Hello everyone,
And welcome to your German Word of the Day, this time with a look at the meaning and usage of
heißen
Which is pretty much the inofficial second part of the article about “How to translate to mean” in German (which you can find here).
Because that’s really what you’ll be using heißen for.
Now you might be like “Wait, isn’t heißen what we need to talk about someone’s name?”
And yes, that’s of course true.
It’s just way more common as to mean, you’ll see it once I show you examples.
But let’s start with the heißen that’s about names.
heißen – My Name Is (What, my name is, Who)
One of the meanings of heißen is basically “to be called”, but wrapped in one word. Which in the context of actual names pretty much means the same as “someone’s name is” .
- Ich heiße Emanuel.
- My name is Emanuel.
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
- Wie heißt du?
- What’s your name?
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
Now, this might feel a bit unusual, because the phrasing is not the same as in English or many other European languages.
Which actually holds a really useful lesson beyond simply talking about names:
Have an open mind.
Many beginners come to language learning with a subconscious expectation of “Word in my language -> word in the other language”. But that will only hold you back, because that’s simply not how languages work.
Sometimes words look similar, but mean different things. Or a word used in one context is NOT used in the same context in the other language (prepositions are big in that game). And some words just don’t really exist as a word in the other language.
Like the name-heißen, which doesn’t have a one-word equivalent in English.
That makes phrasings like “Ich heiße” feel unnatural or confusing, but the key is to be open minded to them, accept them and see them as a new toy maybe. Don’t focus on the difference to what you’re used to. Focus on the opportunity of something “new”.
Now, you can definitely go for “Ich bin …. . ” when you introduce yourself. In fact, it’s probably the more common option.
But you still do need heißen to ask for people’s names or tell someone else how someone or something is called and so on.
Let’s look at some more examples.
- Marias Bruder heißt Chad.
- Maria’s brother is called Chad.
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
- Ich heiße Emanuel, wie heißt du?
- My name is Emanuel, what’s your name?
(“Ich bin…” would work as well) - Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
- Ich kenne den Bartender, aber ich habe vergessen, wie er heißt.
- I know the bartender, but I forgot his name.
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
Could we phrase it the way it’s done in English … with der Name? Well, yes, but it sounds more formal that way.
- Mein Name ist Emanuel.
- My name is Emanuel.
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
This is what you’d use in a formal email or if you give a presentation in front of a bunch of people.
But at a party or a bar, heißen or the simple sein are definitely the better choice.
Cool.
Let’s also do one in past tense real quick because heißen is actually one of the few verbs that use the real past form (preterite) even in spoken German.
- Die Karl-Marx-Allee hieß früher mal Stalinallee.
- The Karl-Marx-Allee used to be called Stalinallee.
- Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
The spoken past would be hat geheißen, and it’s not wrong, but hieß is just way more idiomatic.
All right.
And now let’s move on to the heißen that you’ll probably use every single day – the sense of to mean.
heißen as “to mean”
If you want to stop hitting the wall in German – Join as a member!
As a member, you can study as much as you want and find lots of information you won’t find anywhere else. Not in class, not in a textbook and not Duolingo or Youtube.
You’ll also get pdf-download, progress tracking, note taking, comment notifications and all practice tools.
Already a member?
Log in here:
Servus, Emmanuel!
Ich habe eben erst die folgendene Satze gelesen: Wie heißt die korrekte Umformung des Satzes?
Dies steht in eine Prufung. Wie funktioniert “heißt” hier und ist es normal Nutzung oder formal?
Vielen Dank!
Ich persönlich finde die Formulierung komisch und denke auch das “lauten” hier die bessere Wahl wäre. Oder sogar ein “sein”.
Aber man kann “heißen” auf jeden Fall in diesen Kontexten finden.
Hi Emanuel
I wanted to share that I’ve completed the A1 level in German. For which entire credit goes to this place. So much I learned here – from the blog posts, AI tools, QnA sections all these resources helped me achieve “ein bisschen Deustch sprechen!”
I’m stepping to learn ahead. My target is to complete the B1 level by April next year. Can you guide me on how I should approach this goal?
I’m facing issue because syllabus is a lot. Grammar is complex and the institution from where I’m pursuing is not really good enough this time.
How can I study on my own? I know the basics, but facing challenges in pronunciation, sentence formation, and translation. I’ve got time, but I don’t know how to utilize it for this language skill.
Danke dir :)
I think there are a lot of ways to go about it, and part of it depends on if you need to pass the test by a certain date, or if you’re basically just doing it for fun.
