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Difference Wann Wenn
Difference Wann Wenn
https://yourdailygerman.com/difference-wann-wenn/
and welcome to our German Word of the Day. This time we'll take a look at the difference between
Both of them are translations for when and lots of learners are struggling to tell when to use which.
But it's actually not difficult at all and we can do it with one beautifully simple test that I'll call the
Einstein-Check.
Because... it sounds smart. And it has to do with time, so why not.
Anyway, let's light speed jump right in...
The one important thing to realize is that wann is a question word asking for a point in time. That means
we should be able to replace it with other phrases that also ask for time, without ruining the structure.
And that's the Einstein-Check:
"If we can say at what point time instead of when, then we need to use wann."
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"wann" or "wenn" - What's the difference - 01-12-2013
by German-is-easy - German is easy! - https://yourdailygerman.com
Ich werde meinen Chef fragen, bis wann er morgen im Büro ist.
I will ask my boss, till when, what time he is going to be in the office tomorrow.
Perfect!
Here, changing when for at what time results in a nonsense sentence. And it's the same in German, if we
use wann instead of wenn.
So yeah, this simple test of replacing when with at what (point in) time is really all we need and if you
just needed a quick fix, you can skip right down to the quiz and see if you really got it.
But we still have some time left here on our Podcast (yes, it used to be a radio show, but it's 2020 now, so
it's a podcast, I guess).
So I thought we could explore WHY the last example sounds so wrong with at what time in it.
Like... why can we sometimes replace when and sometimes we can't?
There must be an underlying difference and by exploring that, we'll not only increase our level of nerd,
we'll also get a nice view at how function is really really important in language. Something that's really
useful for German because German has a penchant for using different words for different functions.
So, if you have a little time, let's geek out for a bit.
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"wann" or "wenn" - What's the difference - 01-12-2013
by German-is-easy - German is easy! - https://yourdailygerman.com
A wenn-sentence on the other hand functions as a TIME indication. So if I wanted to ask for it, I would
ask at what time.
Ooof.... I'm feeling slightly confused. Quick let's pop some Exampledine 20mg and see if that helps.
You can see that my name and when I am planning to come over to your place have the same
function...they fill the role of [something] in to say something.
Let's do the same with to know something.
Basically, whenever your when-sentence can be replaced by a thing, then you need to use wann in
German and you do NOT need to think about whether it is an indirect question or not.
Now, let's look at a wenn-sentence again. We said that it answers when (at what time).
Or in box speak: it fills a when-box. So it can be replaced by any other time indication.
And that's all we need. No need for much thinking, just check what the when-clause is answering to:
if it answers to "what?" then use wann, if it answer to "what time?", then use wenn.
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"wann" or "wenn" - What's the difference - 01-12-2013
by German-is-easy - German is easy! - https://yourdailygerman.com
[When I have finished work], I will call you and tell you [when I will be at home.]
[Wenn ich mit der Arbeit fertig bin,] rufe ich dich an und sage dir, [wann ich zuhause bin.]
[what time is the call?] [what will I tell you?]
English relies on context here, which might be the reason why synonyms like as soon as or at
what time are more common in English while German has a tendency to just use wenn. Because German
uses two different words for two different functions - something that German likes to do :).
Cool.
So now we know what the difference is between wann and wenn.
But before we wrap up, let's look at a few really useful phrasings and expressions with wann. Because...
if not now then when :).
The first one is dann und wann, which translated to every now and then or other similar expressions.
There are other ways to say this in German. For example ab und zu or hin und wieder those are more
common than dann und wann.
And then there is wann anders.
Heute schaffen wir das nicht mehr aber kein Problem, wir machen das einfach wann anders.
We won't be able to do it today, but no problem; we'll just do it some other time.
I am not sure as to whether this is a regional thing of northern Germany but I say it quite a lot. The
"official" word would be ein andermal but wann anders just has more of a punchline character so I think
that's why people use it.
And finally there is the irgendwann which means at some point.
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"wann" or "wenn" - What's the difference - 01-12-2013
by German-is-easy - German is easy! - https://yourdailygerman.com
Cool.
So that's it. This was our look at the difference between wann and wenn, and it really turned out not that
big of a deal.
If you want to see if you can tell wenn and wann apart, you can take the little quiz I have prepared. But I
have to warn you... I made it tricky :).
If you have any questions about it, or about the article, just leave me a comment.
I hope you liked it and see you next time.
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