NanaNov 20, 2022
Jens Clasen

The German word "doch" can mean
- but
- yet
- even so
- still
- nevertheless
- on the contrary
- after all

It's also a full answer to ANY negative statement:

Ist es nicht! (It's not!) - Doch! (Yes, it is!)
Das mache ich nicht! (I won't do that!) - Doch! (Oh yes, you will!)
Das stimmt nicht! (That's not true!) - Doch! (You bet it is!)

So many meanings - not possible, you say? Oh, doch!

Enjoy our language!

#TheGermanWord

Nov 20, 2022 at 9:11amMastodon for Android
Show threadFrauke WatsonNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen An even more versatile word (or rather sound) in German is "Na?" My husband can never get over the huge spectrum it can express 😂
Show threadpixNov 20, 2022
@watson_works @jensclasen "Na" is just walking up to an NPC and pressing B.
Show threadSeb QuenetNov 20, 2022

@jensclasen

Looks like our ugly "du coup" french expression :D

Show threadUncle SlackyNov 20, 2022
@sebquenet @jensclasen Or even "quand même"...
Show threadRumpelheinzchenNov 21, 2022

@sebquenet @jensclasen

Cependant for "doch".

But you're right: "du coup" is ugly.

Show threadPaul L. ArvidsonNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen Do folks still say Ass & Friedrick for 'It's gone a bit wonky'? I love the bone dry sense of humour in Germany. Its on my mission goals to take my eldest for a long weekend since she's studying German at school.
Show threadConny💕Nov 20, 2022
@realarvo @jensclasen as far as I know we only say it for instance when a meal is tasteless/bland “Igitt, das schmeckt nach Arsch und Friedrich”
Show threadAlex ThompsonNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen that’s why I’m finding it so tough to learn, and that’s with a German husband! I might never get to Germany to teach.
Show threadMatt WillemsenNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen Thanks! I'll use it often.
Show threadWouter PoortingaNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen I love 'doch' ( the Dutch 'toch' is similar) with no equivalent in English. And it just sounds so good
Show threadキャロりん (she/her)Nov 20, 2022
@jensclasen Gerade weitergeleitet an meinen britischen Partner der mit dem Wort (noch? doch!) nicht klar kommt 
Show threadKatjaRammerNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen
Show threadElGonzales Nov 20, 2022

@KatjaRammer @jensclasen

NEIN! - DOCH!- Ohhhhhhh!

Show threadKatjaRammerNov 20, 2022
@ElGonzales @jensclasen GENAU!
Show threadDeadpool1895Nov 20, 2022
@KatjaRammer @jensclasen ich höre es regelrecht
Show threadPadraigOMorainNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen Thanks. I suppose 'so' in English and 'allora' in Italian also have a wide range of meanings though not those particular ones.
Show threadM RossNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen Just like "though", which is obviously the same word but with stupider spelling.
Show threadArthur DoyleNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen this, in Glasgow is "Aye"
Show threadswiffyNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen 可不是吗！
Show threadLars KNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen
I really love the German language. I found it easy to learn because of the logical way words are put together...like LKW - lastkraftwagen, and not just "truck".
Show threadGaeltacht UCDNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen a great word, one we could do with in other languages
Show threadKarmina the MycoWitchNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen
Show threadBilly SmithNov 20, 2022

@jensclasen

When you consider that rural Lowland Scots is a Fresian dialect, then "Och" in Scotland may have a similar derivation, as it's used the same way in similar contexts. :D

Show threadJohannes KraemerNov 20, 2022

@jensclasen ... And you can have endless back and forths by going:

Nein! Doch! Nein! Doch! Nein! Doch! Nein! Doch! Nein! Doch! Nein! Nein! Doch! Nein! Doch! Nein! Nein! Doch! Nein! Doch! Nein! Nein! Doch! Nein! Doch! Nein! Nein! Doch! Nein! Doch! Nein! (Increasing the volume with every iteration)...

DOCH!