But if you’re looking for structure, you could try working your way through Youtube channels like Lingoni German or Learn German with Anja. The videos are usually tagged by level, or sometimes there are playlists for different levels. I used to start with the oldest videos and do 1-2 a day. Or you could go through Deutsche Welle’s free online course.
A couple tips:
That really helps, but I’m struggling with the grammar part mostly.
Also thank you so much for taking the time to answer this!
What are you having the most trouble with, grammar-wise? Like if you had to pick 2-3 things. A lot of it might depend on what your native language is, but sometimes you can find ways to make it easier for yourself.
And what study methods have you been using? Just like a textbook from the course, or anything else?
Passive voice, prepositions, word order. Still, I can’t structure the sentence freely like without translating.
So far so doing from Netzwerk neu A2 level and of course from this site
Word order: The series here is good (in the grammar section, under “structure and order”). For me, it helped to learn where the verbs go, and then the rest started to make sense. Basically, you can think of it as “the verb goes at the end by default, but sometimes it moves to the second slot in the sentence.” See the comment here by Klapperatismus.
Prepositions: They’re hard to learn. Every language does them differently, and there’s no real reason behind it. You just have to learn them. I would recommend not learning them like this:
“nach” means this, this, and this.It’s better to learn phrases.
Ich gehe ins Kino. (I’m going to the movies.)Ich gehe zum Arzt. (I’m going to the doctor.)Ich gehe auf ein Konzert. (I’m going to a concert.)Sometimes you can figure out how to visualize different prepositions. Like a mental image, a gesture, or a core idea that helps you understand them. For example, the article here on “auf”. Don’t try to learn that all at once, just take it in small chunks. If you don’t get it right away, let some time go by and try again later.
Passive: I wouldn’t break your head over it. I think some courses don’t really get into it until B2 or so. I’d probably start with a simple explanation of the present tense (das Essen wird gekocht) and learn to recognize it when you see it. Active verbs are more useful, especially early on.
Making your own sentences is a skill that you have to build up over time. It helps to read and listen a lot. You can start with Youtube channels like the ones I mentioned, a book, or a video with subtitles. Ideally, you want a book that’s not too hard. Maybe one you read before, or Harry Potter. I liked Die Känguru Chroniken. Die Sendung mit der Maus has short-ish videos on Youtube that are pretty interesting. They talk pretty slow and clear.
Take a sentence you’ve read or heard. Try to understand it. Don’t necessarily translate it word for word. But try to get the idea. Look up words you don’t know. Try to spot the verb. Things like that.
And then play with it. Change it up however you can, using what you know. It can be really simple:
Say it out loud. Laugh if you feel silly. Over time, you’ll work up to building longer and more interesting sentences.
I’d also recommend my series “Verbs 101” where we go over one core verb at a time and build up simple and then more complex sentences with the pronunciation tool.
I want to appreciate the efforts you’ve put into answering my queries. Means a lot.
Learning words, listening, reading and speaking is what Ive to start with and all the resources which you have mentioned are helpful.
Last question can you suggest some app or site for prounciation pratice?
For the beginner levels, I like Lingoni German, German with Anja, and Deutsch für Euch, all on Youtube. Pull up the channels and search for “pronunciation.” I like Youtube for this because it really helps to see how the sounds are made, in addition to hearing them.
There’s also the Seedlang app, or check out some of the resources here. This is from the University of Michigan, which has a lot of links to free online resources for learning German.
The pronunciation practice here is pretty good too. Under the “Practice” tab, go to “pronunciation.” You can also open any article (except the quizzes) and look for the microphone icon next to the examples.
Make sure to practice in front of a mirror sometimes.
Alles Klar :)
By the way which level you’ve completed in German? You got tips for everything
I’ve never taken a test, but this has been a pretty big chunk of my life for the last 5 years or so.
I was meaning to tell you, here’s one more Youtube channel you might like. Last one, I promise :) It was mentioned in an article here and I think she has some really good lessons, but with the way Youtube search works, I never would have found it on my own.
Noted !!
Thanks very much :)
Oh, I just remembered… if you have some budget, and you want an all round platform and course, I think Ouino is a great choice.
https://www.ouinolanguages.com/
By any chance can you get me a discount there? I’ve just checked the website, all modules look good and read your post about this site.
Send me an email please, info@german-is-easy.com
Hi Emmanuel, you mentioned that there are no adjectives. I wonder how “heiß” is related to “heißen” like in “heißer Sand” ?
Those are two different families :).
“heiß” is related to “Hitze” and “heat” and they come from a root that was about that as well.
