Quotation Marks in German
Quotation marks in German (Anführungszeichen or Gänsefüßchen) are mostly used in the same way as in English: for direct speech, titles and emphasis. However, there are two important differences:
- the opening quotation marks are placed low down: „
- both the opening and the closing quotation marks have the 99 form: „…“
Read on to learn how to use quotation marks correctly in German.
Quotation Marks in German
They are mostly used in the same way as in English: for direct speech, titles and emphasis. However, there are two important differences:
- the opening quotation marks are placed low down: „
- both the opening and the closing quotation marks have the 99 form: „…“
Direct speech
Like in English, German indicates direct speech by using quotation marks.
- Examples:
Important
Direct speech is always introduced by a colon in German, not a comma.
- Example:
- Vergnügt rief Marie: „Wo ist mein Geburtstagskuchen?”
Titles
The titles of films, books, plays, etc. are indicated by quotation marks in written German.
- Examples:
- In der Schule müssen wir „Die neuen Leiden des jungen W.“ von Ulrich Plenzdorf lesen.
- Wir haben letzte Woche im Deutschunterricht den Film „Die Legende von Paul und Paula“ geschaut.
- Letztes Schuljahr mussten wir uns drei Stunden lang „Don Carlos“ anschauen. Ich bin eingeschlafen.
Emphasis
We can also use quotation marks instead of italics to emphasise a particular word or phrase in a text.
- Example:
- Das Wörtchen „war“ ist die dritte Person Singular/Präteritum des Verbs „sein“.
When to use single quotation marks in German
Single quotation marks , … ’ (halbe Anführungszeichen) are used in German when we want to emphasise something within a piece of direct speech. This avoids two sets of standard quotation marks and aids readability.
- Example:
- Sandra fragte Karsten: „Schatz, wollen wir uns nicht mal wieder eine romantische Komödie anschauen? Heute Abend läuft ‚Hitch – der Datedoktor‘ im Fernsehen.“
