung nicht widerstehen, die Schokolade zu essen.”
That’s because it’s the object for the verb “widerstehen” and that takes Dative.
– Ich widerstehe dem Bier.
Does that help :)?
Yeah, Thanks Emanuel, (this German will be the death of me :)) )
A suggestion : add spicy examples like those
Der Mann untersucht den Körper der Frau ( The man is Dr.now…)
Another inquiry, How would I say
Try sth on (like some shoes)
Here are some example sentence of the article
Er sucht (nach) ein(em) Geburstaggeshcunk
I besuch Deutschland.
Ich will Versuchen,um die Welt zu reisen
“to try on” for clothes and so is “anprobieren”.
The examples are pretty good, apart from a few small things:
– … Geburtstagsgeschenk.
– Ich besuche…
– Ich will versuchen (small v)…
Suchen Vs Suchen Nach?
Those to are really really close. Maybe “suchen” is a little more goal oriented, as in you know that what you’re looking for exists.
So if you were searching for a nice bar with good cocktails an a neighborhood, but you have no specific one in mind, then I think “suchen nach” sounds more fitting.
BUt that might be just me. I’d recommend not worrying about this too much (or at all).
Thanks for reply. I am not treating too much. Just though, it would be good to know. I think I remember that I read (Suchen nach) could imply a lost item, intensive serch
Love the website. So helpful! Thanks for posting (:
Great blog! One little question – as I’ve been reading Tolkien’s biography, there was a sentence:
Er besuchte nun Gymnasium…
It makes perfect sense to me, as it’s more or less same way to say about going to school in my native Polish language (less sense in English though – he wasn’t visitor, he was visiting school everyday as a schoolboy). My question is – is this an old fashion way to say about going to school? Could not find many clues in dictionaries.
Ps. Polish have more in common with German than one could image :)
Shame on me:
Schule besuchen – attend school.
Nah, that phrasing is pretty standard. It sounds a bit official and I wouldn’t expect a school boy to use it but in newspapers and such it’s standard. Also for university and I think even seminars. Oh and for cultural events like opera or cinema we say besuchen, too. Kinobesuch for example. Great to hear the Polish perspective, by the way. It’s really rare on this blog for some reason.
In the matter of fact there is plenty of nouns that they are the very same or akin like to each other and sharing the meaning and some verbs as well. No doubts about that (we could discuss which language was first with those words though :) My personal opinion is that they somehow related in grammar in general or in particular cases especially as well :)
Well, just by the sound and the looks, polish and German are really different but when you consider that the languages have been neighbors forever, it would be weird if they didn’t share words, actually. The one I know is Gurke, I think we got it from your ogorek (sorry if this is not Polish, I just used what I had in my memory). I’ve heard that Polish is one of the most sophisticated and difficult languages in Europe. I’m curious as to what Polish people think about German… do they also find it as hard as English speakers or people coming from the Romance languages? Or are you less confused by all the grammar :)
Yes, you are absolutely correct – ogorek (ogórek) is Polish version of German Gurke. This one has possibly Sanskrit origin (as we all speak Indo-European). But vegetables and fruits are often shared between languages, especially – those which were introduced to our part of the World later, like potatoes. We do have two words for those – one reminds me of Dutch aardappel – ziemniak – the ground/sole thing (not a ground apple through). Another one is kartofel – that one came for sure from German Kartoffel. But there is more – the true friend from the top of my head is DACH – in both languages meaning ‘roof’. Or – to not get to far from roofing – Deckel – German for blanket or siling. In Polish if you suggest that someone has issues under his ‘dekiel’ – it means er ist eine Spinne. Another example – Schild / Szyld – hanging banner in front of the shop. A few more would be:
Knaipe – knajpa – pub
Kumpel – kumpel – friend
Typ – typ – a guy, a fellow (as in: That guy is crazy)
AND MANY MORE :)
As I learn German I do approach many words having similar meaning and sound (but later forget them). Compare ‘schicken’ to ‘szykowac’ – in German it’s to send a parcel, while in Polish it could mean to prepare a parcel or luggage or yourself before a travel. Somehow I find ‘sein schicken’ as sharing the concept, to get yourself prepared and updated.
I’m not really qualified to answer what Polish people think about German language – we would need to ask all of us :) But as of my friends none of them knows German for real, we all learn English, it’s rare to learn any other language – if you do it it mostly means you’ve been forced to do so at school :) Most common opinion is that German is very difficult. Few consider it’s even impossible to learn. Some complain that German sounds harsh. Like Polish does not sounds crazy? Kind of snake language, to much tschshshshsh sounds we have :)
But I would say – German is not SO difficult. I’ve got a great book for learning – Wort Fur Wort Polnisch – for German people to learn Polish. It always cheers me up that German part is rather simpler :)
Wow, you say “Kumpel”? That is really cool :). And using a text book from your target language teaching your mother tongue… that’s a great idea actually.
Vielen Dank!
Hello Emmanuell,
When do you “suchen” somebody (or something?) and when do “suchen NACH” sb or sth?
Sie sucht einen Partner
Er sucht nach dem alten Mann
I assume transitive suchen with people means searching for the purpose of love or marriage etc but with “nach” it’s not. Am I right and is there more to it? What about objects, can you suchen a car, keys, etc?
