ernsthaft

German

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle High German ernesthaft, from Old High German ernusthafti. By surface analysis, Ernst (seriousness) +‎ -haft (adjectival suffix).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɛʁnsthaft/
  • Hyphenation: ernst‧haft
  • Audio:(file)

Adjective

ernsthaft (strong nominative masculine singular ernsthafter, comparative ernsthafter, superlative am ernsthaftesten)

  1. serious (important, weighty)
    ernsthafte Zweifelserious doubt
    ernsthafte Verletzungserious injury
  2. serious (earnest, genuine)
    ernsthafte Anstrengungserious effort
    ernsthafter Versuchserious attempt

Declension

Adverb

ernsthaft

  1. seriously
    ernsthaft krankseriously ill
    Selbstverständlich hat niemand ernsthaft daran gezweifelt.Of course, nobody seriously doubted it.

Further reading