Nacht
German
Etymology
Inherited from Middle High German naht, from Old High German naht, from Proto-West Germanic *naht, from Proto-Germanic *nahts, from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /naxt/, [naχt], [nɑxt]
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Noun
Nacht f (genitive Nacht, plural Nächte, diminutive Nächtchen n)
- night
- Die Nacht war lang und frostig.
- The night was long and chilly.
- darkness
- Sie wurden von der Nacht verschlungen.
- They were engulfed by the darkness (of the night).
Usage notes
- In contemporary German, Nacht is used somewhat differently than English night. Although Nacht can be a general term for the dark hours of the day, when used as a time measurement it refers only to those hours when most ordinary people are in bed (roughly 11 p.m. till 6 a.m.). So while one says in English: “Let's have a beer tonight!”, in German one needs to say: Lass uns heute Abend ein Bier trinken! (“Let's have a beer this evening!”)
- In English, one says in the night or in the day referring to a time of day, but on that night or on that day referring to a date. German, instead, always uses in with Nacht and always uses an with Tag (except when the latter simply means “time, era”, e.g. in jenen Tagen (“in those days”)).
- A (masculine) genitive Nachts occurs only in the phrases des Nachts (“at night”) and eines Nachts (“one night”) and alone as the adverbial genitive Nachts (cp. nachts).
Declension
Derived terms
- Butternacht
- die Nacht zum Tag machen
- Einbruch der Nacht
- Gebnacht
- gute Nacht, gut' Nacht, gut Nacht
- Krampusnacht
- Kristallnacht
- Nacht und Nebel
- nachtaktiv
- nachtblind
- Nachtdienst
- Nachtessen
- Nachteule
- Nachtfalter
- Nachtgespenst
- Nachtgleiche
- Nachthemd
- nächtigen
- Nachtjagdflieger
- Nachtjäger
- Nachtleben
- nächtlich
- Nachtlicht
- Nachtmahl
- Nachtmensch
- Nachtmusik
- Nachtquartier
- Nachtreiher
- Nachtruhe
- nachts
- Nachtshopping
- Nachtsichtgerät
- Nachtspeicherheizung
- Nachttisch
- Nachtwache
- Nachtwächter
- Nachtzeit
- Osternacht
- Polarnacht
- Reichskristallnacht
- Tag und Nacht
- Tagundnachtgleiche
- über Nacht
- Walpurgisnacht
Related terms
See also
Further reading
- “Nacht” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “Nacht” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
- “Nacht” in Duden online
- Nacht on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia de
- “Nacht” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.
Hunsrik
Alternative forms
- naacht (Wiesemann spelling system)
Etymology
Inherited from Middle High German naht, from Old High German naht, from Proto-West Germanic *naht, from Proto-Germanic *nahts, from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈnaxt/
- Rhymes: -axt
- Syllabification: Nacht
Noun
Nacht f (plural Necht)
- night
- Die Nacht is kalt.
- The night is cold.
Further reading
Low German
Etymology
Inherited from Middle Low German nacht, from Old Saxon naht, from Proto-West Germanic *naht, from Proto-Germanic *nahts, from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /naxt/
Noun
Nacht f (plural Nachten)
Further reading
- Der neue SASS: Plattdeutsches Wörterbuch, Plattdeutsch - Hochdeutsch, Hochdeutsch - Plattdeutsch. Plattdeutsche Rechtschreibung, sixth revised edition (2011, →ISBN, Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster)
North Frisian
Alternative forms
- naacht (Föhr-Amrum)
- nåcht (Mooring)
Etymology
Inherited from Old Frisian nacht, from Proto-West Germanic *naht, from Proto-Germanic *nahts, from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts.
Noun
Nacht m or f (plural Nachter)
Pennsylvania German
Etymology
Inherited from Middle High German naht, from Old High German naht, from Proto-West Germanic *naht, from Proto-Germanic *nahts, from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts.
Noun
Nacht f (plural Nachde)