Those two are hard to tell apart. They’re synonyms in a lot of situations. You can definitely suchen objects and I think you can also suchen nach a partner. I feel like “suchen nach” has a bit more actual factual searching in it. Like… searching something that got lost. But that might just be me. So I’d say treat them as synonyms.
Perhaps I’m a little fussy, but is there any difference between “etwas suchen” and “nach etwas suchen”? Thanks in advanced!
Not really. One might be more idiomatic than the other in a certain context but I don’t think there’s a “system” or anything. “etwas suchen” is a bit more immediate and focused, maybe.
– Searching for Sugar Man.
Here for example, I’d use “nach Sugar Man suchen”. The other one wouldn’t really do the scope justice.
“Ich habe Besuch.” Is that somewhat like the expression “We have company” or “We’re having company “, meaning we have guests ?
Yeah definitely :)
I loved the instant mental image I got with “your partner is at home with a flue”. She’s having an affair with the chimney!
Whoops, I didn’t know that :)… I guess I’ll leave it, just for fun
“Ich durchsuche meine Festplatte.”
Ich habe die Kommentäre durchgesucht. Aber nicht so fleißig muss ich sagen. Muss es dann abgesucht sein?
Trotzdem kommt meine Frage: ist es durchgesucht oder durchsucht? Also ist durch trennbar oder nicht?
Aha, ich habe die Antwort gefunden. Aber mein Wörterbuch sagt, das beide ‘durch’ möglich sind. Trennbares ‘durch’ soll bei suchen nach etwas benutzt werden und untrennbares ‘durch’ soll bei suchen irgendwo verwendet sein. Also…
Ich habe alles durchsucht, konnte aber mein Portemonnaie nicht finden
und
Ich habe nach mein Portemonnaie durchgesucht.
Was sagst du?
Wo hast du das denn gelesen?
Es stimmt, dass “durch” beides sein kann, also trennbar und nicht trennbar. Mit “suchen” ist es aber immer “nicht trennbar”. Zumindest in Standarddeutsch. “Durchgesucht” klingt für mich falsch.
– Ich habe das Zimmer (nach meinem Portemonaie) durchsucht
lingvopro.abbyyonline.com :)
Ne, “absuchen” und “durchsuchen” ist beides ziemlich gründlich. Etwas weniger gründlich wäre vielleicht
– Ich habe die Kommentare durchgeguckt
und noch weniger
– Ich habe in den KOmmentaren gesucht/geguckt.
Das “durch” impliziert “komplett”… wie bei “durch den Tunnel” vs “in den Tunnel”
It just hit me that versuchen is better translated as “attempt” than “try” in English and that they are both connected to temptation ” – die Versuchung. Thanks for the great blog
Haha … damn… I totally didn’t see that connection :)
Koenntest du etwas fuer mich bitte erklaeren? Ich bemerke immer die zwei Worte “nun” und “jetzt”. Ich verstehe, dass beide (*beides?) “now” bedeuten. Aber ich weiss nicht, ob es einen Unterschied zwischen ihnen gibt.
P.S. Sorry if you can’t understand my terrible German.
P.P.S. Sorry about the lack of umlauts, I don’t have them on my keyboard, and I couldn’t be arsed pasting them :(
Keine Sorge… ich habe alles verstanden und… es war alles richtig !! :). Sehr gut.
Für “nun” und “jetzt” mach ich mal ein WiTD-Special… der Kern ist, dass “jetzt” sehr punktuell ist… mehr so wie “right now”.
Ach und wegen der Umlaute… pff… egal. Ich habe bei Französisch auch nie die Akzente geschrieben.. und du machst ja sogar die Version mit “e” :)
I am curious why is there:
“Die Polizei hat mich durchsucht.
Police frisked me.”
instead of: Die Polizei hat mich durchgesucht ?
I love your blog. Greets :)
Good question… I forgot to mention that in the post. It’s because the “durch” in “durchsuchen” is strongly linked… or non-seperable. Just like “ver” or “be”. So the word has the emphasis on the second syllable… “durchSUUchen”.
“Durch” is one of the few prefixes that can be both seperable and non seperable.
Hope that helps :)
Für um hast du eine tolle Erklärung von Trenn- und Untrennbarkeit gepostet. Gibts so was für durch?
Nee, noch nicht… mach ich aber irgendwann :)
Entspricht -mäßig “wie”/”als ob”?
Sein Benehmen ist nicht präsidentenmäßig.
Dein Hut ist opamäßig.
Terroristenmäßiges Verhalten von russischen Separatisten.
Hey ja… mein Hut is’ voll nich’ opamässig :).
Ja… es ist so wie-mässig… aber definitiv umgangssprachlich.
Wait, doesn’t the “etwas wert sein” construction use the genitive? As in “es ist der Mühe wert”
Nah…the standard case for the measure is accusative
– Das ist einen Euro wert.
Not “eines Euros” … the Genitive has a slightly different meaning
– Das ist nicht der Rede wert.
– It is not worthy of the talk.
– Das ist nicht die Rede wert.
– The talk is worth more than “it”.
The accusative is kind of for the common notion of exchange or trade… one for the other… while the Genitive doesn’t directly compare them. I think the following example makes it more clear:
– Er ist ihrer nicht wert.
This doesn’t mean that he and she have the same value… it means that he is not worthy of her.
– Er ist sie nicht wert.
That could be said on an animal market… like… I want to trade my steer (der Stier – er) against your cow (die Kuh – sie) and you’re like
– No.. your steer is not worth my cow.