“And the original sense of cite back in Latin simply was… making someone move, summoning.” this made me think of a fixed expression we have in Italian, which is “citare in giudizio” (citare meant to cite, but also to quote). That means to sue someone (Zivilrecht only)
Oh, we have the same in German.
– Ich wurde zum Chef zitiert.
That means that I was told to go there, in a formal tone :)
I’m posting a small query just so that you know I did complete it. I quote from your email “und da gibt’s die ein oder andere Überraschung“. Should it not be “eine”? Is it a typo? Or is it because “ein” & “ander” are in the same role, having the same case & applicable to the same noun, and therefore the “e” of “andere” is just unspoken on the end of “eine”? Like “ein- oder andere”?
Wow, interesting question!!
Both versions sound fine to me. I prefer “ein oder andere” based on flow, but with the “-e” it also works.
And yes, your reasoning for “ein- oder andere” is spot on. The whole thing feels like one big adjective in this phrasing and has the final “e”.
Vielen Dank an die Community!
Ich freue mich sehr über die Unterstützung und das Sponsoring. Es bedeutet mir viel, dass Menschen hier so großzügig sind und anderen helfen. Ich werde die Chance nutzen, mein Deutsch zu verbessern. Vielen Dank an alle, die etwas extra bezahlt haben, um das möglich zu machen!
Als ich in Deutschland gewohnt habe, habe ich oft gehört, “Wir heißen euch Herzlich Willkommen.
Oh true, that’s a common phrasing in formal and semi formal contexts. It’s kind of “heißen” frozen in time at a point where it was used in a sense of “calling”.
Maybe think of it as “I pronounce you very welcome.” but way less formal sounding.
Hello everyone
This is my first article and comment after I was sponsored for a membership. Shoutout to Emanuel and all members who contributed, thanks a lot guys
I got to this article a little late, but are there supposed to be ‘learning chunks’ after each question. Some of the questions start with a follow up “Ok, so we learned that beißen is mostly like bedeuten…” and of course that was the answer related to the previous question, but there was no feedback to say so. Meaning, if you missed it, you were still in the dark. Das heißt die Prüfung nervt mich. (just kidding)
I’m creating these quizzes “in sequence” so I usually have the previous question still in my mind and sometimes, I add a connecting sentence.
For this quiz, I forgot to adjust the settings to show the proper answer for each question right away as opposed to the end. That would indeed be nervig to have no feedback and then get a sentence like “we just learned” :). So yeah… the quiz now shows you the correct answer after each question.
An easier way to describe heißen (=meaning) in English would be that it “implies” something. When I see d.h., it automatically translates that way in my head, often with the phrase “that is, …”
Don’t forget the probably related (now archaic) English word “hight” meaning named or called, as in “She hight Elizabeth”. As a child growing up decades ago in the U.S. south, I knew this meaning, but whether it came from old Robin Hood movie dialog or from some regional dialect, I couldn’t say.
Sidetracking, because dialects fascinate me and Google’s not helping on this – where in the US did you hear “she hight Elizabeth” and when??? I wonder whether it’s from Germans who came over to mine or farm or German-speaking Mennonites or? (I’m not linguist, just language lover whose grandkids are speaking Züritüüsch)
Got it! https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/hight doesn’t give the linguistic geography, and Collins isn’t the best authority, but it’s a start – and does note the connection to “heißen” and even “*kei – to move”
About “movie”, I always figured first there was a painting or picture that sat there on your wall. Then they invented a way to make paintings move—a moving picture, or “movie”. Then came audio, so the moving pictures could now talk, hence a “talkie”. Not sure why we take a date to the movies and not the talkies, or to the colories since talking moving pictures in color was the next big thing. Très étranges, les langues.
I don’t want to be picky, but I believe the word “movies” Is a short version of “moving pictures” – because the first movies were series’ of images shown in succession, really really fast.
That’s what I meant, more or less. I just phrased it weird :)
What about the “pfankuchen heißt pancake” use of heißt? As someone who speaks a lot of English in Germany, I feel like I hear that one a lot. Or am I imagining things again?
The comments today are super interesting, I definitely need to read through them again when I can take the time to appreciate them fully.
Coming from the US Canadian border, “eh, the sock doesn’t always know either” feels most natural to me. This implies that you might expect the sock to know, but not that you’re a follower of “sockosophie” (look for it on Spotify)
You’re right, this is super common, but to me, this is just “to mean”, so not really a special type.
Now after your comment, I thought a bit about it and realized that it kind of sits in between “bedeuten” and “be called”.
Like… “A tree is called Baum in German.” and “forgetting is called vergessen in German.”
A bit like what “name” a concept or thing has in a language.
