1. to be called (common translation for "my name is" is "ich heiße")
2. to mean (In phrasings like "That means that..." or "What does that mean?")
3. to call (Archaic, NOT used anymore, except in the fixed phrase "willkommen heißen". The person and the name are both direct objects.)
4. people say, it says ("es heißt, ..." - used for rumors and also to report what's written in a text. In that sense, it's a synonym for "im Text steht...", maybe sounding a bit more skeptical. )
The second paragraph of Der Kleine Prinz starts: In dem Buch hiess es “Die Boas verschlingen ihre Beute als Ganzes”. “In the book it said,’Boa constrictors swallow their prey whole.”
This doesn’t quite fit any of the above definitions. Maybe #4, but it seems to have a different shade of meaning. Am I missing something?
Good point!
That’s kind of the 4th meaning that I had, where I said “es heißt” was used for rumors. It’s also used to report what’s written in a text.
That’s pretty much a synonym for
I have modified the 4th meaning. Thanks for this addition!
Hello Emanuel
Can you please help me with the following sentence. It’s from a book and I can understand what it means, but I’m not sure what “heißen” means.
I have found similar phrases like “jetzt heißt es aufpassen”
Is it ok to say “Still, heißt es” or just “Still”. Is “heißt es” directed at readers or at Kind?
Thanks!
That’s an example for “es heißt” in the sense of “people say”. People tell their kids that something is not for them and it’s better they knew nothing about it.
The sentence is almost like:
If there was NO comma after “still”, then it would be like “people say quietly”, but with the comma it is “Quiet!” to the child.
I hope that helps.
Thank you Emanuel
The fact that you take so much time to answer our questions is admirable.
I really appreciate that.
Hut ab!