Show threadUrsulaNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen lol yes German language isn’t easy😂😂😂
Show threadStijnNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen the Dutch have “toch”. Same difference.
Show threadCarljoNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen most will not be able to pronounce it correctly though :)
They will say dog, dosh or anything. A well pronounced „doch“ will get you further than anything you might learn in language school. So keep practicing.
Show threadPatti BuffNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen My favorite German word. Wish we had it in English.
Show threadex or current IDF unwelcomeNov 20, 2022
@pattibuff @jensclasen Surely it is Scottish as in a wee docs and doris
Show threadPatti BuffNov 20, 2022
@JohnLoader6 @jensclasen Maybe? We don’t have it in American English. The closest we have is ‘Oh yes you will!’ I mostly spoke English with my bilingual kids but used that word regularly. 😁
Show threadJens BøyeNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen Now do Gell 🙂
Show threadPaul Yager Nov 20, 2022
@jensclasen So, it’s kinda like “Aloha” in Hawaiian but in German. 
Show threadacbNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen one might be able to, at a pinch, use the English translation “still” in a similar way
Show threadTimothée Muller ⏚Nov 20, 2022
@jensclasen One of the most practical linguistics tool English lacks is to counter a negative statement with just one word like "doch" or "si" in French (not to be mistaken with yes in Spanish and Italian).
Show threadBiloni4LifeNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen I was an exchange student in Krefeld Germany in 1979 and did not speak German (I was fluent in three months). Each day I would run to my room and look up words I did not know. I searched ENDLESSLY (and fruitlessly) for the word "doch" that I heard all the time. Not in the dictionary...but you are correct, it means EVERYTHING you stated, and perhaps more.
Show threadK. KothNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen Doch is definitely one of the top ten in my list of words for which there is no good equivalent in English. There’s a use that’s missing from your list: Das habe ich doch gesagt. In English, the best (only?) way to “translate” doch in that sentence is through vocal emphasis. There’s just no equivalent word/phrase for it.
Show threadSquidbillyNov 20, 2022

@jensclasen
The closest you can get to "Nein!" "Doch!" In English is "Nuh-uh!" "Yuh-huh!".

And don't forget if you add a second doch ("Doch, doch.) it becomes a more friendly version of "Doch!"
As in:
"Kommst du denn nicht zur Party?"
"Doch, doch. Ich komme nur etwas später."

"Aren't you coming to the party?"
"Oh yes, I'm coming. I'll just be a little late."

Show threadDaniel LandonNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen How is it I took 3 or 4 semesters of collegiate German and did not know or remember this? Oh well, back then Old German was New German. Perhaps that's it.
Show threadWe're Not In Kansas AnymoreNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen
My family originated in Germany, but due to the bias against Germans in the 40's, we were never taught the language. I have family post cards in that ornate German writing and have no way to decipher what they say.
Show threadDavid Mitchell Nov 20, 2022
@jensclasen English badly needs a contradictory positive response to a negative statement. #AdoptDoch
Show threadJennifer0104dgNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen I lived in Frankfurt for two years, took lessons, carried my dictionary everywhere and still managed to mangle the language. Once asked for the kussdienst instead of kundendienst
Show threadDemocratic GremlinNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen
We are efficient. 👍 🤣
Show threadAnna KlinknerNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen
Thank you for the "doch" sum-up!
The German word "ja" is even trickier...depending on context, it can mean anything from yes to something very like no...(Ist die Erde eine Scheibe? - Ja, das ist doch ganz anders!😂 )
Show threadCDavis-exPHI6Nov 20, 2022
@jensclasen "Enjoy our language!" And I do. I especially love that I can read a word in German and know genau how it is pronounced! English, not so much.
Show threadInaNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen try to understand that word, when you're foreign: NOT POSSIBLE.
not to use it in your motherlanguage, when you're yoused to use that word in german: IMPOSSIBLE
Show threadFinnNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen sehr gut erklärt.
Show threadShockTheMonkeyNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen Doch!
Show threadKilianNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen Didn't you mention „doch“ as a modal particle (reinforcement or surprise)? Jetzt sei doch mal still! Das ist doch nicht möglich!
Show threadJanet MacKenzieNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen I’m lucky enough to be allowed to enjoy it every day 😁. And after 40 years I still love it 🥰
Show threadSaidaNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen When I studied in Irland an irish friend who studied German complained that it would be so difficult to sound German. Not because of the grammar but because of the difficulty of using all the "small words" such as also, na, ja, mal, ... in the same way native speaker do. I think she made the point.
Show threadRaeNov 20, 2022
@ohrite
Show threadK. BösefeldtNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen This word belongs to the top passepartout vocabulary your definitely need in Germany (like "Dings", incl. the verb "dingsen", which can mean just anything).
Show threadAlexander NaderNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen in Austria, we have "Eh!" that's "doch" combined with irrationality "That will never ever happen again" - "Eh net"
Show threadRichard WhartonNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen danke
Show threadArairaNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen 😁
Show threadMBLNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen I'm learning German at the ripe old age of 75, it's fascinating
Show threadMeghan KernohanNov 20, 2022
@jensclasen When I learned "Doch" as eine austauschulerin, I was quite proud. It was a shining moment lol as I was told it was very hard to master.