Oh by the way… how did you find this really obscure German rap song to begin with :)??
Ok, I’m glad to know I’m not totally off on this use of heißt.
As for music, mostly I have to click around in Spotify. My German friends only listen to the Rolling Stones and Wagner, so I have to find my own way. Although it turns out my boss is a big fan of the Das Lumpenpack song “Pädagogen”.
I saw Fanta 4 in concert a few months ago, that was a lot of fun, but I had to take a Japanese friend, as none of my German friends were interested.
If you don’t mind stumbling around for music, you might like some of these:
Oh, and the conversation around 4:13 in “sockosophie” is pretty funny. Nein. Doch. Nein. Doch. Quatsch. Echt! Wat? Ja! Ne…. :)
Thanks, I’ll try some of these. Spotify has a strong tendency to push certain artists (I’m looking at you Alligatoah), it takes persistence to get some somewhat diverse playlists.
Yeah, I’m not crazy about Spotify’s algorithm. I like Pandora’s a little better, but I think all the streaming services tend to put you in a pigeonhole sooner or later.
Last.fm is another site that helps you find similar artists. It’s pretty detailed and usually has some stuff that Music Map doesn’t.
I’m more into metal and hip hop, but here are a couple bands I like that are roughly along the same lines as Fantastischen Vier, Lumpenpack, and Käptn Peng. I tried to leave out the most obvious candidates. In alphabetical order:
Since you like German rap… from back in the day, an local famous rap group from where I live now: Pilskills
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMGMYgUi-JU&list=OLAK5uy_nifMxUWTb2ffpdSa9e_1gb74YlfSdKDwE&index=3
I really miss my Pandora playlists. When I moved here 4 years ago, Pandora wasn’t available, and I have gotten used to Spotify now.
I also like other things. Namika is a favorite, various “rock” bands, and I’ve found some really fun Blues like Schorsch und da Bagasch
https://open.spotify.com/track/1IwKR8vN79ggqdkRLX2UiV?si=QrO2mxJPQImzDzkXlJNBWw
How would you use the word «namens»? Like «Ich habe einen Bruder namens George»? Is this common speech?
Nah, that feels like writing to me. It’s fairly common in writing, and there are many “titles” for books or whatever with that phrase, but in spoken, I would only use it to sound ironically fancy.
Died (to die) = ist gestorben Dyed (to dye) = gefärbt
I recently came across the observation that, had Gutenberg made his printing press just 50 years later, English spelling would have been more sane. As it is, the arrival of said printing press in England coincided with the relatively brief time of the Great Vowel Shift, and so preserved the deranged state of spelling then.
Vielen Dank, Emanuel!
I think in an odd way, it’s kind of fun that English has this weird spelling.
Also interesting that it doesn’t seem to get in the way of learning the language, at least not to get to a functional level.
People complain a lot about French spelling, but I don’t hear much whining how English spelling makes the language impossible to learn.
So I think spelling really doesn’t make a big difference in terms of how likely people are to learn it.
Hallo,
A few typos:
different for native speaker (different for native speakers)
let’s at this from the other direction (let’s look at this from the other direction)
And that also mean (And that also means)
You translated Bartender (is that used in German as well?) as actor… and von 11 bis 4 as 12 to 2…
In the quiz:
an current day translation (a current day translation)
I’ve often heard the expression “Was soll das heissen?” when someone doesn’t like a suggestion. How does this tie in with the meaning of heissen?
Bis bald!
“Was soll das heißen” is pretty much “What’s that supposed to mean?” so it’s normal mean-heißen from this post :).
It’s not by itself an expression that you don’t like something. Like, you can’t just say “Was soll das heißen” and then walk away.
Do you not feel that “ich bin” is the most common way for germans to introduce themselves? e.g. Ich bin Thomas. I feel like “Ich heiße….” is something I hear when people are introducing themselves in german class but its really not that common IRL
I’d say this is also my experience overall.
True!
I have now modified the article a bit in that regard.
But for asking someone their name, “heißen” is definitely the better choice.
– Wer bist du?
This can sound a bit off depending on tone and context.
There’s a fair amount of Verheißungen in Bibeldeutsch. Definitely not something to worry about for actually talking or living, but there it generally refers to a promise that’s a big deal, maybe epic in scope.
The das verheißt nichts Gutes example really is probably best translated with “doesn’t bode well” as you did, but I tend to think of it as meaning “that promises nothing good” because of that background – NOT idiomatic in English, but it makes sense. However:
Is a good idiom with a somewhat similar vibe. Maybe a little more low-key, one’s expectations going down rather than worry about something actually really bad. (I think you would probably say nicht [gerade] vielversprechend as a closer equivalent.)
OH AND by the way, there actually used to be a pretty exact equivalent to the “name”-heißen in English: “hight” (“the knight hight Launcelot”). I don’t think it’s been used since maybe the 16th century, though.
To me, “das verheißt nichts Gutes” sounds way more negative or serious than “That’s not promising.” but then again, I might be off on the tone. “nicht gerade vielversprechend” feels like a much better match to me, but that is far from “verheißt nichts Gutes” in my mind.
I didn’t know about “hight”, by the way! Nice find :)
I wonder how smooth that Arthurian line sounded as it came out back in the day.. pronouncing the ‘k’, the phlegmy ‘gh’ and “eee” for ‘i’.
Kinda happy the “gh” lost its way.
For what it’s worth, I just made that example up.
But I’m shocked at your implication that it was a good move for English to sound less like German :P
Yeah, I’d agree – just my personal brain yoga. :)
I picked up “hight” (or at least had it more recently brought [back?] to my attention from Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queen. Just for the record.
– Auch der Strumpf weiß nicht immer, dass das Wasser nicht weint.
– Also the sock doesn’t always know that the water doesn’t cry.
I think “auch” would translate as “even” here. “Even the sock doesn’t always know that water doesn’t cry.”
But just to make sure….does “auch” imply there’s something else besides the sock?
Like, if I’m the one saying this, maybe I’ve thought about it beforehand and decided the fridge doesn’t know about this immovable fact of nature either. And maybe the broom is in the dark too :)
You’re right, “even” is probably a better match, but the use of “auch” here sounds less “extreme”. Maybe a mix between “even” and “also”.
– Auch Super-Hyper-Brain-Man weiß nicht alles.
Here, the implication is that normal people don’t know everything and Super-Hyper-Brain-Man doesn’t either.
I don’t really like “even” here. It puts too much emphasis on how crazy Super…Man is, but the real vibe is more like “Meh, he doesn’t know everything either.”
Oh, interesting. In that case, you could stick with “also” and just put it later. It’s pretty weird as the first word, but this works:
If you really wanted to emphasize that Super Hyper Brain Man doesn’t know everything, how would you say it? “Auch” with more stress, or maybe “sogar”?
If the “even” is the focus, then “sogar” or “selbst” would be the best choice.
Doesn’t “The sock also doesn’t know…” make it sound too much like “as well”-also?
Like… the “auch” refers to “Socke” in German, not the action.
– Die Socke weiß auch nicht …
This sounds like a “normal also”, so the broom doesn’t know, the pants don’t know and the sock doesn’t know.
I feel like maybe there is no middle ground between “even the sock” and the normal-also?
Yeah, I see how “auch” can attach to the thing (auch die Socke) or the action (weiß auch nicht).
“Also” doesn’t let you do that. If you want to put it before “sock,” it has to be like this:
Which changes the meaning. “Also doesn’t know” is the only order that works. I guess that could sound a little like “too” or “as well.” Those could be a good translation in the right situation….not here.
“Even” lets you shift focus:
It’s THE go-to option when you need a Lego piece that sticks onto the front of a noun to highlight it. Maybe kind of a blunt tool compared to German?
But it can be more intense or less intense, depending on how you say it.
I think the “meh” version might be kind of like how you described “auch.”
To me, “even” feels rather strong, but that might be a) because “sogar” is that strong and I associate the two and/or b) English speakers, especially Americans speak with more extremes (“best ever”, “absolutely amazing”…) and it might not feel as extreme to ya’ll as it does to my German language soul which is not used to these kinds of frequent outbursts :)
You could do “Neither does the sock know…” – but that sounds either a bit old-fashioned or poetic.
That would be perfect then. The German version is not super old-fashioned, but it has a vibe of “aphorism” that also comes from the phrasing.
Do you “feel” what I am going for in the example, by the way? Your sprachgefühl is super strong and I feel like this type of “auch” phrasing could also be in the Bible somewhere.
Yeah, I think I get it, but it’s hard to know what’s the nearest English equivalent. Really, from a quick word search comparing Luther (1984) and the King James, it looks like there tends to be either “even” in English where “auch” shows up in the German, or there’s just no corresponding word.
For what it’s worth, I’d say that “even” is probably not quite as strong as “sogar” across the board (like coleussanctus said, a lot is conveyed by tone if you’re saying it). I think it’s a good fit if you want to be thorough – otherwise, my guess is that there wouldn’t be a connecting word there if an English speaker were saying it, just “The sock doesn’t always know…”